Bls/aed

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2006

Look out! You'll be running to the first code blue you hear announced. My husband was a CPR instructor. Those mannequins are very expensive. We're talking in the thousands of dollars depending on the features you get with them. There are very sophisticated ones where they can record the quality of the compressions and breaths you give as well as simulate pulses.

tookewlandy · Jul 8, 2006

Daytonine-- Yep watch out

I was just looking at that online. I thought maybe I can find one to practice on, then I seen the price 1500 was the cheapest one I seen..EEEKK, no practice for me. But the one we had to learn on had a pulse and heartbeat and everything, when I first walked in the room I thought it was a real person thats how real it looked. Even the baby one looked real.

The only thing that I might be unsure of is infant CPR. I am so afraid to hold new born babies. They are just so fragile and I am afraid to break them. When my sister had my first nephew, the only way I would hold him was if I was sitting and when I was holding him I was frozen in terror, I really could not move. I was so afraid that if I moved I would hurt him or something. My bro & SIL just had a baby, and I tried to hold her for a while so I could get used to it in case in Nursing school I would have to hold a baby. I was a little more confident the more and more I held her, but still scared. Once they can hold their heads up i am fine. Do you have to hold many babies in NS? Has anyone ever dealt with this before? Did you over come the fear

Andy

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jul 9, 2006

I really enjoyed taking my BLS/AED class as well! When I left I felt so powerful (don't laugh)...LOL My instructor was great, I came away feeling very prepared.

And to the OP, babies are not as fragile as you think---my dad dropped one of my girls one time and caught her by the leg before she hit the ground and she didn't even cry! LOL One of mine rolled of the bed one time too and was fine but scared. Getting through that birth canal is no easy feat either. But it is scarey to hold one if you have never really done it before. I think the best way to get over the fear of hurting them is to just hold them. Heck I have 2 kids and when I held my neighbors TINY newborn the other day I felt like I had never done it before!

tookewlandy · Jul 9, 2006

marilynmom-- No i felt the exact same power when i walked out of my BLS class :)

Yes i love my new niece and i try to hold her as much as i can now while she is still a newborn so i can get used to it. Thanks so much for the advise

Andy

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2006

i only remember working with babies a very few times in the newborn nursery. mostly, we worked with one of the nursing employees taking temperatures, changing diapers, giving baths and picking up the babies and putting them back into their bassinets. when the babies were taken to the moms they were wheeled into the rooms in their bassinets. sometimes the preemies were fed, but the person always sat in a rocking chair. i think i held my brother's babies more than i did any patient babies.

it was fun watching my nieces and nephews develop over the years. especially when they are very young. you get to see those growth and development guidelines you learned make some sense. my older brother had an add kid and i found it was very easy to get her riled up when playing. she played hard and it was difficult to get her to stop and calmed down. she never sat still. another niece had a few language learning problems and i distinctly remember reviewing the rules of how children learn language to what she was doing. i have a very clear memory of a conversation with her where she said "gotfor" a few times when she was actually trying to say the word "forgot" at about the age of 4 or 5. the "kid" is now a physicist and gets very embarrassed when i retell this if she is around!

labcat01, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2006

My class is Saturday! It is the first "real" nursing school thing that i'm doing...I can't wait :)

atrice, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2006

My class is July 17th. I can't wait!

tookewlandy · Jul 9, 2006

yes you guys will have fun and you will wlak out of there like you can save a life one day!!!!

capribry · Jul 9, 2006

I took my class a couple of weeks ago. It was very fun and I got a 100% on my test. I will never want to do CPR on a person especially if I am by myself. It is very hard work and at the end of the day, the palms of my hand was so sore from the compressions.

We acted out real case scenarios and actually had to run and find the AED's. The AED's kinda of confused me b/c it will be talking to ya and then it kinda messed up my count trying to listen and do compressions at the same time.(yes I do know how to chew gum and walk at the same time,lol) But anyway I know if I was put in a situation that I will know what to do. Actually a kid in the restaurant where I worked at started choking and I was amped up and ready to go but her father beat it out of her before I can get to her. I am sure that ya'll will enjoy yourselves whenever you take the class.

kdavisnh · Jul 10, 2006

I'm just getting ready to recert for the third time tomorrow! I'm an EMT and believe me, when it's time to use the skills, it becomes second nature. You don't have time to be scared or nervous, and the things you learn in class really do stick with you. It's not so much conscious thinking, it's just your body responding to what you've been taught. I've lost count of the number of times I've participated in CPR, but I've never had the responsibility of beginning it, and I'm kind of glad. The ribs cracking I can handle, just don't know if I could handle being the one to break them first! Great job to all who have certified, and to all those just beginning that journey, enjoy, and learn a lot. It's a precious gift to have the knowledge to help in those sad and scary situations! Good luck on your nursing journey!