JOHNCHE

one night i had a patient who wanted me to digitaly remove a impaction, i had just gave him MOM and told him to give time to work, i went to assess my patients, and when walking by his room he yelled out, hey john ! I got it, when i looked in his room, there he sat with a large amount of poop in his hand, he dug himself out, it was about the size of a softball, I thought OMG

I to hate poop, not the formed normal stuff, but the messy smelly kind. I have been a RN for almost 4 years now, and my way around poop was to be honest with my co workers, they all know my dislike for poop so they help me as much as they can, we kind of trade off, they'll clean up the poo, and I dive into the sputum, which most nurse's gag over, but it doesn't bother me at all. Now there was one night when a call light went off, when I entered the room there was a trail of poop from the patients bed to the bathroom all over the walls of the bathroom and all over the patient, I told the patient I would be right back, everybody was busy, so I grabed a bunch of towels and washcloths, I told myself I can get through this, the patient told me he was sorry, I just said it happens, and we would get through this together, which we did. All nurses have a hang up of some sort, and we all work as a team to get through them.

The other night I had a nurse get an order for haldol for a elderly patient, the nurse said he was loud and unmanagable. Well he wanted to go back to the nursing home, and he was loud because was HOH, being charge nurse I interviened and told her she was not going to sedate (knock him for several hours) just to make her night EZ (she likes to play card games on the computer, and read) I called the doc and got an order for ativan 0.5 mg. this calmed him down with knocking him out. I see haldol used way to much, and in one case a nurse gave it to a patient and he was knocked out for days until he passed away, did the haldol kill him ? I don't know but I think it helped him along, if ya know what I mean. So what do you do when a patient is agitated, agressive, and possible combative.

aA safe ratio is 6:1, but I am dreaming to think that will ever happen where I work, I have had days where I have 12 patients and no other help other than a ward clerk/ aide, ya those are fun days, yes I do protest the asighnment but I never see any changes, at least I am covering my but.

well i knew i was smoking hot but didn't want to toot my own horn, and i look awsome in scrubs, even for a old dude.

my question to you is why are you asking female nurses, I am a male nurse and I to am straight (not that it matters) I worked in metal fabercation and welding for years, and went back to school and became a nurse at the ripe age of 39, it was the best think I have ever done as it is the most rewarding job anyone could imagin, you will work and work hard and long hours. As for the lady thing, well in the health field there lots of single young females, and as nurses we bond together, your conversations sometimes only can be understood by other nurses.