shawna.k

I am encouraging anyone and everyone to share this anywhere you can! That awareness it brings, reminding us what it must feel like to be the patient, is a necessary tool for a good nurse to have. We need to bring humility to the table, remember that it could be us or our loved one someday, and treat the patient like a human being. I have many health problems myself, and it's very important to me that I'm taken seriously and treated with kindness and like a person when someone takes care of me, so I do the same. And I speak up when I see that others are not, and that is key. We cannot look the other way, because we are just as liable.

As long as you get your work done, you can never spend too much time in your patients' rooms! I find myself leaving later than most, and of I'm ever asked why, my answer will be, "because I always go the extra mile, and help before I'm asked. I should be employee of the month!"

I have been taking care of a patient that requires total care, sometimes two hours of my time at once on a busy telemetry floor with a high census and a nurse/patient ratio of 1:6. Granted that's a ratio that's a blessing compared to other hospitals, but our floor is usually the busiest in the hospital, of the med-surg floors, and we usually have one extender on night shift for 28 patients with a high volume of admissions and total cares. Suffice it to say, we work. And I love every second of what I do. I'm one of those nurses that goes the extra 100 miles for my patients and their families, and for my fellow nurses and extenders. I jump in before I'm asked and our floor has a pretty good team. But sometimes, like we can do as human beings, we forget to be humble and put ourselves in another person's shoes. My patient can't talk on the phone without someone holding the phone for him, and I would make the time, whether I had it or not, for his wife and daughter to call each night to say good night and just talk for a few minutes. They don't live in the same town as our hospital. He lights up when he sees me, he knows my daughter's name, I know his. I know his wife's name and all about him and his family. I connect and bond with my patients. I cannot tell you how sad and heartbroken I was when I came on shift after a few nights off, asked him how his wife was, and heard these words..."I don't know. I haven't talked to her this weekend. Nobody has been able to help me with the phone." Now, even if you can't make the time to make a separate trip for the phone call, why not do it while you're giving him meds through the G-tube, changing dressings, and setting up the G-tube feeding?? Because his family will stay by the phone and wait for you to let you know when you are in the room to assist with the call...so his situation inspired this "poem" I posted on my FB, with his permission, to open some callous eyes. I have a lot of nursing coworkers and fellow students and instructors on my page, so I hope it goes viral! Please copy and share on your FB if you like. Perspective: I'm a quadriplegic. I can't do much of anything for myself. But I'm a person. I have a wife. A child. A life. A fully-capable mind. A soul. A personality. A sense of humor. Did you notice? The doctor came in today. He said a lot of things were going on. I'm in a lot of pain. Will it get better? My family can't be here right now. There is a knock at the door. A nurse is coming. Will she talk to me tonight? I love to talk. This room can be so quiet for hours on end. Except for the pump. Beep beep beep. Perspective: I'm a nurse. I do so many things for hours on end. I'm life-saver, medicine-passer, companion, advocate, spiritual supporter, housekeeper, waitress, and friend. I'm a person. I just took a call and told them I would be there to take care of them in a minute, as soon as I could. I'm doing my best to take care of every need as quickly as possible. Did you notice? I love to talk to my patients and get to know more about them than just their medical diagnosis. I end up knowing where they grew up, their careers, vacations, children's careers, grandchildren's names, dreams, and regrets. And when I come in the next night and they don't speak two sentences, I notice. There goes another pump. Beep beep beep. So you see, we all have different perspectives in life. The important thing to remember is that, no matter which one you have, you need to have compassion for the perspective you have never seen. Especially if you want to be a nurse, or any health care professional. This holds true for any aspect of life, because you do not know the weight another person carries on their shoulders. Please share and pass this on. I would love to see this go viral. Let's fan the flames of passion in nursing care of the whole patient! ~shawnakimberly

Thank you! April will be my 1 yr mark. I feel like I'm just now really hitting my stride and my shifts are going smoothly now. They were so stressful at one point that my migraines were bad. Stress is one of my triggers and I was having one nearly every night I worked. Thank God that's over!

Pay attention to how your preceptor/s organize for the shift to stay on track & focused. Then find what works best for you. After getting tired of writing a list down on extra paper every shift, I made an awesome flow sheet I wouldn't dare be without. It's divided up and each room has a place to check off when my assessment is in and when my rounds are done & charted. I write in my med times for that pt (ex - 21, 22, 0, 6, 7). If they are blood sugar checks or turn q2 I highlight that section. On the ride side by each pt I have a section to write in my shift I/O and PRNs given. As I take report I write in any notes on something that needs to be done (dressing change, pain reassessment, NPO after MN, etc). I make short notes during my shift if need be. When I give my charge nurse report at end of shift, this one sheet of paper is all I need. Report goes much faster that way. And at any time during my shift, I can see at a glance what I have coming up for meds and what I have left to do or chart. It has been a great asset, and I'd be lost without it!Ask, ask, ask questions. Don't ever think you know everything. The day you think you know it all is the day you need to retire. All nurses have a new skill or concept to learn. Your pt's can drive you batty but you gotta love it and your heart has to be in it. If it is, I promise all the rough times are worth those little moments when you know you made a difference.I moan and groan sometimes, but I wouldn't trade med-surg for a long time to come, if ever! I love the diversity of the pt conditions and skills.Good luck to you!

I work 7p-a and struggled at first with my eating habits. I have to eat a small meal before I leave for work, usually a bowl of cereal. Or I drink a meal shake on the way to work. Lately, I've taken to getting a plate from the hot line in the cafeteria so I can resist the temptation of cheeseburgers from our grill, or takeout. If time allows, I nibble a couple bites from my plate around 2100 after getting all of my assessments in, and before my 2200 meds pass. I usually take a real break anywhere from 2330 to 0300 depending on what I have going on the rest of my shift. I try to limit myself to a cup of decaf coffee with a dash of milk when I get home because I get right into bed. (not always successful as I'm a sucker for sweet breakfast foods right about the time I get home) I'm still trying to lose 10 of the 30 lbs of weight I gained in nursing school. On my floor, I've been told I'm one of 2 or 3 nurses who have lost weight the first year on nights. :)Interesting to see all of the different eating patterns!

I hate running IVPB on a primary line...it's sometimes difficult to prime without wasting these expensive and necessary meds!Most of my co-workers can't stand respiratory secretions....my killer: skin flakes! Nothing makes me want to retch like pulling off a pt's socks or pulling back covers and seeing corn flakes fly around....BLEH!Can't stand tangled lines/call light wires/dynamaps etc.And I can't stand that I just stood at my pt's bedside, asking if they needed anything else, and I leave to have the unit secretary call me less than 2 minutes later....and it's for pain med, ice, trip to potty...really? You didn't know that 2 minutes ago?And I get irritated when pt's think they are supposed to have their meds on the exact second they are due. I have 6 pt's, can't be in 6 rooms at once to give your 2200 meds at 2200....2215 not good enough, I guess. Happened just the other night...still sore I guess :)But, with all that, I have a great poker face and demeanor...they never know I'm irritated. I'm sweet nursery-nurse at the bedside! Love my co-workers, we all let each other vent.

I had one day that was emotional and heart-wrenching. I was a new nurse on med-surg, and still in my preceptorship. I had the privilege of one of our palliative care MD's asking me to be present with the rest of the palliative care team for a hospice consult. To hear my sweet pt talk about how she had lived her life and was ready to go melted me. The MD asked her questions about why she was at such peace with dying (in better wording, of course), and she just smiled and with complete faith said she was ready to see the Lord. I had emotions bubbling just under the surface, when another pt (DNR) passed a few hours later. I helped with the post-mortem care. I was ok, until the family returned to the room and expressed their appreciation for all the staff had done in caring for their loved one. I held it together until I got to the bathroom and locked the door. I let myself cry for about ten minutes, and it was very cathartic.

I agree that staffing should appropriately reflect the type of care provided. Having said that, I'm an LPN in Georgia. Our scope of practice has few limitations compared to that of an RN. To address another point...I'm a nurse...and that's that! It's not enough that I do the same work as the RN's I work with for much less pay? Now, I need a different title? I work med-surg and I love it! I don't fret about the pay, but I wouldn't give up proudly calling myself a nurse without a fight. I do think you have a great point for eliminating LPN/VN'S in acute care settings...in states where the scope of practice is more limited.