Why there's still people stuck in the '70s?

Pt had FPW, pt has Covid….. pt is continent. Please for the love of God tell me why she decided to stand up, walk, squatted, and peed on the floor. Oh, also lit a cigarette while doing so… what the fuck is happening in hospitals now a days?!

I spent quite a bit of time researching study materials and methods of studying on this Reddit, so I am hoping to pay it forward because there aren't a lot of resources to prep for the Pediatric CCRN.

I will say this was my 3rd attempt at the Pediatric CCRN. I am certainly not a good test taker, but I hope that if anyone is in my shoes in the sense that they think they are not smart enough to pass this exam, I can attest that you most certainly ARE! If I can pass it, you can and WILL pass the CCRN.

Here are the resources I used on this attempt as well as my thoughts on them.

1. AACN Core Curriculum for Pediatric High Acuity, Progressive and Critical Care Nursing, 3rd Edition - Helpful. Kind of confusing at times though. I feel like the author of this book had the intention of using as many words as possible w/out saying anything important at all. Definitely took a couple of reads before I actually understood the material.

2. AACN Review Course- Incredibly helpful to simplify the material in the AACN Core Curriculum book but found mistakes, make sure to double check info w/ the AACN core book.

An example of a mistake in the AACN review course is bronchiolitis. The review module said the Hib vaccine is needed for prevention while the book says it's caused by RSV.

1. Nurse Life Academy CCRN videos on Youtube - Her videos are geared towards the Adult CCRN but they were still incredibly helpful. I would listen to them on my way to and from work and skip through questions and content that were not on the AACN CCRN Pediatric Test Plan. The fact that her videos are free is incredible to me.

2. Barron's Adult CCRN Exam Premium - Geared towards the Adult CCRN but still was incredibly helpful in terms of simplifying concepts, having more practice Q's and reinforcing the content. I would skip through questions and content that was not on the AACN CCRN Pediatric Test Plan.

3. Klimek Review on Youtube - This channel is geared towards passing the NCLEX, but Dr. Sharon's methods on test taking and explaining cardiac fundamentals were extremely helpful. I would just skip through the SATA questions and the questions that were heavily geared towards the NCLEX such as "which pt would you see first?"

Other resources used for the first 2 attempts

1. Laura G videos- would not recommend. They were entertaining but all the information I needed was provided in the AACN Core Curriculum and the Nurse Life Academy videos.

2. Pocket Prep - did not like the questions. They were not similar to the AACN questions whatsoever.

3. AACN questions- These were all I used to prep for the first attempt and they were helpful but I personally needed to read the AACN Core Curriculum to understand fundamental concepts. Helpful to get an idea of what the CCRN is like.

4. Nursebuilders questions- Not helpful. These questions were too wordy and not even close to the AACN questions.

General Tips on Studying for this Exam

-Make sure you understand the content on the CV and Respiratory sections of the AACN Test Plan because these are the biggest portions of the exam.

-Don't skip prepping for the Professional Caring and Ethical Practice questions. It is also a major portion of the exam.

Hi everyone, I need some advice—and please, no judgment. I’m an ER nurse working in a busy bush trauma hospital, and I understand that caring for patients often means also dealing with their families. I know research shows that patients tend to do better when family is present, but I’ve had a few recent incidents that have really tested my patience.

Last week, I had a 35-year-old male patient whose wife and mother were incredibly demanding. They kept coming out of the room asking for pain meds—even while I was actively giving him IV pain meds. The patient was calm and normal when they were out of the room, but as soon as they came in, he would start whining and complaining. The wife kept coming to the nurses’ station, asking for things non-stop.

Another case involved a 40-year-old female with her 60-year-old mother-in-law at the bedside. The mother-in-law kept answering every question for the patient and even tried to override the patient’s request for IV meds by saying, “Just give her oxycodone.”

And then there was a 35-year-old male who came in with mild abdominal pain. His wife wasn’t even at the hospital, but she kept calling and asking for updates. The patient had a phone and was totally capable of updating her himself. I don’t understand why I have to stop everything I’m doing to keep updating her when I’m managing multiple patients and emergencies.

I understand when minors, confused patients, or those with disabilities have caregivers at the bedside. That makes sense. But when I also had an 80-year-old grandma with her son constantly coming to find me to fix her pillow—while I was already juggling five other patients—it just pushed me over the edge.

I’m honestly getting so frustrated with family members. Caring for patients is already physically and mentally draining, and difficult families just make it feel unbearable sometimes. I feel like I have no tolerance left.

Am I a bad person? A bad nurse? Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way.

When do we start regarding those who spread misinformation as the murderers they are?

I’ve been noticing how the recent political climate and policy changes are affecting the tech world, and I’m curious if nurses, might be impacted. Tech is outsourcing their work or getting people from other countries to work on a visa for cheap.

With ongoing debates around healthcare funding, staffing ratios, and regulations, is there a realistic risk that nurses could start losing their jobs?

I’m going to be vague with details, but I was physically assaulted and further threatened by a patient yesterday. I didn’t require medical attention but it did leave red marks and scratches, with bruises showing up within a couple hours. I’ve never dealt with anything like this either personally or professionally, but I did have the police come up from ED so I could make a report. The patient now has a 3rd degree felony charge for assaulting a healthcare worker, and I wish I had requested they be arrested right then but the police said since they weren’t discharged it would create an issue with insurance. Regrets, lol. They said if she lives in that city they would send an officer to her house to arrest her after discharge, otherwise she’ll have an active warrant and be arrested the next time she comes into contact with police.

I’ll get a copy of the police report and find out how to submit more pictures of the new bruising but I have no idea what happens next, either legally or at work.

My manager wasn’t there because it was a weekend, but my charge called and briefed him then when I called he asked if I was okay then asked if I wanted to file a report and told me how before even asking me what happened. I’m glad for that because security didn’t even mention it and I wasn’t sure what to do, like if I would have to go after work or what. I obviously charted it and made an internal report too, charge did write-ups and alerted house supervisor, all the people were notified. I just have no idea what to expect from here or if there is anything else I should do. I felt supported by my team in the moment but I know not to rely on the hospital to support me. Pictures, phone calls, etc are all on my personal phone and I have a voice recording of my account of everything.

Even though I’m physically okay I’m pretty shaken. I handled it exactly the way we were trained to in the moment and was able to recover the narcotics in the room when it happened. There had been a lot of (non-aggressive) issues with this patient’s behavior so there are miles of detailed chart notes by every nurse who had them, they were completely independent and of sound mind, not on any medications that could affect their mental status, and had been fully informed of the policy that they reacted against.

In the grand scheme of assault it’s minor and I feel like I have to downplay it because of that, but I’m not keen on letting this go. I’m still a new grad but I am far from young, and this could have happened to somebody young, smaller, less sure of their actions. It could be a pattern but if it’s never reported nobody will know and it will keep escalating with every admission. Since decent humanity doesn’t stop people from acting like this maybe consequences will.

I’m trying to take care of myself, going to schedule a therapy appointment for this week, and my partner is amazing and taking really good care of me even though he’s recovering from surgery and I’m supposed to be taking care of him. So I’m blessed with the support I have but hearing from others who have been through this would be really helpful, too.

i don’t know how many more conversations i can zone out of from nurses talking either about how covid was fake and that the injections are criminal or how amazing elon musk and trump is (side note: i do not live in america). i don’t understand how my work has hired these people who are openly unvaxxed. when they start having these conversations i just zone out and pretend im talking to a dementia patient “oh wow” “mhm yeah” “good for you”. any advice?

I am sitting with my 10 year old daughter in the PICU in a major children's hospital while she's trying to recover from pneumonia. She's asthmatic and was born prematurely so her respiratory system just kind of sucks.

She's been on the CPAP all day with small breaks in between with just oxygen.

She was off of the CPAP for a bit longer than she was supposed to be, but she was doing really well so I didn't even notice. The respiratory therapist comes in and says that we have to put it back on, nothing out of the ordinary up to this point. I, as a PCT at another hospital, understand that things get busy and things don't always get done the moment they're supposed to.

Then she turns to my daughter and explains that she left her off of the CPAP longer than the doctor would have liked and said "This will be our little secret, okay?" and then waited for my daughter to respond. Then she said "You won't tell the doctor, right?" and waited for her to respond again. Then she basically ran out the door without even acknowledging me standing right there.

I know I should have stepped in right at that moment but I was just completely stunned and caught off guard. I didn't process what just happened until she left the room. I am absolutely furious. How dare anyone in a hospital tell a child to keep a secret from their doctor (or any adult for that matter) and make them respond.

I called the nurse as soon as I processed what happened and, while trying to hold in my anger because I know it wasn't her fault, and as calmly as I could, explained the situation to her and asked to speak with the unit manager, MHO or someone in charge.

It is very busy here and I understand they can't come right away, I'm still waiting for them to come talk to me, but holy shit I had to just get this out. I already sat down with my daughter and explained that what the therapist did was extremely wrong and if anyone asks them to keep a secret, to tell me, mom and their doctor. I also made sure to tell my daughter that I'm not upset that she agreed with the therapist because you're supposed to be able to trust medical professionals and I know she felt intimidated.

This is the kind of thing abusers tell kids when they're abusing them. Having a medical professional, in a hospital, use those phrases with a child patient is extremely disturbing. The next person who tries to tell her that might be someone trying to abuse her, and I don't want her to look back at this moment and think that it's okay.

Edit: It turns out that she did falsify the charting and charted that she put my daughter on at the correct time instead of almost a half hour later like she did. I'm glad I said something. I talked to the doctor and she was very glad I told her. Fuck the haters.

What’s in your unit’s snack cart? Also looking for suggestions for my unit’s snack cart. All recommendations welcome, & refrigerator options welcomed also. Things that last long are always welcome as we are a small hospital, and meal replacement options are welcome too.

EDIT: Unit snack cart for staff only, fuck them patients.

I used to work as a nurse before COVID but switched professions. One of my most memorable moments was a nurse who became addicted to morphine from her GP and started replaced the vials meant for patients with saline. She was eventually caught after two months and had her license suspended until she completed rehab.

I live in Ireland and from talking to other nurses particularly those from the US/Canada, it seems far less common than in North America.

I’m a new grad in the ICU, almost at the end of my 4-week orientation, and I’m feeling really nervous about transitioning to working independently. Right now, I feel anxious before every shift, and honestly, a bit disappointed in myself for still relying so much on my preceptor. Sometimes she has to cue me, and I can’t help but feel like I should be doing better.

I recently had my first admission with one of my preceptors, and I felt completely lost. Even my preceptor was overwhelmed. So she ended up taking over and did not let me do anything. It looked bad just standing there. She wouldn’t even let me do things that I knew how to do. The other nurses stood at the door criticizing me for not doing the admission. It was just a disaster…

This preceptor is nice but she’s also new and wouldn’t let me work independently. Would often criticize me in loudly in front of other nurses and doctors.

On top of that, the unit I’m on is known for high turnover and is known for bullying. I’m not sure if what I’m experiencing qualifies as bullying, but there have been multiple times where I’ve been belittled or criticized by nurses in front of others. There’s been gossip about me being a new grad, and one nurse even made a comment in front of a patient’s family saying, “They’re hiring too many immigrants who don’t meet the standard here.” I was born here, and I felt that comment was incredibly hurtful and inappropriate.

I struggle with my self esteem and confidence. Right now, I feel really hopeless and alone. With the end of orientation coming up, I feel like I have lost my confidence. I’m trying my best, but I just don’t feel supported.

How do I deal with the bullying and to put it simple grow a pair?

Y'all, I woke up and felt alright and then had watery diarrhea back to back within 30 mins of waking up and getting ready for work. I freaked out because I was recently on clindamycin and I know Cdiff is a possible side effect so I called my hospital's staffing office and basically asked them what I should do, if I could still come in or what they think. They called the charge of the unit I was supposed to get floated to and were basically like no, not a good idea and marked me as late call off. I have never had a late call off in 6+ years of working as a nurse.

I'm PRN and today was going to be my last inpatient bedside shift because I'm transitioning to an outpatient job later this week within the same hospital system. I haven't worked on my actual unit in months but I still feel bad. I still have to return some things to my unit probably later this week but I feel so mad and frustrated and keep blaming myself for calling staffing and not just going in. But then I also didn't want to potentially give patients Cdiff. At this point though, hours later, I feel like I overreacted and it's just bad food poisoning but Idk. I messaged my provider just in case and asked them if I'd need a stool sample but I still keep beating myself up.

Any words of reassurance are greatly appreciated. If anyone knows what it means to have a late call off vs a regular call off, I'd appreciate that too

I made a med error today, not serious but a very stupid one. It's LTC so all our meds, puffers, insulins are kept in one cart. I know I just need to slow down and be careful, but I feel like I'm flying around all day, and so overstimulated with noise and questions and distractions my brain is just going a mile a minute.

I'm not trying to rush, I have 7 hours left in my shift what's the point of rushing. I just feel like I'm on speed, there is no need of it. I work here a lot so yea, I have a routine, and got complacent with my triple checking this time. I was even having a pretty chill day. Just frustrated with myself.

Hi everyone. I’m from Germany and currently in a healthcare (nursing) apprenticeship – here, we call it Ausbildung. For context, in Germany, after school, many people go into a vocational training program that lasts around 3 years. It's a mix of school and working on-site (in my case, hospitals or care homes). You're technically considered an employee, get paid a small salary, and are trained in a specific job. At the end, you’re qualified to work full-time in that profession.

I’ve completed about 1.5 years of my apprenticeship, which means I still have around 13 months to go. And I honestly don’t think I can do it anymore.

I’ve been thinking about quitting since November 2024. I haven’t completed my practical reports or documentation in over three months – and nobody has even noticed, which says a lot about how trainees are treated. You’re constantly at the bottom of the hierarchy. People either ignore you or talk down to you. One time I was literally doing blood pressure measurements and a coworker sarcastically asked me if I even knew how to do that – like I hadn’t been doing it for months. It gets exhausting.

In school, I’m doing well – but the material doesn’t really interest me. I try, but I can’t connect with it. Emotionally, I also struggle with seeing so many sick patients. I know some people can distance themselves, but I can’t. It stays in my head, and it's been messing with me mentally.

The weirdest part is: the job can be fulfilling. I don’t hate every moment. But deep down, I know this isn't what I want for my future. And trying to keep going just to “have something in my pocket” or make others happy is making me miserable.

My family and friends keep telling me to just finish it. They say stuff like “you’ve already come this far” or “it’ll open more doors.” But what’s the point of finishing something I’ll never actually work in? I don’t care how it looks on a résumé. I care about not wasting another year of my life doing something I already know I don’t want. I’d rather take the time now to figure things out than wake up 5 years from now completely burned out.

Honestly, I’m even at the point where I don’t feel like calling in sick or quitting formally. I just want to disappear from this whole thing, even if that’s unprofessional. I’m tired of pretending to care.

Thanks for letting me vent. If anyone else has been in a similar situation – whether in healthcare or another field – I’d appreciate hearing how you handled it.

I'm planning on being a nurse not because I want to, but everyone tells me it's a safe option, that I'll find a job anywhere. But seeing my dad so tired and upset after coming working, it makes me feel like I'm gonna dread my choice of working as a nurse. He says that everyone at his work who is a nurse isn't happy either. I know most jobs aren't meant to be a happy place, but is it worth it to become a nurse and abandon my other dream jobs? Or would I be living more comfortable as a nurse that doesn't like her job? Cause he makes it seem like hell, I mean our circumstances play into how he feels about being a nurse but he seems to really hate it and it seems like everyone else hates it too. (Also my dream job is a forest/park ranger if that really says anything)

Edit: I wouldn't say I HATE the idea of being a nurse, I cant really tell if I'd be happy or not with the job, but it definitely isn't something ideal for me

Apparently this is mine.

My patient is elderly and looks like he weighs 230 ibs . Definitely atleast 40-60 ibs on me. He has a right shoulder injury and doesn’t bend his legs much at all. He also rarely opens his legs because of the pain. How do I even turn him to change him and get the diaper all the way up? Is belly is big so it seems like it’s impossible to get him to stay on his side. And I’m scared to turn him on his right side. He has one of those things you use to slide him but that’s not working that well. Maybe I just suck lol

Also how am I expected to transfer him with a gait belt when he doesn’t walk and has ankle problems? From my understanding gait belts are an assist not you full lifting. The other side told me he lifts him and I know that’s very dangerous but the patient and him doesn’t mind. I just wouldn’t do it

Had a patient the other day who was very agitated, consistently tugging at her trach, getting out of bed, shouting at her CO, the works. She was on trach collar and I needed her back on the vent for the night so she could rest but she demanded she eat food first. She didn’t like the hospital food though, go figure.

She instead wanted Panera from downstairs instead and ordered it from her phone, but her cards declined. I figured that’s too bad, but it’s almost midnight, she would get her breakfast in the morning when she’s back on trach collar. She handed me her to phone to order and pay for her and I said no.

Another coworker was like “why not? It’ll calm her down! I’ve done that before, I buy my patients lunch all the time.” And perhaps this isn’t exceptional care but I just don’t see myself spending money on a patient unless it’s in special circumstances, let alone one who’s been yelling at me since 7pm.

Genuinely curious, are you the type to spend money on your patients?? In what situations??

I have been feeling like no matter how hard I study, work hard to learn the skills, put myself out there and advocate for myself during clinical, I still can’t seem to grasp what I’m learning. I’m making passing grades but I just feel like my program is going so fast I haven’t processed the full picture. I have trouble thinking on the spot, communicating my thought process for my care plans and being confident. I enjoy clinical and I take precaution to be safe, I always double check with the nurses when doing skills in clinical (Like med pass, etc.). I ask to do ADL cares and always help the CNAs, and my clinical instructors says I’m doing well but I just don’t believe it. My SIM instructor says I’m also doing great, but in simulation lab I get so anxious when it’s my turn to go in that I can’t even speak. I feel like I am not confident being a nurse, no matter how passionate I am about this, it just makes me sad. I feel like all of my cohort members get the clue, and I am the only dummy. I don’t even know what to do.

Hey everyone, I’m working at Johns Hopkins downtown Baltimore this summer and trying to figure out a plan to not have to pay the daily parking rate. I was thinking of getting a monthly parking spot off campus and taking an electric scooter to get there. Does anyone take a scooter to work? Or know of anyone that does? Do they store it in the nurses’ break room? Sorry if this is a silly question!!

Why is it impossible to get a job in Ottawa, Ontario. I have been applying for months, had my resume & cover letter looked over several times. I hear many other nurses are struggling with this as well, yet there are several job postings.

How do you guys handle bullying in the workplace?? Also I feel like I did the wrong thing.

So a few days ago, 2 coworkers loudly announced at the nurses station in front of other coworkers that “I needed to see a gynecologist because I stink” and that “I stink up the nurses station with the smell of shit and UTI.” My other coworkers defended me saying that I don’t smell and that the 2 other coworkers have a tendency of doing this to new employees. So I emailed my manager and supervisor about this whole situation. Now it’s being escalated to HR. I feel guilty about doing this because I know they 2 other coworkers are going to retaliate against me the next time I work.

But how do I handle the bullying? Do I just ignore it and mind my own business? Did I do the wrong thing by going to management about this?