sweechic

In nursing, you will see and do a lot that you aren't always truly prepared for. And that's ok. It's how we all learn. Your compassion shows in your post, and that is one of the most important character traits any nurse can possess. It's ok to cry. We've all done it. My first code came when I was a nursing student in my RN year and was doing my first day of an ER rotation in clinicals. A man came in with chest pain, telemetry was started, he seemed stable. Of course, next thing we know he's crashing. My preceptor called the code, tossed a clipboard my way and hollered for me to "write everything down". Talk about an overwhelming experience. Not only am I experiencing my first code, I am now responsible for making sure all the necessary information gets documented. Thankfully, he recovered, and I was able to do what was needed of me. You know how sometimes you have those moments where you just have to jump in both feet first, react, and think later? Those are scary, but some of the best ways to learn. You never really know just what you are truly capable of until you have to do it. It sounds to me like you are going to be a great nurse. Your ability to respect the frailty of human life and to truly care for your patients shows it.

Wow. Ok, so maybe our hoppers are way more outdated than I thought. :chuckle It's basically a large tub for washing the "chunks", so to speak, out of the soiled linens before they go down to laundry. I am definitely open to any and all input. How does your facility handle severely soiled linens? Is nursing responsible for taking care of this before it goes down to laundry, or is it taken care of totally by the laundry department? I would definitely like to hear how others handle this.

I have recently been assigned the task of trying to determine what to do about our hopper. The facility I currently work at is working on culture change so I guess my first question is whether anyone has found an appropriate substitute for the hoppers. (I am not sure if this is even possible since we DO need a way to clean out soiled linens without violating infection control standards.) Secondly, has anyone come up with a way to decrease the amount of back splash that tends to come along with using the hoppers? My staff currently uses the appropriate PPE (including gowns) while using the hopper, but I would like to find an alternative if possible. I also wonder if the spray of the water tends to aerosolize the matter in the linens. I have done some research into the shields available on the market. Does anyone have input on those? Do they work; what are drawbacks; etc. Any and all input will help greatly!! Thanks everyone!