NO50FRANNY

I am keenly following this thread and dying to know how you went. Will be starting my path to American license soon. Fingers crossed for you 😀

My stoooopid triage shift yesterday..... (people usually cry if I'm at triage) oooh, and everyone wanted to play my least favourite game, kick the triage nurse. Someone rolled away the big rock from the cave and all those intellectually challenged,...

It really comes down to basics for me on this one, too easy. I love looking after sick people and making them feel better. I dislike not being able to look after sick people properly, sometimes not having the time to make them feel better, and all ...

Agree, agree, agree. Organ support is more accurate, leaves no room for misguided hope, and relays the science in basic terms. But, as Esme12 mentioned blanket terms will not necessarily suit every situation. Communicating the facts and reality of ...

Having time to chat with our patients is a luxury most Emergency nurses are rarely afforded. I was Fast Track boss today with my hopelessly hungover and partied out colleague on a very civilised Boxing day morning shift. My Registrar asked me to re...

We have a young guy who will let his calcium levels drop so low that he gets obvious carpal / generalised tetany. We suspect he just doesn't take his medication then comes in when he's in trouble. He has a port and will generally refuse a cannula. ...

Oh, I almost forgot. Rigid C-spine collars on any patient over 85. Just, don't. I will take it off.

Honestly the list of things that irritate me on a daily, if not hourly basis are endless.... here are but a few. - I too, DESPISE the carry on with regard to insertion of an IV. It's 10 seconds of your life. I understand your apprehension if you ha...

It was a rough day.

Hi all, I am an Australian ED nurse in the process of applying for US nursing registration (RN) and had plans to move to Colorado when immigration/license is all organised. My father is a US citizen so we are in the process of sorting out either cit...

On my last day of work in my oncology ward many, many years ago one of the greatest pranks ever executed occurred. I was in charge of the shift and when I walked into the handover room and saw the board I couldn't believe it. On our bedlist of 25 p...

I have an answer for you but I don't know how helpful it will be. In our department we kill them with kindness. Food is not something we will often dish out regardless, but when being snarled at with the ever so common "she hasn't eaten since yeste...

Can relate- I kid you not, we had a resus patient just yesterday who had some sort of catastrophic cerebral event at home. Our senior physician was deciding whether to intubate prior to CT given that we suspected heroic measures would be futile. S...

A few years ago, early evening, I discharged myself from my hospital in the city following an umbilical hernia repair that morning. I was adamant that my pain could be managed at home with oral analgesia and was determined to be at my mothers' place...

I can imagine it is difficult for a lot of nurses to get their "foot in the door" and I know nurses are always knocking the door down to get a job in my department. I would say apply even if you don't have all the qualifications expected to any adve...

My favourite "shocking" pardon the pun.... Very sick looking 40 yr old gentleman walks up to the triage desk, sweating profusely, white as a ghost. "I feel like I am going to pass out". Patient is breathless, "do you have any significant medical hi...

I too love reflecting on how things used to be and I've watched the steady deterioration of holistic nursing care and the subsequent role of "nursing" becoming a rapid, task orientated one, a push for maximum efficiency / turnover and minimal contact...

If someone is assaulted in our department (a common occurrence), and by this I refer to intentional and unprovoked acts of violence against staff members charged with duty of care, they are encouraged to press charges and the police get involved. Ou...

It's been an interesting couple of weeks in the old ER, rotten shifts and yet strangely awash with genuinely sick and unnervingly pleasant patients. I've had a tear in my eye more than once because a few words of kindness from patients have been thr...

How do you think this response would go.... "probably yesterday when I dumped ice cold water on the face of a patient at triage because she was pretending to be unresponsive". She wasn't expecting that.

We use FOS too, only it doesn't mean the same thing. Diagnosis = Full of %$#.

Congratulations on your job offers, I think you will find either of these specialties both interesting and challenging. I am a firm believer that working as a ward/floor nurse (regardless of specialty) for a year or so after graduating is extremely ...

Hi there, I buggered up my reply to this- it's comment 18 / 19.

I have to say without a word of a lie, the problem of wards not being ready for patients, delaying tactics, obstructions essentially no longer exists. The important thing to remember is that the wards lose money from their budget if the patient brea...

There are definately some downsides. We are seeing the same number of patients only faster, so we are all pretty tired and I have noticed a small increase in the number of failed discharges which was bound to happen. The system officially started e...