jule

Any trips abroad or contact to "imported" animals or insects, ticks...? Parasites? Possible-even if unlikely.

I´m working now for four years in ped onc and also have some experiences in working with adults. In europe we have (so far) a different system, so we decide before the training if we go ped or adults.So normally only people who have a special ped training(3years) are accepted to any kind of ped ward So first question should be children or adults? What I can say is that -of course it´s emotional, but to me it´s always like that if you work with people who suffer from severe or chronic illnesses - to me it´s NOT like sometimes shown in newspapers or movies -the choice of the unit may also depend on your peronal experiences so far, maybe - if you have children on your own- it´s harder for you to see them sick, if you maybe lost somebody to a bad accident, ER might me difficult etc... I would recommend you to do a kind of internship if possible.

I also have three excellent colleagues, even over 40! No, seriously, please do not fulfill this clichee that peds nursing belongs to the women! Hospitals, patients and their parents need males, too ;-) In the hospital where I work, I can not remeber one single case of "lawsuits happening" in this context, parents respect and love the male nurses at least as much as the female ones!

I work with children and young adults in oncology.Assisting in many biopsies, I also share the impression that they are very painful. At bone marrow aspiration we use Midazolam for sedation and amnesia effects. Sometimes we also do analgesia with Piritramid , and we always do a local anesthesia with scandicain s.c. (which in my opinion is not necessary as the most pt complain about the pain of aspiration which can not be averted with that).

I agree that this is a very personal and unusual request. But as for NaKat, for me the pt´s dignity is one of the most important things in nursing. For many young women shaving pubic hair -and even more shaving legs or armipts- is part of their normal personal hygiene. I think you can not keep pt´s dignity if you always stick strictly to your job description. A solution could be the offer to arrange a the visit of a professional cosmetician, if the pt will not be discharged.

on the pediatric oncology unit where i work, we have these `rules`for low WBC: generally no visitors under 12 years generally no plants generally avoid eating nuts etc (bec. of moulds) generally avoid places where many people are (like bus, train...) under 1.0 wbc "sterile" food,e.g. no uncooked vegetables, no unpeeled fruits, etc. one day under o.1 wbc or two days under 0.2 wbc:"sterile" room, e.g.single room, door closed, visitors and nurses have to wear a mask when entering the room.