“As nursing educators and leaders, however, our responsibility extends beyond ensuring that students can demonstrate competencies. We must also create learning experiences that cultivate inquiry, reflection, critical thinking, and a commitment to lifelong learning.” ~~ Julie Durand

When I saw this I thought about my first clinical day. After we passed breakfast trays our instructor herded us into the floor stock room like a mother hen with eight chicks. She took down a big jar of long sterile applicators, like big q-tips, and said, “How would you take one of these out without contaminating the rest of them?”!

We hadn’t had that mercilessly drilled into us in learning lab, so we had no ready answer. Shuffling feet. Looking at floor. Finally one timid answer: “Pick it up with sterile forceps?”

Mrs. Vartanian said firmly, “Good. Who can think of another way?”

Another way? There can be another way, and we can think about it? Nobody in learning lab ever gave us any alternatives- it was the one way or the highway.

”Put on a sterile glove and pull it out?” “Tip the jar and grab the one that sticks out first?”

The actual point wasn’t how to do this little activity. It was to teach us that if we had a good rationale (the how) backed by research (sterile technique) we could figure things out by our own assessments.

That one lesson changed me forever. It determined how I looked at my practice for the rest of my professional life. Best instructor evah.

What epiphany did you have as a student?

Today I had a “med error”. Basically my patient had one time doses of 2mg Valium and .5 dilaudid prior that were to be given 30 min before going to MRI. I get a call from ultrasound that they are ready for him. For whatever reason I assumed they meant for his MRI, not ultrasound. I went ahead and gave the patient his meds and then called back to let them know they have to kick in. Ultrasound lady was clearly confused and that’s when realized he was getting an ultrasound not an MRI😭 I then called MRI to see when his MRI was scheduled and it wasnt until 6pm, if was 1pm at that point. Told my charge nurse immediately and she wasn’t worried at all and said that he would just be “extra calm.” I let the doctors know and they also didn’t really seem to care. The patient also barely had a reaction to either drug and voiced concern that it wasn’t gonna work for the MRI, I also shared this with the doctor at this point. Being new and insecure, I’m convincing myself that everyone is just choosing to not tell me that I messed up and are just being nice :(

Today I was charge nurse on the unit and I was making the schedule when I had to send one the oncoming tech to a 1:1. This tech had picked up and we have a policy that any pickups get floated before staffed personnel. I had asked the other two techs on the floor if they would have rather floated to the 1:1, they both said no.

When the tech came in I said "Hey, your going to be going to room X". When she gets really smug and says I just floated early today, why am I being floated again?" I said well it's the policy that incentives staff get floated before staffed people. I showed her the actual policy in person. When she starts making all kinds of threats. Like, I'm never going to be picking up anymore, I shouldn't have to do this. I replied, I dont know what to tell you, if you dont want to float than dont pick up an extra shift.

She storms off all anger and its taking me time to calm down. I didn't want her to just bump the other techs because that's unfair to them. By now, it was past the time when she was supposed to be at the 1:1, so i didn't think much of it. Mean while my friend came up to me who had heard the argument. I asked my friend, I said do you think I should let the director know what happened?

I asked because in nursing it's so common to enforce the rules and have the tables get turned on you, so I was a little paranoid about having a meeting about this. Before I know it all I hear is "I know your not talking about me!" and she starts yelling, saying things like "You would never say that to my face," and "your too scared to tell me that to my face".

Turns out she was just sitting in the back room on her phone and had never relieved the 1:1. I replied im not scared. She storms off. I basically tell this to management. Would you have done anything different?

We have a new patient 40's/M in ICU who was admitted with a nec fascitis on lower ext, sepsis, CFH with an EF of 11% on multiple pressors. Patient and family decided to not do any surgery and focus on comfort care. Patient last wish is to stand up and hug his family. He has 3 kids and 1 is a toddler who have no idea that is the last time he can hug his dad. With muliple pressors running, we have to assist him (he is about 300 lbs) stand up and he lasted about a minute hugging his whole family and saying their goodbyes. Patient immediately died right after turning off the pressors and received ativan push. They just arrived in the US couple months ago and most likely they don't have much resources. I have been a nurse for 12 years and i feel shattered every time i experience this.

Killing the people saving you seems like a healthy decision/choice... 😢

I work on a unit where learned helplessness is BOOMING. A lot of patients will walk over the nurses (try to) and management obviously always takes their side. I have this one seasoned nurse who is lovely to the nurses but will put patients in their fucking place. Sorry, I love it. She’s never rude to the unproblematic patients, but when we have a call bell happy patient, hold my urinal even though I have no UE weakness and hold everything else just fine, or the typical entitled patients, she will rip them a new one. I’m sorry but a lot of these patients need to either be put in their place or behave, she is the one who will do that or make it happen. Anyone else have a coworker like this? (She has been reported numerous times but she’s an excellent nurse and has 20+ years under her belt) 🤣

I also keep a pocket with pen, sharpie, flushes, etc. but I wanna know what’s in your pocket to personally get YOU through the shift? The little packrat items. I emptied my pockets tonight and it made me wonder what others accumulate in theirs. (Side note, that pill is an excedrin of my own possession)

UGH. I pulled the ordered amount of Lomotil (IYKYK) during a hemorrhage emergency, but after counting, I closed the bin before I was able to return the rest of the sleeve. I realized afterward and planned to resolve it with my charge nurse. Thankfully, the bleeding was controlled, and we ended up not needing it.

Afterward, I was helping care for a baby who needed prompt intervention for low blood sugar. I got caught up in patient care, missed my breaks, and completely forgot the meds were still in my scrub jacket when I put it in the dirty linen hamper.

I’ve already reported it to management, but they weren’t sure how to resolve it and reached out to pharmacy. This has never happened to me before, and I’m nervous about getting in trouble.

Also… I hate that Lomotil is a controlled substance. IT’S AN ANTI-DIARRHEA MED w atropine…

Is there a market for ANTI-DIARRHEALS? Or ATROPINE?!!

Am I freaking out over nothing? I don’t want to get fired or written up… omg.

Guys, I need to vent because this thing is making me feel really bad.

I'm a new nurse and I recently started working in the ward. Obviously I still have a lot to learn and, when I have doubts or I'm not sure about something, I ask my colleagues for help. I do it precisely because I don't want to make mistakes and I want to be sure to do things the right way, especially for the safety of patients.

The problem is that my colleagues have always told me that, if I have difficulties or questions, I have to ask without problems. And in fact that's what I do.

A week ago, however, a colleague told me that other colleagues talk about me behind my back and that someone would have said:

"A person who is not ready to work, should not be destined for this department.." (its a med-surg ward)

Honestly, I felt terrible about it.

So what should I do? If I ask for help, does it mean I'm not ready to work? If instead I don't ask and I make a mistake because I wasn't sure about something, would it be better?

That is, it is always said that a new nurse should ask questions, ask for help when he has doubts and not be ashamed of not knowing everything. But then, when you really do it, are you judged?

I'm not saying I'm perfect, absolutely. I know very well that I still have a lot to learn and that I don't have the experience of those who have been working for years. But I've just entered this world, I'm trying to settle in, learn the routines of the department and become more and more independent.

I'm committed and I really want to become a good nurse. I haven't studied for all these years so as not to take my work seriously.

What makes me feel bad is that no one has ever come to talk to me directly to tell me if there is something wrong with my work or what I should improve. Instead, apparently, they talk about it behind my back, even going so far as to say that I shouldn't be in this department.

If I make a mistake or there is something I need to improve, tell me quietly. I am here to learn and I accept constructive criticism.

But you can't tell me to ask for help when I have doubts and then judge me because I do it.

Already working as a new nurse is stressful, especially when you try to do everything right and you are afraid of making mistakes. Knowing that maybe colleagues judge you while you are simply trying to learn makes you even more anxious and leads you to doubt yourself.

I would like to understand if it is something that happens often when you are a new nurse or if I was simply unlucky with the environment in which I find myself.

You nurses who have been working for years, how was your experience at the beginning? Have you ever felt judged by colleagues just because you needed help?

I'm not looking for someone to tell me that I'm right. I would just like to understand if it is normal to live these situations at the beginning or if I am doing something wrong.

Hey yall!

What are some things you’d want to tell a new grad nurse in the ED? Any tips, pearls, tricks, hacks you’ve picked up over the years. About anything and everything; serious and unserious.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) recognized cannabis nursing as a specialty in 2023. In 2024, the ANA and American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA) published the specialty’s Scope and Standards of Practice. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) published guidelines on cannabis education and safe nursing practice in 2018.
ANA specialty recognition:
https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2023/ana-officially-recognizes-cannabis-nursing-as-a-specialty-nursing-practice/
Cannabis Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice:
https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/cannabis-nursing-scope-and-standards-of-practice/
NCSBN marijuana guidelines:
https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/practice/marijuana-guidelines.page
A nurse-authored perspective on evidence-based policy, professional ethics, and nursing licensure:
Cadieux CS. Nurses and cannabis use: Ethical and legal concerns. Nursing. 2026 Aug 1;56(8):14-18.
https://www.ovid.com/jnls/nursing/fulltext/10.1097/nsg.0000000000000423\~nurses-and-cannabis-use-ethical-and-legal-concerns

Patient's daughter hit her elbow on something and starts wincing in pain. She says "Oww I hit my funny bone!"

Patient says, "why do they call it the FUNNY bone when there's nothing funny about hitting it?!"

I said I didn't know, they never taught us that in nursing school. 🤷‍♀️

I’m a new grad working critical care unit and I hate it so much. And I don’t think it’s the unit I hate I think I hate nursing. I did really well in clinical so much I actually really enjoyed it and was very lucky to get a job after grad. But I’ve been working the floor 3/4 months now and I hate it. I dread going to work, I feel like I’m constantly making mistakes, and I just want to cry every day because I feel so stupid and feel worthless. I invested so much into this career, finically and emotionally that I can’t quit but I don’t know how to keep going. I feel like a failure. How do I keep going

I hate my job I hate bare bones staffing I hope the hospital closes

5y neurosurgical nursing experience before I left to work on staff bank. Got sent to work in neurosurgery last week as they were short staffed. Halfway through shift was told we'd be taking patient from ED resus who'd fallen from height, unstable spinal fractures, spinal stenosis, c spine fracture, other internal injuries. Patient was in resus for about 8hr, was being 1:1 by the ED nurse and was the only patient in resus. I have worked in ED resus many times so I know the layout, routine etc.

Manager asked me to review the patient's notes on PC before he arrived and I read that the ED nurse & registrar both deemed the patient GCS 15. Documented that he had 800ml in bladder as per bladder scan but declined catheter, but had no sensation of needing to PU. Both nurse & reg documented that he had capacity to decline the catheter. I phoned the neuro junior doctor that was covering for nightshift and asked him if there was any way he could encourage them to make sure the catheter was placed before the patient arrived to us upstairs. Junior doctor at this time said he thought the notes sounded inconsistent and as though the patient might not have capacity based on what he'd read etc. For context, the nurse in resus would have had plenty of time to try to explain the clinical reasoning for the catheter. She was alone with him 1:1 for over 8hr, no other patients.

Patient arrived without catheter. I was unimpressed, asked the nurse when he'd last had a bladder scan. She'd not bothered to repeat the bladder scan after the initial one which identified retention. Asked why this hadn't been repeated and she shrugged and said idk. So it had been 3hr since he'd had a bladder scan.

I asked like, if he has capacity why she'd not managed to persuade him that he needed one. She shrugged and said he had capacity to decline. I asked what she thought would happen and whether we were just supposed to wait for his bladder to rupture? She shrugged again, said she tried and then left. I assessed patient; GCS 12: E2, V4, M6. Patient seemed confused, drowsy, couldn't hold a conversation and kept trying to remove the hard collar. I repeatedly explained he was at risk of paralysis if he removed the collar and he couldn't retain the information and kept trying to remove it. I made him 1:1 at this point and junior colleague kindly sat with him to stop him taking the collar off.

Repeat bladder scan was 900ml, asked him if he felt he needed to pee, he said no. Explained that due to his injuries he'd probably need a catheter, explained risk of bladder rupture etc. and he didn't seem to be taking in what I was saying, just kept saying no weakly.

Grabbed junior doctor at this point and said I think we need AWI so I can catheterise. Junior doctor comes and performs assessment, leaves and says the patient has capacity. For context this guy's only worked in neuro since August and only in his second year as a medical doctor. So I think he just wasn't confident in identifying whether someone has capacity in a situation like this.

I've already whistleblown on ED team for falsely recording patient's GCS as higher than they really are (to facilitate faster transfer to wards, it's policy that ED have to hold onto them until their GCS is at least 13. I refuse to work in ED now.)

In addition to the above, on reviewing the CNS chart I found there was not a single documented limb assessment done on this patient in the +8hr he was in resus. So they'd done the GCS questions and pupil assessment but not bothered doing limb assessment? When I perfomed this I found he had L upper limb weakness.

Documented all this in a note and the ED reg must have read it because she phones me a short while later sounding angry. Asks me why I thought he had capacity etc. and essentially the vibe was, you're a fucking nurse and I'm a registrar and I said he had capacity and who the fuck are you to disagree. I outlined the above and bluntly said, I have to go cus I immediately need to care for this patient and I cant stand here arguing with you, handed phone to my senior manager and went back to the patient. Shift change was like, 10 mins later so I handed all this over to dayshift and went home.

They hadn't even bothered to stick a pad underneath the guy and just seemed like a total lack of interest in caring for him, probably bc he's an addict. Have seen them treat addicts, mental health issues etc. like total crap in ED and is part of the reason I stopped picking up shifts there.

Thinking of doing a report next time I'm in, if anything the lack of limb assessments on this guy is absolutely shocking. Am I wrong? Manager seemed like she couldn't care less and she said when she spoke to the reg, the reg complained that I'd been "hostile" in my questioning of the ED nurse when she handed over.

We are always talking about the highest paying hospitals and hospitals with the best ratios and breaks but what about the shit hospitals? Let's name and shame the worst hospitals and their pay along with their crap benefits, shit ratios, and lack of breaks. Name the hospital it's state and it's pay along with what you most hate about it. Let's all trauma dump

i’m not really good at saying how i feel. this is my first post, sorry. i’ve been a nurse a year now. i’ve worked med/surg and long term care. i hate both equally. i keep telling myself that it’ll get better and that i’m just a “baby nurse” so i haven’t really experienced the worse yet. however, i switched to night shift because i thought it would at least be some what better than days. i’m so wrong about that. i used to be a pct for years before finishing nursing school and deciding i wanted to advance my career. the pay is low. so i’m basically doing this for what? i hate dealing with family. i hate the disrespect from older nurses who want to eat their young, i hate dealing with doctors; and residents in long term care act like children. i feel like im not good enough for this career. i legit can not afford anything. and jobs want you with 33 years of experience, lol. i just want to feel fulfilled.. i know im good at what i do. i love the smile on people’s faces, but i literally feel like i have compassion fatigue from taking care of so many people and feeling like im not being properly took care of. and not respected as an LPN. i was asked after being questioned what i do for a living “oh what type of nurse are you, LPN OR RN?” both are valuable assets, only differences in scope of practice. i slowly feel myself just becoming a different person, this is really depressing.

I’ve now spent almost 7 years in emergency medicine this year with the bulk of it as a firefighter at a busy 911 system and a brief stint doing contract work for the fed. I’m now doing well in nursing school and working in an ED with plans to be an RN in an ED / ICU / flight nurse but I’ve hit a wall today after a hectic weekend.

How do you push past it? I know that emergency medicine is where my strengths are (not to sound conceited) and it’s what I enjoy but there’s times where I’m absolutely sick and tired of it. The family members who make shifts awful, the bs toe pain x 3 weeks, and then having to go home late after a shitshow comes in through the ems doors at 1920 on Sunday and like it never happened just to go back to class on a Monday to sit in lecture.

Don’t get me wrong I love getting to learn things that make me better at work and eventually as a nurse but it has me questioning if sticking to emergency medicine is worth my sanity and humanity. I worked in a family clinic for a month and I just couldn’t take it and it just has me feeling like I’ve put myself in a situation where the only thing I enjoy is also the source of my stress and has me becoming jaded and calloused.

It’s hard to be a “normal person” when I’ve spent so much of my life dealing with people actively trying to meet god and succeeding just to see people complain about trivial aspects of life and work when theyre safe and the people they care about are alive all while they draw huge checks with minimal stress while im staring at a career that takes advantage of the fact we just want to help people for a living and pay us peanuts.

I dunno how you guys do it and maybe it’s just me rambling like a madman but I’m curious as to how the ED / ICU people who have done it for a while have managed to survive

I made the mistake of going straight into aesthetics/ wellness straight after nursing school. It was lucrative at first, but now I’m struggling to pay bills.

What are some RN jobs I can get into as an RN with zero bedside experience??

Last night I had a drunk patient who was in police custody. He had been tased and the barb was still in his abdomen. I had to pull it out and he wanted to keep it. The police said no and they kept it. The patient got mad at me and said “Bitch you look like you don’t wear socks”.
My socks were showing lol, the comment made me laugh but confused me at the same time.

My coworkers and I got into this conversation yesterday and I’m curious what you guys think. If you were a patient and incapable of wiping your own ass, who would you rather do it: your significant other or a random nurse/PCT? Would it make a difference if you were admitted to your own floor and the nurse/PCT was one of your coworkers?

New grad here. As title states.

Is that weird for a facility that is psych-based?

Additionally, would like some advice about possibly hopping from this job. I’ve quit recently from a CNA job appx 4 months ago after getting my RN license. This is my first RN job (also based in Cali so yesss, was on that struggle bus on getting a job) but this place feels like it wants to rush us into becoming Charges. If I quit two months into this one, would it look bad for the next job I try (and hopefully) find? Or should I stick it out? I was looking into the prisons next.

I’m currently an LVN at a SNF. My ratio is typically 1:32 as a day shift nurse. This means families, patients, PT/OT, physicians, management, CNAs, patients all needing something constantly while also trying to manage my own day to day tasks. I don’t take my breaks and barely get to take my lunch (which I’m lucky if it’s uninterrupted without people calling me that they need something). We have very few LTC patients, meaning most of them are here for short term acute issues. It honestly feels like I spend most of my day juggling COCs, send outs, families, and other issues with barely having time to finish my med pass or documentation. I also commute over an hour to and from work. By the time I get home I don’t have energy for anything. All I do is shower, eat, and sleep. On my days off, I will often spend the ENTIRE day sleeping. For example, I worked a double a few nights ago (7am-11:30pm) and slept till 3:30 the next day, woke up for about two hours to shower and eat, and went back to sleep till my shift the next day. Is this common with our career? I feel like whenever I talk to my coworkers all they do is sleep too and have little energy for anything else.