Jump to content

heron ASN, RN

Hospice
Platinum Platinum Nurse
  • Joined:
  • Last Visited:
  • 2,665

    Content

  • 0

    Articles

  • 39,959

    Visitors

  • 1

    Followers

  • 0

    Points

heron has 40 years experience as a ASN, RN and specializes in Hospice.

Born in 1950, I am a widow with one son and two grandchildren (so far ... my son the bunny rabbit!) I grew up in a large, blended, terribly toxic family in rural New England and worked in the Boston area for 30 years before moving to ABQ.

heron's Latest Activity

  1. heron
    I have personally witnessed the devastation wrought by a single worker choosing to decline testing after traveling, then choosing to return to work sick. Yep … I judge. Meanwhile, I reserve the use of the word covidiot to refer to the microchip/magnetization/infertility/dna damage set, as well as the willfully ignorant. Even I - an AD grad, who never learned statistics or how to read a scientific study - understand the concepts of herd immunity and risk reduction.
  2. heron
    JKL33: I think it’s a bit disingenuous to dismiss the folks in question as “anti-vax neighbors”. Parents, supervisors. employers come to mind as potential sources of actual harm. And don’t underestimate the stress of being harassed by purely social contacts. We’ve seen at least one person doxed here on AN because she had the wrong political views, according to the culprit. Not such a stretch to imagine being spotted in a waiting room at a vaccination site by someone who enjoys nailing people on social media. It’s a very, very small world. It’s great that you feel relatively impervious to gossip and harassment (verbal and otherwise), but others do not necessarily have the same personal and social resources that you do.
  3. heron
    What, exactly, is your question? The covidiot crowd isn’t known for reasoned opinions or behavior. Further, Covid isn’t the only vaccination that some - specifically teenaged minors - have sought confidentiality when they chose to get vaccinated. If I had a significant number of covidiots in my immediate social circle, I would want confidentiality as well.
  4. heron

    Fully running IV Piggyback meds?

    heron replied to HelloThere247's topic in Medications

    Backflow from main line?
  5. heron
    Most institutions have standard admin times for different frequencies. 9-1-5 for tid, 9-9 for q12hr, etc. Never heard of docs needing to specify times unless they want something different from institutional routine.
  6. heron

    Topical News

    heron replied to Curious1997's topic in Politics

    No, we don’t. We lived it. Our history is as invisible to men as the history of Africans in America is to white folks.
  7. heron

    President Biden thread

    heron replied to Beerman's topic in Politics

    OT alert: yes, traumatic ain’t the half of it. We were Covid-free until late last October. Then a particularly irresponsible staffer took a vacation out of state, neglected to test on her return and then came back to work sick. By the time we knew she was infected, she had already worked three shifts. We were using surgical face masks so we could keep the few N95s and KN95s we could get for those on actual precautions (new admits, returns from hospital, etc., were all on precautions for two weeks) Within ten days all the residents and most of the staff were infected. At one point I was one of two nurses still able to work. The covidiots’ argument that this twit had some sort of constitutional right to do this kind of damage - 34 residents dead and 4 or 5 in ICU for extended stays, most of our bedside workers infected, many sick and all endangering their own families - holds no water with me! End of derail ...
  8. heron

    Feels bad for not swabbing a vascular access port

    heron replied to Nurse Beth's topic in Nurse Beth

    It’s a device. A clysis can be delivered through any needle suitable for subcutaneous injection that can be attached to IV tubing. There are also commercially available clysis sets. Site is prepped as with an IV insertion, clysis needle inserted, secured and hooked up to tubing and bob’s your uncle. Fluid bags are changed the same way as an IV infusion. Have never seen a piggyback on a clysis, so no swabbing needed on a Y port. As always with anything that pierces the skin, infection is a risk but, if it occurs, will likely remain local.
  9. heron

    Feels bad for not swabbing a vascular access port

    heron replied to Nurse Beth's topic in Nurse Beth

    Small technical point: a clysis is not a vascular access. The word is short for hypodermoclysis and the access is to subcutaneous tissue, not a blood vessel. It’s an old-time method of giving fluids and some meds from before the invention of intravenous technology. It has been resurrected, especially in hospice, as a less traumatic method of infusion than IV: much easier to start with fewer risks and complications.
  10. heron

    Urine sample from incontinent pt with dementia

    heron replied to lottieloo's topic in Nursing

    Probably the best course. I have also had success with using a condom cath and a foley bag, but the pt may not tolerate it. Plus, it’s a clean catch at best. If you’re not experienced with condom catheters, a straight cath is your best bet.
  11. heron

    MNA and Nurses Respond to the Killing of George Floyd by Police

    heron replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in Nursing

    Never studied statistics, myself. Yet, even I know that doesn’t follow. Try again ...
  12. heron

    Communicating with Hard of Hearing Patients

    heron replied to KellyM RN's topic in Nursing

    Pitch your voice low. Many hearing impairments aquired later in life hit the higher registers more than the lower. Women, especially, tend to have higher-pitched voices and it tends to go higher when we attempt to speak more loudly. I find that I can communicate better when I pitch low at the same time as I increase volume a bit. I also try to speak into the “good ear” since such impairments are often asymmetrical. Saves a LOT of shouting.
  13. heron

    Topical News

    heron replied to Curious1997's topic in Politics

    Sorry - the appointment process for SJC justices.
  14. heron

    Topical News

    heron replied to Curious1997's topic in Politics

    I think there are very real questions about the legality of the process ... assertions about suppressed information, for instance. I really hope that someone who knows what they’re doing explores the possibility of impeachment.
  15. heron

    Topical News

    heron replied to Curious1997's topic in Politics

    What I’m not getting is how making the court more vulnerable to inappropriate appointments (by vastly increasing the frequency of openings) solves the problem of inappropriate appointments. How does it work to use a heavily politicized process to neutralize itself? Reminds me of the NRAs argument that the solution to gun violence is more guns. (I don’t buy that one, either) Meanwhile, the independence of the judiciary gets significantly damaged ... making the court more vulnerable to political threats when the court doesn’t rule the way the current big dogs want them to rule. Sounds like a disaster in the making to me. In my view, the current justifications being advanced for expansion have more to do with dictating which political philosophy dominates judicial thinking than with restoring judicial integrity and competence. Gerrymandering in a black dress. Call me an *** if you like, but it’s getting harder to tell the difference between the farmers and the pigs.
  16. heron

    Topical News

    heron replied to Curious1997's topic in Politics

    How so? Could you explain, please?