gymnut

I guess I should explain a couple of things about the tuition statement. I meant "money I don't have" in a more genral sense. If I had the money I wouldn't need to take out a loan. I didn't mean to come across as saying since I paid 10 grand I demand to be treated with respect and I'm sorry if I conveyed that. I just feel that no matter what you are going to school for if your not learning or being productive then your money is being wasted. Whether it's your own fault for not caring or your preceptors/instructors fault for not teaching. To me it's the same if you're in nursing school and get a crappy preceptor for the day who teaches you nothing your time and money were just wasted for that day. We are a large teaching hospital that has one of the oldest nursing programs in the nation, the surgical tech program is 15 years old itself and we are currently partnered with Temple to build a medical school. There is a constant stream of students throughout the whole hospital. All of our clinicals are done through our hospital and its other campus sites. The other campus sites are great and they love students and no one has issues there. As one poster above mentioned I'm in a more toxic environment. It's why a lot of students of all types divert to the other campuses or just other hosptials in general after they graduate. There is just such a high turnover rate. Yes, as a student I am allowed to do everything I would when I pass the boards and actually become a CST. I open, set up, pass instruments, count, keep tract of medications on the back table, staple, cut sutures, hold retractors and pretty much whatever the surgeon needs me to do. The only thing is I must have a CST scrubbed in with me at all times. Most of the circulators don't scrub in although at the other campuses it's mostly RNs. I've heard of several tech schools that only let their students observe and I think that's sad. It's such a hands on position and I don't understand how anyone can learn that way.

Oh no another post about grouchy people in the OR! This is very long and if the journals were up it would actually have gone in there. I just need to vent or I'll explode!! So once again I'm turning to AN to help me out with my clinical portion of my schooling. This forum has helped me with going from a complete career change to becoming a wonderful PCA on my unit and also helped me conquer my fainting problem in the early days of my OR clinical. So I'm sure you can see why I keep coming here for advice. My program is run through my local hospital and we rotate out to their other sites for clinical but the bulk of it is done at the main campus and that's where all of this is occurring. The surgeons are wonderful and love to teach students but as far as the circulators go a majority of them are very demeaning and rude to myself and fellow students. One of my classmates actually filed a complaint against one RN after being bullied by her all day. Nothing happened because a few days later another student was with her and the bullying just continued. One thing bothers me the most is counting items. Some RNs will like to count everything when the skin is being closed and others like to only count small items. When there is a laparoscopic surgery again some will count everything in case we open and others will only count small items because we're not opening and if they do they'll count them then. I was already yelled at because I didn't keep counting sponges when the RN stepped away and answered the phone. She didn't tell me to keep going so apparently I was suppose to mind read. Finally you have some who just glance at the table and do a "Yeah you have everything" and fill out their paper. So I never have any idea when I should count what with who and if I ask they look at me like I'm a schmuck. One RN was nasty to me because I don't know the doctors glove size right off the top of my head. The doctor and patient weren't even in the room yet and I did have his gloves I was just sorting through the pile of them on my back table because a lot of residents and students were going to be scrubbing in. This same nurse later on said she was going to give me NSS and I marked a small round basin and put the basin on the edge of the table so she wouldn't have to reach. She then came over and proceeded to dump the entire contents of the bottle in the small kidney basin and wouldn't stop even as it was pouring over the sides, flooding my back table and spilling onto the floor. When I told her about it she blamed me and said it was because I left the bulb syringe in the basin. As I said other students have all had issues with the RNs I mentioned above as well as others and we approached our instructor about who told us that if we felt we were being bullied we should come to her and file a complaint but, everything just stays the same. It's to the point most of us have such bad anxiety before hand and we don't even want to be there. I understand the OR is a rough and tumble environment and you need to have a thick skin. I do have a good one developed after years of customer service and dealing with patients and their families. If I was actually employed and getting a paycheck they could all just take their attitudes and stick'em where the sun don't shine but when I'm shelling out almost 10 grand in money I don't have and all the nasty and belittling behavior is becoming a detriment to my learning we have a problem. So I'm not sure what I should do at this point. It's Friday night and I'm already sick to my stomach thinking about Monday clinicals. I just feel so incompetent, slow, stupid and that I made the wrong career choice. The only advice I've gotten from the nice RNs and techs is to just smile, nod and agree no matter what, don't let anyone ruin your day and to shake it off and make tomorrow better. Oh and before a tired old argument is brought up I'm not one of those techs who think they are superior above circulators and could run the OR without them. To be honest you guys work ridiculously hard and it makes my head spin!

I know how you feel. I'm currently enrolled in my hospital's surge tech program and while the techs and surgeons are great and treat you well the RNs have a horrible reputation hospital wide for their bad attitudes. To be honest when someone who works there asks me what I do and I tell them the next question they ask is how can I stand working with the RNs. There are a few great RNs who are really patient and helpful but most just talk down to you and make you feel inferior. I do have a thick skin and I can push things aside because I've been in customer care and management for ages. If I'm collecting a paycheck everyone can take their attitudes and stick'em where the sun doesn't shine. However if I'm shelling out almost 10 grand in tuition money and your attitude is a detriment to my learning then there is a problem.

Oh if only the 5 second really worked in the OR!!

Hi Everyone! My teacher just posted a discussion topic online that asks what would be the correct procedure of sterilization should a bone flap fall to the floor during a craniotomy? I did some research online and came across this website and while it is helpful it's always hard to tell if it's really truthful. Here is the site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_6_85/ai_n19312273/ So I just thought I would post the topic in here to see if any of you had this particular thing happen and how you approached it? This is just for discussion purposes only. It's not homework or a paper or anything and is a voluntary discussion as well.

Oh my God am I laughing after reading these posts! I expected to come in here and find all this outrage of a patient being turned into a human curtain rod only to find out it's common. I am actually very relieved to find out that this is not bad practice and I can understand now that if that's the worst that can happen during surgery then I can live with that. As the saying goes "You learn something new everyday!"

Or really anyone. So in clinicals during a robotic case the surgeon proceeded to staple the sterile drapes...TO THE PATIENT!! He said this way he can be sure the drapes don't move. The patient did not consent to this and when the procedure was finished he popped them all out and just put hystocril over the puncture marks. I was in shock but, no one else was because it's common with this surgeon. *****?!!? How can this even be right? That would just increase the risk of infection added all the extra skin punctures. I talked to my instructor about it and she said that he was allowed to that. My head is just spinning from this. I would be so angry if I woke up with puncture marks all over me. I really wish this was some sort of bad joke but I assure you it's not!

We sat down today and hashed it all out. I am going to try and take as many evening clinicals as I can and not work late the night before I have day clinicals. I also printed out some good healthy breakfasts and plan on drinking lots of water and orange juice. I love those Bolthouse Farms drinks with all the protein. My lorazapam is 1mg so I can try cutting that down and maybing spacing them a little apart. Perhaps take the Amyltriptaline 3 hours before bed, the lorazapam two hours before and obviously the sleeping pill just before bed. It's just going to have to be trial and error and I hope I'm able to have enough time. Oh and what's even better is the place that drew my blood in October has no recollection of it or any test results despite me showing a receipt and my bill for it all. So now there's nothing to base anything off of. So now I'm dealing with all that nonsense.

Hi guys remember me? I'm the girl who fainted in the OR twice and started a whole thread about it. I got some awesome advice and everything has been going great! I just finished the 2nd semester with a 4.0 GPA and I'm really enjoying my clinical experience despite dealing with that "I have no idea what I'm doing." jitters all new people go through. Well today it happened again. I was scrubbed in on a case and passing instruments and everything was going awesome. Then I felt that familiar heat start to creep up. I started taking nice deep slow breathes and tried to focus my attention on other things and even began doing thigh squeezes to get my blood moving some more but, then the fuzziness started in and I had to break scrub. I just went to sit down. All I needed was some water on my face and some OJ and I would have been good to go. But, since this is a hospital after all I was put in a wheel chair and wheeled to the break room and given the usual crackers and juice. At that point I just wanted to die from embarrassment. I asked to check my sugar because I read about reactive hypoglycemia but, they said they couldn't unless they went to the ER. My instructor came in and said that since this was the third time it has happened to me that I really need to consider continuing on this career path and that she needs to talk to another OR instructor to find out what to do with me. Pretty much I have to get medical clearance before I can continue and if it happens again I have to leave the program. She sent me home for the day and I immediately went to my doctor who sent me for every single type of blood work and urinalysis and I see a cardiologist on Wednesday. I really sat and analyzed everything and realized I only ever felt faint on morning clinicals and not evening clinicals. I then realized before I go to bed every night I take amitriptyline (for help with pain from endometriosis), Lorazapam (anxiety and for my IBS Which it's pretty much gone!). When I have to get up really early I add Zaleplon. I had to get up early today and I worked until 11pm the night before. So yeah I'm 100% positive taking all of those meds and getting 4 hours of sleep is crap. But I have no idea how else to quickly go to sleep when I work until 11 and need to get up at 5am without medication. I'm just so heartbroken and depressed right now. I've just been a crying mixed bag of emotions. It's just like why is my body doing this to me now? When I worked in a factory for 5 years it was under tougher conditions and I often stood in one spot for several hours and not so much as an eyelash fluttered from me. I really hope I can pull through this. I mean I'm done in July! I understand that if it's a medical condition I can't go on because that's not good for me or the patient. I guess I'm just so tired of fighting for everything and getting kicked in the arse at the end. PS Are our journals back up? I have a LOT to ramble on about.

I can't do text speak even when texting. It makes my brain sad. I do however would like to see a font on here called Doctors Handwriting and type posts using that just to see how many can translate.

I had one patient try and pull that crap with me. The first time I had her she was coming back from a test and had a lot going on. She had compression stockings, IV, wound vac and an NG tube. She wanted to sit in the chair instead of going back to bed so I got the chair all padded with pillows, got her over there, got all the chords and the IV pole situated and made sure everything was plugged in and gave her the call bell. As I was finishing up her husband and the doctor walked in. I asked if she needed anything and she just shook her head no and I left her to talk with her doctor. About ten minutes after the doctor and husband left I went in to check on her and as I'm straightening up she starts whining and crying and asking why I abandoned her like that. I turned and looked at her directly because at first I wasn't sure if she was really talking to me or someone on the phone. She then asked why I wasn't answering her and again asked me how I could abandon her. I asked what in the world was she talking about because I sure as heck had no idea. She then went on to whine about how I just left her there and how nothing was plugged in and how she was in pain and all this other garbage that was just a flat out lie. I just looked her right in the face and said. "First I did not abandon you at all. When I left you husband and the DOCTOR were in the room and I did ask you if you needed anything and you shook your head no. If in fact you were in pain or needed something you should have told your doctor while she was in the room or used the call bell to call the nurse so she could get your pain meds. I'm just a PCA and I know I did my job and your not going to sit there and lie and say I didn't." Harsh? Maybe, but you know what? She never complained after that and we got along just fine for the next 6 days she was there. I think that's just the culture on our floor though. None of our nurses or techs take crap from any of our patients or family members. Now this doesn't mean that we are verbally abusive or do passive aggressive stuff in any way but if there is nothing mentally wrong with you and you're being obnoxious you're getting called on it. 99% of the time there are no issues after that.

I never heard of HIV 2 either but here is a link that I found on Google: http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01335/en/txt/hiv1n2.html

This how we are being taught in school and how I've seen every other tech and nurse gown and glove.

If PCT means patient care technician then it's common in PA too. I do phlebotomy and EKGs. However doing an EKG and actually interpreting it are two different things. I just enter the patient data, slap all the leads on and wait until the machine tells me to go, hit a button, print and either hand it over to the doctor or nurse or put it in a patients chart. I think the confusion sets in because CNA's must be certified with their state in order to work in nursing homes. Anywhere else such as hospitals you don't need to be certified so that's why they give them 800 different titles like PCA, PCT, ST, PST etc etc. Recently I just heard of a CENA which is a competency evaluated nurse aide. It's getting ridiculous and I think there should just be one universal name across the board for non certified people. Oh and as for getting a job in a hospital? Volunteer!! This way you can see if you would enjoy the environment before actually committing to anything.

I wish we had sitters on our floor. They just pull us PCAs and make the floor short and everyone just goes crazy. I would kiss your feet if you were available to watch any of our patients!