Tiwi

I know what you mean re: being a new grad and not knowing anything. Just when you think you are going ok, a new situation arises. I find the staff on my ward are fantastic as well, and I ask lots of "stupid" questions. I guess the only way we'll learn is to ask the experts - the other nurses, read, and do it ourselves! As for talking to doctors et al, I think that will just take time. Find out what the routine is...do you go through your team leader or do you contact the doctor yourself when you need something done? The scary thing is when they ask questions of you about your patients, but I guess that is where we need to be on top of current, past and prospective care and history. Our docs are great...but I don't know what other hospitals are like. Like the nurses, I can ask lots of stupid questions and they are happy to give answers. I know I sound confident here, but often I go home and stay awake for hours stressing, thinking have I done this right? Once I actually rang the ward at midnight to tell them something; they thought it was hilarious.

I have just changed from adult to paeds as part of my grad rotation. I feel a bit like a fish out of water; I am in isolated paediatrics, but I am enjoying it.

This may be a bit political, but as I am working up here, I thought I'd fish around and see how others felt. I am really upset that the Federal Government has decided to "invade" our indigenous communities and restrict their livestyles without consulting elders. How long will they be up here, and what will the role of the remote area nurses be? I believe that any trust built up by nurses will be lost. I think too that ppl may leave their communities and either go 'bush' to avoid the influx, or come into town as all communities are now being made "dry". Speaking to some indigenous ppl, they believe that it is going to create an "us" and "them" situation. I understand the problem is serious, but I think a knee jerk reaction may be counterproductive. My last point...what is done in indigenous communities should be done in nonindigenous communities...

1.Shout...when someone wants to shout you a drink, it means they want to buy you one. Of course, you usually have to be polite and shout one back. 2.Blue...to get into a fight. 3.Down the track...this is one particularly used by Darwin ppl meaning to go south. you know, I use the colloquialisms every day and I can't think of any?

I've had the experience recently when I required assistance from the "Hospital in the Home" visiting nurses. It was great to get out of hospital; all I required was IV ABs, and I think this should be the way of the future. But as quickly as ppl leave the hospital to be cared for by the community nursing services, the beds are filled by acute patients, and the temporary wards and lack of staff continue. Out of interest, do community nurses suffer a shortage of staff as well?

I am unfamiliar with your system, however is there someone senior to this lady that is not ward based? Could you notify them?

Thanx everyone. It is really hard trying to find places as you all know, in a town/city you don't know. My dream would be to buy an old mechanically sound bus, turn it into a mobile home, toss the dogs and cat (oops and husband) and travel/work around Oz....

Nights are good, though not great for the social life

That helps. Where I am they are really supportive, so I'm probably in a similar situation. You mentioned joining me as an RN. When are you planning to do it? You should find it helpful to have that medication background...

"Whistleblowers" are brave ppl. You've definitely done the right thing, I can assure you.

We have computers in our hospital, but they are basically used for theatre lists, appts, location of patients, statistics :angryfire, handover sheets, and path/radiology results. We have been told that medication administration recording will be computerised, as will everything else. How do you have access to the different systems? Palm pilots? With paper charting, it too is not infallible - I have been in an incident recently whereby an assessment sheet I completed had gone missing which had legal consequences. Thank God I had overdocumented and put the score elsewhere, thus proving I had done it....

I agree that you had to report your concern to the charge sister. It's jumping the gun a bit to think she was automatically on drugs. There could be extenuating family circumstances etc etc. Regardless of her personal situation meant that you had a lot more responsibility that night than you should have had, and you were put in a potentially dangerous situation, due to this behaviour. I feel for you...

Is this patient on dialysis / in renal failure / have a renal impairment? I was just wondering if there would be any relationship between that and sodium loss. I know nothing about renal except basics, so I am just asking... I would have thought that you would lose sodium via an ileostomy.

I think no matter where you are in nursing, whether you have completed your study programme, or are currently nursing, that you can never go past: 1 Mosby's Medical, Nursing and Adult Health Dictionary - I have the fifth edition and would love to update it. 2. Hitner H, and Nagle B (2005) Pharmacology: An Introduction, 5th Ed, McGraw Hill Higher Education, Boston The pharmacology book is great because it gives you a simple outline of each system as well as the pharmacology side of things. It wasn't the recommended text for my course (ie I had the other as well), but it is an extra reference which I think you will find really useful.

Good for you! :smiley_ab