ShandyLynnRN

I received training through the AANAC (American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators), where you can actually become certified. I've been doing MDS's now for 8 months, and am still learning, finding things I did wrong, and have those days where I feel overwhelmed. But I still like it. Try going to http://www.aanac.org. The class they offer, as well as classes offered by CMS are great resources. You can try this link, but I'm not sure if you have to be a member to access it. I'd highly recommend becoming a member though. It has great resources. http://www.aanac.org/education/default.asp

i'm a nurse who smokes. is it healthy for me? nope. i'm also overweight. is it healthy for me? nope. however, i'm not perfect, and i don't expect anyone to think i am. if i need to do smoking cessation education for a patient, i do it. i wish them luck, and believe it or not, they are usually more receptive to me than to my nonsmoking collegues because i can empathize with them. like has already been said, it's not positive for anyone to smoke. too bad we're not all as great as those nurses who are smokers who can refrain from smoking at work. more power to them if they can, but if i could do that then i'd quit completely. but just because some nurses smoke doesn't mean they are less competent or compassionate. i'm not even going to go into the argument that smokers get more breaks.

They are charged at our facility. Well, atleast we have to take the little charge sticker off the package before we open them. I believe though, that in all reality, it is just a means of tracking supplies in most cases, as most patients are just charged a flat rate. I know that in my state anyway, that medicaid patients (which most of ours are) get charged that way. We don't even get paid for the mom's unless they stay for more than 24 hours.

I wasn't taught to use a filter needle (graduated nursing school in 98) and have never seen a filter needle in the three hospitals that I have worked at. What do filter needles look like? Are they packaged different? Maybe I have been using them all along and just not know it?

I have had numerous patients ask me the same questions. I tell them this: It is more common for boys in *my* area to be circ'd. Certain cultures around here do it less often, mostly hispanic. It is purely a personal choice. There are pro's and con's to both. I don't care what anyone says, I have seen little (or big) old men with foreskin infected, or a caregiver forget to pull it back down after cleaning and it became swollen, or (I think this is the term, cant remember) phimosis, where the opening becomes too small to retract it properly thus increasing the risk for infection, etc... There is also the body image thing to be addressed. I always tell them to consider whether dad or brothers are circ'd. Not that it is a BIG deal, but there would be questions like "why does mine look different than daddy's", or "the boys in the locker room were teasing me" (my ex-husband told me that that was never an issue when he or his friends, circ'd, were in there with someone un-circ'd. Then there is the fact that IF there is a mistake, the boy will be scarred for life. I have also seen many circ's, and although I had my son circ'd, as a nurse now I'm not sure that I would have another boy of mine circ'd if I had to make that decision. Also, about the medication. The doc's I work with use lidocaine for all circ's. The last hospital I worked at, there were two that didn't use anesthetic. They said their reasoning was that the procedure takes 5 minutes or less, and the only time there is pain is the small cut, which is usually only about 30 seconds or so. The lidocaine burns, and hurts the baby anyway, and the burning lasts for 30 seconds to a minute.

You've gotta be kidding me.

That's so cool!!! It's great to get compliments like that isn't it?

our hospital's policy basically states that you can only have 1 earring in each ear, "tasteful" make up and hairstyles (no punk type stuff or green hair) no wild nail polish or nail art and no visible piercings (other than ears) or tattoos. I recently asked this question on this board too, because I wanted to get my tongue pierced, and I don't agree with the policy. For that matter, if they were to discipline me if I did have it done, then they would have to discipline probably half the nursing staff for 2-3 earrings or more in each ear, or a barbell through their ear, or wrinkled clothes, or wearing perfume... yada yada.... I can totally see how it is a professional image question, because I know how my grandmother feels about those type of things. Much of the population, expecially the elderly, seem to relate body piercings and tattoos with rebels, or druggies, or other "non-professional" behavior. On the other hand, I think I should be allowed to express individuality, and many of those things, tongue piercings, etc, aren't something that you can just decide to take out for your shift at work. If you do, then it will grow over. I say, let my actions and nursing abilities show my professional demeanor. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. Still, I think tasteful piercings, as long as they aren't in excess, aren't a problem. I don't even think "funky" hair is a problem. Alas, the rest of the world doesn't all agree. And even though we try to teach our children to be individuals, and judge people based on their actions and not their looks, we still have to comply to these types of policies... it almost seems like it is a "do what I say, not what I do" type of philospphy. Oh well. I guess until we all start being self employed and the world stops judging people based on their appearance, these types of issues will always come up. I guess I could think of WORSE things to worry about.

that's disgusting!!

bezoars??? What is that?

lol, no disrespect intended... I just got the impression from some of the things that you said that well, you know. Anyway, if so, get your yearlies! It's important!

Mandi... from your previous posts, it sounds like you have the lifestyle that requires a yearly pelvic exam and pap. I don't remember all the details, but if I recall, the criteria for yearly gyn exams include age 18 or over, sexually active, or any "female" problems.

I didn't realize that carafate wasn't for long term. Why not? I only use it prn anyway, but if it helps, then I'd say she should continue it!

I am a smoker, and I can attest to the fact that smoking DOES aggravate my abd pain when it occurs. Tell her to try taking metamucil twice daily... even if she doesn't have "bowel" problems, sometimes just the extra fiber can help with IBS if that in fact is the problem. I would also suggest to her to avoid spicy foods and caffeine, as well as increase her dietary fiber and slow the smoking. (yeah, I don't practice what I preach). Also suggest to her to keep a food diary to see if anything she is eating is correllating with her pain. Does she have the pain continuously or is it occasional or intermittent?

I have done a lot of online research on IBS, as I was dx with it last year after much abd pain. From what I can tell, it is usually associated with bloating and diarrhea, but can also be associated with constipation. I never really had too much trouble with anything like that other than the bloating and occasional constipation, which I pretty much contribute to my poor diet. I started having severe abd pains about a week after I had my gallbladder removed. I never had any problems before that. I had it removed because I have hepatitis and had a CT of my abdomen that showed gallstones, and my surgeon opted to remove my gallbladder due to the risk of a stone getting "stuck" and causing liver damage. I otherwise had no symptoms or reasons to get it removed. Like I said, my abd pain started about a week after that, and would start in the epigastric area as pressure, and go down to my navel area and wrap around to my lower back. It was so bad that I visited the ER three times, only to have everything come back negative and get RX for prevacid, etc. The meds didn't help. The only thing that helped was pain meds. I would also bloat severely during these episodes that would last from 30 min to 2 hours up to 3 times a week (not related to diet as it happened on full and empty stomach)....the episodes have gradually decreased over the last year, in frequency, length and severity. The only med that DID help was carafate taken PRN, which doesn't make any sense since that isn't how the med works. In any case... maybe it IS IBS that I have... but thankfully it has gotten less severe. I know that probably doesn't answer your question, but I would tell your friend to go to a gastroenterologist because I know how bad abd pain can be. :)