aflower1325

I know a girl who named her son Tason... Pronounced like Jason but with a T. Also, I dated a guy who swore up and down that his first born son would be named Garth brooks. I said "with the S on the end?" And he said yes! And, I know a Tequila. She's in her late 30s now. Cheap box wine would be a more fitting name for her though!

Speaking of snorting anything. I watched a guy crush and snort a breath mint back in high school because someone "dared him to!" edit: and I made this face the whole time I watched

At the school where I am a lab assistant for a class, we have a male student who has full sleeves. He is not required to cover them up. I have tattoos and piercing but I keep myself respectable. I wouldn't say he has to cover them up because that is just not what I believe. HOWEVER, he does sort of fit the standard of slacker and not caring. His assignments are always late and he always walks around with headphones and not talking to anyone. So, if you are going to have tattoos and piercings but do not want to be classified the way that some people would classify anyone with tattoos, please hold yourself to a high standard. Prove otherwise!

Ah yes, that would be Chaz! Forgot about him. Dr. Pratt's death was so tragic! Gah the memories! But yeah, you do pick up on errors. But after all, they are actors and directors and writers, not doctors, nurses and surgeons! Besides, its TV. But, how can you not like ER? Made a lot of people now a days want to get involved in medicine one way or another.

Practice on each other! That is what they do at the school where I work. They practice their blood draws on each other (and anyone they can sucker into it!) I always volunteer because I figure it is just a simple stick, usually butterfly, which they miss half of the time anyway. Newbies, gotta love em!

Fantastic to see a precarious situation turn into a learning experience for EVERYONE. I am glad it lead to changes to further protect the patients from mistakes and the staff from making them! Sorry it happened but great to hear the positive changes that proceeded it!

Even those who are not nurses or in the medical profession can at least be advocates to their own healthcare. At the very very least, check the prescriptions you receive from the pharmacy against the description that comes with the information packet you get with it. If you have never taken it before, speak with the pharmacist when they ask if you would like to. And if you are chronically ill and know your regimen, speak up about something that is not being done as it should be. Sometimes patients know more about their bodies than health professionals do.

These are like reading a good novel! Sad that they are over! So suspenseful!

I think perhaps the most believable nurse that I have seen on television was Haleh from ER. She was the most "nurse like" in my opinion. And to note: my favorite medical show is ER and then House. House however really doesn't show the nursing side of it.

WHOA! That is crazy! And they wonder why some people are scared to seek medical attention!

Ha! So did I! I think it was more the visual than anything!

OMG! That is perhaps the most horrifying but comical thing ever!

I know this is an old topic but I thought I would drop my two cents on the subject. I am a Certified Professional Coder. I just got my certification last fall and have not found work exactly in the field yet. I am working for the school I attended though, as a Lab assistant in the classroom. As far as if having the coding certification with your RN, that could certainly be helpful. It will be easier on you interpreting charts and operative notes and things of the like. It could also help if you are in a smaller office who does all of their billing and coding internally with their own staff. If you do decide to take a course however, make sure they teach hospital coding as well. If that is something you are interested in. It is different slightly. The course I took did not do hospital coding. We learned the ICD-9 CM or clinical modification. Our books don't even have the hospital codes in them. A note about the ICD-10 implementation. It is scheduled to hit Oct 1, 2014 and CMS has stated there will be no more delays. Upon its implementation, there will be massive changes. The codes will switch to alphanumeric codes verses just numeric now. A lot of the older coders that have been doing it for years say they are not wanting to learn the new stuff and will simply retire. Now how many of them will do that and what the numbers on that will be like I can not tell you. But, I am sure the new stuff will certainly create job openings. So, I would say make sure you are comfortable learning something completely different than you are learning now, in a year and a half. If you do want more information on certification, you can visit AAPC.com for more info.

I have witnessed one gruesome thing in life. Pyoderma Gangrenosum. My grandmother had it on the back of her calf. It was terrible and getting the correct diagnosis was half the battle. The area affected was approximately 2 inches by 4 inches. Also, while I did not witness it, my mother died of a severe case of Necrotizing Fasciitis. It was caused by community associated MRSA. It began in her groin and spread from there. She had a sulfa allergy, was diabetic and was stage 3 chronic kidney disease due to massive cystine stones prior to her NF infection. She went into a coma and was intubated the same day as admission. She was septic and her kidneys failed completely requiring dialysis. 2 days later she required a colostomy. She was also on pressors for her BP. They began the debridement in her groin with 2 baseball size removals. There were several successive surgeries that never really got a grasp on the problem. The final surgery was a 12 inch by 15 inch area that was 5 inches deep (she was obese) on her buttock and lower back. They said at that point if she did not improve, it would likely move onto her spinal cord and that would be the end. That is what happened. That all took place in 3 weeks. For the medical personnel who were caring for her, this was undoubtedly one of the more severe things they had seen to that point in their careers. I know it sure would have freaked me out!