ERNUTBALL

me too medic! :kiss miss ya AT

I like to use the term PDSD...Pre-Detention Stress Disorder! Oh, Mr. Police Officer, my chest hurts, can you take me to the emergency room, before we go through the whole booking thing...please...it really hurts...

You and your delusions...you are SOOOOO the barbie nurse and no matter what you, JCAHO or HK say you will always be a barbie!!! :roll

Our current "policy" states the a stable monitored patient can be transported by a monitor/acls trained tech (CNA II) to PCU and radiology, ICU/CCU patients must have an RN and we prefer that 2 people go on critical care transports.

AT- of course we can't forget the self-serve bar, our guests must understand it is BYOB. We will, however, provide mixers...OJ & cranberry juice are always available!

Harry you nailed it! I really do feel that way just about every weekend. And let us not forget those that feel we are a self service restaurant. When Nurse Linda says: I will have your drink for you in just a moment. Guest: It's OK, I know where the fridge is, I'll fix myself a drink, while you get my dinner. Come on people this is a high-end establishment - NO SELF SERVE! What will our little waitresses do if you all wait on yourselves. And no! We are not pizza hut - there is no 20 minute guarantee or it's half-off your bill!

and "evil-doers" as bush likes to call 'em! Just an FYI if anyone is interested in addressing legislators about gay/lesbian/transgender/bi-sexual issues or just finding out more info about the barbaric laws some states have you can go to the following links... The National Gay and Lesbian Task force http://www.ngltf.org The ACLU site for gay rights http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRightsMain.cfm or if you just want to compare your beliefes to those of the candidates go here...it's a site driven by AOL/Time and has a series of questions regrding your level of agreement with certain issues and then gives you a list of candidates that have similar inclinations... http://www.presidentmatch.com/Main.jsp2?cp=main

That is soooo GREAT!! :roll :roll

Bravo Michelle! I am sure you will make an excellent nurse. And, yes, I am sure that the adversities and discrimination you have faced have made you a more compassionate, caring and understanding preson than most. My best to you and your endeavors!

\AT, you know where my issues come from in regard to the entire republican right! And you know sometimes I just like to argue with you. :kiss But ulitmately, I have to say that GW and the rest of the "right" are seriously threatening my liberty! Don't take these boards so personally. You love a good arguement as I do!

Ditto! Supurb! Well said! And the speach last night didn't help my level of respect... "A strong america must also value the institution of marriage...the Defense of marriage Act, signed in 1996...protects marriage under federal law as the union of a man and a woman...activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people...On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon th epeople, the only alternative left to the people would be constitutional process..." Give me a break! The will of the people? Seems to me the the "people" are the ones going to the courts to overturn the antiquated laws present in most states regarding the legal rights of same-sex-marriage. Constitutional process? Based on the Declaration of Independence, Don't we the "people" have certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of HAPPINESS? "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness -- And in the constitution.. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. " As defined by webster's..liberty is - --The condition of being free from restriction or control. --The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing. --The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. --Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control. --A right or immunity to engage in certain actions without control or interference: the liberties protected by the Bill of Rights. I'm sorry, do these words only apply to the wealthiest heterosexual republicans in our country? :confused:

Well said Caroline! :)

AT, you say that like it was so long ago! You haven't been gone that long! And remember the other solution found to a lack of "clean beds"...send in the "not-so-merry-maids"! Yes, prior to AT's description of the plan we now have, there was one time that when we were told there were no clean rooms we actually went to the floor and cleaned a few. Me and another tech put on our isolation gowns with "not-so-merry maids" spelled out in big black letters on the back, cleaned the rooms and shazzaamm! They were left with no excuses. Granted, this is not a day to day solution, but let me tell you the floor nurses were standing there, mouths agape with our solution! And we found great satisfaction and humor in our efforts! P.S. miss ya AT when's karaoke? :roll

I am a mom, have a full-time job and go to school full-time as well. YES, it can be done, but takes a great deal of disipline and personal drive. If you do have consistant help with the family and their support I don't see why you couldn't do the RN route. Weekend programs are great if the endeavor is worth sacrifices all those weekends. I opted for the weekday programs and work every weeked. Same sacrifice, but well worth it in the edn.. Best of luck!

In our ED we deal with holds rather simply, we get a hospital bed, put them in it, try to find a portable TV with some movies, get them a drink and hope they sleep well. We have the same issues as everyone else and no, we have not come up with some ingenious way of solving the problem. We have 16 beds in our ED and one night several weeks ago I came in at 1900 to find 12 holds. Our shift supervisors all do a great job getting us help when it is available, but when there is no one to call in, we are on our own. In addition, our Dept. Manager does not believe in going on any kind of divert without some direct intervention from God. I have seen our ER RN's having 2-3 holds plus a full load of regular ER patients.

LOL :roll These are the very reasons I am all for the idea of aerosol spraying of ativan or xanax in the waiting room!

Shotzie, I must object to the global use of the term non-professional. I myself am an ER tech as well as a licensed EMT. No, I do not have an Associates or greater in nursing, but I do however have a degree in Sociology. So between my degree and licensing as an EMT and the vast training I have completed to perform my job I would like to think that I too am a professional. I don't think we are talking about candy stripers distrbuting foley's. I agree that not everyone is as skillful in each task assigned, but then again, were you an expert when you were first trained? I know that the nurses who work with me have th eutmost respect for mine and other tech's skills. They feel that we are a great asset to the department and that we too are professionals.

Well, Larry I am one of the techs I spoke of. Salary renges in the MD are anywhere from $8-15/hour depending on the hospital/level of experience, etc. Some days I would say that is plenty, but others I would say its a far cry from fair. With the ever expanding patient load, especially in the ED's CNA's/Tech's are taking on more and more roles and hopefully someday the salary structure will increase as well.

In our ED Techs do almost everything except give meds. IV's, EKG's, blood draws, point-of-care urine tests, accu-checks, breath ETOH, and yes cath's (although limited to same sex). They have recently added nasal washings to the never ending list of tech skills. And yes, like most states, MD requires training and competency evaluation of all "delegated" procedures.

I responded to AThomas91 regarding another reply to this issue, but I feel compelled to address this as well. First and foremost, the term deviant, regardless of the Webster's definition is, when used in this society, is done so with a negative connotation. Therefore it is to be assumed (and yes, I understand the dangers of assumption) that those who use the term deviant do, in fact, believe the transgender or whatever population they project this term upon, to be "wrong/mentally ill" Do you also include gays and lesbians in your list of deviants? If so, would you also say then that gay/lesbian individuals should not care for patients of the same gender? Would you want them providing care to your private areas? Be honest... Are these not your questions? Granted, I do understand the difficulty with alternating dress from day to day and this seems to have been addressed, other than that. I think the issue at hand is more one of personal phobia. As for the question of society changing...I don't think it has any choice but to change. See my reply to AThomas91 for further soapbox rebuttle on that topic.

Alas Dear AT, I do believe that the initial statement was one of personal distress over teaching the individual and whether the individual should be allowed to become a nurse. And, this is the reality we are dealing with. It is sad that in this society,with all it's claims of being the leader of the free world, that so many of our own citizens are still plagued by the antiquated notion that those of differing sexual orientations and gender identification issues are mentally ill or lack the inalienable rights of "the rest of America". As many others have pointed out it is the attitude of those "in charge" that often sets the tone for any given social arena. And, as with any social belief it often takes a legislative movement to eventually shift the discriminatory belief systems within a society. It was not so long ago that African American individuals were not permitted to attend public schools, let alone obtain a college degree and become a nurse. It took making discrimination illegal to change attitudes. Had it not been for the tremendous efforts of the civil rights movement where would we be as a society? Even with those advances many are still discriminated against. And we call ourselves leaders??? As health care providers, mentors to students and visible agents of change in this world we must all be able and willing to accept, embrace and honor the differences among us. An individual's ability to be an effective and skilled nurse has nothing to do with their sexual orientation, religion, gender identity, race, etc. Rather, the health care field provides the perfect arena to challenge and change some of the antiquated ideas of our society. Teach your students, friends and patients respect, tolerance, understanding, dignity and compassion! That's what nursing is about! :kiss

I poosted this on funny ER stories also Here's a great family involvement story! Just this weekend one of our local paramedic units was alerted for an unconscious subject, by the time they responded, the call was changed to a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress. When the medics arrived the family was doing chest compressions on the patient. Paramedics were told the patient was unresponsive (ok, the family didn't use such a big word) so they (the family/friends) started CPR. Thank god for bystander CPR and education! The paramedics did the usual quick look assesment, monitor hook up, etc. Pt was in a perfect sinus rythym and responded to verbal stimuli. Turns out she had fallen down (passed out) as a result of a little too much ETOH. She was brought to our ER in the cabulance, treated for her ankle injury and sent home with her loving and life saving family! Fortuantely the bystander CPR was done poorly and she didn't suffer any additional injuries. Moral of the story...when you plan on drinking yourself into a stupor, make sure the people you are with know the difference between drunk and cardiac arrest

Here's a great family involvement story! Just this weekend one of our local paramedic units was alerted for an unconscious subject, by the time they responded, the call was changed to a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress. When the medics arrived the family was doing chest compressions on the patient. Paramedics were told the patient was unresponsive (ok, the family didn't use such a big word) so they (the family/friends) started CPR. Thank god for bystander CPR and education! The paramedics did the usual quick look assesment, monitor hook up, etc. Pt was in a perfect sinus rythym and responded to verbal stimuli. Turns out she had fallen down (passed out) as a result of a little too much ETOH. She was brought to our ER in the cabulance, treated for her ankle injury and sent home with her loving and life saving family! Fortuantely the bystander CPR was done poorly and she didn't suffer any additional injuries. Moral of the story...when you plan on drinking yourself into a stupor, make sure the people you are with know the difference between drunk and cardiac arrest