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.

Exactly. The only thing I don't understand here is your reference to the fifth amendment. Anyway, when you're on Facebook, you're in public- and an employer is within reason to ask that nurses (and therapists, technicians, and doctors for that matter) not badmouth their patients publicly, even if their identifying information isn't being disclosed. Everybody needs to vent some times- but do it behind closed doors. I also think it's important to remember, with regards to the post that the above quote is addressing, that the First Amendment protects you from the restriction of speech by the government, not employers.

I'm a heterosexual male, currently in nursing school, and I've never been worried about being labeled gay. It's not that I don't believe that there are people out there who will make that assumption- I'm sure there are a few- it's that I don't care. I'm sorry to hear that your friend made the decision he did- it's too bad he wasn't able to get past that. I understand it's gotta be more difficult in certain areas of the country/world. I'm fortunate enough to live in a city where I'm not likely to face really severe homophobia at the hands of people who do make that assumption.

First of all, I'd check my privacy settings if I were you. Personally, I don't even let friends of friends see anything on my page except for my name and profile picture. But even then, a coworker who you're friends with might have gone to HR. In any case, I think the thing to remember about posting on Facebook is that, while it feels fairly private, it is not. Anything you say there should be something you'd be comfortable saying loudly in a quiet, crowded room filled with friends, family, coworkers, employers, potential employers, and complete strangers. I don't think there's anything at all wrong with venting, or employing some gallows humor to cope with a stressful job, but social networking sites aren't a good place to do it.

I'm in nursing school right now, and while I never actually worked as a CNA, I've done almost all of the same work that a CNA does as a caregiver and med aide in memory care and assisted living for several years. I'm so glad that you're excited about this work and that you are seeking advice to be the best CNA you can be! The work you're preparing to do is challenging, but I'm sure you know that. But it is incredibly rewarding. Remember that every person is different, and the approach that works with one won't necessarily work with another. You may be told not to call your patients pet names like "honey" or "sweetie," but for some people it makes them feel at home. Just don't use pet na,es with everyone by default, and certainly not when you first meet them. It really does make some people feel condescended to. You will have difficult patients. Personally, I found that when I was having trouble with a resident at my facility being rude, agressive, or uncooperative, taking a minute (sometimes more once I got home) to really imagine what it would be like to trade places with them, and to remember that my purpose is to care for them in whatever way best preserves their comfort and dignity as well as their health. I found that it was necessary to actively cultivate compassion and empathy in this way in order to perform my job effectively week after week. And it paid off. I could much more easily care for residents that tended to give some of my less patient coworkers problems, because I was able to approch them with a gentleness that is impossible when one is angry or frustrated. But it 8am be very difficult remaing patient when you have a ton to get done in a short time. There were times I'd have to go into the laundry room and just kinda freak out a little under my breath to blow off steam during a difficult shift- weird maybe, but it helped me maintain my calm composure with frustrating clients. I honestly had more trouble dealing with coworkers than residents. To be sure, I've worked along side many incredible human beings who provided me with guidance and inspiration. But I've also worked with people who lack the work ethic, understanding, and compassion necessary to care for vulnerable people. I found ways to work with them, most often by leading by example, sometimes by calling people out on their BS; and occasionally by bringing up my concerns with management. I also highly recommend that you take good care of yourself outside of work. Do what you can to relieve stress. Exercise, soak in the bath, read something to take your mind off work, meditate. Spend time somewhere quiet and peaceful for at least a few minutes after work every day. If you are religious, actively practice your faith and seek strength in it. I hope that helps. Good luck! Those you will be caring for are fortunate to have someone like yourself entering the field :)

OP- Personally, I'd re-read the article and see if it's really saying your should shield your patients from knowledge about the consequences of obesity- because I doubt it really is. It sounds like it's probably saying not to over-emphasize those consequences with patients who already have an understanding of the consequences. Why would you waste time educating a client when it's not their lack of knowledge that's responsible for their obesity. You need to assess your patients and identify what barriers exist to changing their behaviors, and then address those issues. You said that guilt can be a powerful motivator, but you should understand that guilt and shame are often driving forces in compulsive behaviors- including overeating. Compassion means being able to see the inherent human worth in your patients- and being mindful of your personal value judgments so they don't interfere with that ability. As such, you need to address each obese client as an individual, and not just react and say "lose weight or you're going to get sick and die," because chances are, they already know that.

Having compassion for patients does not necessitate sugarcoating anything. Sugarcoating, to me, means finding a nice way to express not so nice thoughts. Compassion means being able to let go of your personal judgments of a person in order to recognize their inherent human worth. If you have compassion for an obese patient, there is nothing to sugar coat- it is only when you see them as being inferior to yourself or others that you need to use a sugar coating to disguise your judgment. A compassionate response to an obese patient would, to me, mean saying, essentially, "I understand that losing weight requires making difficult changes, but if you do not do so, you are putting yourself at significant risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc, all of which are likely to cause you to become permanently disabled and suffer an early death." There is no personal judgment, nor is there any sugar coating of the consequences of obesity. But the key is not so much being careful about what you say as much as it is about being mindful of your personal reaction to patients. Also, OP said: "I believe that guilt can be a very powerful motivator in these cases. I don't see guilt being a bad thing when it comes to issues as important as health." I couldn't disagree more. Guilt and shame are often driving forces in the cycle of compulsive eating. If you think that guilting your patients into changing their behaviors is an appropriate nursing intervention, maybe you should reevaluate your instincts before speaking to patients.

It depends entirely upon the preference of the instructor. If they don't explicitly tell us during the first day of class, I'll usually ask. Most of my teachers prefer first names, but some want us to call them Dr. . Some ask we use Dr. . But again, if you're unsure, there's nothing wrong with asking the teacher what he or she wants to be called.

Fortunately, I haven't had problems like this yet in clinical- I'm doing my first med-surg rotation in a DEU (dedicated education unit), and the nurses there are specially trained to work with students. But I know that were this happening, my clinical faculty would want to know about it. I'm not saying that you should have a faculty member deal with the problem, but it would be good for them to have your back, in case your efforts to work things out (there have been several excellent suggestions in this thread) don't work.

Speaking as a first-year nusring student, having a good grasp on medical terminology will help immensely when you start your clinicals. Not only that, it will help you understand A&P when you take that, and many of your other classes. I mean, you're hopefully going to learn the terminology through hearing it in your other classes. But having a good grasp on it starting out will help you throughout your schooling, and ensure that you have an excellent understanding of it once you are in practice- the importance of which has already been elucidated elsewhere in this thread.

I think there are a lot of people out there who depend on others to do these things for them who would not want to be referred to that way. The word patient has not been used to refer to people living in any of the LTC facilities in which I've worked, yet many of them required medication services. The word resident is used because the facility is their home. Just because people are aging and unable to fully care for themselves does not mean they are sick. And even when they are sick, they are only patients in relation to the clinical personnel who provide their care- they are not patients in relation to their home and the people who work there.