Common Sense Nursing?

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Thanks, Deb.:kiss

My intent here was NEVER to start an "us vs. them" thread, but I can see where that could be a concern. No, not all OB nurses are ignoramuses, and yes, there are M/S nurses who must have gotten their licenses out of the nearest bubble-gum machine. (I know a few of those, and they make us all look bad.) Let's face it: no matter WHERE you work, whether in a hospital or a government building or even a gas station, there are workers who are incompetent, uncaring, sloppy, insensitive, ignorant, and just plain stupid. By the same token, there are good, conscientious, intelligent workers everywhere, and thank GOD they're in the majority!!

I only meant to bring up something that has concerned me ever since I went into nursing, and that is the importance of keeping up with current standards of nursing practice and knowing the basics, no matter where one works. No nurse should be without the clinical and technical skills that distinguish us from other health care professionals. That's all I was trying to say.:)

[cat msed]

I a graduating student in BSN program. I hated the nursing rounds into peds. I thought that I would like this area but these little guys broke my heart.

[hmccartn]

Thanks for the info smilingblueeyes.. when i completed my L+D rotation i worked with brilliant OBS nurses and loved every minute of it..When i beam about going into the area some fellow students question the plan, saying they will complete a year in med/surg first to "further their skills"..but my side of the argument is...if you know the area of nursing you will love..why wait?..dive right in and learn as much as you can in the specialty...and develop those skills you will require working in your specialty...thanks for pointing it out that it is not an US vs. THEM issue and that incompetence and competence can be found in any occupation or specialty..

[Rapheal]

Originally posted by mjlrn97

I I also think it should be mandatory that ALL nurse managers work at least one 8-hour shift on the floor every month......not only would this help them keep up their skills, but they'd KNOW what can and cannot be accomplished out there with the kind of staffing and the kind of patients we deal with every day. I've been on both sides of the desk, and I personally have much more respect for the manager who pitches in and helps, than the one who's been out of bedside nursing so long that she actually can't relate to what we go through trying to keep everything together without either going crazy, or accidentally killing someone.

Great idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[crispynurse2B]

Originally posted by hmccartn

Thanks for the post. I am a student currently considering becoming an OBS nurse...I hope it is not common to lose basic skills when working in the area. Do you have any suggestions about maintaing some of those skills once i graduate. I prefer not to float or if i do, would like to float between OBS and antenatal or gyne surgery recovery..

I'm currently a student also. The advice I was given by several experienced nurses is to do a year or two in meg surg before you specialize in order to solidify your skills. From what I've been told you will gain a world of experience by working a couple of years in med surg

crispy:)

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

what about an annual skills lab with mandatory attendance? Seems that skills which are high-risk, low frequency could be addressed in this manner.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Originally posted by purplemania

what about an annual skills lab with mandatory attendance? Seems that skills which are high-risk, low frequency could be addressed in this manner.

yep we have em...every December....which means we are gonna have yet another mandatory thing to make time for really soon. it never ends.

but yes, skills labs are a good way to help ensure competence in nursing.

[Geeg]

That situation is unfortunate. The problem is that everyone in nsg is brand spanking new, since alot of experienced people have been driven away by the working conditions in nsg. When I started, 15 yrs ago, there were at least 2 or 3 experienced RN's on the shift that kept an eye on the new grads, which now seems a luxury that management would snicker at!!!!!!

[catjeremy3]

I am an OB nurse for 2 years now, and am learning new things everyday still. I think that there is a tendancy to loose the skills you don't use on a continual basis. To the nurse who began this post...could you function in a stat section and be the circulator in the OB OR? Could you catch a possibly fatal disaster on a fetal monitor strip and save a mother and infant all while the mother is writhing in pain and yelling in your face? How about helping our your doc when the shoulder is stuck in your patients birth canal? What about when a seemingly stable postpartum is bleeding profusely and has to be rushed back to OR by you! We have our own nursery where we are each NRP certified, and have to be able to bag our little struggling babies when they are born with apgars of 3 or less, and wait for the peds MD to arrive. I think that sometimes mistakes are made by us all and we should hope that the ones we make don't harm our patients, or that we have the knowledge to know what to do if we make a big mistake. I have given Demerol 100mg IV before, and I'm sure there are others who do this at their facility as well, I do believe that we need to be there for eachother and try to support staff and coworkers especially when they have made an error. Afterall, it could be you next time around.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

You know sometimes I get concerned about the amount of student nurses who pass through my Unit during their training who dont want to do anything but Ob's and Gyn and have no intention of doing any med/surg. I believe that all nurses should have at least 6 months med/surg experience under their belt before specialising to ensure they can function in medical emergencies. Now before anybody shouts at me. I do not believe student nurses get enough med/surg experience in their training so I do not believe they can function in this capacity once they are an RN

When I trained we did 16 weeks placement every year on medical/surgical floors day and night duty-I trained for 3 years yet when I became an RN I felt I knew nothing.

[jlcole45]

Great post!

Repeat after me A, B, C's

Airway, breathing and circulation.

My community folks in in basic CPR class get it!

It's really embarrassing that the so called professionals don't!

[SDS_RN, RN]

I worked surgical floor for a little over a year right out of school and I just xfered to ED about 3 mo. ago and I feel like a bumbling idiot sometimes. I feel like I lost a lot of my knowledge from school by going to surg floor. It's pre-post op care and rarely did we have critical patients on the floor. I'm sooooo glad I went to ED because I'm finally getting some of the information that I lost back. I did not realize how much of the information from school you lose when you don't need to apply it regularly.

In regards to our OB they are the same way, a bunch of whiners never lacking staff, and they usually get their way when they want something. However, I can relate to them losing their basic nursing knowledge if they do not have to apply it often. I think that specialty floor should have basic nursing course refreshers yearly. We can all benefit from keep our skills current and it never hurts to learn something new.