My rant for the day

erdavis

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I'm in nursing school and we are almost finished. We graduate May 1st. Since day one our teachers count how many hours each of us is here, we have to sign this paper every 60 minutes proving that we are in class because the state won't let us take our boards (which we have to pass in order to actually become a nurse) unless we have a certain amount of hours. Therefore, you can only miss a certain amount of hours before you get kicked out of the program, and no matter how much the teachers want you to stay, it is not up to them. Because my immune system isn't the greatest and I've had family issues, I have missed the majority of the hours allowed and now can only afford to miss 5 hours before getting kicked out. This means that if I get sick and have to miss an entire clinical day, I'm done for and the past year has been a waste to me.
There are only 23 people in our class now and we spend 32 hours a week together between 2 8 hour lecture days and 2 8 hour clinical days in the hospital.

There is this one girl in my clinical group who was sick last week during clinicals and she came to clinicals still, just some sort of cold. Keep in mind that we are working with sick people in the hospital who's immune systems are compromised. I was sort of bothered by the fact that she showed up to clinicals, not only because of patients but because theres only 8 people in my clinical group and some people (like me) can't afford to get sick. It was selfish. I chose not to get too close to her or touch things she touched.

Then yesterday she put on Facebook that her son has pink eye and that now she has it. Today she actually showed up to class! You can tell her eyes are pink-red and watery. When someone asked what it was she said it was allergies! I am so pissed off! Pink eye is so contagious and its incredibly selfish of her to come to class. We are spending 8.5 hours with her today, touching the same stuff she does after she is noticeably touching her face. I know it is going to spread to someone and then they're going to spread it and so on and I am terrified I will get it. If I go to clinicals with pink eye there is no way my instructor wouldn't send me home. I really want to tell the instructor but the person that has pink eye is a suck up teachers pet and i feel as though the teachers would just tell her to not touch everything since it is just lecture today and tomorrow. I also of course don't want to tattle.

It's not that Im scared of germs or anything because I would for sure be in the wrong field if that was the case! But we have all learned about how contagious it is and I literally can't afford to miss a clinical day, I think its incredibly selfish of her because she rarely missed class and can afford to have stayed home today. I would just hate that I am about 1 month from graduation and it could all be ruined because of a selfish pink eyed girl. Ugh. Anyways, just felt I needed to vent to someone because I was steaming up inside. That is all :)
 

Tom

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My mother was a nurse before I was born and she just retired with 44 years of service as an LVN originally, and then a RN. The majority of our friends and family are also medical professionals, so I think I might have a little perspective into this.

You are within 5 hours of losing all your time and effort and having to start all over again, but you are mad at this woman for toughing it out and making her hours? If you had shown up sick, as she has done, you wouldn't be in this predicament. You are about to spend a lifetime of sick people coming in to your place of work. Deal with it. Take proper precautions. Hand washing, not touching your face, wear a mask, etc... There is also a phenomenon involved where a person in your chosen professions immune system becomes "experienced" and you just don't get sick anymore. My mother spoke anecdotally of how new nurses spend their first two or three years sick all the time, and then they don't seem to ever get sick after that. My mother was almost never sick. I'd bring home all sorts of "bugs" from school and she would almost never catch them.

So I say, "Buck up, young lady!" Fight your way through this. Overcome this adversity and don't worry about what other people do. You do what YOU need to do to get through this and graduate.
 

T33's Torts

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My mother is a pharmacist. She sees sick people on a daily basis. After 20+ years of working with them, she NEVER gets sick. But if you keep avoiding the germs, how are you going to become immune.
 

erdavis

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My problem isn't that I don't want to get sick, my problem is that I don't want this past year to be wasted. I got the flu and was forced to miss a day of clinicals and then my dad going through chemo needed me to stay home with him 1 day. I didn't have a choice but those 16 hours leave me with only 5 hours left. Even your job probably lets you call in sick for at LEAST 2 days a year so I feel like its not unreasonable. I touch patients all the time with c diff and MRSA and don't think twice about it, like I said I'm not afraid of getting sick. When she had a cold I was fine, I just took precautions. When anyone else is sick I'm fine. But pink eye is extremely noticeable. You think my patients will want me taking care of them? You think doctors I talk to won't question me? If I go to clinicals with pink eye my professors will be able to see it and I will be sent home and that'll be the end of it, all because she came to class with it. She obviously knows she shouldn't be here if she's going to lie about it and say its allergies. The least she can do is let people know that she has it so they can be careful. I understand the phenomenon and stopped getting sick so much after being a CNA for 2.5 years.
I honestly wouldn't think about it twice if it wasn't for the fact that I'm trying to graduate. Sorry but I don't think that risking other people's graduating and lying to people about having a contagious virus is how you should graduate just as I don't think that cheating during tests is. Thats not the kind of nurse that I would want taking care of my loved ones.

I'm only avoiding them because its risking my future. Is it that bad to not want to get sick for 1 more month so that I can achieve what I've been working for since I became a CNA when I was 17? I'll become immune when I become a nurse, but I need to be one first.
 

Tom

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Right, but isn't this other lady under the same pressure to maintain hours as you? If she stayed home with pink eye wouldn't she fail to graduate too? If your doctors and professors question you about why you showed up with pink eye, wouldn't the simple explanation that you just gave us suffice? If you miss a couple of days, the whole enchilada becomes wasted time. I think they will all understand.

Yes those requirements are ridiculous. Who can go years without ever having to miss a day here or there? Make up days or make up hours should be available. But if they weren't and I was in that program, I would show up no matter what I was carrying and shedding.
 

erdavis

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Well I am happy to say that I graduated and just found out last week that I passed the national test and am officially a nurse! :)
As for the lady that came to class with pink eye.. Later that day she actually asked one of our classmates to put eyedrops in her eye for her, saying that they were just allergies. Now I don't care what anyone says, I think that is terrible. It is one thing to lie about not being sick, but to have someone touch your infected eye and tell them that its nothing? Thats not very nice. One of the professors noticed her pink eye and she had a meeting with the director and got sent home for the rest of the day, which was only about 2 hours, but she got docked hours for the entire day just for lying to people about it. She was able to afford to be docked those hours without worrying so she still graduated :) She was allowed to come to class the next day but she had to tell the people around her that she was sick so that they could be careful. Unfortunately the person that shared desks with her got pink eye as well as the lady that gave her the eyedrops.
I wasn't trying to make it seem like I'm afraid of germs, because I would be in the wrong field if I was, and I have no problem loving on my poor patients that have extremely contagious sicknesses. But I take precautions when needed. And I guess I just feel that if I was sick and still chose to go to work I would take precautions so my patients don't get sick from me, because thats what I would want other people to do for my family and me. I just was frustrated because she was lying to people about it, people who were all around her and even someone who touched her eye for her.. She is a caring person and I'm sure she will be a good nurse, I just hope she thinks a little bit more before spreading illnesses from one patient to another than she did about her classmates. :)
 

tortadise

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Well I am happy to say that I graduated and just found out last week that I passed the national test and am officially a nurse! :)
As for the lady that came to class with pink eye.. Later that day she actually asked one of our classmates to put eyedrops in her eye for her, saying that they were just allergies. Now I don't care what anyone says, I think that is terrible. It is one thing to lie about not being sick, but to have someone touch your infected eye and tell them that its nothing? Thats not very nice. One of the professors noticed her pink eye and she had a meeting with the director and got sent home for the rest of the day, which was only about 2 hours, but she got docked hours for the entire day just for lying to people about it. She was able to afford to be docked those hours without worrying so she still graduated :) She was allowed to come to class the next day but she had to tell the people around her that she was sick so that they could be careful. Unfortunately the person that shared desks with her got pink eye as well as the lady that gave her the eyedrops.
I wasn't trying to make it seem like I'm afraid of germs, because I would be in the wrong field if I was, and I have no problem loving on my poor patients that have extremely contagious sicknesses. But I take precautions when needed. And I guess I just feel that if I was sick and still chose to go to work I would take precautions so my patients don't get sick from me, because thats what I would want other people to do for my family and me. I just was frustrated because she was lying to people about it, people who were all around her and even someone who touched her eye for her.. She is a caring person and I'm sure she will be a good nurse, I just hope she thinks a little bit more before spreading illnesses from one patient to another than she did about her classmates. :)

Cool. Congratulations on your achievement.
 

Jacqui

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I am glad you passed!! I agree she should have been honest and also not have come to class. Sounds like two people got sick from her. :( I would not want to have her for my nurse or any of my family. Makes you wonder if the one who did the eye drops did not practice good methods for washing up after doing the eyes... of course she was under the belief it was an allergy, not something she/he could catch.
 

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