Canuck RN

greetings from northern ontario. graduated from st michael's school of nursing in toronto.celebrated my 40th year in nursing in may!!! the changes in my practice have been so phenomenal in those years. what a wonderful choice of career. loved every minute and i always said i would go to work even if they didn't pay me. finally retired in july 2005. still missing and loving nursing.

Have To Add My Two Cents Worth. On The Subject Of Mucous(canadian Spelling), It's Gotta Be My Downfall In Patient Care. Have Withdrawn To The Bathroom Many Times To Gag When Doing Suctioning Or Emptying Suction Bottles. Something Else----why Do Men Have To "hork?",my Word. You See Them On The Street Or You Hear Them, And Know That Somewhere On The Sidewalk They've Left A Great Big Goober That Some Poor Soul,probably You Is Going To Step In Unsuspectingly. I've Never Seen A Woman"hork", How Come It's A Guy Thing?

Do I Love Every Area Of Nursing? Definitely Not!!!! But Having Celebrated 39 Years Of Graduation On May 10th,i Can Honestly Say I Have Loved Nursing For Those 39 Years And Though Retired From A56 Bed Medical Unit I Just Couldn't Give It Up. I Do Some Teaching For A Community Agency On A Casual Basis And Also Do Wellness Clinics In The Community. In My Heart I Will Always Be A Nurse. And I Can Honestly Say I Would Have Gone To Work Evenif They Didn't Pay Me (well Maybe). Come To Think Of It When I First Started Working In A Large Metropolitan Hospital, Our Salary Was $300 A Month With No Overtime Or Stat Holiday Pay. It's Been A Great Career And One I Wouldn't Change. I'm Sure There Will Be Some Who Think I Live In Lala Land But To Each His Own.

INTERESTING REPLY BY KAREN G .I WAS IN MY FORTIES WHEN I HAD THE SERIES OF IMMUNIZATION, FOLLOWED BY TWO BOOSTERS AND STILL WAS SERO NEGATIVE. IS IT POSSIBLE BY THAT STAGE IN LIFE WE HAVE A NATURAL IMMUNITY?

it's now 2004 and my biggest mistake happened my year of graduation in 1965. this will bring back memories for all the oldsters out there and totally baffle all those recently graduated. i was working on a 60 bed public medical unit and as was common we had patients in the hall with the big o2 cylinders. it was early afternoon, the patient was in pulmonary edema, we were doing rotating tourniquets, the patient had had morphine and the doctor asked for aminiphylline to give push. our med cabinets were antiquated and i grabbed a 10cc ampoule,drew it up and with the empty ampoule in hand gave the doc the syringe and told him 10 cc of aminophylline, which he pushed in. i looked at the ampoule and saw that i had an empty 10cc ampoule ofsodium amytal in my hand. i told the doctor stat, we saw the pt was settling down, i stayed with him through the next shift and he had a great sleep. was god looking over my shoulder? undoubtedly. now 39 years later i''m still practicing but much more vigilant than that day and i think with all the inroads medicine and nursing have made, i am a much better nurse.

Not Too Hard To Figure Out. I Live And Work North Of The 49th Parallel. Wouldn't Swap Locations Except In -40 Degree C Weather, Maybe

Been An Rn For 39 Years And I'm Still Practicing. My Main Areas Of Practice Have Been Peds And Medicine. Throughout That Time I Have Probably Been With Hundreds Of Patients And Families At The Time Of Death. It Never Gets Easier But I Have Always Regarded It As A Privilege That I Was There To Help And Share The Process. Death Is Not Frightening. It Is Truly Something Beautiful And Being Able To Help The Patient And The Family Feel Comfortable And Loved Comes With Time. Our Higher Power Directs Us, This Is For Me One Of The Most Important Parts Of Being A Nurse. I Realize I'm On My Soapbox But There Comes A Time When We Put Our Own Feelings Aside And Do For The Ones Who Need Us.

You know you are a Canadian when you think Ron McLean and Don Cherry are the Canadian equivalent of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Back in the good old days ,1963, when I was a student, a diabetic patient had guillotine above knee amputations of both legs.Due ti the type of surgery there was no way for these wounds to heal and of course they became severely infected. Enter the maggots!!! over time the areas were clean and the surgeons proceeded with whatever type of grafting done in those times. I do remember seeing this fellow out in the community rolling around in his wheelchair the picture of health. Sometimes everything old is new again.