kdon27

Thanks for your input xoemmylouox. Greatly appreciated :)

Firstly, thank-you for taking the time to read this. To put it shortly, is it a bad idea to start off in such a small hospital so early on? Would it hinder the development of my skills? And, would it lessen the likelihood of gaining employment in a bigger hospital later on, maybe in a different area such as the ER or such acute care settings? I've been looking at this one hospital in particular; it's quite a small private hospital, primarily focused on surgery and recovery. There are about 70 beds in the entire facility, no ER or any ICU just a 4-bed high-dependency recovery unit. Basically, I just want to have a stable nursing career and I believe getting as much experience as possible *now* in diverse settings would be the best way (I think so but if I'm wrong, please tell me!). But at the same time I am worried that if I pass on any opportunities in smaller hospitals, I may not get another opportunity later on... All thoughts, comments, and advise is warmly welcome and truly appreciated! Thank-you :)

Many thanks for that, it helps alot

Hi there, This is with reference to an assignment question where a (hypothetical) patient has liver failure and thus reduced albumin levels. She also may have ascites. I have found the link to portal hypertension but also want to put hypoalbuminemia in there. Problem is that I thought that 1st and 2nd space fluid cannot communicate with the 3rd-space - i have looked all over but can't get a clear answer. I have found some books saying hypoalbuminemia contributes to ascites and articles that say it is only a minor factor compared to portal hypertension. So my question is can hypoalbuminemia contribute to third-space shifting? Thank-you.

Thank-you! :)

Hi all, First, thanks for reading =) I'm doing an assignment on patho for a patient and the mock progress notes for my "patient" show her ammonia is 62 ummol/L. I looked up the normal and found it to be 540-740 umol/L. What puzzles me is the units used to express the ammonia level - does anybody know what this could mean? By the way, she looks to be in liver failure/hepatic encephalopathy. Thank-you!

Absolutely. We have same reverence for patient confidentiality as the US does.

Unfortunately it doesn't say. Just says at the start she became sick. But we are working under the impression that she may have difficulties taking care of the baby at home - we are still researching the situation of Aborigines in Fregon..

Thanks so much for the wonderful replies everybody!! :)

Hi guys, I'm having trouble with the following discharge presentation. I'm new to nursing so I have no idea what a discharge presentation really is and what it encompasses. I've done some research in books and such even on youtube.com and found a few videos that illustrate a good presentation but all of them have involved very specific scenarios involving medications etc... I'd appreciate any insight on what exactly I should be putting in to this scenario - I've included what me (and my group, 3 of us in total) have come up with for a 10 slide, 20 minute presentation. Theo is an Indigenous 12-month-old toddler who usually lives at home in Fregon with his parents. Theo's dad works on a cattle station. Stella, his mother, was able to breastfeed Theo for four months until she became ill. From then on Theo was bottle fed. Last month Theo developed an upper respiratory tract infection. After four days Stella took Theo to the local health clinic because he was fussy, not drinking his bottle properly, crying more than usual, pulling at his left ear and had a temperature of 38°C. The nurse at the clinic assessed Theo and noted a red, bulging tympanic membrane with a small amount of purulent drainage from the left ear canal which was not clearing with antibiotics. At the clinic Stella came back with Theo, who had similar symptoms again but also had abdominal pain. For three days ago he has been unsettled and not wanting to lie down in his cot. He was not eating and drinking properly, and only sucked from his bottle, crying each time he did this. Theo was pyrexic and anxious. Stella looked very tired and her husband, Joe, smokes cigarettes in the house. Theo and Stella were brought down to Adelaide via the RFDS and admitted to the Women's and Children's Hospital but are getting ready to go home again. So this is what we've got so far... 1 - Introduce the scenario, Theo's case, PMHx and current situation. 2 - Talk about Fregon and what resources are available - just a brief intro to the place. 3 to 8 - List out the issues and discuss how we can resolve them: Theo's Dad smokes & works on a farm = host of chemicals and allergens to cause respiratory infections, Mum appears unwell and tired, possibly not taking care of Theo as well as she normally could, living in Fregon means insufficient access to resources especially proper healthcare, possible lack of education with parents seeing as it is a recurrent situation, possible hostility towards modern medicine, use of traditional medicines that may harm rather than help, need for interpreter or mediator (sensitivity to cultural differences). 9 - Summarise the goals we expect to achieve 10 - References Any help or comments are greatly appreciated :) Thanks!