Mistify

I also posted this in the pediatric group but I would like ER nurses opinions as well. I am a surgical nurse(at home mom right now) and a friend of mine that is a pediatric nurse. We were discussing the issue of pediatric head injuries and we have heard different opinions on the issue. Should a child that takes a major impact to the head be allowed to sleep before getting a neuro exam, a med/surg nurse told us it is just an old wives tail, but I know when I worked ER we never let a patient sleep before getting a neuro exam after a head injury, who is right here? I have been a stay at home mom for the last year but I did not think things had changed that much. Any help would be appreciated.Thanks

I am a surgical nurse(at home mom right now) and a friend of mine that is a pediatric nurse we were discussing the issue of pediatric head injuries and we have heard different opinions on the issue. Should a child that takes a major impact to the head be allowed to sleep before getting a neuro exam, a med/surg nurse told us it is just an old wives tail, but I know when I worked ER we never let a patient sleep before getting a neuro exam after a head injury, who is right here? I have been a stay at home mom for the last year but I did not think things had changed that much. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I work for Wellstar in the Physicians Group at an Internal medicine practice. I came to Wellstar after having a baby and wanting to be closer to home, so I gave up hospital work. I can only tell you about my experience in the PGs, they are not bad to work for but the amount of paperwork is brutal (I came from a hospital with EMR). I had worked in doctors offices in the past and this is better than an independent office, but I like the hospital much better. If you would like to ask me some other questions, please PM me.

Thanks for the replies. I have small kits in both cars and a larger one for emergency preparedness. So far I seem to have most of the items listed, I just wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything important out. I have looked at the commercial kits and think they are a joke but didn't know if anyone else had a source for good basic kits.

This is cross posted with the polls forum. I would like to hear what other nurses/healthcare workers have in their first aid /medical kits at home/car/emergecy preparedness/etc. I have been trying to make a good basic list of supplies and usage, any suggestions? And do you have more than one kit for different uses? Do you think that most commercial first aid kits actually are useful for basic first aid? Thanks!!

I am on another forum that is very anti-vaccinations for children (or anyone for that matter), and it got me thinking how do nurses and other healthcare workers feel about vaccinations and anti-vaxer's. Most of the posters on that forum are very hostile to anyone in healthcare and no matter what a healthcare worker posts it is always wrong or they are spying for "The Man". They tend to see healthcare workers as uninformed, uneducated, and uncaring. How do you feel about vaccinations for yourself or children? Do you ever have people that are very anti-vaccination and what reasons do they give? And do you think that most people that decline vaccination are informed about or understand the effects of the route they are taking? I am not trying to judge, I am just very curious.

HCA hospitals, such as Emory and Cartersville Medical Center, do partial tuition reimbursement, 90% for an A, 80% for a B and so on. If I remember correctly you have to work for them a year before you can get in to the program.

Before becoming a nurse, I was a registered veterinary technician and I learned to NEVER tell people what I do. I hated people always asking for advice instead of actually spending the time and money to see a vet when it was needed. And even after becoming a nurse, I have noticed that people do the same thing if they find out I am a nurse. So I will not say anything unless I have too. As for professional courtesy, I have found that greatly lacking in my area of the country. My GP is a jerk and totally discounts anything I have to say about my husbands or my own help care and his MAs and office staff are very hostile to nurses (I know a couple of other nurses that use the same office). So I have just started seeing my OB for everything (I am 39 weeks pregnant and see her all the time anyway). My husband has had problems with a reoccurring prostate infection and the GP didn't want to be bothered with actually examining my husband before treating him (he ended up seeing a different doctor but is still having the same problem). Also, as a daughter of a doctor (my mother became a doctor in her 50s), I have found I get treated differently (better) by other doctors after they find out. I am not sure why, but I know my mom hates doctors that do that, she feels all patients deserve to be listened to and feel like they actually have a part in their healthcare decisions.

I never use antibacterial soap any where other than work or in public restrooms. I make my own soap and would rather use it any day of the week rather than an antibacterial. Right now I have made up a goat milk and honey bar and green tea bar for face, base castille bars for body, and a oatmeal and honey bar (with course ground oatmeal) or anise and oatmeal bars for everyday hand washing. I learned to make soap as a very young child from my great-grandmother and have been making it for over 30 years now and nothing can compare for how it leaves my skin and I never have a question that I have any "visitors" left behind from work.

I have a BS in Veterinary Nursing, with over 10 years experience and where I was hired, I was started as a nurse with 7 years experience and the pay to match. My experience in veterinary medicine was mostly emergency/critical care and orthopedic surgery, so I was a bit more specialized than most vet techs, with more in depth training and skills. I attended medical conferences and workshops for both human and animals, and I also have my cert. in wound care for both. So my experience is a little different.

I just found this on the AJC webpage, just thought I would share it other nurses.

I have given myself shots with no problems, find a location and poke it. I have very bad veins, so there have been times when I had to draw my own blood(usually in the hand or AC). The worse experience I ever had was a few years ago, I was taken, by ambulance, to the hospital for severe dehydration. Between the ambulance and the hospital staff, an IV was attempted 17 TIMES with no luck! I finally took matters in my own hands and put in a 18g cath in my AC myself, in front of the doctors and staff that had all just missed it. They asked how I did it, I was a Registered Veterinary Technician at the time and could get a cath in a mouse, a human(even myself) was a cakewalk.

I was in an auto accident about 8 years ago and had some pretty bad damage from the seat belt to the chest wall. About three days after the accident I started lactating and was diagnosed with galactorrhea. My GYN said it happens sometimes from seat belt injuries. I continued to lactate for about four months and it stopped on its own. I started lactating again recently, but I am also six months pregnant(first baby), I am just glad I did not have any premanent damage to the breast tissue from the accident(I wish I could say the same for my shoulder).

I got pregnant in my last semester of nursing school, and it has not been easy. My cast-iron stomach went away and I can't stand the smell or sight of anything, and is still that way six months into the pregnancy. Also I had to be hospitalized for anemia and dehydration three times, boy that was fun. I graduated in June and took my boards last month and I am now a nurse. If you can wait, do because the stress you will be going through will be shared by the baby. I am due Dec 7th and have a healthy, active baby I can't wait to meet. Good luck!!

I have gotten charcoal on uniforms before and have not been able to get it out. I tried everything suggested above to no avail. I have talked to cleaners about it and some will tell you yes they can get it out and some will say no, but I haven't used a cleaner for it, just used the stained uniforms for working in the yard.

Congradulations! :balloons: And welcome to North Metro, it is a good school and you will have a diverse clinical experience. Gwen Graduating Student Nurse...June 15th :mortarboard: Expectant Mother...December 7th :yelclap:

I graduate North Metro next week besides the places listed above, my class also went to:Wellstar Urgent Care(different locations), Cartersville Peds, Kenstone, Hospice(in patient and out patient), Dialysis clinics, a couple of different doctor's offices, a children's mental hospital(sorry forgot the name) and a few other places I have forgotten. They really try to give a wide experience base, that is so different than some schools in this area. Gwen

My food allergy is green bell peppers. I start with swelling of the face and difficulty breathing, I carry an Epi-pen and Benadryl with me at all times. I have to be very careful when eating out, because no one belives you can't eat them. I can not even eat food that has been cooked with a green bell pepper and had it taken out. I can eat red and yellow bell peppers in very small amounts, but it is not worth it to me to test my limits. The strange thing is, I eat all kinds of other peppers all the time and have no problem and I cook ALOT of India, Thai, Chinese dishes with large amounts of hot peppers and have never had a reaction. My doctor said it is not a common allergy but he has heard of it before.

I am just about to graduate(working in Med/Surg) and I am having the same problem but for different reasons, I am pregnant(four months). I have worked in veterinary medicine for the last 15 years and have a stomach that makes cast iron look weak. But since I got pregnant, I can't even stand the smell of food most the time let alone anything else:barf02: . I hope to regain my strong stomach before too long. Gwen

I am 1/4 Blood Blackfoot(my paternal grandmother was born on the rez in the early 1900's) and 1/16 Cherokee on mothers side.

I originally posted this in another thread but only got one response, so I thought I would ask here. I am a LPN student and I love working in OR during my clinicals. I have worked more with the OR teams than any of my classmates(I have scrubbed in several times and passed instruments) and have had offers to do my leadership in OR, but my school will not let anyone do leadership in OR(they say it is too advanced for a LPN ). I have seen in my area hospitals looking for LPNs to work with CRNAs in surgery, but I would like to know if any LPNs have real work experience in OR. And if you do, how did you get into OR and did you already have a back ground in surgery? I do plan on bridging to RN but I really need to find a employer to help pay for it. I also have a back ground in veterinary orthopedic and emergency surgery(over 10 years) so I have a solid base of knowledge to work from. Any advice? Thanks...

I can handle the smell of just about anything except a wound with maggots. It is a DIFFERENT kind of smell and it churns my stomach.

Does anyone work in OR? I am a LPN student and I love working in OR during my clinicals. I have worked more with the OR teams than any of my classmates(I have scrubbed in and passed instruments) and have had offers to do my leadership in OR, but my school will not let anyone do leadership in OR(they say it is too advanced for a LPN ). I have seen in my area hospitals looking for LPNs to work with CRNAs in surgery, but I would like to know if anyone has real work experience in OR. Thanks...

I checked out the pages you listed, the first two pages are biased and not good sites to source scientific research. Their pages are filled with a lot of misinformation, and not enough facts. As for understanding the information, it takes patients and an open mind(years of chemistry helps as well). I am a scientist at heart and I need unbiased facts, so not only did I go to the pages you listed and checked out the ingredients. I also got the MSDS sheets of the most common brands of antifreeze with ethylene glycol(chemically listed as 2-ETHANEDIOL and 2'-OXYBIS) as the active ingredient. After doing comparisons and talking with a chemist and a chemical engineer(yes, I have been busy tonight) it is evident to me that 2-phenoxyethanol(that is in vaccines) is not that same chemical as the two I listed above in antifreeze. I could not find the chemicals I listed in any of the ingredient listings for the vaccines. I could find the one you listed but it is not used to manufacture any commercial antifreeze products it is a preservative used in health and beauty products, veterinary medicine, as well as many of the foods we eat everyday. The link you provided for ethylene glycol ethers is to a general category of chemicals solvents not a specific chemical, as we know from medicine many drugs can sound alike but do very different things. I do feel it is very important to be fully informed in our decisions as consumers, but we need factual, not anecdotal sources for our information. If you like I could provide the links to the MSDS sheets and the information pages for the chemicals listed. I hope this helps.

Thank you sickandtired, I was thinking the same thing. You made a great point that is being ignored.