seasonedlpn

Ah yes...the bud of innocence that blooms in all new nurses. I, too, was blissful when I first started...but so much death, rotting flesh and pain, and cynicism becomes a ready self defense mechanism. I wanted to change the world...now, I'm happy to ...

I've become more cynical with each passing year. after over 30 years as a nurse, I can honestly say that I would have loved to tell certain patients or family members where to take their complaints! Now I work home Hospice....some problems can only b...

I understand the meaning of this thread! Last week I had an opportunity to smell a "Corpse Flower", yup, smells like rotting flesh...an odor I'm all too familiar with, as a Hospice nurse. Funny, didn't bother me at all, in fact, as I sat in the yard ...

Try an agency that staffs private duty, sometimes the experience translates as home health. I started doing home care after caring for a friend's dying mother...the note of recommendation they wrote for me was all I needed to get into home health, an...

I'm only 5' 2"...I just can't reach anything!

I was on call for Hospice when I got a 4AM death call.I am NOT a morning person! I stood in the closet whimpering that I had nothing to wear...then went into the bathroom to get ready. I grabbed my electric toothbrush in one hand, and my hot curling ...

I'm in California and our Home Hospice patients are coming to us later, and sicker. New Medi-Care guidelines have forced us to discharge some of our patients because they were not sick enough. The whole focus seems to be changing; rather than treat a...

EWWWWWWWWW!! If I read this story a few more times, dieting will just come automatically:dzed:

Yes, that one is also one of my favorites!

I've been in Hospice since 1977...in my current Hospice position for 5 years. I know my job, and I love it. But, lately, I've had a few patients that have really "gotten" to me; the ones I can't leave at the job. I start to look back at others I've e...

Pancreatic CA is usually a fast moving diagnosis. I tell my patients that a terminal diagnosis is a kind of gift. It means no midnight call from the nurse or doctor, no coroner on the front porch. It means no scrambling to "break the news" to distant...

I've been in Hospice since 1977, it is where I feel the most useful, where I do my best work. I've always felt that Hospice nurses can deal with death on a daily basis because, by some inner Faith, we believe it's not the end, but simply the passing ...

I agree. Some sort of belief system is better than no belief system. I am always enlightened by the varied beliefs we encounter, and I try to respect each and every one individually. Hospice chaplains do an amazing job in supporting our families. Tha...

I have a 65 YO male with squamous cell CA of the face. After the initial shock at how far this had progressed, I'm trying to figure out how to keep the drainage at bay. The growth encompasses the entire side of the head, having already fully consumed...

Believe it or not, he doesn't like the liquid morphine, says it makes him too unsteady when showering, (yes, he showers himself, to soak off old dressing) There is usually some bleeding noted, but nothing near hemorrhage. We use a LOT of alginate and...

Hospice is a calling, not for everyone. We, in America, tend to push aside the subject of death. Other cultures embrace it as a normal part of life. I think Hospice nurses help to cross that barrier of silence. It is the job I love most, and do best....

It is definitely non-healing. He is using topical colloidal silver to keep infection down, but infection would be a blessing at this point. I do recall using a metronidazole mixture a few years ago on another tumor..it helped. I think the very act of...

My future husband was injured in Iraq...land mine. He's had extensive foot surgery, and went through many ortho shoes. He tried Crocs and now is able to walk without a cane! He showed them to his Surgeon and was told they were an excellent choice. He...

Ewwwww!! Yuck>>yuck>>yuck!!!!

what about "oldtimers" and lumbago, and "piles" and "rhumatism". I haven't heard those for a while either.

I had a Home Health patient that had me confused for a while. She complained about her "henrids"...figured out she meant hemorrhoids. She also talked about getting a new "brow" in the store...she meant bra. I never will figure out how they come up wi...

I saw one on the freeway. I suspect it belonged to a Urologist: 2PTURP

BANK??? I have direct deposit....what's a "bank"??

I got 6 the first time!

"Two wrongs don't make one right" Yeah...but THREE LEFTS DO!! (sorry, couldn't resist.) I've found rude, unappreciative patients among the Medicaid groups...I work for a non-profit Hospice..what really irritated me were the patients that had NO Medic...