care bear

It seems strange that nurses usually rate extremely favourably in surveys of which professions/professionals are the most trustworthy etc. We care for anyone & everyone regardless. We care for them at the beginning of life (& even before birth), at the end of their lives and everywhere inbetween. However nursing (& medical) professionals have some of the highest drug & alcohol related problems of all the professions. This is something that Im sure the general public are not aware of. Just a thought.......

It seems strange that nurses usually rate extremely favourably in surveys of which professions/professionals are the most trustworthy etc. We care for anyone & everyone regardless. We care for them at the beginning of life (& even before birth), at the end of their lives and everywhere inbetween. However nursing (& medical) professionals have some of the highest drug & alcohol related problems of all the professions. This is something that Im sure the general public are not aware of. Just a thought.......

I currently work in a mental health facility and our policy on physically restraining patients/clients has changed due to the increaing issue of positional asphyxia. We restrain the patients physically ourselves and not with ankle or wrist restraints. We were initially trained to position & physically restrain the patient face down for ease of administration an IM injection, so the patient cannot bite or spit on the nursing staff and ease of moving the patient into the seclusion room. However we are now taught to physcially restrain with the patient face up. Very difficult to administer Im meds or prevent the patient from spitting or biting the staff. It also makes it easy for the patient to hit or kick the nursing staff if the get loose. Personally, I prefer to restrain the patient face down. If the staff are trained properly, positional asphyxiation shouldnt be a problem.

I was reacently watching an episode of Dr Phil (yes I know I need a new hobby ) about women who are overworked/overscheduled etc. There was a story of a woman who is a nurse in a neo natal intensive care unit who works a straight 24 hour shift. Is this correct - working 24 hours in a row? Here in Australia we are able to work up to 12 hour shifts depending upon the hospital policy but Ive never heard of anyone working a 24 hour shift. Anyone know of this practice??

So many pet peeves so little time... Pet peeve #1: Working with nurses who just dont care about the patients. They are more interested in going to work to socialise, to make personal phone calls, to disappear off the ward for various reasons etc Pet peeve #2: Nursing staff who repeatedly turn up for their shift late. They just dont care that other people would like to hand over their patients, finish their shift and go home. No they just couldnt be bothered to interupt their life to come to work on time like everyone else. Pet peeve #3: Working in a hospital where the phrase "its not what you know but who you know" applies. If you arnt friends with certain people on the ward or in administration/management you just dont exist or matter. Those who are get special favours such as certain shifts or good rosters. Pet peeve #4: Patients who just dont listen to your advice. You try and educate them about their illness, medication, lifestyle changes etc and they just take no notice. Pet peeve #5: Patients who think doctors are God. care bear RN

Hi Everyone I alternate between two pairs of shoes. They are not typically "nurse" shoes or from companies that supply "nursing" type shoes. The first pair are a pair of Doc Martins shoes. They are expensive to buy but last for a very long time. They are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I have and have been very durable (Ive had them for about four years). The other pair is a pair of Colorado brand shoes. Stangely enough this is an Australian clothing label !! Their shoes, as people who have them will attest, are expensive but again last a very long time. They are also very comfortable. care bear RN

Hi Tracy All I can say is hang in there. I finished my RN degree last year after working as an Enrolled Nurse, full time, throughout the three full time years of my degree. Talk about lack of motivation!! People often asked me about how hard the degree was - the learning, the studying, writing assignements etc. I always told them the hardest part is getting the motivation to complete the assignements, the motivation to study, the motivation to go to the library and the motivation to get out of bed and go to the lectures and the tutorials. Simply, you've got to look at the big picture - there is life at the end of the degree tunnel. Believe me, no matter how you feel at the moment (and yes I had been in your position sooooooo many times) the degree is worth it. carebear RN :)