JSlice.

THEIR emergency is not YOUR emergency

I have been working in a 15 bed ER in a rural area for 5 months. To me, emergencies involve life or death. More pt's come with minor complaints such as pain meds, toothache, or sore throat. When we actually have a true EMERGENCY, we scramble for an available bed. I have been told that the people are coming into the ER for minor complaints more often because of the new health insurance law. Anybody have this issue? Perhaps somebody can explain this healthcare law better.

i too am a new nurse and recently experienced a trauma that really affected me. the pt was in an mva. his vehicle drove under a semi truck on the highway. we worked on the pt for hours trying to keep him alive and coded him three times. pt died of multiple system trauma. my husband travels back and forth at work to different gold mines daily for work. i have realized that pt's who affect me the most are ones who died of an accident. i relate my pt's injuries to my own loved ones and imagine what can really happen to people. nobody's invincible. life is so fragile. i believe it's normal to feel the way you do after experiencing situations like these and i also believe that over time, nurses develop a "tolerance". Not saying you won't always care about the patients or feel sympathy for them, but your reactions to these situations may change. Good luck to you.

As a New CNA: I removed a large dressing off a man with what i was only told was a "very infected foot" for his shower. As i began unwrapping, yellow drainage appeared darker and darker on the dressing and the odor of rotting flesh and infection swept through my nostrils and filled the room. I soon uncovered the first most gruesome sight and smell ever. the man's foot looked like swiss cheese. Gangrene eating away at a couple toes, deep yellow/green craters in the heal and top of the foot. that was the first time i smelled something raunchy enough to cause my stomach to twist. As an Older CNA: I was told a man had a swollen scrotum and had crapped all over the place. I walked in the room to find the scrotum was not only swollen, but swollen to the size of a beach ball. My job? I had to lift the scrotum up while the other CNA cleaned out the liquid stool from all crevices. Seeing how the pt was a 300 pounder, we were cleaning poopy out from crevices and off Beach Ball Scrotum for an hour. As a Fresh Nurse: I HATE having to help the Dr with female pelvic exams. Most women have the nastiest odors down there. The smell of unshowered lady parts is enough to make me want to croak.

anatomy 1&2, microbiology, CNA license, math 120 or 126, psychology, lifespan of human development, humanities, human biology, nutrition

this situation sucks. Speak with the DON. In my opinion, the pt should have no choice who cares for him. If the pt abuses the staff verbally/physically, he ought to be sent to a Behavioral Institution. Staff may feel that they need to bend over backwards for people like this. It's not right that you would be assigned to this idiot every day because of his arrogance.

Thanks for your reply. There are generational gaps between many nurses. While doing a rotation in OB i worked with an old lady nurse who believed she was God of the nursery. During the rotation she railed me with questions, quizzing me and impatiently telling me how to perform tasks. Ridiculing me when answers were answered incorretly. I was later informed that back when she was doing nursing school it was like the army (?) Attitudes of the crusty old ladies on OB sucked and greatly reinforced my decision to not become an OB nurse. I will always remember her poor precepting abilities and never treat a student that way when i become a preceptor myself. ....and I will care for the old "God of the Nursery" in the ER when she falls and breaks a hip

When I found out I was accepted into the Nursing Program at my college, I too felt the desire and motivation to study and study right away throughout the summer! The best advice I received was to not even crack open a book. Enjoy your summer as much as possible because the next couple years you will give your life to Nursing School. Have fun and play before school starts. Do not forget the reasons why you wanted to become a nurse and do not lose your motivation! Good luck to you!

My first "near" fainting episode occurred after watching a Dr sew up a woman after tearing "down there" during childbirth. I have never had any children and childbirth freaks me out. I also didn't have breakfast that morning. So, I assumed that since I disliked OB and saw the Dr sewing up that sensitive area and having no food made me nauseous. Not only that, but the odor of female juices and wastes during that childbirth experience was more than I could bear. I left the room immediately once I felt my fingers/feet/legs begin to tingle and the room started spinning. After walking out of the room my instructor saw me and took me to sit quickly. She said my face was green. I was glad that I left the room when I did because fainting and landing in a pile of goo would have been disturbing for all witnesses. After this episode I learned a few things: 1-Eat before clinicals. 2-Prepare mentally/emotionally before attending the clinical. When exposed to something new like you had been, it's natural to feel "bothered." Investigate the reasons why you reacted to the situation the way you did: Do you not like blood? Do you feel inadequate/overwhelmed? Does seeing people in pain make you uncomfortable? Instead of deciding you can't be a nurse, rule out clinical settings that you don't enjoy. If nursing is a career you truly want to pursue, push forward. Realize that there will be clinical settings that you enjoy more than others. Good luck to you!

A pt came in by ambulance after a bicycle accident caused by alcohol intoxication. I thought I was told that he was in a motorcycle accident. Upon arrival, the man was shouting, trying to pull off the c-collar, and free himself from the straps keeping him on the backboard. He was asking where he was over and over again. He was terribly confused. Finally, he asked me, "What happened to me?" I said, "You got in a motorcycle accident." Pt said, "I've never been on a motorcycle in my life!" I told him, "you might have forgotten, you're extremely drunk and you hit your head." The guy was even more confused than ever. A short while later he asked, "So where's my motorcycle?"

"let me rest in pieces." -Saliva

Thank you, cwhitebn, for your post! It makes me sick how nurses believe they are better or can perform better if they "have years of experience." I am a new graduate working in an ER and can perform better than some of the "EXPERIENCED" nurses can. Congrats on getting a job in the ER, especially at a time where it's difficult to get nursing jobs in the first place. If ER is you desire, your passion, I say go for it and work as hard as you can. All the old wrinkled nurses can watch as you leave them in the dust. GOOD FOR YOU!

i think having some chest hair on a younger man is so sexy. ok, i guess what i'm trying to say is that once the brown/black chest hair starts growing three inches, turns gray, and is shooting out of the neck and chest, then it's time to buzz it all off and wear a t shirt underneath! nobody wants a gorilla caring for them.:monkeydance:

No doubt! Exactly what I was thinking. If you know each narcotic-which one works and which one doesn't, then you know too much.

What a great blog! MORE.... 1-Shutup while I'm trying to hear your lungs and heart with the stethoscope. Tell your family to shutup so I can hear your lungs and heart. 2-This is not a bar! Do not come into the ER to pick up on the nurses...If you're well enough to scope out the girls, you don't belong here! 3-I am triaging you! NO, you can't lay down in the triage room! Get to the point of your problem. I don't care about the insignificant details about you hurting your finger. 4-I need a urine sample! If you were fine enough to walk into the room, then you should be able to take off your pants to pee. No can do? OK, here comes the straight cath. Hold Still. 5-No, I don't have pillows for you. This is not a suite. The beds are hard and small and you are a giant pain in the butt. 6-You were well aware you would come to the ER and end up waiting. I have a patient having an MI next door and you have pink eye. Wait or sign AMA. 7-It's too bad your IV was placed in an area that you didn't like. And no, I will not change your IV site.