No creativity in nursing? Hah!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

"that's another thing; wouldn't the hr people from hospital say "you're an artist? do you think you'll handle nursing job? there's zero creativity."

anybody who tells you there's no creativity in nursing is talking through his hat. i can't begin to tell you how many creative things i've seen done by nurses in every field:

= figuring out ways to cajole a small burn victim to take lots more calories p.o. to stave off a feeding tube that would have required the toddler to be in restraints

= getting an injured worker's wife's employer to set her up for fmla so she could do his personal care at home when he wouldn't let a stranger touch his private areas-- and getting his comp insurance to pay her what a cna would get for the same work (but that was a lot less than they would have paid the agency who sends cnas)

= taking a 6-month icu patient on a ride through the hospital late at night so he could see the stars over the parking lot, just once

= the whole staff of a dementia unit dressing up as smurfs for halloween (that was some day!)

= deriving show-and-tell posters for transplant recipients (personalized for each) on meds, treatments, and follow-ups

= figuring out how to explain an lp to someone with acute stroke and receptive aphasia, using drawings

hospice is famous for coming up with the most creative things you can imagine for quality of life. so is nicu and peds in general.

there are so many patient teaching programs, support programs, and recreational programs all begin by a nurse who said, "what if we could..." where do you think those come from, the nursing fairy?

i'll bet people can think of a whole lot more. i may even start a new thread with this.... yup, think i will. what are some of the most creative things you've ever seen in nursing, small or large?

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I am creative with colors. I use very colorful language when informing the sleepy CRNA that he CANNOT give the medication that he was pulling up in the syringe as I point to the whiteboard that lists (in CAPITAL RED LETTERS) the patient's allergy to said medication.

I use my creative talent for miming when communicating to the resident that he should talk less and SEW FASTER!

I use my creative acting ability when JCAHO comes around and asks questions.

My creative sense of humor has one the one hand diffused a tense situation, and on the other hand, created one. That's talent!

I have also put my creative thought processes to work when deciding which instrument I would like to shove where when the surgeon is acting like a pompous jackwagon. I usually don't verbalize these amazing thought processes.

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

I think nurses are very resourceful! Most situations and facilities unwittingly demand it.

Some days I think I can rival MacGyver - just give me duct tape, a gerber tool and some motivation! You gotta rock with what you got!

Nurses are amazing - pass it on!

:angel:

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

mine's a leatherman. before i got that i always had my swiss army knife in my pocket, the one with the nifty little tweezers and scissors. i have removed sutures with those. people make fun of me for carrying my multitool even when i wear silk and heels, but i use it for something every single day.

[RN58186]

One night many year ago I had a pt who was bleeding from his central line after dialysis. We had put our usual pressure dressing on it but it was still bleeding. A colleague and I were in the supply room tyring to figure out what we could do in a hurry without waiting for supplies to be delievered. She said we needed something small and hard to put pressure aroiund the line, but the we had the problem of absorbing the blood. I shuffled through the supply cart and came up with.... tampons. We looked at each other, and she said "Good call, Let's see if it works". We did the dressing putting 3 tampons around the line and then a pressure dressing over it. The tampons did the trick in short order and the bleeding stopped. However the look on the pt's face when we walked inwith them was priceless (he was about 75 years old and said he never thought he'd have a use for THOSE things... I love thinking outside the box to solve problems......

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Whoever thinks nursing isn't creative has never worked in long-term care, where there is an overabundance of problems and a perennial shortage of funding to solve them.

We use Foleys as G-tubes. We use washcloths to cover the vinyl arms of wheelchairs that have fallen into such disrepair that they are tearing the residents' fragile skin to ribbons. We use foam to "nerf" sharp edges on W/C leg rests. What's more, we use all the creativity and the compassion we can muster in order to calm, comfort, nurture, soothe, assure, feed, clothe, and provide dignity to the frail and forgotten who are in our care. :)

[Hygiene Queen]

Had an elderly gentleman with Alzheimer's who was becoming increasingly agitated because he was sure he was supposed to be "paid".

He kept coming up to the nurses' station demanding his money.

Well, I had a couple of bucks in my pocket and borrowed $20 off a nurse. I made copies of the bills many times. I put them in an "official" envelope and called out across the day room, "John Doe... John Doe?"

He eagerly came to the desk and I took the pharmacy stamp and "pow!" officially stamped the envelope and presented it to him.

He looked relieved he was getting paid and opened his envelope.

The fact that the money was black and white-- with no print on the back-- made no difference.

He grinned from ear to ear and looked up with the brightest look and said,

"Holy smokes! That's more money than I expected!"

And I'll tell you what, he was happy and calm the rest of the shift.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Whoever thinks nursing isn't creative has never worked in long-term care, where there is an overabundance of problems and a perennial shortage of funding to solve them.

We use Foleys as G-tubes. We use washcloths to cover the vinyl arms of wheelchairs that have fallen into such disrepair that they are tearing the residents' fragile skin to ribbons. We use foam to "nerf" sharp edges on W/C leg rests. What's more, we use all the creativity and the compassion we can muster in order to calm, comfort, nurture, soothe, assure, feed, clothe, and provide dignity to the frail and forgotten who are in our care. :)

Another good tip-if you take one of those "noodles" that kids use to play in the pool and cut one side lengthwise, you can wrap them around sharp edges or make nifty arm rests on beds/wheelchairs/stadium seats.

I learned this from a fisherman who used these noodles on the metal structure that supports the T-top of the boat. He would cut the noodles lengthwise and wrap the noodle around the structure so that he could hang his treble hooks, allowing him to have easy access to various lures when deep sea fishing. I used this idea to pad the bed railings of a friend who was bedridden and prone to bouts of confusion/thrashing. It worked!

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Now that's a great use for those........I buy 'em for my grandsons to play with every year, and they either just try to eat them or pull them apart.

I've seen that done with bed rails, BTW; it's wonderful for those prone to seizures. Maybe I can advocate for that with our maintenance director.....although he'd probably figure out a way NOT to do it.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Creativity:

Continuous tube feed without pump/IV pole:

Take picture off wall, insert coat hanger through top of tube feeding bag, hang on nail, instruct aunt on using rollar clamp.

Stroke patient needs built up handle on silverware, no insurance/income: slip pink foam hair rollar over silverware handle

Bedbound homecare patient foley bag springs a leak over weekend: duck tape, hospital wash basin as drip tray.

Alzheimers dementia patient repeatedly scratching skin/removing hip dressing @ night: long oven mits applied bedtime.

Parkinson patient sundown agittated " want something to do": setup in geri chair, given yellow page phone book to page through for hours.

[NurseRoRo]

I once used a home care patient's Thera-Band from physical therapy as a tourniquet for a blood draw. It was the super flexible one (yellow, I think).

A band-aid can be used to secure the extra strength of a foley g-tube (instead of medical tape if there is a sensitivity and it's also cheaper).

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I wonder if you would consider adjusting your font size and color? I am forced to skip over your posts, which is unfortunate I think. Just asking.