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How often do you wash your scrubs? :)
Well since I only walk in the visitor accessible areas in my regular clothes (I don't pass through any inpatient units on my way out), I don't pick up all that much ickies (no poop or projectile vomiting for instance). Of course there are germs all over hospitals, but I use public transport to get there, and I'm pretty sure that is full of germs as well. Also for me, working in the OR, it is just as much about what I bring in to the hospital as what I take away. However, I just did a quick search on pubmed about bacterial contamination of scrubs, and there seems to be no particular risks associated with wearing scrubs to work and home. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31358414 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29056327 Historically, was this something that was common in hospitals in the US from early on when scrubs became a thing, or was it introduced at a later stage (for instance, as a cost cutting measure, because it is cheaper to not have to launder and deliver all the scrubs) ? Are there any countries other than the US that wear scrubs on their work commute ? This is largely a cultural thing, I think. It just feels really weird. Like I'm still at work when I'm going home.
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How often do you wash your scrubs? :)
This is so strange to me, in Europe we don't wear our scrubs to or from work, we change in the locker rooms at our units (and there is a shower available there as well). Our scrubs are provided by the hospital and are washed as needed (typically you get 3 pairs of scrubs at most from the distributor and then as you put in the dirty ones to wash, it scans them as returned and replenishes your scrubs 'credit'). And shoes are washed daily in a sort of a dishwasher thing.
- Nurse Gives Lethal Dose of Vecuronium Instead of Versed
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Experienced CRNA...ask me anything
While I think it is unprofessionnal (and potentially unsafe) of any member of the team (surgery or anesthesia) to ignore the timeout and any case related communication, most anesthesia trained people are aware of HR and whatnot modifications even if it doesn't look like it. The annoying thing is when the person doesn't set their alarms accordingly and it beeps all the darn time; but in general, if the machine ain't beeping, there is probably nothing dangerous going on.
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Minimum ICU experience
I had 6 years of experience (first surgical floor, then ICU) when I went back to school. In my class there are people who have been in nursing for quite a while and only one or two who have been nursing for 2 years. I don't really buy the "past 5 years you are too set in your ways" : it is a totally different profession, what ways can I possibly be set in? (I'm not being facetious, I think it would be pretty interesting to do some statistics about how many years of experience & what background people had when they decided to pursue their studies)
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New name for nursing career?
I come from Eastern Europe and have an appropriately long and scary last name. People call me by my first name or massacre the last name, I endure. Do whatever feels right, it really doesn't matter much.
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Can Pain Be Prevented?
And we found out the hard way that seems to not be a great way to do that either (chronic pain epidemic in our waters....). Yep, we're more about that now. Also, non medicated interventions (cold / heat / TENS....).
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Should nurses be able to listen to music at work?
I worked nights for 8 years and we often played music at a low volume in the nurses station (we agreed on music selection). I now work in the OR and music is often played. It doesn't impede my concentration. In a critical situation we usually turn it all the way down, but otherwise it often helps concentration and soothes. Recently I was in a neuro OR and there was a particularly hot tempered surgeon who got into shouting matches with himself everyday (yes. he would yell at himself for his incompetence when the surgery was a bit complicated... don't ask). We had a patient quite anxious before surgery and they requested jazz music for the anesthetic induction. After the induction, the surgeon asked we keep the music on and it had a soothing effect. No shouting that day. Maybe coincidence (can't remember if the surgery was tricky that day).
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How confident are you with reading tele
I am pretty durn confident withing the margins of my scope of practice in France not permitting me to initiate treatment on my sole decision. However, where there times where I called the guy on call saying "I believe patient X is in afib, would you like me to give amiodarone ? I did an EKG for you to look over" and the EKG would wait until much later, if the doctor on the other side of the phone knew me, knew my experience level and told me to just go ahead and initiate treatment. If I had a weird rythm I wasn't comfortable with (some weird block, or a Wolf Parkinson White re-entry thing... or like an atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction can seem a bit like sinus tachycardia sometimes), I always insisted the EKG be looked at anyway.
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Can Pain Be Prevented?
And yet, paracetamol + opioid = synergy (the sum of the two is greater than the effect of one + the effect of the other), so it would probably have been interesting to include it despite you needing the opoids. And that is why an opioid prescription alone isn't great : patient education about pain management is also about managing the side effects of the medications (and if there is one classic one it is constipation from opioids !). So you stopped a prescription before it was due (?) because of side effects and probably were in a great deal of pain, with the risks for chronicisation that entails. I am glad you are pain free now, here's to you making a great recovery :)
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Can Pain Be Prevented?
In the context of my anesthesia nursing studies I am following a class on pain management this year (in France, nurse anesthesists are specialised in anesthesia, but also pain managment, emergency care and intensive care). One of the things of which I was insufficiently aware during my initial nursing studies (which are.... a bit of a time ago!) was the impact of acute pain on developping chronic pain, neuropathy. So I'd say one of the important things to drive home is how important it is to have good quality pain managment in acutely painful situations (post-op comes to mind), no toughing it out ! Educating patients towards managing their post-op pain, especially if they are going to be out of the hospital very soon is critical. Also, another thing that has been a bit of an eye opener was how little neuropathic pain was accurately diagnosed and treated (I only learned about the DN4 during this class; how come I'd never heard of it before ??).
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Anxiety rated on a 0-10 scale is what test?
I am ressurecting this discussion; I am looking into information about the Face Anxiety Scale. [ATTACH=CONFIG]25645[/ATTACH] I have read several articles by McKinley but can not locate the precise intervention threshold, how they categorise (is face 2 moderate anxiety, 3 ? 4 - 5 high anxiety?).... Maybe I've just read so many articles that I can't see what is in front of my eyes...
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CRNA in Europe
I am in my last year of studies to become an anesthesia nurse in France, if you want info.
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If not nursing what other career would you have done?
Some line of cooking, possibly pastries and desserts. Something in applied arts, like costume and prop work for plays or TV/film ? I actually did an elective course in art, and it was tough but I loved it :) but not imaginative enough and not talented enough to be an original artist
- Anatomy of a Code: A Guide for Nurses Working in Adult Non-Critical Care Units