Vinniesguy

Are you sure you didn't misunderstand? They might mean that great grades doesn't necessarily mean a great nurse - and they would be right. getting great grades doesn't mean you'll make a bad nurse either! Theory is one thing - being able to apply it ...

I moved to Australia from England (via germany) in 2003 and have never regretted it. 12 hour shifts are not usual - in my hospital only ICU do them and even then it's not mandatory. Living in Aus you won't want to be locked away for that long anyway!...

I have to say that most of the time, certainly on our ward, most nurses get a meal break most of the time. Sure - sometimes they might have to take a short one but they get a break all the same I always bring my own food in so I can make sure I eat ...

As a dude with a hairy chest I'm glad our hospital doesnt impose such ridculous dress codes on us - especially in our climate! I'm not going to wear an extra shirt just because I'm hairy! Not my fault I was blessed lol Having said that - where I wor...

I've posted in this thread before but I just remembered another story This is way back when I was a student nurse in London - this was in the days of hospital based training and I was working at the Royal London Hospital in the east end of London. A ...

Quite like having students but some of them seem to forget that just because they aced their anatomy exam, or have memorized the renal system, that basic nursing care is no longer their concern. We have nursing assistants on our ward but the RN's sti...

It's a great idea. I've worked at places where people are dragged out of bed at 6.30 am and back in bed by 1.30 pm so the evening shift wouldn't get mad. I can see it becoming a problem if someone does shift their pattern, sleeps all day and is awake...

Wouldn't send them out immediately unless there was a clear head injury, a change in GCS, were on anti-coags or the family insisted. I think nurses are quite capable of clinical judgement without passing the buck unless its the policy of the facility...

You may understand inches but some of us only understand centimetres. If you told me a wound was 40 inches I would look at you blankly then have to find a converter on the Internet!

I've just been interviewed for a management post and was told settling staff disputes is part of my job. I would say you need to talk to the complainants one at a time and get specifics before talking to the nurse in question. Then say it is somethin...

We call them 'specials'in Australia and at our hospital we have nursing assistants on the casual pool who only special. It's for patients who are likely to climb over the bed-rails, are intrusive wanderers, exit seekers or very high falls risk. They ...

I've enjoyed most jobs I've had and learned something from all of them but have yet to be in a job where I have thought 'This is it - this what I've been waiting for'!

I was horrified at an LTC I worked at to see Monkey Gland Steak on the menu! Turned out to be just regular beef steak with some kind of onion gravy. Not a monkey in sight - nor any of the glands. The kitchen staff had no idea of the origins of the na...

Ive just applied for an assistant manager post in an LTC (in Australia) - the pay equates to USD44

As far as I'm aware you can perform nasopharyngeal suction on a pt with an ngt tube as long as afterwards you check the ng tube is still where it supposed to be and hasnt moved during suctioning.

It was a bit of a chore in the last place where I worked. The doctor would tell us over the phone that they wanted to chart something. We would then have to fax a blank med page which s/he would fill in and fax back. Then we would have to fax it to t...

I know a girl who works 3 days a week in an LTC and 2 days a week on a surgical ortho unit...

It might also be useful to have a look at pathology results as well - just to know what is an abnormal reading you can let slide and what is worth ringing the doctor immediately for! Also I remember a doctor asking me to order bloods for a delerium s...

Yes it's normal to feel like this. Once you get your routine sorted you'll find you'll get things done much quicker. And learn to delegate to your aides - they can answer the bells, they can reassure your pts their meds are coming. And you really ou...

This is bullying pure and simple. Do you belong to a union because if you do then they will be able to help - it's who I would go to.

BM's were recorded every day on a seperate chart where I used to work. The night RN would go through them and flag anyone who hadn't had a BM for 3 days. Never had to record how much a person had eaten - not on a med chart anyway - if anyone had noti...

If I had to have taken the BP of every one of my residents (which was about all 30 of them) morning rounds would take all day! I can see the point of seven days but if they've been taking them for years trying to withhold it will probably cause you, ...

Pretty sure here in NSW we don't count it - but we don't keep it as stock unless someone needs it. We don't count antibiotics or coumadin either!

Gets locked in the med cupboard and returned on discharge. We have no right to keep a patients property.

I'm prepared to flexible here. If an elderly woman would rather her daughter who is the primary carer put the anitfungal cream on her excoriated groin rather than the guy she's known for 10 minutes I have no problem with that.