pggrn

ambobam:I think you are very naive and what you need to realize is that we fight daily to keep these 40-year old rights you speak of.

I have worked union and I have worked non-union. I can say, without qualification, that union is better. I represent the RN's at my facility and have done this for years. To those of you who are whining about unions I would first ask all of you, how many union meetings have you been to in the past year? What have you done to help your union? Let me guess, the answer is "not a damned thing." What I think many fail to realize is that a union is only as good as the members want it to be. After all it is not "the" union it is "your" union. Step up and take some responsibility. The next time you get the time and a half for working overtime you can thank a union for that. For people that say they are anti-union, that level of naiveté drives me crazy. I can guarantee you that your salary and benefits did not rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes from the inspirational benevolence of the owners of your hospital. These salaries and benefits were fought by union members that came and fought way before you.

I agree totally. We, as a society, tend to be stingy with drugs that someone might also "enjoy" in addition to treating their symptoms. As an example I would point to the very limited research that has been done with marijuana and the right wing frenzy to stop the use of it.

I gotta say, I have been to a few rodeos and my feeling is, "You just never know!" Several years ago we had a fellow come into our ER that I would have sworn was totally drug seeking. He c/o abdominal pain and then said, "I need a shot." The I would ask him anotehr question and he said, "I need a shot." He always came back to his premise statement, "I need a shot." So, what would anyone think? Drug seeking, right? Well anyway, we sent him for x-ray and he had quite a bit of stool, but not by far the worst I had seen. Anyway, the doc says, "Give him a couple of soapsuds enemas." I almost said something about going to a plan "B" but it was late and slow and I thought what the heck, at least when he meets up with his other drug seeking buddies at the local pub he can tell them, "Jeez, you wouldn't believe what you gotta go through to get a shot of Demerol over there!" So, anyway, by the time I finished with his second soapy 3-H enema (and I made sure they were the epitome of the 3-H enema) he came walking out of the bathroom and said, "I don't need any shot, I feel fine now." Ten minutes later he was walking out the door a happy camper! Like I said, you just never know! But on a closing note I have to say, it is one of my better stories that I like to tell.

75 sounds good to me!

I would say F/U with a GP and cardiologist. Don't leave it hanging from what they said in the ER. This definitely needs follow up.

Indy, I think your success with this procedure evolved around "and an old OB nurse to tell me the process." I'll tell you right now, the old OB nurses are great at bowel work! If I may editorialize, I would say, "Beyond compare!" In my opinion you can learn more from an OB RN in two weeks than you will learn from a med/surg RN in a year. But hey, that is just my opinion.

It is indeed incredible how many men out there think they are being cute when the reality is that everyone listening to them is terribly embarrassed for them because they are making such huge jerks of themselves. My experience is that I do not worry about my fellow RN's. Trust me, the group I work with can more than handle themselves and don't put up with crap for one second! What does cause me concern however is that on occasion they want to start talking their s--t with one of my NA's and then I go balistic! I am in that room like a beam of light when that happens, and giving them the lecture on appropriate and inappropriate behavior, etc. They usually say something like, "Oh I was just kidding." and then I like to say, "Would you kid with your daughter like that?" which usually drives the point home. Another line I have used is something to the effect, "Well if she decides to sue you, the check you end up writing out to her will make your hospital bill look like a pittance." Everyone likes to be friendly and courteous, and everyone has their own sexual comfort level. However, I think the best course is a zero tolerance level for any of it. That is to say that even the RN that is comfortable with the sexual tone of a conversation and does not feel harrassed needs to still intervene and remind that patient that the behavior is inappropriate. That way everyone is on the same page and there are no misunderstandings by the patient as to what is and what is not acceptable behavior. In summary, there needs to be zero tolerance and every staff member needs to be on the same page.

This seems like a somewhat dated discussion, but I thought I would throw my 2-cents worth in anyway. I will preface this by saying I have never given or received one of these enemas, but I have heard they are very effective. My understanding is the mechanism as to why they are so effective evolves around the osmotic pressure effect of the solution combined with the solution itself, which is very high in sugar. The bacteria in the bowel feed rapidly on the sugars thus creating a lot of gas and bowel extension creating a somewhat explosive result.

Does anyone "remember when" you went to the hospital you used to get an enema about as quickly as they now days ask for your insurance card?