Scififan

I am 60 and I have found my niche in Endoscopy. I worked in PACU for 20 years which was great for a slower pace and plenty of colleagues around to assist. Both of these areas I think are good for the older nurse. Hope you find something that works for you.

One of the hardest things I had to learn when dealing with depression was how to be kind to myself. When going through this negative thoughts can take over and you can't see the forest for the trees. See your doctor, get started on antidepressants and find a good counselor and then give yourself time and remember be kind to yourself, it's not your fault and life can be ? but things do get better.

Normal feelings for most Nurses I would say. I have been in PACU for 15 years and am still learning, which is what makes a good Nurse. The nurse that thinks they know it all is a nurse who will potentially make a terrible mistake, that sort scares me, rather work with folk who know they don't know everything.

Apparently this man couldn't think of anything else to complain about. If you had not given him the Fentanyl would probably complain that he was denied pain relief. Unfortunately in the PACU setting patients often are confused and forgetful but can often fixate on something they believe did or didn't happen. Feel your Manager should be more supportive of you and your nursing decisions.

Excellent, what a great site thanks, have immediately added it to my favourites:)

I have a hx of depression, my bosses and co-workers are fully aware and supportive and I know I'm very lucky. For the past few years on TV here (New Zealand) there have been a series of TV ads promoting support of people with mental illnesses and have very normal people with very normal families and friends telling their stories of living with a mental illness. Which I think has made the wider public a bit more accepting. I have recently gone thru yet another low and without the support of my co-workers I don't know how I would have coped! I think you have to be a little bit cautious about who you tell, I certainly didn't start my job telling everyone about it but as I got to know and trust people I would confide in them. I can only do this when I'm well tho so you have to judge the time, and perhaps starting a new job might have to wait until you feel well enough to cope with it. Hope my ramble is useful!

Hi, my father is an alcoholic which he will never admit in a million years, unfortunately the alcohol does not make him a pleasant person, he is not physically abusive but emotionally he knows which buttons to push and how to make you feel the worst! I thank you tweety for your story, and am so glad you have found a path away from it, my father will die drinking as did his father and probably his before him. I don't drink but certainly did in my youth, I stopped when I started antidepressants cos it certainly didn't make me feel good that combo! I really dislike being around people drinking cos that bleary look in the eye is just too close to home. I also acknowledge that our family have very addictive genes, I took to smoking cigarettes like a duck to water and have had experiences with other drugs which scared me cos I liked them way too much!! So now Ijust stickto the ciggies, still not good but oh well. I wish my father and brother who I think is in training to be an alcoholic could see how it affects the people around them and the distress it causes, when I meet up with my family it can be a struggle to find a non alcoholic beverage and after ten years of me not drinking they still see it as a temporary thing!! So cheers to you all who are sober and continue to fight to be sober just wish it could happen in my family.

Glad I didn't bore you, I think Maori here are now more realistic about payouts from the government, in the 1990's there were a few very public cases of where money was mishandled overspending etc, which unfortunately played straight in to the hands of those that are opposed to them receiving compensation. I live by myself with no dependants except two dogs, and I've been thinking of who to leave things to, house etc. Now my siblings are doing alright for themselves and their families so I don't feel I need to leave it to them. A while ago I mentioned to my family that among other things I was considering leaving money to the SPCA and my house to the local iwi, just a thought which may well change but you would have thought I had committed a cardinal sin!!! Actually made me laugh because by them it would be ok to leave things to friends etc but definately not Maori. At this stage it is only a whim cos I would have to find out more about it, for example which local iwi and how to go about setting it up so it was not for one single person to gain from etc etc. Thank you very much for your posts on the history of your people I find it absolutely fascinating, as you can imagine growing up here, what we knew about your people was from the "westerns" on TV! Of course we know how accurate they are! Do the different tribes have different languages and if so are they similar enough for people from different tribes to understand?? The Maori have one language with slight differences in pronunciation etc but maori from one area to another can understand each other and maybe this makes it easier to be united with a common cause. Thanks so much

They have started doing this to us as well, we have no holding area in our new theatre suite, stable patients wait in the surgical day unit, if they are unstable we have to hold them in PACU. Personally I don't like it one bit, but as usual, the choices we were given in the matter were none!!

Just a postscript to my last post I don't want to offend anyone but to me this being carded seems to have alot in common with the policies the Nazi"s with the Jews. By saying this I am not implying that the American Government supports Nazi's or anything like that, but it leaves the same taste to me.

Thanks so much for that, didn"t notice any rambling!!! As far as I'm aware there is no system like that here. In many bureaucratic forms you are asked to nominate an ethnic group you identify with. Maori can also choose whether to be on the Maori Electoral roll or the General roll for General elections. I am not sure whether you need to provide proof of Maori ancestry if you opt for the Maori Roll. There are about seven Maori seats in Parliament. Alot of urban maori don't know which iwi (tribe) they come from but I think more and more are tracing their roots. I think the difference here is that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1860 ish and is still recognised, over the last decade or so iwi have been making treaty claims and are negotiating compensation with the government. This is not to say everything is great here for maori because it very definately is not!! Maori will never get close to being compensated properly for all that was taken from them not just land but culture and language. Maori are suffering the same things as many other colonised people, racism, high rates of diabetes cardiac illness, smoking related ilnesses etc, etc, they are over represented in the lower socio-economic groups with all the problems that go along with that - high unemployment, gangs, violence, alcohol and drugs. In the 1970's a report came out saying that the maori language was dying and predicting it would be gone in 20 years, this is when Maori started Preschools that taught the children Maori, and then later full immersion schools started, this is where all the teaching is in Maori, This has lead to more and more fluent Maori speakers, and along with the language comes the culture or a much deper understanding of it. On the state television we now have a Maori channel, most of the broadcast is in Maori, sometimes with subtitles. I watch this channel alot as I have learnt so much from it, for example why Maori are so aggreived about the Treaty of Waitangi and it not being honoured, their very deep connection with the land and how it has caused untold misery to the Maori having their land taken from them. As a Pakeha looking in I can only understand to a certain degree, but I feel especially in the health profession really understanding this will inevitably help us care for our maori patients with more empathy and hopefully more effectively. Cultural Safety is part of our Nursing course but it is very different from the classroom to the real world and unfortunately there are many in the health profession that are overtly or passively rascist. Anyway hope you didn't get bored with my brief introduction to New Zealand history. As a Pakeha I have only somuch knowledge and understanding, to properly know you would have to speak to Maori themselves.

As a pakeha (European descent) in New Zealand I"m not sure what "carded" means, I"m guessing it means to be registered as a Native American. Why is this?? This thread has been extremely interesting, I think the Maori in Aotearoa ( New Zealand) have alot in common with Native Americans especially with health issues as do the Aboriginals of Australia. As a pakeha I feel no shame for what was done before I was born ( alot of sorrow tho!) but I do feel that as a member of the dominant culture in this generation we have an obligation to try and correct the past and improve native populations health and happiness

I think you did the right thing, many a time I have felt the pain being complained about seemed excessive for the procedure that was done, but I'm not lying in the bed and all sorts of things can contribute to pain. I make sure that all vital obs are within safe parameters and administer the analgesia as charted, and keep the anaesthetist updated. Drug seekers are clever people and their tolerance is usually high so they are usually never happy with the amount we are able to give.

Whenever I've had to put up with stupid remarks, usually from older male patients and sexual in nature I just enquire sweetly if they would like someone talking to their daughter, sister wife or whatever in that manner. Usually shuts them up for a minute while I make my exit. They all get good care from me, but I certainly will not go out of my way for them as I do for patients who appreciate me and what I do for them

Hi, I am an RN in PACU in small city in the north island, we and hospitals like us are always looking for nurses, the shortage is well and alive here also. I have to disagree with the anti-american sentiment. As a country we certainly don't agree with the USA's foreign policy but I do not believe that sentiment is directed to individuals at all! The cost of living can be expensive in the bigger cities but in the smaller areas it is very reasonable, in my area to rent a 3 bedroomed house will cost you about $200 NZ per week which is probably about $100 -130 US. The price of petrol has caused food prices etc to go up but not to a crazy level. I earn approx $55,000 per year bit more depending on the shifts and overtime I do, and that allows me to have a relatively comfortable lifestyle, I am certainly not rich but I'm not on the street starving either! I would encourage you to come, I don't think you have to sit an exam but you will have to meet Nursing Councils requirements, their website is http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz through that site you should be able to find out what you need to do or at least who to contact. Good luck, any more info you require just yell!