WinstonWolf

I remember when I was in school and working as a tech, the patients would say "oh, you're going to be a male nurse?" and I would reply "well, it would be pretty tough for me to be a female nurse." they usually either got confused or shut up pretty quickly. When I get that name now, I usually still mention that it's a given that since I have a goatee and am a nurse that I am both male and a nurse and the term is technically correct but I prefer to just be their nurse, or Erik, as that is my real first name. But "hey you" is usually a good way to get my attention too, as long as you don't abuse it. :) anyone ever get that one? "hey you... the guy/male/dude nurse!" as you walk past a patient's room? jeez people just say "excuse me!"

At my facility, when we need something non-emergent from a specific doc, we have these bright green "physician communication" forms that we can use to request evaluation of meds, diet, or whatever else we feel may improve a pt's condition but may not be a safety issue which warrants a stat page. It's used mostly when we know the doc will be rounding later on and just want to make sure they receive a specific request from the nurse. These obviously must be well-written as the nurse may not be available to clarify the request depending on when the doc makes his/her rounds.

I just got my first year's coverage from NSO a couple of months ago. $45. I knew it couldn't stay that cheap... but I guess they want to be nice to those of us who just graduated and have bills to catch up on :) Definitely worth covering your butt. No one has to know you have it until you need it, but it's a good feeling knowing that if some patient is a big enough jerk to sue a nurse, I'll have representation without having to cash in my house to pay the lawyer.

yeah... I do the PAPR thing too... and honestly, they're WAY more comfortable than an N95, though the power unit on the belt can be a little cumbersome... before I was licensed I used to sit in 1:1 with confused and suicidal pts... once I had a guy who was r/o TB (I think he turned out to be negative but we were cautious)... I wore the PAPR for 8 hours (minus a dinner break). It was nice having fresh air blowing in my face... the only annoyance is the glare really... and you get used to that after a minute or two. I would *not* work for anyone who told me I had to shave. Unless they paid me a lot. Shaving takes time, and they don't pay me to shave but they do pay me hourly. If I decide to shave it's gotta be for me, or at least for my wife. :) As for long hair, I used to look like Kid Rock... lol. But it's a lot more convenient now with it short, and damn comfortable too. I don't think nursing is a good place for long hair... I mean if you can pull it off, great, but I see so many female nurses chop theirs off after the first time a pt grabs a fistful... much more reliable to just crop it than just trying a high and tight pony to keep it out of reach. As far as the patients, I get a lot of women who say I should shave... but then I get ones who already think I look like a teenager (of course, they're usually in their 80's) and I really don't care to look any younger. I *do* look like a teenager if I shave clean... no thanks... I'm looking forward to the respect that comes with age. Once I turn 40, maybe I'll want to "shave off" ten years... at 27, it would just make me look like a kid.

that was interesting... but it's not fair to ask about drinking... and I hate even asking my patients during screening... I had 5 or 6 drinks last night... at the first party I've been to in years! that's probably at least half my alcohol for the year! :) anyway... where will those results be? I wanna see how I stack up to the crowd :)

Why wear scrubs at all? I dunno where you work but at least at my hospital they don't really seem to care what kind of pants you wear. In my first role before I was licensed I had to wear white pants, and in order to be able to wear a belt and stop hearing comments about my boxers, I started wearing Dickie's painter pants. $18 at walmart if I recall... still wear those sometimes since they still fit. I also wear EMS-style ("whacker") pants which have the huge cargo pockets to hold my stethoscope and other stuff as well as the loops to hold my shears. Very nice. Also has beltloops. Also has the stuff inside the waist that keeps your shirt from untucking (which I guess would be bad if you don't tuck, but I assume you do or would with a belt anyway). I prefer pants that don't leave me feeling like I'm flapping in the wind if ya know what I mean... those pajama-like scrubs might be ok for the ladies, but I like a little more support than that.

Heh. While I was in school and working as a tech, I'd tell my patients I was studying to be a nurse. They'd of course say "oh! You're going to be a male nurse!" To which I would generally reply "Well, it would be pretty tough for me to become a female nurse!" I generally find the male adjective to be extraneous. When I was an EMT I remember the general rule was "There is no sex in EMS." This would seem to apply to nursing as well, and in fact all of healthcare IMO.

Actually, I've had more patients comment on my facial hair than coworkers. Obviously, some like it and some don't. But I agree that it's just another form of hairstyle and certainly not unprofessional as long as it doesn't get out of hand. They make me do fit testing yearly, and I fail every time. That's fine with me since I prefer to wear the hood rather than the mask anyway. They always says "maybe you'll shave soem day and it will seal for you." No, I don't think so. I can get away with shaving far less often by wearing a goatee, and when I do shave every few days it only takes a couple of minutes instead of doubling my time spent on daily grooming. I say, wear it proudly; It's nice to see all sorts of faces at work and remind patients that men do exist in the care setting. Does anyone work at a facility that prohibits facial hair at all? I've always wondered if my hospital is more or less liberal than average with its grooming policies.