Diahni

Good point, Suesquatch.

Good point, Suesquatch.

Of course, it depends. But in the case of getting medical information about oneself or a family member, the person speaking to you will not "dumb down" the information one receives. If he or she knows you are informed, who knows, likely you'll get more complete and detailed information.

I don't know which is the worse bummer - that somebody would be so cruel to post such a hoax, or that ALL the airlines don't offer flights for nurses and other medical people. Geesh, what's wrong with people? I heard the statistic last night - 212,000 people have perished. It's unfathomable.

My husband works with people with serious mental disabilities trying to make it on their own, and he describes the work as a breeze, just hangin' and helping them cope. The only thing we could all agree on is that toxic people can poison a work environment. To each his own.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I doubt if you could create a "professional and respectful" dynamic with her. Take it to the boss.

nursing research sounds interesting - I'd bet I'd need a MSN for that? Thanks! Diahni

Hi Everybody, From time to time, an allnurses.com member will ask about "most stressful job," "best paying job," etc. Well, I am wondering if anybody will kindly weigh in on this...I am very independent and love to build things - I built a hot tub, fix my car, do plumbing and wiring in my house. Even back in nursing school, I'd constantly be thinking of innovative ways to do things, and quickly found out about the "right way, wrong way and the nursing way." Is there anybody here who feels that his or her job allows for creativity and autonomy? To be sure, one of the best things about nursing is there is no question about "making a difference" to other people. This is great, but I need something more. Any ideas? I know there will always be paperwork and having to answer to supervisors. But I'd like to explore ways in which I could use my "inner inventor." Thanks much! Diahni

Lisa, Aren't there formats for care plans online? Diahni

Hi Everybody: Here's an article about the shortage of primary care doctors in the US. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/health/policy/27care.html?_r=1&hp

A caveat, though. I would think that you'd start to get a sense of the "flavor" of the questions after taking a couple of the exams, and then write your own. But even so, there's nothing better than getting the info from the "horses mouth." diahni\

Luna: I believe you! too bad they're so expensive! Diahni

Lisa, Did you take the exam yet? I'd say it is difficult to compare micro to the nursing concepts exams. Please let me know how you did. I am wondering if its worth using the practice exams that Excelsior provides, since they cost nearly a third of the actual exam.

Funny, isn't it? Even though we're supposed to grow and mature, it seems that some people never do. Meanwhile, some people are born mature. I'm not sure where "horse sense" fits into this equation! But you're right - the "mean" thing that goes on in high school is something that many of us, but not all, outgrow. I would think that when people realize, or are taught what's motivating them to say mean things to other people - shouldn't that stop them from revealing that they have low self-esteem? Nah, self-awareness is part of that pesky growing up business that not everybody achieves.

Hey, you never know who is going to decide to use you to vent about their own frustrations. I had a handful of experiences in school, but this one was actually funny. There was a guy about my age, late 40s, whom I had heard was once a prison guard. Once when I was walking into a class, he stood back and said, "Age before beauty." The funny part is this guy has a pot belly, balding with grey hair, and looks like he was never a handsome guy at any age. So from then on, my friends and I referred to him as "Beauty." Then a Russian student was always snotty to me. When I said the clinical classroom was hot (and it was) she made some crack about hot flashes. Why do some people need to act like this? For the brief time they are putting somebody down, they're pumping themselves up. I'm one to enjoy a snappy come back, but in school, I just ignored it.

I have heard about the Vicks cure - I have one of those "Air Purifiers" you wear like a necklace, and it does blow a bit of fresh air in your face. They're also supposed to work to kill viruses.

Greetings: Does anyone work with people who have brain injuries? I would like to know about this sad and untimely death. I have read Ms. Richardson didn't get to a hospital for four hours. Yet her fall, they're assuming, caused a ruptured artery. How would the hospital staff deal with this? The injury was described in this article, along with the admonition to wear a helmet. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/03/richardsons-inj.html Thanks, Diahni

Positively hurl-o-genic! Just noticed that this thread has been going on since the summer of 2002. Did you ever have dinner with nurses and civilians together? That's funny! Gross me out! Diahni

Inthesouthrn: Hey, don't despair! We learn something new from every experience, good and bad. If the work is giving you panic attacks and much misery, you have learned that its something you shouldn't be doing. Life is too short to be so unhappy. I don't want to sound like Polyanna here, but the good news is your body is tellling you something: "This is not for me." Nothing wrong with that. I have a pal who faints at the sight of blood, yet her brother is a trauma nurse. You never know. It's a big world out there, and lots of stuff to do besides the job you had that was ruining your health and state of mind. Diahni

Greetings Allnurses.com Members: In the summer of 2005, a dear friend's brother was killed in a medical transport helicopter crash. He was a flight nurse in the prime of his life. Since then, the families of flight nurses who have died in accidents have come together to petition Congress to enact more safety standards. Since December, 2007, 35 people have lost their lives in medical air transport accidents in the US. Meanwhile, I saw on the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's web site, that in Canada, only one life was lost due to medical flight accidents in 2005, the most recent year that was posted. You can help to improve safety standards in the US by writing to your state Representatives to encourage them to vote for this bill. There must be more safety protocols in place to save the lives of nurses, pilots and patients. You can see the details at the Lib. of Congress web site: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h1201, but I've also pasted the status of the bill and details below. Thanks for your attention. Democracy is NOT a spectator sport! Our State Reps really do listen to the citizens of their districts they represent in Washington. Diahni (From the Lib. of Congress web site) 10. H.R.1201 : To increase the safety for crew and passengers on an aircraft providing emergency medical services. Sponsor: Rep Salazar, John T. [CO-3] (introduced 2/25/2009) Cosponsors (2) Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure Latest Major Action: 2/26/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation. Here's the link to the Lib. of Congress's listing of bills in Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h1201 Here's the actual bill: :nurse: Air Medical Safety Act (Introduced in House) HR 1201 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1201 To increase the safety for crew and passengers on an aircraft providing emergency medical services. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 25, 2009 Mr. SALAZAR (for himself and Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To increase the safety for crew and passengers on an aircraft providing emergency medical services. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Air Medical Safety Act'. SEC. 2. INCREASING SAFETY FOR CREW AND PASSENGERS ON AN AIRCRAFT PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. (a) Compliance Regulations- Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a pilot of an aircraft providing emergency medical services shall comply with the regulations in part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, whenever there is a medical crew on board, regardless of whether a patient is also on board. (b) Implementation of Flight Risk Evaluation Program- Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall initiate, and complete not later than 18 months thereafter, a rulemaking-- (1) to establish a standardized checklist of risk evaluation factors based on Notice 8000.301 issued by the Administration in August, 2005; and (2) to require pilots of aircraft providing emergency medical service to use the checklist to determine whether a mission should be accepted. © Comprehensive Consistent Flight Dispatch Procedures- Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall initiate, and complete not later than 18 months thereafter, a collaborative effort with the air medical community-- (1) to establish performance-based flight dispatch procedures for pilots of aircraft providing emergency medical services; and (2) to develop a method to measure compliance with those procedures. (d) Improving the Data Available to NTSB Investigators at Crash Sites- (1) STUDY- Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall complete a feasibility study of requiring flight data and cockpit voice recorders on new and existing aircraft providing emergency medical service operations. The study shall address, at a minimum, issues related to survivability, weight, and financial considerations of such a requirement. (2) RULEMAKING- Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall complete a rulemaking to require flight data and cockpit voice recorders on board aircraft providing emergency medical service operations. END

Whatevs, they were probably just talking about her travel arrangements.

Wow, CPNE stress sure is bad! I have a question - it's been my experience that many nursing tasks are not unlike driving a car, skating, etc. Sure, you need lots of information, but it's just as important to have your physical coordination down. I really didn't get into the "flow" of the simple task of taking a blood pressure until I did a blood pressure clinic in school. So here's my question to everybody - how much time do you need to give yourself to do everything smoothly?

Hi Everybody, I'm not sure if this is an active thread. Is anyone out there pursuing medical transcription? Diahni

A reminder to all to VOTE!!! Yes, we need more Dr. Spocks, and fewer cowboys running our country.

Madwife: Thanks for adding some new insights into this "thread that refuses to die" - nursing can involve life or death situations, and, let's face it, normal pleasantries can go out the window in dire situations. Still, the "toxic" situations that many have to endure are caused by management being either indifferent or, in some cases, actually promoting it. What's it going to take to change this? Present company is one person who refuses to poison my life with this nonsense. The corporate mentality contributes mightily to the situation, as there is no way to reconcile happiness with the bottom line. Your staff is miserable - who cares? Is it losing money? In fact, it does, if you want to consider the health effects of misery. Diahni P.S. Nurse J22 - I sure wish there were more people willing to stand up to bullies. They're out there, and withdraw only when they feel outnumbered by people willing to stand up them.