Scarlette

A friend of mine passed away last month after a hard fought battle with cancer. Her daughter was at her bedside when she passed and said that there was one tear that fell down her cheek the moment she passed away. When my grandpa died 5 years ago, my grandma said the same thing...there was one tear that fell when he passed. I've noticed the "last tear" on a couple of my patients that passed. My question: Is the "last tear" a physical response from the body as it lets go or is it an emotional response from the person? In the case of my friend and my grandpa, both were unable to eat or drink their last few days of life. They were both dehydrated so I'm thinking the last tear was an emotional response. My reasoning is that their bodies were very dehydrated, therefore the body wouldn't just release tears as it would need to hold on to the fluid. Yes, it sounds dumb and not very scientific, but I'm believing it's the person's emotional response to leaving their loved ones behind. If it is indeed a physical response, what is the "scientific" or medical reason why it happens? Thanks in advance!

My best friend was diagnosed with it about 2 months ago. I do know that she can't eat anything spicy, no carbonated beverages, no beer, no caffeine....no nothing. She's pretty much living on water, certain vegetables, and grilled cheeses sandwiches. I do know that she's on Elmiron and her doctor told her that it could take up to 6 months to start working. She's been on it for about 2 months now and has a little bit of relief. She goes to the bathroom every 15 minutes and says that the condition is very painful....like constantly being kicked in the crotch! :uhoh21: There is a type of treatment called a bladder wash where they can infuse the bladder with meds. From my understanding you have to have it done a couple times per week, or you can learn to cath yourself and do it at home. My friend didn't go that route because she has no insurance and it can be expensive. Sorry I'm not more helpful, just letting you know what my friend is experiencing.

:chuckle :roll :chuckle I had a pt's family member come running out of the room, flag me down in the hall and say "He said he feels really hot. Do something!" I go in there and there are 4 other family members standing around the bed staring at him like he's about to die, saying "Do something, he says he feels really warm!" I look and he's got 5 blankets piled on top of him (not to mention the heater was turned on high and it already felt like it was 90 degrees in that room!). I pulled off 4 blankets, checked on him 2 minutes later and he said he felt so much better. I guess it takes a college education to figure out that having 5 blankets on you makes you feel really really warm!

(((hugs))) I'm very sorry for your loss. I've heard that losing a child is the worst. I don't have any children, but I can only imagine the pain you are feeling. Hon, have you ever been to any type of grief counseling or support group? I think you would benefit from talking to others who have been through the same thing as you. Please don't think about ending your life so you can see your son again. I'm sure he's smiling down on you, very proud of you, and willing to wait to see you again.

We had a pt walk into the ER saying she felt tired and "a little" SOB. Her hgb was 4.0. I think most of our docs like to transfuse at 9 or lower.

Hello everyone! I'm a new grad, been working on a med/surg floor for 7 months now. I really enjoy my job but I'm interested in Hospice. When I was doing my pre-req's for nursing school my Grandpa was dying of cancer. I remember what an impact the Hospice nurse had on calming our family's fears, answering questions, and what great care she took with my Grandpa. I can remember watching how great she was with everyone and kept thinking "wow! I want to do this!" I hope this doesn't sound terrible, but my greatest feelings have come when I held a pt's hand as they passed away, when I was with them as they went to a better place. I find myself more interested in the hospice pts on the med/surg floor. I try to take extra time with them, even if it's just talking about their families, or giving them a hug when they say they're scared. I think I would enjoy Hospice. My question is.....would it be better if I stayed on the med/surg floor a little longer to work on my skills, or would I be ok with 7 months med/surg experience? What are the pro's and cons of Hospice? How do you deal with families that aren't ready to accept a loved ones death? Is the pay comparable to the hospital? I'm not trying to sound materialistic with the last question, but I still have student loans to pay off! Thanks for any advice you have!

I think we can squeeze in 35 pts on the med/surg floor. Last Saturday night we had 6 pts. Sunday night we started the shift with 7 and ended with 9. We have 3 beds in ICU but with only 1 nurse per shift we can only have 2 pts in there. Not sure how many beds in OB, I think it's 4.

I get paid a whopping 70 cents per hour extra for midnights. Now I can buy that beach house I've always wanted! LMAO!! Honestly, it really didn't matter to me because I like nights better anyway. It seems a bit more laid back....no doctors, no management, less family members to trip over when you go in to see a pt. I'm sure I'll start hating it soon....I might be in the "honeymoon" phase because this is my first nursing job, but so far so good! When I oriented on days it was crazy!!!

Sleepyeyes, I'm in the exact same boat as you! I'm a new grad, been on the job 3 months. I work 12 hour midnight shift. I just cringe when I see a certain day shift nurse walk through the door...praying she doesn't have any of my patients so I don't have to give report to her. One night I had a terrible time...I had one patient actively dying, another patient that was "trying" to die, had to be shipped, and another that DID die. She came waltzing in, wanting report on a post op patient. Somehow I managed to have lab values looked up, everything. Well, she had a fit because I didn't pull the patient's foley catheter at 6 am. She got all snotty with me, yelling "That catheter was supposed to been pulled over an hour ago, that's what the orders say, that's what you should do." I got extremely p*ssed, said "Well excuse me, I had 3 people dying and that catheter being pulled was the least of my worries...Next time I'll let the others pt's die while I stand there with a stop watch counting down the seconds until I need to pull the foley so you don't need to get your hands dirty!" She was nice to me for about 3 weeks after. Tried to bully me again. Last week I had another bad night, someone almost died, another pt. couldn't urinate, had a post-op pt puking with bad diarrhea. I must've called 10 doctors that night and scrambled to get my charting done. Little miss b*tch comes strolling in for day shift. She was taking report and asked if I had put extension tubing on a pt's O2. I said "Nope, I had another busy night, I didn't get around to that." She proceeded to roll her eyes and said "Well, I guess extension tubing would be too difficult for you to handle anyway" and gave a little smirk to the nurse standing next to her. I totally lost it! I stood right in her face and told her EXACTLY how my night went, and how extension tubing was low on my priority list at that time, I couldn't be Supernurse like her and be 6 places at once....ect. ect. As I got ready to leave I said "Now, do you have any other smart @ss remarks to say, or ya gonna wait till I leave to say stuff behind my back?!" She rolled her eyes, said nothing and I said "Ya, that's what I thought!" We haven't crossed paths yet since that incident. Luckily we have been working separate days....it'll be interesting to see how she acts toward me now. Probably no different than before. Other new nurses say that she still treats them like crap in report, and they've been there for a year now! Ugh!

Sounds like you need a time clock that uses your badge to clock in and clock out (to avoid having others clock in their late friends). How frustrating it must be for everyone who shows up on time while the slackers come in whenever they feel like it and still get paid for sleeping in.

I'm very sorry to hear that you are having problems. I realize that leaving may not be an option due to your need of insurance for you and your children, but it sounds like you are getting set up to lose your license. If you are getting BC/BS, do they have a "cobra" plan there? When I quit my factory job to go to school full time for nursing I went through the cobra plan and was able to keep my insurance for an additional 18 months. You have to pay the full premium, but it would be worth it if that is the only thing making you stay at your job. Start searching for another job now! I know what it's like to be stuck in a job where you're treated badly and no one cares if you're happy or not, granted, that was my factory job, but it's still no way to live. I hope you're able to get out of there with your license. Take care.

I just wanted to say good luck to this year's nursing students. YOU CAN DO THIS!! I just recently graduated the RN program and passed the NCLEX and wanted to offer encouragement to the new students. It may seem incredibly overwhelming at first but you will get through it!! I remember the first week in my LPN year and all I could think was "Oh my God! What the heck have I gotten myself into?!" Just take it one day at a time and I promise you'll look back on the first few weeks and think "Wow, what was I so worried about?" YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Keep your chin up and go for it! One tip....study groups are great and it's even better when everyone gets along in your class. For some reason it gets really competitive which can cause conflicts amongst everyone. Our instructors told us that they have never seen such a closely bonded class that worked so well with each other. Apparently every previous class did nothing but back bite. It is so much easier if everyone works together and can study together. Just remember...you're going to be "stuck" together for quite awhile and it's so much easier if you get along. We were just one big happy family and it worked out great. Okay, I'm getting off the subject here, but I just wanted to say good luck and best wishes to everyone!!!!

Where I graduated from if you didn't do a procedure at least 3 times (like IV starts, IV push meds and piggybacks) then you didn't graduate!! I was one of those students that sought out procedures. I had classmates that would be offered a procedure and they would say "No thanks, I already did that" That just blew my mind!!! Jump in there and get more experience!!! It got to the point where the nurses wouldn't even offer procedures to my classmates and they would come to me. Then my classmates would whine and wonder why they were never offered anything. As far as instructors....yes we had a few that would rather go to the cafeteria and BS with other nurses all day but if we kept on paging them they would finally show up. I feel really bad for the nurses that get stuck having to supervise the students with new procedures ALL the time when you get a lazy instructor like that. The nurses are busy enough, let alone trying to be a full time clinical instructor too. Hats off the the nurses that have patience with the students and new grads! You guys are the best!