Boognish

I think using your cellphone as a nursing tool is legit. It's only when people are using their phones in ways that it interferes with their work that it becomes a problem.

I just became an RN, and while I earned a BA in mathematics almost ten years ago and have had many jobs since then, my current job is my first in a professional role. I never considered nursing before because it was always expected by my parents that I would go to college, and once there chose my field of study based on what I enjoyed studying rather than what type of work I might get after college- so I chose to major in math, and found myself, after graduation, without any job opportunities that I was interested in. So I continued the work that I started while I was still considering declaring a psych major- working in a direct-care role in a group-home, which is what ultimately led to my decision to go to nursing school.

I keep mine on silent or turned off in my backpack in the nurse's station. If anybody needs to get a hold of me in an emergency, they can call my facility. Except for when I'm on break, I only ever take my phone out while I'm finishing up my paperwork, and it's usually only to text my wife when I'm running late.

I've never worked in that setting, but I'm interested in what others who have done so have to say. Before attending nursing school I worked in memory care, and just started my first nursing job in a rehab facility. Working in a setting that combines the two sounds challenging!

That sounds a lot like how my school is teaching us to use nursing diagnoses. They've had us use them as written in the diagnosis manual for assignments, but they've been pretty frank about the fact that we're not going to use the manual in practice. They've essentially told us that it's a tool to teach us nursing process- but what you described sounds like exactly what my professors would want me to say to a family in that situation.

I'm still in nursing school, but I got my start dealing with gross stuff years ago when I worked in a couple different group homes with developmentally disabled kids, and more recently when I worked in assisted living and memory care, and I can definitely relate. I remember feeling like I'd never get used to dealing with other people's feces/urine/vomit, or providing extremely personal care, but it's definitely become much easier over time. These days, when I have to wipe a backside, change a depend, provide catheter care, or empty a colostomy bag, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to help preserve another person's hygiene, health, and dignity. I still feel personal discomfort, but it's pretty insignificant compared to that. I know it might sound hokey, but it's the truth. But yeah, know that it will get easier, especially once you're working and dealing with other people's bodily functions almost every day, and try to remember to think about the care you provide from your patients' perspective- doing so goes a long way in making the job easier in many ways.

I can see why you're frustrated! Thankfully that's not at all the rationale they give for nursing diagnoses in the program I'm in right now. They've told us pretty much from the beginning that we won't ever actually use nursing diagnoses in clinical practice, but that they are a useful tool for students to learn how to think like nurses when assessing patients and developing interventions. They essentially said they expect us to internalize the process, but that we're never going to have to write out a nursing diagnosis for any of our patients, or discuss our nursing diagnosis with our colleagues. While writing out OPTs based on the NANDA manual have been a HUGE headache during my clinical rotations, I've found that it has been beneficial in helping me develop good nursing judgement- however I don't expect to even utter the words "nursing diagnosis" once I enter a clinical setting.

So, since I have a cold and I didn't want to give it to any pregnant women, new moms, or infants, I spent my first two OB clinical shifts following Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. Based on what you've said, ImThatGuy, I recommend that you try to do the same if you get the chance. You'll spend most of your time observing epidurals and c-sections, and you won't have to touch any babies. Although I'm way more excited for L&D, it was pretty interesting.

If you're not interested in OB, then you shouldn't pick that as your career. But I get the impression from comments you've made in this thread that you don't think it's important that you put any effort into learning from your OB clinical. If that's not what you meant, then I'm sorry for misinterpreting. If that IS what you meant, I'd have you consider the fact that nursing is not a hobby. Nurses need to be able to competently care for people throughout all stages of the life-cycle- I don't know how you hope to achieve that by just "going through the motions" with material that isn't interesting to you personally- but best of luck to you. I hope you're able to get more out of your OB rotation than you're expecting from it.

You obviously weren't trying to say that monkeypox and pregnancy are the same thing, but you were clearly trying to compare the importance of understanding one to the importance of understanding the other- which is still ridiculous. I'm sorry that my response wasn't clear.

"Suck it up and get your hands dirty" reminds me of helping one of my classmates clean up a patient with liver failure taking lactulose on my last med surg rotation

This is either a successful attempt at trolling, or a failed attempt at a sound, logical argument. Are you honestly comparing the normal biological processes of pregnancy and childbirth to an obscure infectious tropical disease that few nurses are ever likely to see? Come on. I totally respect the fact that you're not personally interested in OB, but your attitude that it's not important to try and learn as much as you can from your rotation is troubling. We're not in nursing school to be entertained- we're in it to become good nurses.

That's good to know!

Exactly- I'm also a male nursing student, about to start my OB rotation this Friday (that is if I can shake this cold that I can feel coming on). I have no problem respecting a patient's wishes if they are uncomfortable with me. I worked as a caregiver and medication aide in long term care for years, and there were plenty of times I had to get a female caregiver to do a shower or take a woman to the toilet because they didn't want a guy in there. It's all part of providing patient centered care. It's pointless taking that sort of thing personally, and ultimately it negatively impacts patient interactions as a whole. In any case, I'm pretty stoked for this rotation even though It's not what I want to do as a career. I'm looking to work on the other side of the life cycle- in hospice. But the whole birthing process is incredible to me, and I'm excited to learn all I can. Even though I may not be using what I learn in my career (although you never know), it will still come in handy when my wife and I have kids of our own.

Over all, I've been extremely happy with my experience at UP. The instruction has been, for the most part, excellent. As have been my clinical experiences. I've found my experiences on dedicated education units to be especially beneficial, since the nurses there have an established relationship to UP students, know what is expected of us, and are genuinely engaging. Just as important, I'm very pleased with my cohort. The program emphasizes group learning, and I have had the pleasure of collaborating with some incredible individuals, both on class projects and in clinicals, and there is an atmosphere of mutual support among my class mates. I believe the highly involved application and interview process helped to make this possible. Furthermore, the campus is beautiful, and it has a state-of-the-art simulation lab. That's not to say UP is without flaws. I won't elaborate most of them here, because there problems I believe one would encounter at any educational institution. However, the big concern I have personally that specifically relates to my program is that I'm still uncertain about the CNL role. It's not that I don't understand the value of the training I will receive in the master's portion of the program; it's just that I'm not sure how much more employable it's going to make me in the end for all of the extra money I'm spending to get there- especially since we keep hearing that we probably won't find many jobs with the actual title "CNL," but rather will be eligible for other leadership roles. In the end, though, I'm still 100% certain that I made the right choice in enrolling in the AEM UP program. I'm being challenged more than I feel I would be in an AA or BSN program, and ultimately I think I'll be the better nurse for it- which is really what matters most to me. I trust that I'll be able to successfully launch my career when the time comes, and that I will be well prepared to do so by my education- even if that path seems obscured at the moment.