chartleypj

chartleypj

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About chartleypj

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  1. Help with the life of a surgical consent!

    I have worked in 4 facilities over the past 31 years, including working for the federal government. At each facility, a hospital policy dictated how long a consent was good, and under which conditions it would be nullified. Our consents were good ...
  2. Where to live in MA?

    Sistermike, The Worcester area has several large teaching facilities as well as a few smaller acute care hospitals. the city is smaller than Boston, yet retains some of the ammenities you might be looking for in a community. Housing is cheaper there...
  3. Meditech Surgical Computer System

    I have used Meditech and also found it to be user friendly after a learning curve. I like that the program allows for (I think 3 or 4) customer-defined screens so the program can be built to your specific facilities' needs. The key to Meditech (In my...
  4. taking away my overtime in the OR

    I'm connfused; if you were hired for the 10:00 - 6:30 shift, then that is what you should be doing - and you obviously are not agreeing to this last- minute scheduling issue. What is your hospital's scheduling policy? Are you unionized? I have never...
  5. I posted this in general discussion as well.

  6. Who is at fault?

    You are right about the control we have over who leads us. We only have control over our own behavior, our moral, ethical and interpersonnal conduct in the workplace, and this is where every nurse can try to make a difference. When I think of myself...
  7. Who is at fault?

    In my experience, as well as my humble opinion, systems errors negatively impacting perioperative care are inherent in all OR'S. Test driving a new job for a month may not uncover issues pertinent to that department. Job- hopping might provide a res...
  8. I Will Be On My Own Soon...SCARED

    Issey, I think it is natural to have some anxiety about anticipating new challenges. It is not clear from your post how long your orientation period is, or how much nursing experience you had prior to going to the OR, so I will respond as best I ca...
  9. Stick it out in the OR or not?

    Chole, I wonder if your preceptor or nurse manager knows how you feel? the OR can feel overwhelming initially because there is so much to learn. Can you orient full time? As to the condescending residents and surgeons; there is a fine line between no...
  10. Any good advice for a circulator orientee?!

    Congratulations! I agree with all previous posters. In addition I would suggest you join AORN, the National association of PeriOperative Nurses. Here you can attend meetings, colloborate with other periop nurses and enjoy the monthly and very informa...
  11. Who is at fault?

    These issues which occur in every OR every day around the world are precisely what creates nurse burnout. I agree, this is a systems issue and until some type of root cause analysis is done with concrete solutions implemented to improve efficienc...
  12. At what point are you too old?

    The average age of a perioperative nurse is slightly higher than the national average of the general nursing population at 47 years. Having said that, I have worked with OR nurses in their mid-sixties who could work circles around others half their a...
  13. Positioning for hand & elbow procedures

    Alexander's Care of The Patient In Surgery is a wonderful reference. Surgical positioning is as much a personal surgeon preference as it is dictated by anatomy. Having said this, I will tell you that I have done many elbow pocedures with the patient...
  14. Wrong COUNTS....

    Incorrect counts on 5 different cases is real cause for concern. Placing blame, and then disciplining staff for mistakes will not fix the problem. Education, including rewiew and perhaps revision of the hospital count procedure might improve the s...
  15. Disposable safety straps on the OR table

    pstar, If the disposable item says it is for 'single use only', I am not sure the hospital is offering your patient the same standard of care by not offering each patient a 'new' one. For example, given 5 're-uses ' per item, each 6th pateint gets th...