Welcome to the Forum - General Aussie Chat

[gwenith]

Having been guilty myself of hijacking threads saying hello and just chatting to my fellow Aussies I thought it might be worthwhile for us to have a thread that is just dedicated to general Aussie chat. We can then discuss issues like the Morris - oops Davis inquiry in Queensland and what it will mean for Q health and for the rest of Australia.

We can talk cricket, sport and anything else that is just us.

Say hello to new members dropping by.

Generally find out what is happening in the rest of the country.

I will make this thread a "sticky" so that it will always be at the top of the forum.

[talaxandra]

Wenndy - I'd try the university first, seeing as the board has already said okay. You can always ask the uni what they think, too. Good luck :)

[Grace Oz]

G'day all,

Welcome from me too to all the newcomers. :balloons:

Adel, you'll enjoy your time at Flinders and life in Adelaide. You'll certainly notice how much cheaper it is to live than in Sydney!

PM me if I can be of any help.

Oh, and hello you lurkers! :chuckle We know you're there!

Gwenith, hope the leave period was refreshing and you managed to accomplish the things you wanted. It's always hard to return to work after a break.

No more news for now ...

Cheers

[Adel]

Yeah it does seem a lot cheaper than Sydney. I'm thinking of going over to Adelaide for a few days next month to cheak the place out, get to know my way around a bit before I make the big move.

Heidi

[Ausnurse65, RN]

G'day all from country NSW. Just spent the weekend travelling thur Kangaroo Valley and the surrounding area. It's so green and fresh down here at the moment. Not like at the beginning of the year! Better to get out and travel than watch football, but then the grand final match was pretty good. Go the tigers :chuckle

[Grace Oz]

G'day ausnurse. Nice to see some more Aussies joining in. Hope to see more of your posts.

As I was having some physio this week got to talking with the therapist, as you do, and she was telling me how they're introducing independent physiotherapist practitioners. Similar to nuse practitioners. The idea is for these physio's to work in casualty depts. (NO! I refuse to call it Emergency! That's VERY American, -no disrespect to our friend's :) - and we ARE AUSSIES! Don't care what the modernists now call it or what the signs on depts. read!) :chuckle

Anyway ... she was saying they'll actually be assessing patients,- such as sporting injury pts,- and deciding whether or not the pt needs to see a doctor. That the physio will decide if x-rays etc are required, what treatment to order etc. And only if the physio deems a doctor's opinion is required, will the pt. be sent further along the "food chain" and be seen by and further assessed by a MD. :stone :uhoh21:

Anyone heard of this intended plan??

Interested to know your thoughts on such a plan being implemented.

Cheers.....

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

I don't have as much problem with Physio's as I do with Occupational Therapists. I worked on major public hospital in Brisbane (which shall remain nameless) where the OTs took it upon themselves to come up to the ICU once a week and assess the patient for pressure areas and then write recommendations for pressure area management in the patient's chart.

Reading that helped my BP a LOT. Stupid thing was that this was accepted by the majority of the nursing staff within the ICU.

Friends - I TRIED. I really did. Even discussed with management how I felt that Pressure Area management was a core responsibility of nursing and that was abrogating a fundamental responsibility of our profession - got nowhere. This was only a symptom of the rest of the problems - eventually I left.

But Grace I can see where you are coming from - thing is these people who want to take up these "practitioner" roles are not the ones who want to do it so that they can work in Thargamindah or Oodnadatta and they are quite happy with assessing say, a sports injury but are they going to also TREAT that injury? I would personally like to see more people proficient at actually applying plaster casts and wound care.

[talaxandra]

How beyond ridiculous. In what universe do OTs have superior knowledge of pressure areas! I'm torn between anger, outrage and incredulous laughter, and choose to go with - :angryfire

I don't see the advantage to having physio practitioners doing this kind of assessment, rather than nurses - sounds like physios encroaching on nursing territory, again. And you can bet that it might start, but wouldn't stay, in cas (I'm with you on the terminology, Grace!).

We've had physios disgruntled because nursing staff have had the temerity to assess stroke patients and sit them out of bed (because apparently we should just let them stay in bed from Friday afternoon until Tuesday morning after a long weekend).

And if I read one more note from a physio about the need to sit respiratorily-compromised patients upright I'll scream! And what I'll scream is "yes, I know that they need complete lung expansion for clearance of secretions and optimal gaseous exchange, but you know that massive, infected, broken down pilonidal sinus they came in with? The one that caused the immobility, lethargy and deconditioning that lead them to have a chest infection in the first place? Kinda also a factor to take into consideration. So bite me."

A month or so ago one of the physios, with students in tow, asked a friend of mine to get the height-adjustable taxi chair. Says my friend "height adjustable? No, we don't have one, I've never seen one, I don't think so."

"Yes, yes," says the physio with an eye roll, "the height adjustable taxi chair. I've used it before. This man is very tall."

Well, thanks for that - we had no idea, having sat him out, turned him and, oh I don't know, actually clapped eyes on him lo these several days since his admission.

So my friend searches the whole ward, where she's worked for five years, for the height adjustable taxi chair that none of us have known existed.

"Nope," reports my friend, "no such thing."

"Call [another unit]," says the physio. "I know they have one."

You may be asking yourself why my friend didn't tell the physio to make the call herself, but that's because she actually is my friend and not me, and she is therefore lovely and easy-going and considerate.

So she rings the other ward, who tell her that there's no such thing, at least at this hospital, as a height adjustable shower chair.

And she returns to the physio, saying "Yeah, I checked - they don't exist."

And the physio says "Okay, we'll use a regular taxi chair." :uhoh21:

[AussieTina]

Just a question

If this gets brought in does this mean that the physio can order physiotherapy for a patient even if the doctor does not?

I am wondering about this because my 13 yo daughter had severe scoliosis, steel rods inserted and spinal fusion 5 months ago, the doc did not order any physio for her, he said that she did not need it.

The physio was very surprised at this.

Now she is in constant pain and having difficulty with her ADLs, has missed 7 weeks of school due to the pain. She is now seeing the physio as her muscles in her back has spasmed and this pysio is furious with the doctor who performed her op for not referring her. (the op was in brissy, no more ops up here, love the QLD health ).

Tina

hope this makes sense. Exams in 3 days so no sleep and brain in overload :rotfl:

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

Just a question

If this gets brought in does this mean that the physio can order physiotherapy for a patient even if the doctor does not?

I am wondering about this because my 13 yo daughter had severe scoliosis, steel rods inserted and spinal fusion 5 months ago, the doc did not order any physio for her, he said that she did not need it.

The physio was very surprised at this.

Now she is in constant pain and having difficulty with her ADLs, has missed 7 weeks of school due to the pain. She is now seeing the physio as her muscles in her back has spasmed and this pysio is furious with the doctor who performed her op for not referring her. (the op was in brissy, no more ops up here, love the QLD health ).

Tina

hope this makes sense. Exams in 3 days so no sleep and brain in overload :rotfl:

Yep! Sounds like an Orthopod - little bit 'o surgery can fix ANYTHING .

Now you know why there are all those jokes about Orhtopaedic surgeons:p

(?What is the difference between an orthopaedic surgeon and a wardsman?

The Wardsman knows the name of 2 antibiotics

What is an Orthopods definition of a heart?

Keflin pump

What is the definition of a double blind study?

2 Orthopods reading an ECG)

Better stop now before I get into trouble:devil:

Yes Talaxandra I understand where you are coming from with the OT's - I did not know what made me madder - the OTs who were assuming this role or the nurses that let them!

My latest issue with OT's is finding written in an MI patients chart by an OT "Discussed with patient signs of onset of MI". - Will keep you posted on this one because there are several issues relating to that not the least of which is:- What the hell are they telling the patient are the sx of an MI? We nurses all know that diagnosing an MI often has to wait until we have a positive troponin and or ECG changes - I am shuddering hoping that they have NOT have been telling patients that chest pain = MI.

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

PS Tina - hope your daughter gets better and those spasms stop.

[SH WA RN/SM]

At long last I can read some commemts on line which I can related more to, instead of just reading about nursing in the USA (no offense). It is great to heard from fellow Aussie nurses at last.

Came across this site my chance so hopefully will be able to reaccess this site again and again.

Keep in touch

Fellow Aussie Nurse (from Western Australia).

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

Welcome to to the forum!! Thanks for dropping in!