petali

Thank you for your responses: I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I wasn't following TOS, thank you for letting me know! Thanks mrsboots87 for clarifying that with some kinds of beds you do not want pillows/wedges being used. I looked up the manual for the specific mattress he has, and it's an automorpho from asklésanté. In the manual, it says that it functions by inflating and deflating 18 different cells with air. It also mentions that position should be changed frequently while using the mattress; at least every 2 or 3 hours. But it also mentions that there should not be objects between the mattress and the body such as pillows. I don't think I would be this worried normally, but when he was first admitted to the hospital 6 weeks ago, there was only a stage 1 pressure ulcer on his sacrum (non-blancheable erythema). It has since progressed to stage 4 (bone and muscle visible), even though the whole time he has been on this kind of mattress. If you had this kind of patient and this kind of mattress, would you be performing position changes?

Hello, I'm a bsn nursing student (finished my 2nd year) and an 86yo family member is being hospitalized in a small hospital in the countryside of France. There are things that have happened during his hospitalization that I perceive as not good. He suffers from pad (peripheral artery disease) in his legs and had an above-the-knee amputation of one of them beginning of June. He has a stage 4 sacral ulcer, as well as 5 nerotic pressure ulcers on the remaining foot. I have some questions: I am a nursing student, so I know a bit about how to care for prensure ulcers, but I haven't worked in the "real world" so I don't know much what actually gets done in the hospital. Of course, since my family member is in a French hospital, things might be different. I could benefit from your experiences as nurses as well as with family in the hospital, and how to advocate for them if I'm right and he isn't being treated proverly. 1: pressure ulcer care I learned that one of tge most important thing for pressure ulcers to heal is to relieve the pressure. Tim has a special pressure-relieving mattress. The nuses think that this means he doesn't need to be turned. When I asked them, they told me that you are not supposed to put pillows or foam wedges on the special mattresses. Is this true? Tim ends up spending all day on his sacrum, and so he never has any relief from the pressure. If the nurses won't do it, I was thinking of buying a foam wedge designed to get him off the pressure ulcer (it has a hole for the sacral area so that it doesn't come into contact). Would that be a good idea? 2: sleeping pills During his hospital stay, Timy has been somnolent, and when conscious, would talk nonsense. He does not have a history of dementia, and does not have atherosclerosis in his cerebral arteries. A nurse recently told me that he had sleeping pills each afternoon, so that he would be calm during toileting. Is this common/safe practice? 3: pain control We have seen that morphine makes my grandfather incredibly loopy- right now he is on ketadine and morphine to control his pain. Are there any alternatives you know of that relieve pain without somnolence in the elderlyrics? 4: debridement I had a chance to observe the pressure ulcers on my grandfather's foot. They were necrotic (black), which I'm guessing means they haven't been debrided. From what I've learned, I thought that necrotic pressure ulcers should be debrided to promote wound healing. Why wouldn't they debride it? Lastly, I would appreciate anybody's tips on having a family member in the hospital, and how to advocate for them without making the staff's lives any harder.

I have to work on introducing myself- I can see how that can be helpful! And I'll see if they need chaperones. Thanks again :)

I didn't see any kid supplies, but I could probably double-check the next time I'm there! At my last shift, there was a mom who was admitted to the ED with an in. The mom was feeling really sick and weak, and she didn't have anyone else taking care of her kid. I did help her put her kid in her stroller while she was napping, and one of the nurses held the kid for a bit to give the mom a break. Maybe I could try to help out in that sense, helping with childcare when needed. I have had my second shift, and although it's a lot of grunt work, like cleaning beds/rooms, stocking supplies, the staff are really nice and appreciative. At the end of my shift, a nurse let me watch the relocation of a dislocated shoulder, which was nifty! I think that in the next couple weeks I will be able to get to know the staff better and I'll be able to help out more. Thank you for your reply!

Thank you! I'll definitely look into how I can help people in the waiting room. I'll see if I'm allowed to help with ordering for meals too.

Thanks for the comment! Yes, I forgot to mention-we're supposed to do that too.

I'm a student in the process of getting my BSN- I have always been interested in critical care nursing. I have just started volunteering in the ED of Sf general, and I'm so excited for the opportunity! I am curious, what are some helpful things I can do as a volunteer? At the orientation, I learned to make sure there were enough gurneys, oxygen tanks full, beds are clean/made, delivering specimens, getting blood orders... Are there any other things that could be helpful for you nurses, patients, other healthcare providers? And as a side note, are there any things volunteers do that annoy you/are not so helpful? For example I'm not sure about dumping a patient's urine - the nurse might need to record the volume and characteristics- or is it ok to do as long as I let the nurse know first? Thank you for any feedback!

Thank you for the answer, I'm going to visit CWRU in February so that will help me decide.

Hi everyone, I was recently accepted in the bsn programs for Case Western Reserve University and University of San Francisco. They are both 4-year programs. At USF, clinicals start the 2nd year, while at Case Western they start freshman year. I know that Case Western students have over 1600 clinical hours, but I was not able to find this information for USF. Luckily, I received financial aid from both, and the cost for both programs would be very similar. What I am wondering about is the outcomes of each program-whether new grads are able to find jobs, and whether they have a good reputation in hospitals and to nurse managers. I would appreciate any insight any of you would have on these two schools. Thanks again!

Yes, it seems to me like I will have to take extra classes, depending on which college I go to. For example I believe that in UCLA the prerequisites for med school are included when trying to get a BSN. I think I will take those classes at my CC, since it's almost free for high schoolers, and as you said, there is more priority for high schoolers. Thank you for the advice!

It's nice to see that this pathway has worked for people. I think I would do what the first MD did: become an RN and nurse for a while so that if I go into med school I will have some savings. Thank you for the advice!

OK, that makes sense! Then I think I will apply to the more inexpensive schools. I have considered being a CRNA, but it doesn't seem like something I would enjoy, unfortunately. Thank you so much, I feel much more confident now!

Thank you for your response! I've debated whether to pursue the medical or nursing path, and I've decided that I will obtain my BSN while completing the med school pre-requisties, in the case that I choose to become an MD. Yes, the schools in California are relatively inexpensive. We do have concurrent enrollment at our local community college (I am planning to take some classes there next year). The CSUs are also fairly inexpensive, but I wasn't sure if they had good BSN programs or not. After doing more research, I did realize that California is a good state to pursue nursing (high salary, high demand...). I was thinking of going to a private school with a good nursing program that would offer me merit-based aid. For a career in nursing, is there any point in going to prestigious universities such as Johns Hopkins or NYU? Or is it just a waste of money?

bump^

Hi! I am a high school junior, and I recently decided that I want to become a nurse. I've done a lot of research in the past few months (including lurking this forum) to decide which schools I will apply to during the summer. I am planning to get a BSN, work as an RN for several years, possibly become a travel nurse, and then I will become a NP. I live in the California Bay area. I am enrolled in college-level (ap) science classes/math classes, currently volunteer at a hospital, am part of my school's advanced choir... I will have completed AP Calculus A/B, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry, Spanish and French classes unweighted gpa: 3.8 ACT score: 30 I am interested in going to school in the East coast or California. I would love to live in NY, and am aware of the high living costs and difficulties finding jobs over there, but it is still a possibility for me :) I am open to all kinds of schools, they don't have to be prestigious, because I've learned that attending a prestigious school does not necessarily translate to getting a job any easier. I would appreciate some guidance, because I am very confused as to what university would best suits me...... Some schools I've been looking into: Dominican University Sacramento State University Boston college NYU I would appreciate some guidance, because I am very confused as to what university would best suits me. I'm sorry about the long post, and thank you for your input!