NursingLink

As a nurse of 26 years, since when do the Boards of Nursing make judgements on a persons personal life? Of course I have had injuries over the years due to CARING for patients! Yes, I do have to take pain meds, that are prescribed, at the end of the day at times. Why is this illegal? Do I not have the right to relieve myself of pain so that I can care for others? I would test positive for opiods, but never take them during a shift. And, so we suffer for the Board of Nursing! Get real people! We work hard, pull our backs, deal with herniated discs and degeneration and have the right to pain relief. I'm now tired of nursing, not because of patients, but the red tape big brother looking over our shoulders!

Boards of njursing are fallible. And they can be very, very arbitrary. Especially here in Connecticut.

Sadly this is all too common an occurance. Im wary of it myself as a new nurse (roughly a year now) who already has back issues due to an injury suffered as a CNA but I know I worked too hard too long to get my license to risk doing anything stupid like meds which I shouldnt be on in fact Im even wary of meds I am legally prescribed lest I be seen as working under the influence..

David Jewel LPN

Ethico-legal issues, they are actually things we must abide by to get to the top in this noble profession.

I found this online....very interesting:
Nurses’ Duties in 1887

The item below is from a newspaper clipping Lois Turley, RN, found in her mother’s old Bible. The clipping outlines the job description given to floor nurses by hospitals in 1887.

In addition to caring for your 50 patients, each nurse will follow these regulations:

1. Daily sweep and mop the floors of your ward, dust the patient’s furniture and window sills.

2. Maintain an even temperature in your ward by bringing in a scuttle of coal for the day’s business.

3. Light is important to observe the patient’s condition. Therefore, each day fill kerosene lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week.

4. The nurse’s notes are important in aiding the physician’s work. Make your pens carefully; you may whittle nibs to your individual taste.

5. Each nurse on day duty will report every day at 7 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. except on the Sabbath on which day you will be off from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

6. Graduate nurses in good standing with the director of nurses will be given an evening off each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if you go regularly to church.

7. Each nurse should lay aside from each pay day a goodly sum of her earnings for her benefits during her declining years so that she will not become a burden. For example, if you earn $30 a month you should set aside $15.

8. Any nurse who smokes, uses liquor in any form, gets her hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect her worth, intentions and integrity.

9. The nurse who performs her labors and serves her patients and doctors without fault for five years will be given an increase of five cents a day, providing there are no hospital debts outstanding.

Source: Lois Turley, RN, works at an allergy clinic in Arkansas. She is a freelance writer. See Turley’s Web site at http://www.care-nurse.com.

Yet, we nurses not suppose to be judgmental. I worked in a hospital where the majority of the patients were prisoners. They got the same treatment as the rest of the population but we can lose our license for having a porn website. This is ridiculous. I became a nurse not a nun and what I do in my private life is my business.

Lizabeth390..Thanks for your comment...I was beging to believe the our breed of nurses had died off and I missed it. Its nice to know there are others..and I know there are, that still feel compassion for someone else. But it was nice to see it here on this site....