Things that make nursing better...

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

What do you find helpful in doing your job? What technology (from whatever historical era:D) has impressed you?

One of my favorites is Caller ID...no kidding- without time off, regular shifts became lousy. Before Caller ID, you either had an answering machine (not all that common until the 90s) or had to take your chances and pick up the phone. :chair:

Accuchek machines....even in the mid-80s, acute care hospitals didn't all have blood sugar machines on each unit...we dipped 'stix' in urine and held it up to a chart to look for a color changes...the big problem with those is that you got urine from who knows when and had to base insulin doses on that...not to accurate, but all we had. The accucheks (or whatever brand) were a BIG deal :)

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

We pricked their fingers and put on a stick then read the color off the side of the container.

In the US I love the fact there is such a person called a RT because we didnt have such a person in the UK and still don't the RN and the PT did all the RT stuff. I used to hate Nebs on the drug round.

I dont like faceless people who make up my IV AB's as I have to put a lot of faith and trust in them, I do however like the vial of drugs attached to the bag of saline which you snap mix and give. So much easier than drawing all your own AB's up.

I like the fact that a lot of good places to work use Risk Management as a tool to learning and dont just assume that mistakes dont happen and if they do somebody will be fired. When I first starting nursing mistakes were just not tolerated, now in the places I have worked we learn from them and use them as a way of educating

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

We pricked their fingers and put on a stick then read the color off the side of the container.

In the US I love the fact there is such a person called a RT because we didnt have such a person in the UK and still don't the RN and the PT did all the RT stuff. I used to hate Nebs on the drug round.

I dont like faceless people who make up my IV AB's as I have to put a lot of faith and trust in them, I do however like the vial of drugs attached to the bag of saline which you snap mix and give. So much easier than drawing all your own AB's up.

I like the fact that a lot of good places to work use Risk Management as a tool to learning and dont just assume that mistakes dont happen and if they do somebody will be fired. When I first starting nursing mistakes were just not tolerated, now in the places I have worked we learn from them and use them as a way of educating

Yeah, when I was a new grad, I had to do the RT stuff at the nursing home, and mix tube feeding formulas with custom additives.

I hated when we had to start using gloves to do IVs, but got used to it, as long as I could feel for the veins that were deep before having to do the stick.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

We pricked their fingers and put on a stick then read the color off the side of the container.

Thats funny because our strips turn blue when you put the blood on them, and I can pretty accurately guess their BG by what shade of blue it is. The darker it is, the higher the BG

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

What other stuff have you found helpful ??? I can think of a bunch of stuff, but it's more interesting to hear what others think :)

[Hygiene Queen]

The mechanical lift.

I remember when all you had was a creaky unstable hoyer (which was limited in its use). It was better than nothing, though.

If your pt was heavy, but the hoyer was unsuitable, you had to gather a lot of staff to lift and pull... oh needed a lot of creativity too!

When the first electric lifts came out (and especially the electric sit-to-stand lift) it was beautiful :)

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

The mechanical lift.

I remember when all you had was a creaky unstable hoyer (which was limited in its use). It was better than nothing, though.

If your pt was heavy, but the hoyer was unsuitable, you had to gather a lot of staff to lift and pull... oh needed a lot of creativity too!

When the first electric lifts came out (and especially the electric sit-to-stand lift) it was beautiful :)

Yeah, I remember having to get everyone in the building (LTC at night) except 2 to stay on the other end of the building while 5 of us got a woman of around 300 pounds off of the floor. She was the sweetest lady- totally with the program, but had horrible knees...(no comment on that....) and would slide out of her recliner now and then on nights (she was a night owl). So, we'd rally the troops, and use whatever she had on to use as a handle... more than once we gave her incredible wedgies She was a good sport, and VERY embarrassed. Calling the fire dept was an option, but we managed to figure out a way to get her back in the chair- after that, she was a one person assist w/walker. :)

I remember using bed scales (the sling type that hung like a mackerel scale over the bed) to get the patient off the linen to change the bed...oy. Those were rickety, also :)

[EmergencyNrse]

Sure, I could say portable O2-sat monitor, ET-tube holders,

or spring-activated IV catheters but...

I have to say that the television makes my life easier.

Turn on some white-trash programming (Springer, COPS, Judge Judy)

and no more visits to the nurses station asking "when am I going to be seen",

"can I get something for pain".

Such an amazing difference putting TVs in every exam room...

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Sure, I could say portable O2-sat monitor, ET-tube holders,

or spring-activated IV catheters but...

I have to say that the television makes my life easier.

Turn on some white-trash programming (Springer, COPS, Judge Judy)

and no more visits to the nurses station asking "when am I going to be seen",

"can I get something for pain".

Such an amazing difference putting TVs in every exam room...

O2 sat monitors AT ALL !!! I remember thinking the 'big' table side monitors were great!!! Oxygen concentrators, also- no more being terrorized about the imminent chance of an E-tank blowing the side of the building to h*ll when it 'blew up' (not all places had in-wall O2).

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

O2 sats, as mentioned. Lifts that don't come on wheels:lol2:, accucheck machines, plastic IV bags, retractable and needle free IV systems. Locator systems, so I don't have to go yelling down the hall looking for someone. Voscera, because I don't have to go down the hall to tell them something simple and non private.

Beside medication scan. No worries about missing something on a paper MAR and no transcribing.

Pt's ordering their own meals at their own time. (the ones that are able) no more complaints.

Finally computers, and AN, so I can come here and bond with fellow nurses.

[Guest717236]

PCs, laptop computers and the internet! When I trained none of these were

available. What is great is having so much information available at your fingertips. I love having the professional

nursing associations on line. Love networking on AN. Love OR Live, really

neat to see an operation online using the latest techniques and procedures.

IPhone/Ipads/ebooks, what an advantage!

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

At one hospital I did my externship at, it was really helpful when a confused, unsafe patient had a sitter. At another hospital where I did clinicals, I had one patient that needed a sitter, but didn't have one, and it was a PITA to work without one. Best of all, the hospital that consistently provided sitters pulled sitters from the float pool, not the regular CNA staff.