DavidFR BSN, MSN, RN

Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health

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All Content by DavidFR

  1. DavidFR

    Mispronunciations That Drive You Nuts

    Do you have Smecta in the US? An anti-diarrhoea medication. I had a patient who told me she was fine now since she was taking Smegma. I worked in the South-West of England in the 80s...
  2. I can only really help you on the tax question. I live in France and have dual French/British nationality. Several years ago I had a UK income in addition to what I earn from my regular job in...
  3. Breast surgery, usually in an oncological context. After some procedures you have to verify that the breast is warm and supple. Some patients have a flap after breast surgery and standard flap...
  4. DavidFR

    Vaccine error

    Try not to. You're human, and you've done the right
  5. DavidFR

    Vaccine error

    Everyone makes mistakes. Don't beat yourself up. Expiry dates are a largely precautionary safety measure. The product doesn't magically lose all its potency on the given date. Some countries have...
  6. DavidFR

    Question about RN scheduling

    This exact system is used where I work. People like it as they know where they are for the year. They request those extra days off (public holidays in lieu etc.) as and when they need them. The only...
  7. DavidFR

    Port Access - Needle Securement

    I remember needles with wings but haven't seen one for about 10 years. When we switched to Qimoflow+ we thought it strange that there were no wings, but like most changes, once we got used to them we...
  8. Having worked in a nursing home or having "only" 5 years experience as an RN are not excuses. Don't make excuses for her. Any trained nurse should know what to do when a patient falls and hits their...
  9. DavidFR

    Port Access - Needle Securement

    We have a foam block which goes underneath the arm of the needle to support it, which is then fixed in place by 3 steri-strips which are placed over the arm of the needle but not over the insertion...
  10. DavidFR

    Cgfns deficiency

    I once knew a UK nurse who didn't have enough hours psychiatry. She wrote places asking to do an unpaid placement and a psychiatric hospital accepted her to do the number of hours required, giving her...
  11. Is his rôle what used to be the 2 year trained ODA (Operating Department Assistant - back then a City & Guilds Certificate)? My sister was an ODA in the 80s and it was very much a UK...
  12. DavidFR

    EKG order

    From a European perspective, I am shocked you need an order for an ECG. If I have a patient with chest pain, thoracic oppression, palpitations etc. and I feel an ECG may be useful I do one. I...
  13. DavidFR

    Nursing Guilt

    I am particularly despairing of colleagues who drag themselves into work when they are clearly
  14. DavidFR

    Nursing Abroad

    Go to the world nursing section of this forum and you'll find lots of questions and answers on various European countries. For the European Union member states, once you've got registration in one EU...
  15. DavidFR

    Crusty Old Bats

    The keys! Thankfully we don't have them any longer!! Long live badge passes, push button locks and security codes!! I remember the keys being lost and all care being abandoned as the entire staff...
  16. DavidFR

    Signs of hospital closing?

    Yes I have, and this won't be a comfort to you. Planned wind down with total transparency, every effort to relocate staff to other hospitals, redundancy packages for those who weren't relocated....
  17. DavidFR

    Thoughts on nurses who became physicians

    Some people are just jealous to see other people trying different things and having a go at something they haven't done. I've known 2 nurses turned doctors and yes, their nursing perspective...
  18. DavidFR

    What is the toughest part of nursing?

    Of course I make allowances for stress. I work in oncology, so hey, patients are anxious and I of course wouldn't want to be in their shoes and I make allowances for that. However some people overstep...
  19. DavidFR

    Primary care for elderly patients

    Skylark, I sincerely hope you've found a solution by now. However, if not, have you thought of signalling her to the local social services department as a solitary, at risk eldery person? I too...
  20. DavidFR

    Welcoming New Nurses

    I guess this varies from hospital to hospital. Where I work newbies have a hospital orientation day, then are doubled for their first 8 shifts (we do 12s) - can be longer if they need it. They...
  21. DavidFR

    What is the toughest part of nursing?

    Dealing with disrespect. If patients are polite and courteous I don't care how heavy the workload is or how complex their problems are. I will go all out 100% for these people. However rude...
  22. DavidFR

    Crusty Old Bats

    Yes! And on the subject of glass bottles, IV Hemineverin (chlormethiazole) came in huge glass bottles, only that was the tratment of the day for alcohol withdrawal. So you always got agitated...
  23. DavidFR

    How to deal with CNA insubordination?

    Some care assistants take advantage of agency staff as if their being fixed staff somehow makes them senior to the agency RN. Are you in an environment where there is an overall night supervisor...
  24. Likewise in France the person has to be a qualified person who's followed a 3 year training and is registered as what we call a Manipulateur Radiologique. Similarly when I worked in the UK this...
  25. DavidFR

    Managing Stress

    I understand this is an issue in areas where breaks are unpaid and staff leave the unit to go to a distant canteen. If you're only two trained nurses on nights in a small unit for example, you can't...