uptoolateagain

Was reading through this again (after many months) and finally realized something. I recently changed facilities and had issues getting in the doors for the first two months. The old facility had tap cards, now I have to swipe a magnetic strip. Talk about a pain!

Our NPA states "Assessment: The licensed practical nurse makes basic observations, gathers data and assists in identification of needs and problems relevant to the clients, collects specific data as directed, and, communicates outcomes of the data collection process in a timely fashion to the appropriate supervising person." (WAC 246-800-700) The problem is we have different people interpreting the wording differently. We have one person who says that this means subjective data, and another who says this means both subjective and objective data. We also have people interpreting the phrase appropriate supervising person differently. The ones who say an LPN is only allowed to collect objective data think that the appropriate supervising person is always the RN, while the the people who think the LPN can collect all data say that the appropriate person can be the RN or the MD depending on the severity of the problem.

I have been tasked to help determine the scope of practice of LPNs and Medics within an Army MEDCEN. Right now we are having some controversy over trying to determine what the definition of assessment is, and what an LPN can do as an assessment. The big debate is over the terms full assessment/head-to-toe asssessment/focused assessment. Which one can LPNs do? And what is your definition of each?

Oh crap, six is pooping again! (Gotta love it when you just finished school!)

When you look at the orders for your migraine pt with a caffeine drip and wonder if pharmacy can make you one too! When you get to work and realize your socks are two different colors. When you park in the parking garage, and after your shift is done you calculate the difference in distance between taking the stairs or riding the elevator, and then realize you parked on the first level! When you leave the hospital, and then realize you parked in the parking lot that is on the other side of the building!

Reminds me of sending a new tech to supply asking for 15you feet of fallopian tubing. He came back three hours later with a letter from the DON telling us to stop doing that. I still want to know how many people he had to see before he got to her!

I had to give my wife a lesson in medical shorthand... apparently she didn't understand my order for a chicken sandwich c bacon s pickles & tomatoes! Also guilty of the sideways vein check, at least until my wife noticed and elbows me! Someones gotta keep me in line! And of course found myself looking for an onduty injury packet when I scraped my elbow on a nail (also went looking for a work order)

I will start out with the caveat that I am a male. I don't wear my ring at work, even when not on the ward. My wife and I decided that it is a much safer option than a degloving. I've seen too many of those because I have to work around vehicles a lot, and it just isn't worth the risk. This may be something you think about since you really are supposed to remove jewelry if you are involved in extrication (since you stated that you are an EMT). On another note, on the occasion that I do have to wear my ring (special events and such) I wear a plain ring. My wife and I have matching rings with all the inset stones, but once again we decided that from an infection control standpoint our "nice rings" are too big of a risk to wear. If the event is not at the hospital though, all the "bling" comes out. Do I see nurses wear their rings at work? All the time! It all boils down to your personal decision as to if you want to wear your ring or not, and what your institutions policy is.

Not nursing related, but got a kick out of it! Stop Honking! Can't you see I'm on the phone?