RNelf

If snorting cocaine makes you paranoid, it's probably best to lock up your dogs in the garage before you indulge. Otherwise, if they start barking, you are likely to think it's the police coming to arrest you and rapidly consume your entire stash. Your heart probably won't like that, and after you end up in the ICU, the nursing staff will start calling you "Casey Jones". Also, if you are diabetic, (heck, even if you're not!) it's not a good idea to drink 14 liters of regular Sprite in one evening. Same patient, same night as above incident. His blood glucose was over 1000.

If you go to a Super Bowl party where alcohol is flowing freely, do not be the first one to pass out. If you go to a Super Bowl party where alcohol is flowing freely and your buddy is the first one to pass out, do not attempt to shave off his beard unless you are sober enough to hold the razor steady. If you go to a Super Bowl party where the alcohol is flowing freely and your buddy is the first one to pass out and you do attempt to shave off his beard in spite of the fact that you are NOT sober enough to hold the razor steady, do not nick his jugular vein. If you go to a Super Bowl party where the alcohol is flowing freely and your buddy is the first one to pass out and you do attempt to shave off his beard in spite of the fact that you are NOT sober enough to hold the razor steady AND you nick his jugular vein, please for the love of heaven make sure SOMEONE is sober enough to A) realize "that much blood can't be good" and B) call 911.

See what I mean about divisiveness in nursing? (wink) Really, if you ask MD, lawyers, teachers, etc, if they consider nursing a profession, most of them, if they're honest, will say no. I've tried it. Many people pay lip service to the idea of nursing as a profession, but don't act on it. I'm only concerned with my "perceived professional worth" insofar as it impacts how I'm treated by my employer. Where nurses are not considered professionals, they are treated like commodities. I agree, Lori, that unionization is a good thing. My hospital is unionized, and we set the standard for our region, in more than just pay and benefits.

No, unfortunately, he did not survive, but he had way more problems than just a popped scrotum. He was septic and was in multi-system organ failure. I didn't mean to be a downer, so far this thread has been quite funny! I was reading it this morning and kept laughing out loud, until my husband asked what was so funny. I only got as far as telling him the name of the thread, and he said "Stop right there!" Not everyone can handle body fluid discussions at mealtimes! :chuckle OK, here's another mildly gross, and somewhat funny story that another nurse told me. He had to give his pt Lactulose through his NG tube. The pt asked if he could drink it, but my friend had already given the dose. He (my friend) was washing his hand, then when he turned back around he saw the pt with the free end of his NG in his mouth, sucking out the Lactulose! Ugh, what gets into people's heads?

Good questions, Masters. I'm not sure why BSNs aren't always paid more (in some institutions they are) but I think maybe it's better if they aren't, at least for now. There are already too many divisive issues in nursing, I think, like RN vs LPN, critical care vs general care, teaching hospitals vs community hospitals, etc. I think if we want to advance our profession we need to unite. We all need to be paid more! As far as whether nursing is right for you, as chatsdale says, only you can decide that. Not all institutions treat their nurses well, unfortunately, but many do. Shop around. It's no crime to choose your place of employment based on salary. Places that appreciate their nurses pay them! There are lots more issues in nursing than just salary, of course. I think perhaps nursing is less respected as a profession because for decades it was "women's work", and also for many decades required less education than other fields. Plus, I don't think people like to talk about what nurses do for them, it reminds them of losing their dignity and autonomy. However, even considering all these negatives, there is no other profession in the world I would rather do. Nursing is intellectually stimulating and incredibly rewarding and fullfilling. Just choose your employer carefully.

That incident of swallowing someone else's lugie happened to an RT friend of mine. Yuck, gives me the oogies! Speaking of RT's, another RT friend told me this joke: How can you tell the difference between an RT and a nurse? Stand them both knee-deep in s**t, then throw sputum at them. The one who ducks is the nurse. Here's my gross contribution (nowhere near as bad as some I've read though. Eating earwax! Ewwww!) I work in a medical ICU. I'm sure many of you know how when male pts get edematous, their scrotum also swells up with fluid. I had a pt once whose scrotum was so enlarged it looked like he had a 3rd leg amputated at the knee. Well, one night, after I had turned him, I went back into his room and the scrotum had actually popped! His sheets were literally drenched and serous fluid was running off the bed and across the floor. I guess turning him on his side put too much pressure on the scrotum, in spite of every attempt I had made to support it. There was a visible gash in the skin, but his testicles were (apparently) unharmed.