lxpatterson

Hi, I'm a nursing student starting a post-grad (post BSc) BSN program. Perhaps I should be posting in the school section but I just want to hear what working RNs. Nursing school has been quite a shock to me since (perhaps naively) I expected a med...

melena stool is pretty bad, that and fresh clotting blood....maybe it's because those smells are always associated with very stressful situations.

Very sad! I had an injection drug user being treated for recurrent endocarditis that he gave himself...man, you're 35 with a prosthetic valve, don't you get it? He would disappear for half a day and miss a bunch of his ABX drips because of "errands...

You use the public bathrooms? I've been indoctrinated by colleagues to use only staff bathroom, which is unisex (but essentially a women's bathroom with a supply of feminine products, face cream, etc).

Male RN here. Didn't realize underwear would cause discomfort. Will remember to wear pants under my gown the next time I'm a patient! Oh, and funny story about gowns. I was in a bicycle accident on my way to work and I didn't have any clothes on ...

I started my career in a rural acute care hospital, rotating between inpatient acute medicine and ER. I think it's a great first job because medical staff and senior nurses are usually fairly invested in getting you, a new grad, up to speed. Compar...

"Several lessons to be taken away: (1) Don't hand over controlled meds to students, even mature ones whom you trust, (2) Don't carry controlled meds around in your pocket, and (3) Treat your classmates well... you never know when or how they might...

I'm glad to be Canadian! I've never had to submit to the indignity of a drug test, nor am I aware of any clinicians at hospitals here being required to do so routinely (unless reported for a specific drug-related issue). I think if I was registere...

That's why you always need one female in the headcount. Best ER shift: 1 male RN student, 2 male RN, 1 female MD.

I look at some of the young RNs (1st career, post-BSN, 22 yr old) that started at my current job with me and I think that older grads have maturity and interpersonal finesse that helps avoid a lot of useless BS with patients and staff -you know, the ...

I've done enough schooling to realize that you're just a number to the school: you present a prior GPA and a sum of money and they produce grades for you to take on to your next stage in life. By the second month of school I always have my student ...

Someone mentioned that legally, an AMA signed by a competent patient is sufficient protection for your licence. Personally, I would document as well that I discussed death and morbidity with the patient. To me what is interesting is the discussion o...

That's ridiculous. If we are simply dispensing medications because patients want them then we might as well give them a key to the pyxis and let them help themselves. The reason we don't do that is NOT just because of overdose, it's because like al...

Float nursing, if you can find a program that will hire new grads, is a great opportunity. Many of the Toronto area hospitals are putting their new grads through a float program. I declined a float position in the city and chose a rural hospital be...

Haha, exactly! I haven't had run ins like that with my medical staff, but that's exactly what I would say to an uppity locum. I stuff order sheets and things like that on a slow night shift as a courtesy, but it's not my job.

Of course you have to figure out what the patient's preferences are, without assuming they are ok with stuff because they are from a certain culture. But once you have established that someone is ok with a family member making decisions for them and...

I am a Chinese-Canadian and I have had many asian patients in an urban acute care setting. There are certainly some unique food and lifestyle preferences based on culture, but I have to say one of the biggest differences may be the approach to auton...

Being respected and appreciated by colleagues, medical and allied staff (and reciprocating that feeling). That might include bringing in a silly joke gift that is part of an inside joke on the unit; being thanked for doing a good job; receiving info...

I work in a rural hospital and the differential is on the order of a dollar or two, but nurses are forced to rotate as charge after 2 years of experience at the hospital. Obviously the level of responsibility is not commensurate with the pay or pres...

I have a background in research with chronic pain and psychophysics prior to entering clinical practice as a nurse. Many of you, from your clinical experience, astutely picked out the fact that all of us rate and communicate pain experiences differe...

any crossover between human pathology and plant pathology?

I actually changed careers from an introverted field (research) to nursing. One reason I got into acute care and emerg is because of the challenges of working closely with many people and being able to develop rapport with patients. I truly see it ...

biochem

Very true! You have to be flexible and eager to take on shifts and be willing to move to underserviced areas. I am a 2 years out from RN school and i chose to move out to a rural hospital from Toronto, but I have to say I love the lifestyle and the...

With that kind of attitude, you better hope the nursing schools keep pumping out graduates to maintain the current employer's market. Hospitals and units can develop bad reputations, and once this nursing glut is over, people will vote with their fe...