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iNurseUK

iNurseUK RN

Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology
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iNurseUK has 20 years experience as a RN and specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.

I'm married with two grown-up kids. I'm originally from the North of England but have lived and worked in London for many years.

iNurseUK's Latest Activity

  1. iNurseUK
    Now where to start? Nurses in the UK certainly command less respect than in former years. We as a profession are often at the sharp end of media criticism particularly in the more right-wing sections of the media. Accusations such as being too "educated" to care are commonly heard which is a ludicrous notion. By that definition only stupid people are "caring" Which leads me on to education. All UK nurses will soon be required to have a degree (Batchelors) being English I'm afraid I don't know what an Associates degree is but at a guess I would think this to be equivalent to our Diploma which as I mentioned is being phased out. Opportunities for post-grad degrees are largely dependent on the area you work in. They are uncommon in large General Hospitals but much more frequently seen in specialist areas such as Oncology. Doctors usually are receptive to nursing input. I must say from reading around on allnurses that American doctors seem much more liable to being a pain in the posterior than British ones!A senior nurse would soon put a doctor with God Syndrome in his or her place! The hospital where I currently work is small and highly specialised. There are probably no more than sixty beds on the three inpatient units but we treat many more on an outpatient basis in our clinics and a Chemotherapy Day Unit. Staffing ratio is one to four on all the inpatient units which I must point out is unusually high. I have worked in other hospitals where it is more like one to eight or more depending upon acuity. There is no shortage of nurses in the UK currently and it is slowly becoming more common for newly qualified nurses to have difficulty in finding the post of their choice. Sorry if I went on a bit and hope this is helpful to you.
  2. iNurseUK
    I have been qualified 20 years and most of my experience was in reconstructive surgery but I also worked in ITU. I am currently on an Oncology Unit at a very well-respected Cancer hospital Happy to help if you have questions.
  3. iNurseUK

    Just looking for opinions

    iNurseUK replied to Sanuk's topic in Nursing

    Think yourselves lucky you are not in the UK! You get the standard uniform of whichever Trust you work for issued on joining and that is it. My uniform is a blue and white striped tunic of a heavy poly-cotton (FAR too hot in the summer on these old un air-conditioned wards) and horrible dark blue baggy clown pants with a sewn-in front seam. I'd LOVE to wear scrubs of any description.
  4. iNurseUK
    I'm happy to help if a nurse from the UK isn't too boring for you :)
  5. iNurseUK

    Why do Doctors think they are................God!!

    iNurseUK replied to RNdiva505's topic in Nursing

    Do all you US folk work with fully qualified doctors? You don't get young inexperienced House Officers? They are a damn sight more terrified than you and rely on the nurses to get it right. We are all playing for the same side. That will be the patients. Having a go at the young doctors isn't helpful. They have to learn and us nurses can help them do that.
  6. iNurseUK
    I would never have called 911 but upped morphine, midazolam, diazepam. Those drugs that ease gently into the long sleep. What was your facility THINKING of to call a code on what was clearly a terminal patient? Do you think the futile attempts at resuscitation improved his last hours? What would a blood transfusion have achieved? A few more hours in pain and distress. There are times you have to let the patient go in as much peace and dignity as you can make possible.
  7. iNurseUK

    Blood transfusions??? just say no...

    iNurseUK replied to macgirl's topic in Nursing

    It is not an area of nursing we are excluding but a PROCEDURE which may well arise in any speciality. Now I'm English, by definition indifferent to religion. More than 94% of English people go nowhere near a church and we could not care less. Nominally a "Christian" country we are in fact pretty much a nation of atheists or at least agnostics. Religious people are an anomaly. "Can't give blood" and the like tends to be filtered out ay applying for nursing school. Anyone who says that WILL be seen as a problem. Just saying
  8. iNurseUK

    Employment Drug Test Questions

    iNurseUK replied to booradley007's topic in Nursing

    Genetic testing? Are you carrying the breast cancer genes or the colon ones? Do you have a family history of diabetes? Are you perfect in every way? Hang on isn't there a name for this? Eugenics.
  9. iNurseUK

    Employment Drug Test Questions

    iNurseUK replied to booradley007's topic in Nursing

    How long before caffeine becomes as demonised as tobacco and potential employers exclude people for using it? How long before they want blood work for cholesterol? Thank God the UK isn't there yet. YET.
  10. iNurseUK

    Where to find articles for research paper?

    iNurseUK replied to tmitch8489's topic in Student Assist

    Just do a Google search! Dosen't your school library subscribe to the relevant journals? I\d be surprised if they didn't. I'm English but surely US colleges have appropriate online resources and access to archived journals. Good luck with your research.
  11. iNurseUK
    No comment
  12. iNurseUK

    Nurses targeted for real estate agents?

    iNurseUK replied to Brian's topic in Nursing

    Reword that "Nurses are pretty amazing! Nursing is all about caring and dealing with challenging situations. Buying a burger is a big deal. It can be stressful. We want a clerk who is trained to weigh up all the options. Super-size or extra cheese? We CARE about your burgers! Never read such a total bunch of asshattery in all my life! Would you like fries with your blood transfusion?
  13. iNurseUK
    The Altruistic Manager? What on Earth is that? Are they like ghosts, everyone swears they exist but no-one ever actually saw one?
  14. iNurseUK
    The Nurse Manager. Hasn't worked on the wards since 1972, breezes through your on its knees ward smiling graciously and announcing that you must take an admission into your only empty bed.
  15. iNurseUK

    Just about to start!

    iNurseUK replied to gorgenurse's topic in Geriatric

    It is quite a high caseload but as these patients are not acute I'm sure you will do just fine. Congratulations on starting your job and all best wishes :)
  16. iNurseUK
    An ambulance tech I got talking to one time told me this tale. There was a man, very well known to the ambulance crews who lived very close to his local hospital, VERY close on the same road. Well every weekend he'd go into town and get drunk. He'd then call an ambulance complaining of chest pain (which UK NHS ambulances are NOT allowed to ignore) get a lift to his local hospital, immediately discharge himself from A&E and walk the few yards home. Getting fed up of being used as a free taxi service the techs picked up this bloke one night and, claiming that his local hospital was full, drove him to a hospital some 70 miles away where they had a transfer scheduled. They picked up their transfer but left him stranded. AS he had discharged himself from THAT hospital's A&E they refused to help with transport. It was estimated it must have cost a good £ 100 to get home. Never called the ambulance service again.