beesnest

No one I know uses gloves unless they are working with chemo.

I would have done the same, You did an amazing job.

Number one nearly got me out of nursing. The facility you work in can make all the difference. Try moving, maybe from rural to urban, or vice versa.

Anyone have photos?

KateMI That sounds appropriate, but what were you thinking should have been done differently? I’m missing the error.

I see the point OP, but sometimes people have moments and say stupid things. I have a huge bias against NeoNazis and might say something nasty about them online, but if one came in I would still care for them in accordance with current standards. I wouldn’t be asking them if they wanted a coffee just to be nice, but the nursing care would be fine. I actually was part of a team that saved a serial child molester, we ran through the protocols, got him transferred out, and then it hit me that we had just saved his life. I don’t think an expressed hatred rules her out as a competent nurse for that group. BUT if she’s a borderline nurse to begin with, her care will show it.

I’m in Canada, and the healthcare system gets its money from the government. That’s resulted in conflicts of interest in the past, government passes laws removing union powers because contract talks aren’t going well. They don’t hold back because of ethics. One of our nursing home complexes is overrun with COVID patients, and positive staff are off work so they have a staffing shortage. They were looking for volunteers to come from out of town to staff the nursing home, offering accommodation and travel expenses, Apparently that didn’t work out, and they’ve mandated a unit of the local acute care hospital to go to the nursing home on their regular shifts. The province is under a state of emergency, so they use that power to send nurses to an entirely different facility and specialty. I’m furious. They could have offered extra pay to people and they would have gotten volunteers... didn’t even try.

Probably. I was thinking more if the paperwork wasn’t filled out right.

With your PICU experience, I think you’d take great care of that patient, because you had the ICU RN to call about questions. The lack of orientation to the floor is concerning, but they ought to forgive you any errors, so long as the patient is well cared for.

Most RNs have graduated from university these days, so not comprehending English is an argument easily rebutted. You might get a faster answer by reaching out to local nursing schools. A lot of us have been told to chart that way, but darned if I remember why.

There’s only one actual program I’ve found, but I expected there were a lot more, and I was hoping to make contact with more than one. From my research, peer support is more used in substance abuse, rather than mental health. Feedback from ER nurses actually using the programs would help too. But making some phone calls is definitely in the cards.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/wounded-healers-how-peer-support-workers-help-patients-in-crisis-1.4439694 https://hospitalnews.com/a-peer-support-program-with-time-for-compassion/ http://peersupportcanada.ca/ Like this.

We were thinking a volunteer contacted through the local homeless shelter to sit with a patient while they are waiting in the ER. It can take hours, and someone acting as a buffer could help everyone. I could have sworn I’d seen a program like this in Toronto somewhere...maybe BC. It would help to see policies from other hospitals that have tried this. But good or bad points of the idea would help too. I expect the volunteers would, at minimum, get oriented to the ER, and go through a nonviolent crisis intervention course. At minimum, we’d need consent from the patient, and an ok from the ER to stay with the patient.

I’m volunteering with a shelter/resource centre for the homeless, and they want to hook up with the ER by providing companions for mental health patients in the ER while they wait. Does anyone have a program like that in their hospital? I imagine peer counselling would be the closest comparison. Any, ANY information on the program, like education before volunteering and hospital policies would be helpful. How did you roll it out? Any contact numbers for existing programs would be wonderful too.

Heehee, I've been called to radiology to hand a male patient a urinal! The tech said she didn't have the training to do it herself.

If "severe" or "sudden" describes any of your symptoms, if you are having trouble breathing, or with your heart (including chest pain). If more blood than can be soaked up by a maxipad appears in less than half an hour from any part of your body, or if fainting or unconciousness has occured or a distinct possibility, go to the ER. If you've had the same symptoms for more than two days without change, and they don't fall into any of the above categories, usually your own doc will do a better job. If the convienence of the walk-in ER system is the main reason you are going, turn around. If you are with a friend and thought "I should get myself checked out too." If you had nothing better to do than to just see what the doc had to say about xyz... If you have any thoughts of profit ($$$) as the result of the ER visit...get a job. If you haven't bathed in the last week or so... If your illness is a result of a chemical substance... If you can't comprehend why you were here first, and yet they are taking that guy in right away.... If your idea of a satisfactory experience includes a meal and as many warm blankets as you can beg, borrow or steal (and double points if you fetch your own blanket out of the warmer)... If you choose your ER visit times based on what will be on TV... GO HOME

My conditions for taking a job, which are constantly evolving; I want it to be physically possible (equipment and time wise) for me to do the work assigned to me during the course of my shift. I want supportive coworkers. I don't do mandatory overtime. I want a manager that listens to my concerns- not that she agrees, or that she immediately jumps to my wishes, just listens and gives honest feedback. A recent add-on; Honest feedback DOES include "you are out of your mind, and it will never be that way," but does not include, "I will look into that" but never actually doing it.

The measurement of the med is what is in the syringe- not what is in the needle too. Otherwise you would have differing doses based on what needle was used to draw up the med, and whether you changed the needle or not. Imagine drawing up something thick like Ativan with an 18G then changing the needle. Or drawing up an oral med like digoxin for a pedi patient and the removing the needle altogether. For a baby that could be half the dose in the needle... The only constant the syringe companies have is their own syringe- so they can't take into account the needle you put on- they don't know what you are using. I was taught in nursing school to use the air bubble to make sure all the med had left the syringe- and the air filled the dead space in the needle.

llg made some very intelligent observations, and told you why we might not run to your aid. Yet you respond with this? THIS is what is most frustrating to me about nursing. A nurse makes some excellent observations, suggests changes that are valid from our point of view, and the response is some combination of how rude and ungrateful we are, how you have much bigger and better things to do besides listen to our uneducated opinions, and nursing isn't a profession anyway. Now why, do you think, we wouldn't want to stay in nursing? PS; llg has more education and experience in research than you can dream of. If I was you I would thank her, and take her every suggestion to heart.

Regarding pleasant hallucinations- when I am stressed, or don't take the meds I'm prescribed I hear voices in the next room, or music- like a radio has been left on. In fact, in university I used to go looking for the inconsiderate rat who was playing the radio at 3am. Never did find them. Wasn't until I'd actually gotten meds and noticed how much quieter it had gotten that I thought maybe it wasn't normal. but I had gotten through nursing school, and about 5 years of practice by the time that happened. Before anyone lays an egg, yes, my doc knows all about this, and he works with me as a nurse regularly. I get great evaluations, am certified in my field, and am doing fine.

I think that we need to realize that resources are limited, no matter what we might want. If healthcare has a set amount of resources, and keeping a 90yo alive for another week will prevent prenatal classes from being available next month...I don't know... If we had the hard numbers about whether that 90yo will even live, let alone know who and where she is we could all (family included) talk about the situation in a more sensible way. I'm not saying that family shouldn't get to decide, just that they should have the facts, rather than some MD's statement that can't bring himself to talk about DNR.

I would be interested in research about specific situations and the probability of someone surviving an arrest. For example, if someone is over 80 years old what are the chances they will survive the arrest, or be able to leave hospital? I bet its's less than 1%. If families had access to that information they would be able to make an informed decision instead of one based on hunches and hope.

You really didn't even know she was pregnant until she was on the stretcher. At that point it makes sense to start a line, get vitals, make sure she is likely to survive the elevator ride up, and call OB. I think it behooves them to call you and tell you if they have an emergent patient coming that they want brought right up, or come down and assist until the pt is stable enough to move.

I actually googled the term "ISBN" and was able to look it up online when I had the book title and author.