tss2507

wow thanks a bunch guys! I just want you to know that all 6 of your comments were important to me and make me feel A LOT better! Im new to everything nursing and just wanna be the best nurse possible. I feel like there's a lot for me to learn but I'm glad I have this website lol!

I have 2 nagging question regarding nursing in general that has been bothering me... 1.) *As a student nurse, when doing basic personal care on a patient, I know we should always ask the patient first if we can do it...but what if the patient is semi-comatose or just not able to communicate that well (to give a clear expressed consent)? **For example, I remember last semester's clinical I had a patient who was really old and in poor health that needed a bed bath but didnt answer at all when I asked him if it was okay for me to give him a bed bath, change him, etc. I honestly ended up simply not doing it because I just didn't feel comfortable doing it when he never gave me a clear "yes". Looking back, I probably should have asked my instructor's opinion regarding what would have been best as oppose to simply foregoing it all together but that time has already passed. Anyways, how do nurses approach situations such as this? I imagine this must be fairly common too since nurses frequently take care of the badly injured or geriatrics population. 2.) **As a male nurse, should I always have a female coworker in the room with me whenever caring for a female patient with any scenerio in nursing? Do all male nurses typically do this? I say this because I remember last semester's clinical in which this wasn't the case for the students nor the R.N.s I'm sorry to bombard you with these unrelated questions but this has really been bothering me. I feel as though there's still a lot in nursing I still need to figure out. God bless to any and all that take the time to answer me! -Trevor

Hi guys, I recently enrolled in an ADN program and am doing a maternity clinical right now. I was told by my instructor that I should always have a fellow female nursing student in the room with me. I understand that this helps protect me but is this a law of some sort or is it merely a recommendation? Also, should all male nurses have a female nurse with them whenever they have a female patient? What do you do if your patient specifically requests a female nurse. Is it always feasible to simply have another nurse take that patient?? Sorry for all the questions but this issue has been really bothering me. How do you guys typically handle this?