Hawaii Nursing Culture

1. Hi!
   
   I am a new grad working a little less than 9 months on a respiratory cardiology floor in Portland, OR .....born and raised in Hawaii, eventually hoping to return to all my family and friends. From all the posts in this forum I gather I won't be coming home soon Someday I will!!!!!
   
   I had attended a nursing school up in the mainland and was curious to know if there was a difference in the culture of nursing (interactions w/ patients, MD's, family, other nursing staff; the way nurses give care, etc.) between the mainland and the islands. If anyone could share their experiences, that would be great!
   
   Thank you!

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2. 

   About pokey82much

   Joined: Nov '07; Posts: 5; Likes: 1
   RN
   Specialty: 1 year(s) of experience

   17 Comments

   Topic Closed

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3. 
   Mar 26, '09

   Oh my. Talk about opening up a can of worms.
4. 
   Mar 27, '09

   lol.
   
   I thought the same thing last night. Luckily I had just gotten off a 12, and needed to go to sleep.
   
   Well, same thing again tonight.
   
   Maybe tomorrow i'll open up that can. =P~
5. 
   Mar 27, '09

   These replies are intriguing... I wish I knew the subtext here. I'd love it if one you could please address the OP's question, I think it's a good one.
6. 
   May 19, '09

   Would someone please open the can of worms? Someone please answer the original post? I'm listening.
7. 
   May 19, '09

   You're from Maui... you really need explanation?
   
   *hint: Working three days in a row isn't hard... except it gets tricky finding a new lay every morning before work*
8. 
   May 19, '09

   Slobgob, (1) Sounds like we're different. I'm happily married to the man of my dreams. Don't need to find new friends every day. I've got everything I need at home. (2) I'm FOB. Yes, would like an explanation. Really.
9. 
   May 19, '09

   LOL!
   
   I was talkin about the "floral" lay...
10. 
    May 19, '09

    Oh, that makes more sense. :smackingf You mean lei. :chuckle Now I'm laughing too!
    lei: (in the Hawaiian Islands) a wreath of flowers, leaves, etc., for the neck or head. plural leis
    lay: Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with. [dictionary.com]
11. 
    Jun 18, '09

    LOL! do you really wear a Lei? Do you work in a Hotel? or is that just a joke?
12. 
    Jun 21, '09

    No one wears a lei... unless its your last day before moving to the mainland... of which, in a big enough hospital, you see every day... =/
13. 
    Jul 7, '09

    If anyone can reply to the topic question, it would be greatly appreciated.
14. 
    Jul 7, '09

    dear pokey82: i haven't worked in a hospital myself, but i might be able to help answer the q. someone else told me this, and i’m passing it along to you.
    
    i'm originally from phoenix. metro phoenix has over 4 million people. if you need a specialist, you can find one in the city. you can find the-best-of-the-best. one hospital has the best burn unit in the state. another hospital has the best neurological unit in the state. another hospital has the best "heart doctors" in the state because the hospital only treats heart patients. etc.
    
    if someone lives in a smaller town in arizona, with population < 50,000 people, it's a little different. if a guy gets into an accident, that person is going to go to the-only-hospital-in-town. it could be a major burn, a neurological problem, a heart problem, etc... the patient is going to only 1 hospital.
    
    the patient would get "good care" at a family doctor's office or an urgent care.
    the patient would get "better care" at the-only-hospital-in-town
    the patient would get "best care" at the-burn-unit-hospital or the-neurological-hospital or the-heart-hospital, etc.
    
    i hope that makes sense. it's not that there's anything wrong with the-only-hospital-in-town. it's about the numbers. they see 1000 patients each year, including 20 burn pts, 80 neurological pts, 200 heart pts each year.
    
    the-burn-unit-hospital sees 2000 burn patients each year, so they learn more.
    the-neurological-hospital sees 8000 nuerological patients each year, so they learn more. etc.
    
    another way to explain... me personally... i can change the oil in my car just as well as any mechanic i know. to rebuild an engine, i need to go to a specialist, a mechanic, who does it everyday. there's nothing wrong with me. i still have great work ethic, great people skills, and am an intelligent woman. i just don’t know how to rebuild an engine. i don’t do it every day.
    
    my husband had left-hand-surgery 18 months ago and right-hand-surgery 9 months ago. the phoenix doctor... all he does, all day, is hands. he's done 1000 hand surgeries, and told my husband he had the worse case of ring-finger-contracture he has ever seen. if he needed hand surgery again, i would tell my husband to fly back to phoenix to see the hand specialist there.
    
    island of moloka'i: 8,000 people.
    kingman, arizona: 40,000 people
    island of maui: 120,000 people.
    island of o'ahu: 900,000 people.
    tucson, arizona: 1,000,000 people
    metro phoenix: 4,000,000 people.
    
    in my humble opinion... it's not just hawai'i. this is true, no matter what state you live in. it’s a numbers game. hope that helps answer your q.
    
    on another note: people in phoenix are generally impolite, unkind, unfriendly, and disrespectful. (i’m a native, lived there 30+ years. that’s my opinion.) i want to pay a compliment to people in maui… they are the nicest people in the world!!! polite, kind, friendly, respectful.
    
    if my email helps you, please click “thanks.” mahalo!

    Last edit by Lisa From Maui on Jul 7, '09

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