SW_07

YOU MADE IT!! Congrats. Thanks for posting I had always wondered about being able to sleep when on call. I have a hard enough time sleeping with my alarm clock set because I keep waking up thinking it's going to go off. haha. Kudos to you my dear.

I can completely understand the aggravations of dealing with patients. And even more so I can understand the need to vent about stressful days but after reading the OP, I feel that it was less of a vent and more of an attack on certain types of patients. It had a feeling of a vendetta. The truth is we can not pick and choose what patients we get. As a nurse you should be willing to assess and care for all types of patients whether you are a psych nurse or not. What about the neuro patient that feels sorry for themself and is angry and takes it out on the nurse? Is that a job for a psych nurse? That patient as you put it is "choosing" to be angry. Or what about the terminal patient who has lost hope and is refusing to bath or eat? Is that a job for the psych nurse. We need to be willing to care for patients regardless of what they have going on or the reason's why.

Our hospital provides them free but only if you want one. I got mine Friday.

I would definitely continue nursing but only per diem, or occasional.

Wow thank you for posting that video. I can honestly say I have never seen that before. Thank you to your daughter for being a sport

Well, I work in behavioral medicine so I have to be careful who I touch, it could result in a fist flying at me. But I think part of being a nurse is learning to tune in to those pt.'s who need and would appreciate a comfort measure like that. Just the other night we had a pt. who was needing an I.V and was a very hard stick. We called down for the IV team I held that pt'.s hand while they stuck her 4 times before they finally got a vein.

I think the endorphins kick in and help with the pain during a tattoo but I have heard those will only last you a couple of hours before they run out and I believe it. I have a tattoo on my ribs that starts under my armpit and runs down to mid hip. It took 8 hours and I had to do it in one sitting because I was out of state and wouldn't be back to finish it. I was fine the first 2-3 hours but after that it was agony. And like other posters have said depends on the spot. My arm piece of cake, ribs and neck ouch. I thought about it some more and maybe because during a tattoo it's continuous movement of the needle but during a blood draw its just sticking in there and I just get this overwhelming feeling of "GET IT OUT". haha.

I would suggest staying really organized or as organized as you can be. You have enough going on in school as it is. It's nice to know when all of said stuff is going to happen or should happen. Staying on a schedule that includes a break from school is a definite. That way you have a little something to look forward to. Plus, being organized I think really helps reduce stress. At least it did for me. And like previous poster said find good friends that will be a good support system. If you can afford it a PDA comes in really handy. If not Christmas is coming up thats how I got mine.

I work in a psych hospital. I see addicts everyday all day. Some are repeat offenders that stay a few weeks then leave and then come back and just cycle through. It can be the most aggravating thing in the world. We give them the tools to get better, we set them up for counseling to help them once they leave and yet they come back through. With that said, looking into someone's face and seeing absolutely no hope is one of the most humbling and saddest experiences I have ever had. Yes, the choices they have made got them to where they are but choices rarely are why they stay addicted. I have never had a patient tell me "I love being addicted to meth, why would i ever stop". Addiction whether it be to food or drugs or what have you is a sad and tragic thing to happen to someone. It is a disease. Something they can not help. No one smoked meth hoping that they lost their family, lost their job, became homeless, got raped on the streets and then sent to my hospital. We all make bad decisions in our life, not everyone has the built in tools or the know how to get help dealing with issues like self-esteem or anxiety or any other problem in life that could lead someone to be so desperate for relief that they put their own life in jeopardy with food or drugs or whatever it is. Hindsight is 20-20 and recovering addicts have the best vision.

Then you'll love blue bloater.

Yeah, I'm the same way. I am a hard stick and maybe because I knew she probably wasn't going to get it on the first try amped me up. I got a flu shot yesterday no problem. It is just that pesky blood draw. :uhoh21:

One of my charge nurses is leaving our unit to go work the day treatment drug and alcohol unit. Reason being is they work 8-5 mon-fri. holidays off , and anytime the schools are closed so is that unit. Might be an option.

I have 5 tattoos. Two of which are pretty good size. Just a couple of weeks ago I had to get titers drawn for work. I got so nervous and anxious I actually got really light-headed and had to take a minute and calm down before the clinic nurse could do the titer. I have no clue why that bothers me but getting a tattoo doesn't.

I dont like referring to pt.s that need assistance with meals as "feeders". Again reminds me of a sci-fi/horror movie. "THE FEEDERS" dun dun-dunnnn.

We had an in-service recently on pulse ox. One thing I never learned or thought about was how ambient light in the room can give off a false read. The rt told us if we are getting an iffy read to cover the hand with the pulse ox on it with a washcloth. Might be common knowledge but no one ever told me that.