Debra ACRN

Debra ACRN

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All Content by Debra ACRN

  1. Favorite sayings

    Debra ACRN replied to NursesRmofun's topic in Nursing Humor

    Dryer than a popcorn

  2. Practicing NG Tube on each other?

    Debra ACRN replied to pjharrelson's topic in General Students

    Oh me, my class had to. It was in 1982 so it was ages ago. It was horrifying! I remember it was Bev, one of my good friends who did me. She inserted the tube about an inch per painful, grueling,...

  3. Differences: Nursing then and now...

    Debra ACRN replied to astig_matic's topic in Retired Nurses

    OK, here's another one. I started working in HIV/AIDS in 1989, then we spent a lot of time figuring out how to pay for funerals. Now, we spend a lot of time how to pay for medication. We always seem...

  4. remember when...

    Debra ACRN replied to kjpstmb's topic in Nursing Humor

    I'm so old that I used to smoke in the nurses station while charting. Can you even imagine? For the record, I gave up that nasty habit years ago. Hey we used to have to make room assignments based on...

  5. What's your nursing kryptonite?

    Debra ACRN replied to ktliz's topic in General Nursing

    Those long honking loogies that take as long to cough up as a cat with a fur ball, I'm sure I turn green and then they want you to look at

  6. Theraputic Privilege: An Ethical Dilemma

    Debra ACRN replied to Bhebe55's topic in General Nursing

    I've actually refused to HIV test a patient who stated that they would commit suicide if the test was positive. We got the patient some psych assist prior to testing. Your first duty is to do no harm....

  7. needlestick injury

    Debra ACRN replied to faithforever's topic in General Nursing

    I think you have an amazing chance of being just fine. First, it was someone who knows they have HIV, hopefully they are on antiretrovirals and have an undetectable viral load. Then you didn't get...

  8. Nursing and needle pricks

    Debra ACRN replied to Jules2113's topic in General Nursing

    Well I've worked in an HIV clinic for 18 years and never had a needle stick. I think there are less then 300 total health care workers in the U.S. that have contracted HIV from a needle stick in all...

  9. Is it wrong to go into nursing knowing one does not want to be a bedside nurse?

    Debra ACRN replied to iridium54's topic in Nursing Career

    I worked at the bedside for two long and overwhelming years. I too knew it wasn't for me but I loved the patients and staff so it was bearable. After, I worked for an Indian nation running a home...

  10. How to survive clinicals

    Debra ACRN replied to Sjsmith92's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    It's been a hundred million years since I did clinical but I wanted to offer my advice anyway. I started out nervous and have a habit of talking to myself. I found that I would do each task with my...

  11. What kind of nurse are you?

    Debra ACRN replied to EricaSAFJAF's topic in General Nursing

    In 1989 a group of us started an outpatient HIV clinic. We were federally funded in 1993 and I have been the director ever since. It's small enough where I get to see patients and it's a nurse run...

  12. Problems with obtaining needed orders- advice appreciated.

    Debra ACRN replied to perfectbluebuildings's topic in General Nursing

    I think this is where our advocacy skills must be brought to full fruition. Drs are influenced by facts so have it all written down. I would have stood in his face and asked him since when is a pulse...

  13. Help us answer this question!

    Debra ACRN replied to AKA_Glamour_Pearl's topic in General Students

    My guess is chicken. The most common mouth sores my patients get are either thrush or apthous ulcers. If a patient is pretty depleted immunologically esophageal thrush is pretty common and it has been...

  14. Tidbits, facts, save-your-butts...for new nurses in LTC

    Debra ACRN replied to CharleeJo.RN's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Engrave the name of every resident on their dentures. I had a nightmare of epic proportion years ago when all the residents decided to swap.

  15. I feel like an absolute fool!

    Debra ACRN replied to Pepper The Cat's topic in General Nursing

    Speaking of patients transporting themselves to a bar, I can do you one better. I once had a patient who was in a 4 man room in a nursing home. He was much younger then his fellow roommates but liked...

  16. So who do nurses marry or have as civil partners???

    Debra ACRN replied to snoopy29's topic in General Nursing

    When I was a young nurse, 25 years ago, I decided to put all my energy into starting an outpatient AIDS clinic. I had lots of men in my life but always held them at arm's length as I knew I couldn't...

  17. Does this sound like a typical Clinical experience?

    Debra ACRN replied to anon695's topic in General Students

    As a nurse who is older then dirt, I ask you to reconsider the humble bed bath. I have found that it can set up an intimate relationship with patients that can really help illicit true feelings. It is...

  18. reconsidering a nursing career

    Debra ACRN replied to daisymae0's topic in General Students

    I don't post very often but I feel compelled to answer your question. Nursing is a more then a job, for me, it's my passion and my calling. I find that when you are doing what you love and working as...

  19. Can you become a LVN w/ Hepatitis B! PLEASE HELP

    Debra ACRN replied to lily123's topic in LPN, LVN Students

    You may just have shown response to the vaccine you took for Hepatitis B. If you have actually had hep b, the only worry with your transmissibility is if you have chronic hep b carrage. This is quite...

  20. Second Verse, Same as the First...

    Debra ACRN replied to Plantingmydaffodils's topic in General Students

    I was a nursing student a hundred million years ago but I just finished my graduate degree so I don't think anyone would be mad at me for offering some words of wisdom. You are normal. Nursing school...

  21. Master's Project / Thesis - What's Your Topic?

    Debra ACRN replied to Christen, ANP's topic in Post Graduate Students

    I just finished my project. It was on introducing cultural aesthetics into senior nursing student curricula. We made nichos (Mexican Folk Art boxes) to illustrate a mental health nursing concept. It...

  22. Viral Loads and CD4/CD8 Interpretation

    Debra ACRN replied to Katillac's topic in Infectious Disease

    Viral load is how many copies of HIV are in one cmm of blood. After infection with HIV there is an initial spike of HIV virus and then it sort of settles into a set point. This is probably the set...

  23. Yelling Doctors, How do you handle them?????

    Debra ACRN replied to Danielle7's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    Well first of all, it's just plain rude to yell at someone, no matter what. I occasionally have been known to ask someone if they think their mother would be proud of the way they are behaving? It has...

  24. needlestick from hep c and HIV + patient

    Debra ACRN replied to Proverbs 16:3's topic in General Nursing

    I'm an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse and have been working with patients for the last 19 years. The chance of transmission from a MAJOR exposure (greater then 1 cc of blood) is 1 in 350. Your...

  25. needle stick risk

    Debra ACRN replied to K os's topic in General Nursing

    It does. I know that if you are poked with a needle through a latex glove, the glove wicks off 1/2 of the blood as it punctures through the latex, making it less risky. Do we need to lecture on the...