Man candy

Looking at this guy never gets old...

Man candy - a good irish catholic boy

is there a nursing shortage going on?

The hospital I work in has been full for months.  It is so full that they have been offering big bonuses this summer to work extra shifts.  There is no sign this is ending anytime soon.

Nowadays hospitals hire bare minimum staff and count on nurses to work extra shifts.  So if they run out of nurses they are screwed.  They are running out of nurses. Even with bonuses, nurses can only work so many shifts. Hospitals have the mentality that it will eventually slow down and they don't want to pay for staff they don't need.

What they don't seem to get is that patients are so much sicker now.  With the baby boomers getting older, there are more of them. What we are doing in hospitals has become  so much more complex with things like ECMO, LVADS, CRT, TPA, etc.  The things we do now require so much more nursing care.

ERs are becoming high tech nursing homes.  Our typical patient has become someone who has a couple of chronic illnesses like diabetes an kidney failure who is now septic. They are complicated and require a lot of care.

We run our asses off to get it done.

Yup it feels like there is a shortage brewing. There are a lot of new grads out there looking for jobs. They have those wonderful bachelor degrees hospitals are requiring these days. The thing is they don't have the experience that is needed to care for today's complex patients and there are only so many med surg openings. So then what?

Oh well, more money for us....

Yeah right

I am traumatized after taking TNCC

I have to say that I was traumatized by the trauma nurse core course.... Bada bing.

But seriously, why does the damn thing have to be so hard? The pre-test was a joke. It lures you into thinking the actual test won't be so bad. It was BAD.  There were a couple of questions that I had no idea what the answer was.

I did the practical first. Got that shit out of the way.  That was bad enough.  I mean they take you in a room, turn off all the lights except a spotlight, which they shine in your face...Then this angry voice says: "YOU ARE THE ONLY NURSE IN A VERY SMALL TOWN.  IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. A CAR SCREAMS UP TO THE ER ENTRANCE..A BODY IS THROWN OUT AND THE CAR SPEEDS AWAY.....THE OTHER NURSE IN THE HOSPITAL IS ABOUT TO DELIVER A BABY ON HER OWN.  THE JANITOR HELPS YOU DRAG THE GUY IN AND  ONTO A CART.  THIS GUY IS UNCONSCIOUS, BREATHING SHALLOWLY. HE HAS SEVERAL FRACTURES TO THE FACE. HÈ  HIS LEFT ARM IS AT AN ANGLE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE....YOU CAN'T REACH THE DOCTOR AT HOME....WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TRAUMA NURSE???!!!!

My answer: Quit the job and move to Hawaii.

All these certifications have different acronyms and ways to do things....it all jumble together in your head: SAMPLE, MIST, VIPP, H'S & T'S,  Cushings, Becks triad, I/Os, capnography, pelvic binders, rule of 9's.....I'm getting too old for this shit.   Speaking of that, after taking these classes 29 times shouldn't  I be exempt at this point????!!!!kk