p.rabbit

Shannon, First of all, no matter where you go in the world you will find people who have something bad to say about their job, and are more than willing to do their darndest to destroy your dreams. Why, I don't really understand. Just try starting your own business and then you'll really get an ear-full of negativity and doubt. Instead you must listen to your heart and tell everyone else to shut-up. It's your life, right? By choosing Nursing you have an enormous opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of others. I will agree with many that we need to be concerned about what is happening in health-care today, but the bottom line is that people are sick and they need good care givers. To survive in Nursing you must develop a tough exterior that must protect your heart of gold inside. You will find greater meaning from this career if you have a strong spiritual belief system. It doesn't really matter what that is, but it will help you in the long run and your patients will benefit as well. Additionally, I think that everyone should get the opportunity to go to a developing country where healthcare barely exists (compared to our standards here in the West) and get a sense of how incredibly good life is here in the U.S. Our perspectives here are a little skewed, in terms of stressful conditions. Last but not least, whatever job you choose will only be as good as you can create. Keep good supportive company with people who share your beliefs and ideas. Life is too short to be wasted with the naysayers of life. p.rabbit

Friend of zapped, What comes to my mind is what is the hospital doing to assist your friend? This incident is far more complicated than a simple workmans comp claim. Was the equipment faulty in some way? Was the electrical cord damaged? Either the hospital or the manufacturer of the equipment is facing serious liability in the long term physical impairment of your friend and I would suggest she consult a lawyer who might help her recieve some compensatory damages for the harm that she has experienced. good luck, p.rabbit

This is a very special Christmas for me this year. My wife of 21 months is Tibetan and she and her children (of course mine now, too) finally all made it to the U.S. in May of this year. Today we put up our Christmas tree together, hung the lights and all the ornaments. Then we went to a big shopping mall and immersed ourselves in the crowds for the holiday shopping ambience. As I type away at this computer, the kids and another Tibetan friend are watching an Indian movie together and I couldn't be happier. This is their first Christmas and our first together as a family; just one of the many that will play over and over as the years go by. Merry Christmas to all, p..rabbit

In 1980 I was an RT, and thought OK, I'll become an RN. Divorced with 2 kids and shared custody, working full time night shift in hospital. So, after discovering that I could get a BSN which cost money, and my ADN would cost absolutely nothing except for books....................wasn't too hard to figure out. Immediately post graduation in 1983, I enrolled in an ICU intensive course, so that I could go make the big bucks right away working via agency nursing assignments in Los Angeles. No regrets on the choice, 18 years later. My illustrious Critical Care career has served me well. Every time I pondered returning for my BSN, I knew I could never put up with the paper writing regime. No idea why that is seen as such an important indicator of expertise, unless it builds character of some sort. At this juncture in the game, I would recommend a 4 year degree to those who have the time. Although there has been much discussion about the "professional" status that Nurses are supposedly struggling for in the marketplace, as some sort of educational comparison with other careers, I don't buy it. The four year students just write more papers. We all get out with our degrees or diplomas, and then we begin working and finally learning what we need to know. I don't think you'll find many Nurses making more than $100,000 per year, no matter what their degree is, unless they are working 60 hours a week, or have chosen to be an entrepeneur of some sort. Sure, there are some DON's making more than 100 grand, but they represent a fraction of 1% of all Nurses. So, it's really just a matter of choice. Unless of course you're in it for the initials after your name. Have fun, p.rabbit

Idealatry vs Idolatry? Well it all depends on what your "ideals" are. What is taught in Nursing school and spouted about by those who have time to write books, is a far cry from what happens where the rest of us work. My ideal day involves giving the best care that I can. I'll try my darndest to see that they live another 12 hours........unless it's their time to go and then I will do my compassionate best to see that their last few hours are painfree and hanging out with family if at all possible. There are many concepts that don't match reality. I can not count the times that weighing a patient (in the old days with some horrid lifting kind of scale) killed them. Or even turning them to clean the linen. So, that "turn Q2 and bathe daily" concept goes out the window, doesn't it? To me, "ideal" means whatever is the best thing that I can do within my 12 hour period, in terms of assisting another human being who is on the suffering end of the stick. p.rabbit

Your patient needs a psych eval and probably an anti-depressant. She is unhappy, feels depressed, abandoned by life and is attention seeking. Unfortunately, you are at the end of her gun, so to speak. You need to talk with her physician about her pain control issues as well. And then start setting some limits. If you are terrible worried about "your word vs her word", have another person along with you when you have to interract with her. More than likely all of this is due to the fact that she is old, sick and alone. p.rabbit

Here's another great story, This was told to me by a Physical Therapist friend of mine who had this experience. He resides in the San Diego area. He had been seeing and treating a post-stroke patient, a woman in her early 70's. She had a hemi-paresis, such that she absolutely required a walker to ambultate because one of her legs was essentially useless. He had been seeing her on a regular basis, and one morning when he came to her room, he found standing in the room doing her morning care, with no apparent weakness. This is what she related to him: "Last night I woke up and needed to use the bathroom. I reached for my walker that I normally keep beside my bed, but apparently the Nurse had mistakenly left it across the room and my call bell was not within reach. I saw a man in the room and I asked him for assistance, just to bring me my walker. He told me that I no longer needed it. I told him again, to please bring me the walker, but he insisted that I did not need it. Imagine my amazement to find that I could stand and walk! When I came out from using the rest room there was no one in the room and when I later inquired about who he was, no one had seen him come in." I guess you might call this an angel or something of the like. p.rabbit

Forum contributors, Here is a call out for all of those bizarre and unexplainable (miraculous?) stories and experiences that many of us have had over the years. I will start with a few of them. In my previus life as a Respiratory Therapist, I was working at a moderate (350 beds) sized hospital in Southern California. One night in the ICU a man in his late 60's died. He was a "no-code", as he had end stage pulmonary disease. His death was not unexpected. We saw his rhythm deteriorate to asystole and his breathing ceased, the Nurse called the Pulmonologist, who happened to be in the hospital and he came and pronounced the death in the usual fashion. As the ICU was very busy that night, the death care was delayed, and in fact the cardiac monitor was still attached to the patient. Imagine our amazement, when about 15-20 minutes later, a cardiac rhythm was noted on the monitor, he began breathing and WOKE UP! Yes, folks this really happened. In fact, this man was discharged from the hospital "normal". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Another time, now working as a nurse for about 10 years in the Cardiac ICU: Mrs. X, another "no-code" with end-stage cardiac disease, spent the last 20 minutes of her life with a heart rate of about 4, (agonally, agonal) making these strange, spooky moaning noises. My friend and I did not care to go into that room until she was really gone....................and all her spooks with her! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Just last year, Mrs. P, was transferred to our CICU from the floor, with end-stage cardiomyopathy in heart failure. She too was a no code. During the day she was seen to be talking to someone, but there were no visitors in the room. When asked by the day nurse, she said she was talking to her Momma. She would say things like, "Is it time to go now; can I come now"? and so on. Her day Nurse, was very accepting of this, but told the woman quite firmly;" I must go home at 7:15 tonight, so don't leave until 7:30". Sure enough! Margo the day-nurse finished her shift and Mrs. P, gave up the ghost at precisely 7:30pm! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The stories are out there and you can now unload your burden! p.rabbit

Did I ever tell you about the time............................ The young man of about 20, who "woke up" and felt something a little strange coming out of his rectum? It's hard to believe that you wouldn't remember the moment that the coat hanger was inserted hook first, isn't it? The poor fellow had to wait about 12 hours for his surgery, as there were multiple other patients far sicker than him, who need to go to the O.R.! p.rabbit

Zee, You could always ask your Infection Control Nurse about her "science/data". At our institution, there has been much to-do over the years about how to hold IV's and the infection topic. I think you will find that the research will bear out, that site preparation and hand washing are the key issues as usual. As your IV's fall out at an increased rate, because you are only using Tegaderm or Opsite, consider the increased risk of infection that ensues as you poke more holes in your patients. Additionally, a clean and dry dressing, and a a 3 day maximum use of an IV (except under extreme lack of access times) are probably more effective in the battle to reduce phlebitis. Good luck in your endeavors. p.rabbit