OzNurse69

NAD = no abnormalities detected. ie. normal (in relation to pathology/radiology)

KVO with hep saline. I'm in NICU though, so our kids aren't up to walking around!

Common practice here. These are the guys that deal with cord blood donation in our hospital. http://www.bmdi.org.au/default.asp?id=40 I work in NICU, so I'm not sure of how it works, but most parents donate their child's cord blood. Cheers.

I have a mum of 30 week twins who is having trouble keeping up supply pumping. They are now 34 weeks, but she can't be there all day every day as she has older children. She's tried increasing frequency, all the usual tricks, but no go. So me and our...

My son went to school with a "Twilight Creamer" - that's a porn-star name if I ever heard one! At the moment in our NICU we have Scarlett Rain. Hmmm...

In Australia we have this: http://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/ Maybe you could contact the organisers to find out how to set up a local chapter, with donations going to an organisation in your area. Ruth

There's an old saying that does the rounds: What do you call the person who graduated last in his medical school class? DOCTOR! The same applies here: What do you call the person who graduated last in his nursing class? NURSE! Don't stress. Don't pan...

Nope, EBM. We were just going through it at a faster rate than she could make it.

RE: permanent residency. See here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/medical-practitioners/visa-options-nurses.htm There are a number of different sub-categories for applying for residency, it seems. These include hospital-sponsored, visas for people wi...

Good grief. I work NICU now, but in a previous life was on a (very busy) colorectal surgery floor. We were lucky to have 4 RNs on at night - for 31 beds! And that was only on busy post-op days. Most nights were 3 RNs for 31 beds. And that's total st...

Yep. Full immersion baths, dry around the cord, no alcohol/lotions/potions of any kind. Oh, and my youngest is 13, so this has been policy for some time. Most of our cords fall off in 7 - 10 days with no infection. (I'm in NICU).

When I had a stick a couple of months ago, my staff counsellor told me there were no recorded cases of anyone who had been stuck with a low risk needle contracting HIV. Anywhere. Ever. I took his word for it and didn't research it myself, but that's ...

In my NICU we have a choice as to whether to receive the pertussis, rubella, hep b and flu shots. If we choose not to, we also choose another unit to work in.

That's the way I was taught when my firstborn was born - 15 years ago! Obviously things aren't as slow here as I thought.

On my ward we have a system. You work either Christmas eve/Christmas day OR New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. Then swap the next year. There are usually enough new staff to fill in the gaps if it's uneven. If you want a particular day off & haven't ...

Must be an Aussie thing Gwenith, we've been doing that here since mid 90's. From both a professional (ED RN) and personal point of view (son had bad hot water scauld c partial thickness burns to his feet) I can vouch for the efficacy of this. Seems t...

From what I understand after working with some O/S nurses, you need to be sponsored by your hospital in order to get a working visa. They basically guarantee that you will be working while you are here. I've heard it can be a bit of a circular proces...

Why not just have a box of vented bags for those who need them? I know they're more expensive than regular, but surely it would be more cost effective to use one vented bag rather than have to keep changing "modified" bags that have leaked. Just a th...

I had an interesting experience New Years Day. I had a waterskiing accident & hit my head - total amnesia for a while (as in, couldn't remember my name, address, what happened, anything!) Quite scary, so my friends took me to the ED. Now, I used ...

I've just bought an iBook, and I LOVE it. My 2nd Apple, the first was a 2nd hand iMac that I paid a couple of hundred for, didn't want to get too expensive cos I didn't know if I would like it. It is a little bit tricky getting used to the way Apple ...

Hi guys, Sorry if this is a bit long & ranty, but here goes..... Haven't visited for a while (2,500 threads, 26,000 posts - no, I won't be trying to catch up!!) I'm getting out of nursing. Since becoming a single mum 9 months ago, I've realised t...

Funny thing is, they're actually quite a good transport co, or were, from what I hear. They just suck when it comes to health care!! Ruth

As long as you turn off the tap on the IV while the N/S is still running, this is perfectly fine. Doesn't apply for positive pressure lock devices though, which need the fluid to be injected under pressure. HTH. Ruth

Actually, I think that's the only thing that's kept me here for so long. I currently work with a fantastic unit - everyone pulls their weight & goes out of their way to help others. The workload is heavy - high dependency colorectal surgery - so ...

Thanks Mandy, actually my "babies" are 9 & 12!! Been a mum for a while, but new at the single thing. After I posted I re-read it & wondered if anyone would misunderstand me - the wording was a bit vague!! Ruth