shuuu1968

Well obviously it is meant to be tongue in cheek, but sadly there are people out there who do believe this crap. Hopefully the OP isn't one fo them and knows IT"S A JOKE?

florianslove said "What I don't get is the venom at these "town hall meetings", instead of discussing health care most people are screaming at the top of their lungs about socialism and how President Obama is not an American citizen. What happened to getting the facts, not just going to one source, Fox is a prime example as the most biased, however MSNBC (which is not nearly as bad) also presents their own bias." Sometimes people act out in their anger, especially when they feel they are not being heard. The crazy people screaming that Obama is not a citizen, well, they have issues. You do know that you are seeing clips from such a small percentage of the MANY town hall meetings that went smoothly without a hitch, right? It is called propaganda, and it is alive and well on both ends of the political spectrum. The bill is not going through, and it is partly because of the town hall meetings. Plus, congress never had the votes, as many suspected, although Nancy Pelosi said they had more than enough....she scares me more than any "death panel."

Can you give some information? Cite some facts.....

The government run healthcare option will not be getting passed. Check out today's news feed on any major news site. Back to the drawing boards.....

UKRN...thanks for the link to the politifact website...it is really great! :)

Good points UKRN...and I do believe you agree that the government cannot be trusted, as implied by your word "corpocracy." Therein lies the problem. Do I care that some people are influenced by Fox news media? No. Many people are just as influenced by CNN and MSNBC. All have their angles, some good, some bad just like any media outlet. That is the beauty of this country...you have the freedom to watch and listen to whoever you want. I think the healthcare sytem in this country is a slippery slope down if something doesn't give. I really hope that it can be changed for the better. It just seems that government has kind of a lousy track record for at least the last 30 years or more. We did not get into this overnight, and we can't fix it overnight, that's why I say "what's the rush?" I certainly do not think Canada is dying to have our healthcare system, but not everyone is happy about it there. Like I said, my friend grew up in Toronto, and her entire family is still there. The uncle with the hernia is just one example of things she has told me about. It is not horrific, but by all means not perfect. People still come here all the time for medical care they either cannot recieve there, or at least cannot receive there in a timely manner, that is a fact. As far as Cindy sheehan, I totally empathize with her pain and loss, I never said that I did not agree with her. I was just using that as a comparison that both the left and the right have people protesting the administration. I also am aware that AARP does in fact support parts of the proposed medical bill, however they did not appreciate the "endorsement" from Obama himself, because there are in fact issues that concern them as well. Obama then stated he had "miss-spoke." I don't know... It seems any time you turn on the tv or open a newspaper, it is "he said, she said..." Yuck...I am just so sick of it. Like I said...it is a popularity contest, not a democracy. It is no wonder other countries can't stand us...sometimes we behave worse than spoiled children! I truly believe that tort reform is a huge part of this issue that should be addressed, but it is not even talked about...why not? I just don't get that. And by all means...shame on big pharma...they are almost worse than the insurance companies...almost. As Americans we have the right to vote in our elected officials. I think many of us have gotten complacent and kind of let the chips fall as they may. Hopefully this will awaken all of us as a nation to come together regardless of race, religion, or political beliefs to make this an even better nation. God Bless America! One more thing...I am all for prepared advanced directives...I tell my family all the time that I am having "DNR" tattoed on my chest. I get that, but I just don't want government involved in my or my families decisions...remember, I don't trust them.

As I stated before I am neither a republican or a democrat, so I am not here to get into any "political warfare." I was simply stating that you can look at both sides of the argument and find ugliness on each. Yes, the war sucks, too many people have died. Over 3000 people died on 9/11 too, innocent people going to work for the day. Did we do the right thing as far as the war goes? Maybe yes and maybe no. We as the general public don't even have a small clue as to what our government knows about all these terrorist regimes. And unfortunately...war causes death. Wars have been waged forever, and we as a country have been at war at other times fighting for the freedoms we have(I do however believe we should have never been in Vietnam, but that's a whole different story.) It is ugly, but it is what is. We are there now, so we kind of have to finish what we started. And I don't care who made my mom have her donut hole, either way it just plain sucks, and in the long run the government dictates it. Kudos to the Dems if they help her and millions of others with the donut hole disaster. AS I was trying to convey in my post, we can play the blame game all year long, both sides will use propaganda to each sides advantage. If the members of congress and this administration fix healthcare in this country, then great. But when you are talking about the amount of money it will take, and the ungodly deficit we already have, we all should be very concerneed. Lay it out on the table...the plan and all the details..that's all people want. The truth. And the people that just want "their side" to win, then they are just plain selfish. Do you really trust the democrats? Hell, I don't trust any of them, right or left. Most of them are just lining their pockets with our hard earned money while we bust a nut for a piece of the American dream. Remember...they are supposed to represent us, they work for us, not the other way around.Instead of them being a voice for the people, they are just a voice for the richest lobbyists they can find to fuel their popularity contest they call government. I can tell by your tone that you are a democrat, and I respect that. You don't have to convince me of anything, I am listening and reading and staying informed...which why I call myself neither.

How soon we all forget about the "thugs" from the left during the Bush administration. Remember Cindy Sheehan? She was anything but calm, and went over the line many times in her war-protesting rants. Left wing media made her out to be a hero. Speaking of anti-war protesting...I recall many people protesting "Bush's war" during his administration on different occasions. I recall very vividly a poster with his face and a gun pointing at his head..."Dead or Alive" with the alive crossed out. Were they un-American people for screaming hatred and dissapproval of Bush and his war plans? These were supposed "left wing radicals." Every party has them. Each party will use propaganda style video to further there partisanship. I have seen only a handful of specific townhall meeting clips. There are many more we have not seen that I am sure are controlled discussions, so you don't see that video footage on the primarily liberal media outlets, plain and simple. Aside from getting into a heated political debate (I am neither republican or democrat, for the record,) I just feel we need more information before rushing into some "plan" that none of our representatives or even our president have given specific details about (most admit they haven't read it!) The AARP issued a statement just today because Obama yesterday stated that the AARP is behind the new healthcare plan, but guess what? They are not. Most of the "crazy" people you see at these meetings are probably AARP members, the senior population. They already have government healthcare....it's called medicare. If they were so happy with it, why are they speaking out against more government involvement in their healthcare? My parents are on medicare. My mom is now in the "donut hole" with her prescriptions. She had breast cancer and has to take estrogen blocking medication for 3 more years. Guess what? She now has to pay $330 a month for this one medication now until the new year because she has maxed out her medicare drug coverage 2009. How is that working for her? Her only income now is- guess what? Another failing government run program - social security. They own the banks, the car industry, and now they want our health, and I don't like it. Governament healthcare is not working in Canada or Europe, what makes the USA any different? Do you wnat an "end of life" counselor (a governmet beaurocrat no less) knocking on your door someday to take notes on what choices you will have when you are near death? Our government has overspent our money beyond compare so far, do you trust them? BTW...Pelosi accused our own central intelligence agency of "lying, they do it all the time." This organization protects your very freedom. That is pretty "un-American."

I would like to just say that I have a friend from Toronto, and she is not a fan of the universal health care system in Canada. Her uncle had to wait 7 months for basic hernia repair surgery. It was a long, painful 7 months for him. If you think it won't happen here, don't be sure. Where is the tort reform? A big part of the astronomical cost of health care is because of all the litigation fears that doctors have, and they need huge insurance themselves to protect their lively hood. Obama himself stated in his speech last week that doctors are repeating tests and doing unnecessary tests...well maybe the doctor is afraid that if he doesn't do everything or God forbid, misses something...he will lose his orifice and his practice to a mother lawsuit. See many in congress are lawyers or have friends in high places that are lawyers, so they don't want to cap any profits they and their cronies may be able to pull in with big litigation and class action lawsuits. Cap these claim amounts, and that will reform part of it quickly. Also, where do you think this money will come from? Your's and my paychecks. When healthcare is no longer a capitol venture, what do you think will hapeen to nurses and other healthcare worker's salaries? They will not be going up, that's for sure. We need reform, but why so fast? Can't this be hashed out a little more, let's slow it down, and why can't anyone in government who is gung-ho even listen to any other ideas? Because they themselves don't even know what is all entailed, most admit to not reading the bill....wow. We just want the facts...where are the facts? And Obama himself has in so many words stated that people that don't agree can "get out of the way." Really? This is not the America I remember growing up in....And because someone disagrees with a government proposed policy they are "un-american?" That is straight from the speaker of the house herself. That does not make someone stupid, a teabagger, a thug, etc. It is our constitutional right as an American, freedom of speech. You would not be who you are today if people did not fight for your right to freedom, and probably they questioned loudly when they weren't being heard as well.

I think the son should come in and assist or just watch for a few days while you do the dressing change, maybe seeing his mother writhe in pain may snap him into reality. I hate when family thinks their loved will get "addicted" when they are on hospice....they are dying...it is a non issue at this point.

This sounds good to me.

We put patient name, room, date, diet, activity , rn, and ca. Diet and activity in case someone else answers a light and doesnt know the patient, they can see it says "up with assist" or "cardiac diet" or whatever. Helps us so people aren't calling us even more to ask if a patient needs to toilet or wants a snack..

Why don't you see if you can shadow in a few different units of the hospital? Maybe some more stressful ones like ER or step down. That way you can get a feel for it. Respiratory therapy is a lot of bedside care, and can also be stressful, especially when patients begin going downhill, sometimes the RT's are the first ones on the scene.

One more thing, The quote regarding the unit clerk and her "reality check" bouncing...be careful. I am so grateful to my unit clerks when I am swamped with new admissions, and they are there for me to enter new orders, call consults, page md's, etcetera. Be careful about alienting ancillary staff, that can bite you back in a bad way down the road. I think most clerks and CA's are grossly underpaid for their jobs. Not to say there are not some out there that are not the greatest, but I can also name some "not so great" rn's and md's as well. That is what a team is all about. CEO's...well they seem to be on thier own team most of time, not ours, JMHO.

I think the forums here allow us all to vent as nurses, without the reprimand or scrutiny we would get if we did at our jobs. It is a safe haven where we can all vent from time to time. I think that overall most nurses enjoy nursing, but maybe not so much the politics involved. I too was idealistic when I was a new rn (which was just 2 short years ago.) I am now seeing the "reality" which is not always a cake walk, but overall I am glad I became a nurse. I believe as time goes by, you too will see it.