disneydream06

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I was sitting with a confused patient last night.

It wasn't too bad, for a change.

I went on break at 5 am.

I came back and 6 am and the patient was Bat Shit Crazy.

When I Was gone on break he tried to get out of bed and when staff tried to stop him he got violent. :o :o :o
When I got back he was sitting on the side of the bed.
I went in and stood in front of him.
The nurse went to talk to the doctors who were making their rounds.
Patient tried to get up and so I put my hands on his shoulders to keep him down.
He got violent and tried to hit me. I grabbed him by the wrists and held him down.
Nurse gave him another dose of Haldol and eventually he calmed down just enough for me to let go of him.
It basically didn't improve any more from that point until I passed him off to the dayshift.

PLEASE God, don't make me sit with him again tonight.

This is just more proof that I don't think I have another 5 years of bedside care in me before I can hopefully retire.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

thewayne

I am not an attorney nor an actuary - though I did work for a pension plan company and helped create plan documents, plus I've slept at a Holiday Inn, so take this for what it's worth.

If you're fully vested in your union plan, you might have more leverage than you think. You can start withdrawing Social Security Benefits at 62. Your work retirement plan might state a specific age that you can start taking benefits if you are not disabled, but SS can start at 62. You won't get as much as if you wait until 65 or 70 to retire, but it's there.

You receive a Social Security statement, showing what your estimated benefits are, every year a couple of months before your birthday. Find your latest, go and talk to your union pension people and discuss the concept with them. If you can make reduced SS benefits work for you, then this might be a way to go. Keep in mind that you have to sign up for Medicare and start paying for it within 3 months, IIRC, of your 65th birthday. I don't know if you have to also register for the supplemental programs like Part D, etc. at the same time.

You can also start drawing SS benefits and continue working, though you're capped at approx $25k before it decreases your SS benefit.

It's a delicate balancing match: start withdrawing earlier and make less per month, or later with more money but maybe your health isn't as good and you can't enjoy it as much.