thompd01

As a patient I would hate being video taped. As a nurse I agree if you know what your doing which you should; it shouldn't matter if you are being video taped or not. However, I see where some of the comments have a point, what's the purpose patient safety or to label blame on someone when something goes wrong. I have done some research on telemedicine though. I do believe that healthcare is headed that direction. I hope not for awhile though. I feel it is very impersonal. It will benefit cost but I feel decrease patient satisfaction. A number of times I have seen people become more at ease once the physician has been in the room and explained things. No technology can replace the touch of a human hand. If video taping is present, I feel patient's must be informed and have a right to choose if they are or aren't recorded.

When I run mutiple pressors, I use a 5 way stopcock device or try to have multiple lumens to infuse the medications through. I don't feel comfortable as you stated running all the pressures into one line. I feel this isn't safe for patient's and gives the nurse less control over the medications she/he is infusing. I personally prefer multiple lumens over stopcocks. If a patient is that sick, I would strongly encourage the physician to give me a CVL with multiple lumens as soon as I started to infuse multiple pressors.

Our hospital just recently went to 24 hour open visiting in the ICU. It is taking all the staff time to adjust. I can see where it is more satisfying for patients and their families. However, as with any change problems have arose. I feel the nurse still needs to be the patient's advocate. If the patient needs rest than it's the nurses job to politely communicate this to the family and friends. All situations are different and need to be handled as such. The staff need to keep in mind our goal isn't to make our job as nurses easier but to satisfy customers.

Everyone beats themself up at some point in nursing. It's human nature. We don't like to make mistakes. We definitely don't want to cause harm to anyone. When I first started nursing I remember going home every night replaying my day, to make sure I didn't forget anything. If I did or if I had made a mistake I took it personally. Nursing involves knowledge but also skills which can be acquired through practice. As one becomes more comfortable being a nurse their stress level will decrease. I just had to train my mind like the article said to forgive myself for the little things and appreciate the good I had done. Everyday in nursing I learn something. When someone feels they know it all is when they need to leave the field. The article is reality. It is fine to freak out a little but learn from ones experience. Then the next time it occurs, you will be better prepared.

Nursing is a wonderful career. It does like all jobs have stressful moments. I have found that the more organized I get with my patient the less stress I have. I work in the ICU. I have noted that when I don't get to assess my patient before a problem occurs I feel stressed temporarily. I have learned to first fix the problem and subconsciously tell myself I will get everything done for the patient in appropriate time. I have to attend to the crisis first than I can proceed. Some days are more stressful than others. Some days I'm having personal issues and must put them aside to work. Other days work is stressful and I look forward to the end of the shift. I would say that 98% of the time, my job is rewarding and I leave the job feeling satisfied with my patient care. Everyone handles stress differently. I have learned in the ICU that prioritizing what needs to be done for the patient and proceeding accordingly helps decrease my stress. Also, realizing I am only one person and do what I can and if I need help don't be to proud to ask for it. Nursing is a team effort, especially in the ICU setting.

I work night shift. What works for me is taking my prescribed sleeping medicine when I get home in the morning. Then I sleep til I wake up. Then go back to work. If I'm scheduled off the next night I don't take a sleeping pill and I typically only sleep til 11am. Eating at night does help to stay awake sometimes. Just choose healthy foods to injest. Or I look at it like this, what I'm eating at night I would have ate during the day so it's all the same.

As a nurse we need to try to understand what patient's needs are. If they request no male nurse than if at all possible they shouldn't have a male nurse. They shouldn't be drilled or made to feel bad. It is totally a patient's preference. If no female nurse is available, politely explain to the patient and ensure them that their privacy will be maintained at all cost. In this situation, a male nurse could care for the patient and during private moments like bathing or using the restroom possibly a female coworker could assist the patient.

I work in the ICU. In our policy we have a minimum number of nurses that should be in the unit when their are patients (that number being 2 for a 12 bed unit). Therefore, whenever anyone wants to leave the unit they must get permission from the charge nurse. It's the charge nurse's responsibility to make sure that at all times the unit is staffed appropriately for patient safety. However, if your charge nurse isn't doing her/his job and you don't feel your manager is taking care of the situation, you should climb up the chain of commands. This isn't a matter of your personal needs. It's about what is right and safe for the patient. As nurses, it's our job to care for patients and be their advocate. Another solution I have see on other floors is the buddy system. At the beginning of the shift, two nurses are paired. If one of these nurses leave the unit the other must stay in the unit to care for their patients. Good luck!! Remember it's your job and duty as a professional nurse to be the patient's advocate.

I work in the ICU. We do not have a specific pain scale for nonverbal patient's. We use the 0 to 10 pain scale. With zero being no pain and ten being the worst pain you have ever experienced. The scale has facial expressions that go along with the numbers. However, I have done some research on pain scales for nonverbal patients and thought it might be something to start at our hospital. After research I felt it to be a complicated process to get essential the same results as we previously have. The pain scale that kept coming up in research was the Behavioral Pain Scale as talked about above.

I work in an ICU. The nurse patient ratio is 1:2. Unless someone is on the balloon pump or a fresh open heart, than it's 1:1.