Celia M

Liverpool Jane, Thanks for all the info and good news regarding LWH. The situation is not so good for the MIL as it now seems that surgery is off and she will have chemo. Thanks to your info I did manage to get her a television/phone console for her bedside @ $15 for 3 days, and free phone calls in the UK, at least now we can contact her directly as she is getting weaker and she can whatch Wimbledon next week. I do have a problem of getting information, information given to me is not given my brother in law and vice versa (MIL has signed the medical release for us all). Who is the best person to speak to for information, the patients nurse or the ward sister? Thanks, Celia

Thank you for your replies. My MIL is now in Southport Hospital following a PE being discoverd on CAT scan that took 1 week to be read, so everything is still up in the air. They will decide tomorrow whether to transfer to LWH. The staff in Southport are wonderful and are happy to talk over the phone since my MIL had given permission. I do find it rather strange that she has no access to a phone at the bedside and has to come to the Nurses' staion to speak to us. I'm wondering if perhaps she just doesn't want to ask for one as she is the type not to want to bother anybody. What is the norm now in the NHS? (23 years ago we had a phone on a trolley that we pushed around for this purpose). Thanks again for your help, Celia

My 76 y/o mother in law is to have a TAH BSO and possible colostomy for Ovarian CA at LWH on July 5, 2010. Since we live in California we are concerned about her and are making plans for my DH to be with her, but trying to do all this long distance and communicating with her and trying (me) to get the answers a nurse would want is difficult. I've been to LWH's website and the NHS website the hospital has good looking quality , and mortality and morbidiyt scores, along with positive patient satisfaction scores. Can anyone give me a nurses opinion regarding thsi facility. I also need to know how we go about getting a release for us to receive info over the phone and if consultants ever accept calls from relatives for a case conference. Thanks, Celia

Yes, several times, and one was with a confirmed serum BS of 8!!!! Celia

When the "new" title for a nurse was RGN. (Used to be SRN). When we mixed all our IV meds including chemo (don't worry we wore gloves and a plastic apron). When you taught to stand up for the Doctors and Sister had tea with the consultants in the breakroom after grand rounds and it was an honor to pour the tea and offer the biscuits. You can remeber sluice rooms with metal bedpans and urinals and the washers for them and washing them in the winter for the patients so they did'nt freeze body parts to them because they were too cold!!! You have inserted a Sangstaken Blakemore tube. Patients used stay for weeks, wear their own Pjs and nighties (you were also really good at threading IVs through arms) and eat meals in the day room, with a visibilty of 1 foot due to the smoke. You measured IV rates drop per minute, and with a tape on the side of the bag. Orders read 3 liters over 24 hours so if one bag went in too quickly you just slowed the next one down. The junior houseofficer started all the IVs Oh, the good old days, Celia

I am sorry for your loss, your Dad was lucky to have you at his side. Sometimes it is difficult being a nurse in these circumstances. I have not lost a parent but had several miscarriages while working as a nursing sup and one of the duties was to attend deliveries. My work was very understanding and the staff subbed for me for the first couple of days so I could get my feet back under me and my head around the issue. You may also have an employee assistance program at work that could provide counselling for you to help you transition. Talk to your manager and charge nurse, I think your request is totally reasonable. Good luck and my thoughts are with you. Celia

So true, most nurse managers work very hard and floor nurses would be amazed at everything they need to accomplish in a day. You can impact patient care without actually being hands on. I find it very frustrating that the perception is if you sit behind a desk you are lazy, given up on the patients, or have sold out on nursing. Most nurse managers are salaried and work long hours and probably earn less hourly than a lot of nurses that work for them!! Celia

I agree follow your heart, you will still get some great expereince in a smaller hospital. I moved from a 1000 bed hospital to a 48 bed hospital 21 years ago because of my husbands job and I loved every minute of it. If the smaller hospital is savvy they'll love having you around as a teacher and resource. Spend more time with your love, it's more important than your career. Celia

This physician should be reported to the Medical Staff office, there is a Joint Commission regulation dealing with this. no one should be treated in this way. At my facility there is a Physician Well Being Committee for this purpose. The Medical staff can require that the physician go to anger management or communication classes, they can censure and even suspend physicians for such behavior. Celia

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I do not know if your employer has an employee assistance program (EAP) we do and it provides free financial counselling as well as 5 free personal counselling sessions. i think that you might benefit from that. If not can you talk to a social worker at the facility, they may be able to give you some reources you can access. Thinking of you, Celia

I'm a manager and whenever one of the outstanding nurses in one of my units interviews for another job or leaves I do get that awful "OMG, how am I going to replace them" knee jerk reaction. This is probably the reaction your DON had and is a compliment to you and a testament that you're doing a great job where you are. However I try not to convey that to them when I talk with them, I wish them the best because I know it is important for nurses to grow in their profession. I always tell these excellent nurses that I am sad to have them leave, but happy they are growing in their chosen career and that they would be welcomed back should they wish to return. In the past 6 years I had about three try something else which didn't work out and so they asked to come back. I welcomed them all back with open arms. So go ahead and give it a try, if your DON has any sense and it doesn't work out for you, she'll put her personal feelings aside and welcome you back happily. Good luck, Celia

Got mine (shot d/t asthma) and had the kids (10 and 6) take the mist last week. No side effects, except I fell asleep during a class the next day, but it could have just been really boring!! I'd prefer a little discomfort to being really sick or responsible for infecting someone in a high risk group. Those who don't vaccinate, rely on those of us who do and put those in high risk categories at greater risk. Celia

There are night shift openings at my facility on med/surg/tele if you are willing to relocate to Kern County. PM me. Celia

Enemas are ordered in the ER, however because of privacy issues they are done wherever a free bed exists in the hospital, usually on an inpatient floor, tying up nurses and beds. it is a problem in aour small community hospital, especially since it interferes with ratios here in California. The last ER enema patien twe did on the M/S/T floor took 6 hours and took up most of an RN and a CNAs time. Celia

I am the nurse manager of a med/surg/tele floor and an ICU. I have in the past few months hired new grad RNs and LVNs, LVNs with LTC exp only and RNs with only HHA experience. SO if you need the money go with LTC, as a manager I would take that experience over a seasonal fu clinic job. Good luck Celia