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Not to mention that when adrenalin kicks in the last thing your body is thinking about is digestion and excretion. Now that you mentioned it, i didn't feel the need to stop during my crazy day!:smilecoffeecup:

Sorry but the not being an RN does make a big difference. I would have none that without you saying so when you said she needs to do something that has her less uptight! She isn't uptight, she is frustrated that until you actually work the floor you can't begin to understand how difficult it is. I have worked many different jobs, most of them did have a high level of stress but nursing is entirely different because of the heatlh issues and you can't understand the true complexity of that until you actually feel the weight of that responsibility.

I am a medsurg student, working my 3rd year on the clinical floor and found totally agree with you. The newsroom is no comparison, sorry. Go ahead, use the bathroom, so that when EMS comes to medivac your patient out and you haven't finished initiating a new iv site site because he pulled out and the discharge sheet isn't completed, you're going to give the spiel about the bathroom break? I just had a day on the floor i felt good about because i had to get all these things done without getting the break that i would have liked to have but that is just the reality of med/surg floor and giving other coworkers or consultants spiels about bathroom break rights just isn't realistic when things are crazy. I think you are missing that it isn't that nurses don't know how to take care of themselves it is quite simply that the reality of the med/surg means deadlines that can't be compromised and that can arise unexpectedly and that simply have to be done now, not 5 minutes later, but now. And if you can't deal with that then sure, try looking in another field.:nuke: Once you actually do get up there, you will understand. I heard alot of students proclaim various self-righteous statements before hitting the floor, about the exisiting nursing staff, the work conditions, etc. Once you are actually doing their job, wearing their shoes, then you can talk. It never looks good (or is very much appreciated when you try to tell people who probably have alot of insight into why they do what they do) that they need to change. Especially without any experience yourself. It usually doesn't go over well :)

Please help with this case study assigned to me for homework; i have done some research on my own but would like to hear input from experienced nurses who may see things that i have not thought of due lack of experience: "You are a registered nurse working in a personal care home. One of your patients is Mrs.B, a frail, 92 year old woman with severe arthritis, diabetes and moderate dementia. She has 2 very supportive daughters who would take turns visiting her on a daily basis and who would assist with her care. she was wheelchair bound due to severe arthritis but appeared to enjoy daily visits to the dining room to enjoy meals with other residents and appeared to enjoy the atmosphere. Within 8 months of admission to the nursing home Mrs. B started to refuse solids and fluids. When staff or family would put food into her mouth she would just spit it out. The dietician was consulted in an attempt to alter her diet and include traditional foods that the family said she enjoyed in the past. when this was unsuccessful, a thorough medical assessment was done to rule out any medical reasons for her lact of appetite. Even though she had dementia she would say no when staff or family tried to feed her or offer her fluids. The situation lasted a month and she became malnourished and dehydrated and the family recommended that she be sent to the hospital. While in the hospital, Mrs. B continuously pulled out her IV tube, was labeled 'non compliant' by nursing staff, and a feeding gastrostomy tube was inserted. Mrs. B was then transferred back to the nurisn ghome where she was placed on a regime of tube-feedings every 4 hours. She continued to try and pull out the gastronomy tube. When staff members tried to reinsert the tube, Mrs. B would tell the staff to leave me alone! Each time the family requested the tube be reinserted. Clinically, Mrs. B was getting weaker and her prognosis was extremely poor. It was clear to the nursing staff that Mrs. B wanted to die, but her daughters were not yet willing to accept this. When the nurses suggested to the family that their mother appeared to understand what she was doing, the daughters stated that their mother was confused and didn't really know what she was doing." Whew! My question for the assignment was: 1)Identify and discuss all relevant ethical and legal principles in this case. 2) What guidance does the CNA code of ethics provide for this situation? 3) What good or harm may result from each option? 4) (the one i have the hardest time with) What good or harm may result from each option? And Are there any possible compromise solutions? 5) What do you believe is the best way to resolve this conflict? Please help; any input would be greatly appreciated, perhaps some of you have had to deal with this very situation and know immediately what kind of resolutions can be provided and how the code of ethics guided your decisions?] Thanks so much

If you can still smell the alcohol on their breath that is a pretty good sign that alcohol consumption was within the past 24 hours and impairment lasts for that time period if not beyond. There is a reason that pilots have to wait a certain amount of time after drinking before taking flight because impairment has longer lasting effects than you might think. It is technically an 8 hour wait under federal aviation standards in the US with the same Standards recognizing impairment lasting from 48 to 72 hours afterward. In Canada, i believe that alcohol can't be consumed with 12 hours - not totally sure but know it is more than 8 hours. These standards are controversial due to the fact that they haven't done much to protect against pilots who have been consuming heavily even with the 8 hour/12 hour wait followed. Fact is that you are impaired for longer than that period; whether it is drowsiness, lack of concentration/focus, etc. For anyone who has consumed alcohol - drinking enough for someone to notice it on your breath the next day usually doesn't correlate with you feeling back to normal....:biere: particularly for women.

I take satisfaction in seeing those type of students get their faces ripped off by experienced nurses once they actually get on the floor. They might get away with that behavior for awhile in nursing school but it doesn't fly when you are on the floor. In our college, the year 2 class is particularly immatrue and nasty to each other, i watched 3 teachers stand all of them up and address the nasty and mean behavior with a pretty good tongue lashing and everyone looked pretty darn humbled after the spiel was over. Especially since it was coming from very well respected teachers who also worked part time/full time in the hospital and were considered quite reasonable and fair. Those students need to grow up or go back to highschool where that behavior belongs.

I agree, the most useful advice i recieved is that be prepared for the fact that you may contemplate wanting to quit often - now that i know the feeling is to be expected and shared by others - i can just deal with the stress and know that i am not alone and that i don't have to give in on the days where i want to. It may not sound like positive advice that she is receiving but in the end it will be the most helpul - it's just a reality check!!!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :roll Cheers, that was absolutely hilarious! I can sympathize, i have had the issues with the hairloss and my treadmill has now become a very expensive clothes hanger!!!

Not at all, especially since life experience is a huge asset to bring before starting just about any program. I started the Bachelor of Nursing program at 26 and am just about finished and don't think i would have been successful if i had started straight out of high school (can only speak for myself). From what i have seen, those who have have done well in pursing a nursing career are those that are simply organized, responsible and resourceful (and determined) regardless of how old they are. If you have these qualities you could start 20 years from now and still succeed. Age doesn't matter.

Depends on where you want to go or what qualifications you have. If you are a nurse you would have to go through the regulating body of the province you wish to go through (to prove all your credentials), as well as through Immigration Canada. From what I have heard from other nurses, the process can take well over a year (much shorter for American nurses though). I think the trick is to get everything ironed out before you relocate (ie gettting immigration, license and a job before relocating). There are agencies that can help you do the paper work. If you are planning on attending school, you are better off applying to a canadian school and going from there as oppose to graduating here and trying to complete your registrations and immigration etc. hope this helps:wink2:

Hi, I have a new Palm Pilot Tx and would like to know what is the best pda software for recording information on a patient during a Med/Surg shift. I would like to know a through one that allows entries for pt demographic info, vitals, progress notes, lab and diagnostic info, assessment, medications, etc. Everything that needs to be recorded during a Med/Surg shift. Thanks in advance for the help - also don't mind recommendations on software that isn't freeware as i don't mind paying for a good charting system. Thanks:spin:

oops, guess i used the wrong terminology, it is health information management that we are looking into doing a project on. do you have any recommendations that you can offer me for searching the web? thanks again

hi daytonite, i am in a group project in a research class in my nursing program and we have been told to find a topic in nursing practice that has changed over the years. computer informatics is the topic we have chosen and i would like to know if you can recommend any good sites to visit on the net. we are encouraged to use scholarly references, although if this is not possible, i would still welcome any references you have that would introduce to this topic as it isn't something any of the group memebers are all too experienced with. thanks in advance, i appreciate your help!

Your question is too vague and doesn't really make sense - how can you possibly compare the two when they are entirely different from each other? Can you be more specific?

Thanks so much to everyone for the info...are there many options if one were looking for work in long term care facilities or in psych nursing? Also, to work in psych in the US, do you need to be specialized or just have your degree? Thanks again, fiona;)