I have used various Littman's & think it is 1 of the better steth's available. I also would use caution when putting your pic on a blog. There are other reasons besides posting questionable material. SAFETY should be on your mind. There are people out there with obessive traits, that you will come in contact with during your Psych rotation, ER rotation, walking in from the parking lot etc. They WILL look for you on the Net. Don't make it easier for them. This actually happened to a Student Nurse at my hospital, last summer-during her L&D rotation. He put a gun to her head as she was getting out of her car. She survived, but has not finished Nsg. school. Her entire life changed that day. Stay Safe young sisters
I'm 1 of those old nurses, 21 years as an RN & 10 years as an EMT before that. I thought I had seen it all, done it all & heard it all, until.....Shift report, Pediatric Unit... Handsome young Pool Nurse starts his report & finishes his report by cautioning next Nurse to beware the ancient computer at the desk, it kept crashing thru-out the shift. This was rec'd by groans from the on-coming crew, who know that it takes repeated tries to get it re-booted. At this point, the Charge R.N. (yep, that would be me), interjects with, "it's OK now, he was able to get it back up & I got it on." Stunned silence followed by cackles, howls & shrieks as 15 Nurses dissolved into uncontrolled hysterics & I melted into my chair.
In 1996, I was stuck in the palm of my hand by an ABG needle that was used to draw gasses on an HIV pt & was accidently left in the bed. I came along later that day & turned the pt. over to do a dsg. change & "found" the sharp. I was in shock that a coworker could have been so careless, then anger set in when my Charge nurse told me I would have to wait until the end of my 12 hr. shift to seek treatment. Anyways,,,the next year was anxiety ridden everytime I had to go get tested. Meanwhile the pt. also died a few months after I was stuck. Now here's the good news. It's been 17 years & I'm OK, I quit doing HIV screening & haven't thought about what happened for several years, but I remember how rough that first year was. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself time to process all the emotions you are experiencing. Hope this is helpful in some way.
Hi guys, I didn't know exactly where to turn to so I'm posting to help gain some personal insight and to calm my nerves.
Yesterday morning around 6 am I was giving a SQ heparin shot in a patient's belly. The patient was really thin so I had to try to grab a lot and I remembered telling myself to make sure I do not get stuck! Well I successfully administered the shot but the patient moved so when the needle was coming out he bled a little from the site and with the movement I poked myself on the left hand through my latex glove. I was frozen for about 15 sec cause I could not believe it!!
When I came out of my trance and lifted my glove I was bleeding and went to the sink and washed my hands and bled for like 2 minutes even though it was a small prick. I thought I was always so careful! Well needless to say the patients history is HIV+ and hep C+ and I am so distraught. I was so embarrassed I didn't tell my charge nurse I just waited until 715 and told my assistant nurse manager in confidence and she told me what to do.
I went to the employee clinic and had base blood work drawn his blood work indicated that he did have HIV with counts greater than 50 and Hep C+. She put me on a high dose 14 day aggressive regimen of combivir 1 pill 2x a day and kaletra 2 pills 2x a day. Guys not only do I need help from fellow nurses but also your prayers I know the statistics to catch anything is very low but I am so worried.
Has anyone else been through this? I have to get checked in 2 weeks 6 weeks 3 mos 6 mos 9 mos and 1 year. I will definitely keep you posted and any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!
I work WEO on a 40 bed Peds unit, we can wear any color scrubs except WHITE. Most of us wear cartoon or Disney print tops & the docs often wear silly ties or goofy surgeon's caps during rounds.
I also work pool/prn on the Women's Health Unit, in the same hospital. This is not Maternity or Post Partum, but we receive the Fetal Demise Moms after delivery or Ectopic pregnancy's. There is a no black scrub policy on this unit.
There is also a Palliative Care unit in the hospital & they follow the no black scrubs rule too.
Smart Scrubs are the bomb! They even have 100% cotton that doesn't wilt, colorfast-even when bleached in the washing machine & soften even more every time you wash them. A little more expensive, but so worth it. Smart Scrubs | S.C.R.U.B.S. | Nursing Scrubs, Medical Uniforms
I hope you can find some useful advice here. The recurring theme seems to be that you & Nursing probably are not a good fit. You will be a lot happier if you put some thought & focus on finding a career doing something that you actually might enjoy doing. Also some honest self reflection on why you didn't pass your Nursing class/Praticum the first time will help you avoid making the same mistakes in your next chosen profession. Good Luck.
I have been "lurking" out here for quite awhile, but felt compelled to share my personal experience on frequent fliers who use a lot of IV narc's. This pt. repeatedly admitted for abd pain, had every workup known to modern medicine, including exp. surgery. No source of pain could ever be found. Always prescribed Dilaudid 2mg Q2 hr. IVP, then begging & screaming for it early. As Nurses we always dreaded her arrival, knowing we weren't helping her. She was non-compliant & would "sneak off" the unit after getting her Dilaudid, go outside & smoke until time for the next dose. We were told to document everytime she did that & we faithfully did so. The MD refused to listen to our concerns & angrily (!) told myself & another Charge RN to "just give it to her". In 10 months time, she was admitted 16 times. The last admit, she was found dead in a visitors bathroom, off the main lobby, about 45 min. after her last dose of IV Dilaudid. Her toxicology report was + for opoids, diazepenes & THC, & an old pill bottle with lots of different pills in it was found in her personal belongings. I was off duty when this happened, but the family is now engaged in litigation against the hospital & the MD.
I have used various Littman's & think it is 1 of the better steth's available. I also would use caution when putting your pic on a blog. There are other reasons besides posting questionable material. SAFETY should be on your mind. There are people out there with obessive traits, that you will come in contact with during your Psych rotation, ER rotation, walking in from the parking lot etc. They WILL look for you on the Net. Don't make it easier for them. This actually happened to a Student Nurse at my hospital, last summer-during her L&D rotation. He put a gun to her head as she was getting out of her car. She survived, but has not finished Nsg. school. Her entire life changed that day. Stay Safe young sisters
I'm 1 of those old nurses, 21 years as an RN & 10 years as an EMT before that. I thought I had seen it all, done it all & heard it all, until.....Shift report, Pediatric Unit... Handsome young Pool Nurse starts his report & finishes his report by cautioning next Nurse to beware the ancient computer at the desk, it kept crashing thru-out the shift. This was rec'd by groans from the on-coming crew, who know that it takes repeated tries to get it re-booted. At this point, the Charge R.N. (yep, that would be me), interjects with, "it's OK now, he was able to get it back up & I got it on." Stunned silence followed by cackles, howls & shrieks as 15 Nurses dissolved into uncontrolled hysterics & I melted into my chair.
In 1996, I was stuck in the palm of my hand by an ABG needle that was used to draw gasses on an HIV pt & was accidently left in the bed. I came along later that day & turned the pt. over to do a dsg. change & "found" the sharp. I was in shock that a coworker could have been so careless, then anger set in when my Charge nurse told me I would have to wait until the end of my 12 hr. shift to seek treatment. Anyways,,,the next year was anxiety ridden everytime I had to go get tested. Meanwhile the pt. also died a few months after I was stuck. Now here's the good news. It's been 17 years & I'm OK, I quit doing HIV screening & haven't thought about what happened for several years, but I remember how rough that first year was. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself time to process all the emotions you are experiencing. Hope this is helpful in some way.
I work WEO on a 40 bed Peds unit, we can wear any color scrubs except WHITE. Most of us wear cartoon or Disney print tops & the docs often wear silly ties or goofy surgeon's caps during rounds.
I also work pool/prn on the Women's Health Unit, in the same hospital. This is not Maternity or Post Partum, but we receive the Fetal Demise Moms after delivery or Ectopic pregnancy's. There is a no black scrub policy on this unit.
There is also a Palliative Care unit in the hospital & they follow the no black scrubs rule too.
Smart Scrubs are the bomb! They even have 100% cotton that doesn't wilt, colorfast-even when bleached in the washing machine & soften even more every time you wash them. A little more expensive, but so worth it.
Smart Scrubs | S.C.R.U.B.S. | Nursing Scrubs, Medical Uniforms
I hope you can find some useful advice here. The recurring theme seems to be that you & Nursing probably are not a good fit. You will be a lot happier if you put some thought & focus on finding a career doing something that you actually might enjoy doing. Also some honest self reflection on why you didn't pass your Nursing class/Praticum the first time will help you avoid making the same mistakes in your next chosen profession. Good Luck.
I have been "lurking" out here for quite awhile, but felt compelled to share my personal experience on frequent fliers who use a lot of IV narc's. This pt. repeatedly admitted for abd pain, had every workup known to modern medicine, including exp. surgery. No source of pain could ever be found. Always prescribed Dilaudid 2mg Q2 hr. IVP, then begging & screaming for it early. As Nurses we always dreaded her arrival, knowing we weren't helping her. She was non-compliant & would "sneak off" the unit after getting her Dilaudid, go outside & smoke until time for the next dose. We were told to document everytime she did that & we faithfully did so. The MD refused to listen to our concerns & angrily (!) told myself & another Charge RN to "just give it to her". In 10 months time, she was admitted 16 times. The last admit, she was found dead in a visitors bathroom, off the main lobby, about 45 min. after her last dose of IV Dilaudid. Her toxicology report was + for opoids, diazepenes & THC, & an old pill bottle with lots of different pills in it was found in her personal belongings. I was off duty when this happened, but the family is now engaged in litigation against the hospital & the MD.