RNtigerEMT

:yeah:So true. I worked a tele floor right out of school, and loved it. The variety, the never ending admits/discharges, the calm in the chaos. You have to find your moment, they do exist. Well said, and should be a must read for any nurse considering telemetry.

Thanks again everyone. I think I figured out what you mean about not doign school work. had a bad couple days, missed a day and a half of work due to pain related to this whole mess. I couldn't even log onto to the computer until yesterday evening. Couldn't think straight. As far as doing my recerts, i would be paying out of pocket, then reimbursed by my travel agency, no paid time off yet, no medical leave or STD. I'll be off work, no income, relying on my husband to pay the bills for a while. Reality check for him, let hm see what my paycheck takes care of.

Thanks everyone. I will definately have to check out the website. I am trying to deal with my emotions prior to going in. I really don't like going to the doctor, and surgery scares me to death. I have had 5 children, one stillbirth, and had a tubal after my last son was born in 1997. I wanted the hysterectomy after the initial diagnosis, but no one wanted to do it because of my age. The physical part of recovery doesn't really bother me, other than being down for 6 weeks, the emotional part will be the real torture. My husband tries, but he has a "wee bit" of an alcohol problem, and may soon be an ex. I have a fairly good support system otherwise, so that will help, and the kids are old enough to pretty much take care of themelves. Post surgery I will at least be busy mentally. I started back for my BSN online,(in my 5th class) so I can do that, and I need to recertify for ACLS, and PALS. I can do those while I'm off work, right? That shouldn't be to hard. Its just the mental part of dealing with the idea of surgery, and the aftermath that has me reeling right now. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all your advice. It will be priceless, I'm sure

Thanks, have already discussed HRT, had not thought about gertting the patch in OR. Great idea. I will probably end up having to have the TAH. I probably know more about endo than most PCPs. Its gotten really bad, my gyn agrees, but also agreed to try the LAVH. Will do a search for the site you mentioned

Ok, here goes. I have had my RN for 5 years, worked med/surg, telemetry. ED, and am currently working rehab as a a traveling nurse. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2001, and am scheduled to have a hysterectomy on May 21. I am terrified. I know, sort of, what to expect, but have no experience with this, other than cases gone bad. Thats what is scaring me, I know what can go wrong. It is one of those instances where a little knowledge is dangerous. My doctor is excellent, I trust him as far as I can, but would like some advice as to what to expect. My doc is planning a LAVH, with the possibility of a TAH, depending on how bad teh scarring/adhesions have gotten. I am a very active person, and can't see being off work for 6 weeks, as is suggested. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am fully prepared to pay my own way. I don't ask the govt to pay for any of my choices. As a nurse, EMTand biker, I've seen what can happen without a helmet. Again, I feel its a matter of choice, but every one is welcome to their opinion. I don't try to dictate what other people do with their lives, and I don't expect anyone to dictate to me what choices I should make. 1987 HD Sportster Hugger, 2002 HD UltraClassic. Not rideable at this time, 1971 Aermacchi HD No sidecars for golfclubs though;)

I usually wear a helmet. However there are times when I don't. I believe in helmets, I just don't feel that anyone else,(unless I'm a passenger, then the rider can) has the right to tell me I have to wear one. I also disagree with the mandatory seatbelt law, though I wear mine. From personal experience, I have found some helmets do obstruct my vision and hearing. I have a full face helmet, which needs replaced due to age (of the helmet!), that I always wore. Then didn't wear one for a while, (either not riding or just short jaunts around town). Went to Missouri and wore the full face helmet. I couldn't see or hear as well with it on. New helmet will be either a 3/4 or half shell. I actually did a paper on the helmet laws probaly 5 yrs ago. The statistics at that time showed no real difference between helmeted riders vs non helmeted riders death rates due to no fault accidents. I personally know people who if they had been helmeted would now be dead, and also know people who if unhelmeted would be dead. There are timeswhen a helmet can actually cause further injury, but it can also save your life. Motorcycling is a choice, a lifestyle, and, if done with proper traing/education, is no more dangerous than many other choices people make. Cagers (car drivers) need to be educated as well. Many times they are the cause of the accident simply because they don't watch for bikes, misjudge speed, or just don't see them. As far as the cost goes....they say if you have a $10 head, then put a $10 helmet on it. As a nurse/ems person, I v'e seen people injured in car accidents many more times than a motorcyclist. I know that accidents happen, but at least around here a car accident,with serious injuries, is much more common. My sister is a State Trooper, and she says the same thing. Why people choose not to wear a helmet is as varied as why some people decide to be a nurse and some people decide to be a stockperson. My husband rides his bike to work almost daily, and wears a helmet. Never used to wear one, but does now. What changed his mind? Age, dropping his bike hard with one on, who truly knows? I don't question him, just glad that he wears one. My daughter is not allowed on the bike without one. We also do not ride in shorts or flipflops. Jeans, and solid shoes, preferably boots, are required. Sorry this is so long, just got going. Bottom line, it should remain personal choice. Do I advocate wearing a helmet? YES. Should the govt be able to say I have to? NO

I, too, live in a fairly rural area, but foreign language speakers are becoming more common, and not just Spanish speakers. My story- working in a small very southern part of Ohio, almost WVa, had a pt (10 or 12 yo) and his mother come in twice in 2 weeks to the ED, Asian. The first time they brought an interpretor, which still didn't help much because the interprotor would not translate or speak to the mother, Asian culture. The son, the pt, also had some developmental problems, but because he is male, he was the boss. Dealt with that visit. The following week, the mother and son returned, no interpretor. The son, again the pt, was getting very combative, striking out at his mother whenever she would attempt to assist. because i had dealth with them the prior week, I was able to get a foot in the door so to speak. Very firmly spoke to the son in plain English, that his behavior would not be tolerated, and we wanted to help him. Was able to give the DR what bachground I had from the week prior, and the abusive behavior stopped. The son understood everything that we told him, verified by our intepretor that finally showed 2 hrs after my shift ended. I stayed because the son did respond to me, and let the Dr do what he needed to do as long as i was there. They were very recent immigrants/or even visiting (never did find out which), and old school Asian culture in which the female is pretty much decorative and useless, not worthy to speak to a male. By speakin up and letting the son/pt know that here, I was in charge, he calmed down and respected that. Even speaking absolutely NO Korean, I think, the message got across. I was even thanked, by the son, before I left. BTW, I no longer work there, I was deemed not good enough for this particular facility. My point, 9 times out of 10 they do understand you well enough, they may not speak English, but with some perserverance and patience, foriegn speaking pts can be treated by non-foriegn speaking nurses. Learn some basic words in the language that is more predominate in your area, and it will help. Translators are a big help, but not always immediately available

Have taken care of many nurses (active and retired), very few problems. Most of the time was able to learn something from them. The older retired nurses with dementia were the worst though, they would regress and try to take care of the roommate, reprogram IV pumps, etc. Even had one tell her roommate that she was her nurse for the evening, and she (the roommate) had a very poor prognosis, and wasn't likely to make it through the night:nono: Needless to say , the retired, demented nurse got her own private room, and spent the rest of the night comforting and reassuring the roommate that no she was not going to die that night. Drs mother was a pt once, and this particular dr was a terror anyways. That night was horrible for the entire staff. As a pt on my own unit, I tried to be a good pt. I had gotten off work after the third of 5 scheduled 12 hrs night shifts. Wasn't feeling the greatest, AM nurse (and very good friend) tried to convince me to go to ER, but I went home. Called when I got home per her instructions, and she put my cardiologist on the phone, who then attempted to send a squad after me. I drove back in, still in my uniform from night shift. Lab comes in to draw blood, and i ended up telling her what to draw> She had the standard beginning labs, and I knew what my Dr usually ordered prior to heart caths, so I told her. Saved her another trip and me another stick. It took them 4 tries to start my IV, no problem except the RN taking care of me blew the IV and I felt it blow. Told her, she hooked it up anyway, major bruising/swelling. She was not a tele nurse, never even did an assessment on me. My LPN that day was wonderful. Biggest problem was the dayshift PCT (male, normally not an issue, but he is to this day a major idiot) would not leave me alone. He sat in my room for I know 3 hrs, until my DH figured out I was wanting to strangle him. He told him to leave before I got up and removed him. All I wanted to do was sleep, but was to scared. Told the staff the only special tx I wanted was aprivate room, seeing as how I had been on the unit for 3 days and knew most of the pts. Went home that night, ended up getting a write up because I did not work my last 2 scheduled shifts that week. I tried to go back in , they sent me home, and I had a DR excuse. :angryfire sorry so long. Just remember, nurses are people to, they get sick just like every one else. Treat them the same as you do the rest of your pts, with excellent care, try to comply with thier wishes as long as medically feasible, treat like you would want your family member treated.

Seems to be universal about not knowing I had pt/pts, no assessments done, no meds passed, end of shift. My husband hates the ones where I hear calllights/IV pumps, cause I end up yelling at him to shut off the pump/call light because I can't do everything. I have really vivid dreams as well. This one isn't nursing related, but, it was an off night, and when he came home that morning, I woke up screaming at him about cheating on me, told him I had a picture of him and his bimbo that my father took, and it was right there onthe bed. I still get grief about that one. The one I have had most frequently is the one where I am running the code, the dr is standing there looking at me like I'm stupid as I am giving him orders, and then I totally forget the protocol. Or the equipment breaks, or I shock and forget to call "clear" and knock a coworker across the room. Probaly the funniest was one where I intubated the dr to get him to shut up!

Ummmmmm,lets see. My husband wears my scrubs after I replace them with new. He thinks they are comfortable. Granted, he rarely wears them out of the house, but will occasionally run up the street to the corner store real quick in them. I am currently in the job market, and will wear my scrubs around the house, and (gasp!) to Walmart. They are clean, and I doubt I will be able to wear them in my next position. They are patterned, and different colored than the required uniform at my prospective place of employment. Why not wear them? They are comfortable, easy to move in, and I bought them to wear, not hang in my closet and rot. If I cannot wear them at work, why not around the house, and town if I want? I don't "go out" in them, but for running errands, why not? I am no fashionista(sp?), but I wear what I'm comfie in. If you don't like it, don't look at me.

Thanks. I'm hoping for some good hands-on experiences. This particular service is a very busy one, the only one in the county for the time being. I am familair withthem as they served the hospital I worked at previously. The are using the new (at least in this area) technology, handhelds, everything computerized, downloadable to the local ED, etc.

OK, not in a nurse's position in the ED, but at least its still in emergency medicine. Interviewed today and got hired for an EMT-Basic position with one of the local providers.!!!! Start Monday 7a-7p. Will not hear about the position in Canton until late next week d/t the manager goning on vacation starting yesterday. Any suggestions from anyone for a new EMT starting her first position in the field?

I can feel that!!! This was before I started nursing school, but was on midnights at a local factory (ugh!) There was a local restaurant that catered to night shift workers. I could go in at 0730-0800 and get a steak and potato meal, and a beer. I loved this place, unfortunately, they closed down, owner retired.

I can't really pinpoint when I decided that nursing was what I wanted to do. I remember wanting to be a vet/horse trainer when I was very young. My mother was a nurse, died in a car crash coming home from a home nursing visit. I was supposed to have gone with her that night, but she was going to be late, and she didn't want me to miss school. Blamed myself for her death for the longest time(sometimes still do on bad days), I was 10yrs old. Thought I could have helped avoid the accident. First real job was in a local restaurant, then the adjacent grocery store. Worked in a LTC facility as a CNA for awhile, quit after my second child was stillborn, divorced worthless husband, went back to LTC , then quit while pregnant with 2nd son (3rd child). Waitressed at a state resort, got into bartending there, continued bartending. Applied to nursing school(financial reasons, single mom) got accepted, found I was pregant with daughter, did not go to school. Long term relationship with what turned out to be another loser, had a son with him, still bartending. Broke up with loser bf. Got together with my now husband, whom I had dated on and off for a long time, and known even longer, he told me "you've talked about going to nursing school since I've known you. Do it or shut up" And I did it. He finally was able to convince me that I could. Bartended until 2003(could no longer handle 4 kids and 50-60 hrs wk bartending, plus full time school), I graduated an ADN program in March, 2004, married my husband June 2004, and haven't looked back. I love nursing, I feel its where I'm meant to be. Got my EMT-Basic March 2007. Will end up in emergency/trauma nursing(can we say adrenaline junkie?), though am currently unemployed (lay-offs), just interviewed for a telemetry position. Interview Wednesday for an EMT position. So I guess I ended up in nursing to prove that I could do it. I had been told for so many yrs that I would not be able to, that when my now DH threw the challenge out, I had to prove everyone wrong. He was the only one to ever believe in me enough, and knew what buttons to push. So thats my story. Lot of ups and downs, lot of misdirection along the way. But I finally made it, and have never been happier. Well except as a carefree child who's only job was to make my older brothers miserable.