loquacity

hehe, i remember my obstetrics and l & D days last year... is it awkward at times yes....but i got over it... "so hows your flow" "i'm just gonna feel your breast for firmness" and other awkward questions have all been conquered by me one patient whom i'd had for a while and i knew well, asked why i chose to be an postpartum nurse and i simply said "i didn't--i'm only here for 6 days. I want the ER!!! blood and guts! this is sorta awkward for you and for me, but don't worry we'll both get through it!" lol and despite the fact that i still maintain no interest in working there in the future i actually liked doing probably 90% of all the teaching, especially for new parents. They're so excited and they have no clue what to do...but your their new baby's user manual & instruction book. 10% of the stuff i didn't like teaching ~ as in stuff re lochia etc.....gross....Plus i got really good at quieting the baby's. I should have gotten an award. also the actual staff on the floor were great (and funny) and more than willing to help out and give advice....and they understood i was a male and this isn't my best area... oh and btw i was only 19 for my clinical, defiantly looked pretty darn young and had never actually held a newborn baby before....but i knew my stuff well and faked me some confidence and everything went well (i got an A- which i was thrilled with)

"Of course you can't work in the OR, in fact you probably can't be a nurse. Might as well quit now. Nurses don't get acute or chronic illnesses, or injuries. Nurses never injure their backs 'cus of obese patients, we also never get colds, gi bugs or anything like that. I'm sure you instructor is in perfect health with the body of god. Because nurses are never overweight. Also nurses never smoke, or get angry for that matter. Nurses "are" superhumans!" (sarcasm) don't put too much worry into your instructor, in fact what she said in post conference seemed a bit unprofessional to me. I've had instructors say some things simialr to that but they've been wrong. And even if the OR doens't work out, there are sooooo many other places that will.

well, i'm a male....at the end of my 3rd year I suggest you do dress up a bit although for girl i not entirely sure what that is. I know most female peers when applying for hospital jobs this summer tended to wear a skirt/slacks with a blouse with nice shoes. Just look professional! Your applying to work in a hospital amongst doctors and nursess both profession'ss so i think by dressing up nice you will make a good impression. Best of luck ~Loquacity (eg for my interview i wore a suit and tie)

i found that all that knowledge was very hard to staple down in my brain first year, but after my first summer...which i didn't do work related to nursing for...but come 2nd year septemeber me and classmates found that we all of a sudden knew a whole lot of stuff we learned in 1st year. Its like it was info overload and our brains just needed 3 extra months to process and file all that info...and now that i have a foundation its easier to learn new stuff...cus your geared to remembering this medical stuff....however some stuff still gets filed in the garbage file right away still....eg. nursing models and other random stuff which isn't very real world practical in my opinion.

terminology can change depending on geography but i'd interpret it to mean surgical as working on a floor with surgical patients pre & post surgery like a mdicine unit but faster and not as sick aptietns...often with higher turnover depending on the type of patients, and theatre would be working with the operating theatre eg. scrub nurses, circulating nurses etc.

im not expereinced but # 1 sounds better.

theres a really,really long forum that has tips, along with peoples adhd life stories, ideas on its causes, along with your usual flaming posts of "adhd doesn't exist"...just ignore those...lol....just search for it...it'll be the one with the really long page number.... although a warning...it does jump around a bit (surprise surprise...its written by ppl with adhd lol) but its very useful and entertaining and long ( i just jump form page to page till i get bored)

when i worked as a porter over summer (transfering pt's, charts, supplies etc. between units) i wore it on night shifts 11pm -7am. But i wore it under clothing & took it off when working with patients. I don't think it is appropriate to wear when working with patients (though i don't seem a huge problem if they are unconcsious, and the volume is low enough to hear any alarms). I never would've worn it on a day or evening shift though, only night shift.

Personally, i thought your post was funny. & if some docs come and quote it and chuck it in there forum, meh, their fault for quoting out of context. Plus those docs should know never to beleive everything you see on the internet. After all If everything on the internet was true, we'd all be using those "natural" diet pills and north america wouln't be an overweight/obese nation and i'd be winning ipods, tv's and trips to hawaii from all those contests that i just seem to win. I seem to have a new win from contests i never signed up for every day!!! lol sorry bout the tangent,lol

"I know I possibly do have ADHD now and again, especially when on coffee..Oh boy! Flitter flatter and more, can't keep to one topic at a time for too long or when it's early morn during my night shift oh is it ever present. Can't concentrate worth a darn!!!" actually that might just be......caffeine... for some people with adhd coffee actually works to an extent like ritalin, and by being stimulatory (like ritalin) acts to actually calm the pt, and increase focus etc. & the lack of concentration in early morning or night shifts is prob. due to it being a night shift/early morning shift, in which most peoples brains arn't work'n right unless you're used to night shift. if you think you do have adhd then talk to your doctor if you want to investigate the possibility further.

"why in the world do you want to be a nurse in canada, the rate of pay there is crap for nurses compared to some regions in the US of A." "Not to mention quality of life. Much to some people's surprise, some us actually LIKE it here." There is also many other things nice in canada like perhaps she doesn't want to work in a hospital where you have to charge the patient for every single item used, or there is less chance of being sued for malpractice, oh and Canada is safer, with lower crime stats. Considering the fact that the OP also deliberatley stated the fact that she is of an asain background, she may like how Canada is more multicultural. For example according to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-highest percentage of foreign-born population among world cities, after Miami, Florida. While Miami's foreign-born population consists mostly of Cubans and other Latin Americans, no single nationality or culture dominates Toronto's immigrant population. So overall, there are lots or reasons why one might want to be a nurse in canada.(and where I am in western Canada most nurses do NOT have masters)

re: "Just in case you don't want to do breaths, here's a little bit of info that I heard about in my latest CPR class: Apparently, in Europe, compressions are done but rescue breathing is not. Studies have shown that the success rate of CPR is higher in Europe than in America. This is why we have increased our ratio to 30/2." At least where I am, so as not to be sued, and be protected by the "Good Samaritan Act", you must act within your scope and as trained as a CPR trained person (regardless of what your occupation is)...anyways CPR courses do teach that you are to give breaths, so you could probably be sued if you did not give any breaths just compressions just because you were afraid of getting germs, that being said i still don't think i'd give CPR to a stranger without a mask of some sort (even if it is just a shirt or something, (im always wearing one of those lol!). Oh and i was also taught as of this year the 30:2 ratio, & because thye're always cahnging the rules, in my palce now there is only 1 basic CPR course, where everyhting is standardized (eg ratio) for all age groups and as simple as possilbe since most laypeople who take CPR don't ever take it again, and forget things, howevor there is a seperate CPR for healthcare workers. (Oh and we have to recertify q Year, not q2 year), oh and i've never had to give CPR, although a gril in my class did to another tourist when vacationing, though they didn't survive, but thats why she went into nursing.

personally i think the nurses in all white looks scarier to patients than the ones wearing all black (plus in some asian cultures the "colour of death" is white, not black...so we can't be using those excuses when we live in countries with such diverse ethnic backgrounds). I think the all black scrubs can look very proffesional... I think the all white looks very institutional....and if your hospitalized you don't need to be reminded more than you already are that you are in a big scary hospital, possible with the nurses that look so old school that it freaks you out.... but i figure if people want to wear white feel free to do so.... (PS. i used to work in a bakery when i was younger...all white once again but more practical considering there was flour EVERYWHERE...but unless im mistaken blood, feces, vomit and simialr substances are rarely pure white thus you see them on scrubs...(unless it was some sort of very white purulent discharge...which just what i want to ahve spilled on my uniform)..but one tip for white scrub wearers don't wear eg. bright red, black etc underwear if your pants arn't thick enough to conceal it...now that looks funny lol. (and in a hospital setting probably unproffesional)...oh and with whites after a point fabric seems to get thinner with age and there coems a point that is just plain see through no matter what you do period...chuck thm!

im not an expert but is it possible that its schitzophrenia (sorry prob. spelled it wrong)...myabe he's just never been dx...? are you sure they only started once he was on meds...

as an instructor she should know (as i do as a fellow student) that even if she is able to quickly dart it in to only halfway, that a student realtivley new to injections probably doesnt have the dexterity, motr control, muscle memory to do such a deed, and if she wanted you to practice on a arm going only half in, you should practice on a beefy arm...not the skin and bones arm. ~Loquacity

i hate od,ou, os, ad,au,as, as abbreviations....they're confusing don't save time and you only save one letter as eye or ear are 3 letters long.

im only a student but once i said to a guy nervous about having to be "exposed" "don't worry, in this job i've already seen more memberes than a hooker" or about SQ injections "Okay so i can give this anywhere that jiggles....except memberes and testicles" (whether male or female)

congrats of course....acclerated though is a doozy i've hear...im in regular program....but all i got was a letter in the mail....a phone call would've been so much more exciting.!!!...sorry little things get me excited. lol

what do you mean by most of us will be colonized by MRSA. Do you mean it will simply become a part of our natural, normal microorganism flora that everyone has. I can see small levels of MRSA becoming a part of most healthcare workers natural flora, but if you are talking that most of us will get a rash like infection the OP is talking about, then im serously freaked out. Thats not normal, or at least i havn't heard of it being refered to being normal!?!? Im confused! ~L PS. First day of med surg clinical not being on a buddy shift tommororw...so psyched...yet must lookup what seems like an entire medical enclopedias worth of info tonight.

Firstly howevor "no pain no gain"... my cosuin who used to breed dogs sais it best i think cus she said that before she had children she never thought she could love anything more than her dogs....but after she had her first kids that changed.... Secondly if having a kid will ruin you realtionshiop thats not good, and people who don't want to have kids shouldn't neccesarily have kids (although sometimes accidnets occur lol) and finally if you are in your 40's you have to realize that even now a child is at higher risk for developing down syndrome and the sort.... although i have a very different viewpoint regarding chuildren i wish you the best of luck ~L

I am a 2nd year nursing student and have a friend from high school in respiratory tech program This is my knowdledge of the area ( I worked sumemr in the hospital and have several other family members in the healthcare field. In Canada which im not sure how it compares to japan , anyways. Nursing is either 4 years to be a Registered Nurse (RN), or it can be done in 3 years but you are restricited to working in a hospital, or as LPN's which is a 2 year program through various colleges. Respiratory therapy in my province, ALberta is done at college in a 3 year program...they make similar wages. Workwise...i only know of them working in hospitals but that incldues having an outpateitn clinic in the hospital (sorta looks like a docotrs office). They primarily work in ICU, ER,OR and with anyone having resp. problems. The also anlayse cord blood from newborns (they do all the blood gases tests, even on adults). I feel they tend to only wpork with much more serious and sicker people(eg Er traumua pateitns bagging, or intubated patients in the ICU), and nayone with serious respiratory disease (can anyone say SARS or TUBERCOLOSIS or MRSA?) Although nruses also ahve to deal with these patietns. whereas in nursing you can deal with a more diverse field of diseases and injuries..eg. Er kids with broken arms, dailysis patietns, etc etc BASICLY there are huge numbers of fields a nurse can work in (occupational health n saftey, community, hospital, travel nursing, working on a cruise ship, school nursing, working for health groups (eg. in my citry (healthcare in canada is poublice) the head of the region (the city and surrounding area) "capital health" is a nurse. there are also many more jobs in teaching nursing sicne nursing employs and thus trains so mnay more positions than resp therapy. BAsicly i think both fields are enjoyable just that nursing liekly takes a little longer education wise, but there is so many more fields to work in, opitons. Howevor respiratory thereapist also get a great mix of patietns (also a side note er nruses tend to be er nurse, and icu nurses stay in that department each shift, but the resp therapists seem to get to go to a few un its each shift). Both occupatiosn primarily work in hospitals, in shiftwork, and share some responsibilites, eg. monitoru=ing intubated patients, just resp therapist highly focuis on the pulmonary aspect of patients. I also seriosuly considered going into resp therapy,since both jobs woyuld get adrenaline junkie me wporking in the ER or ICU, but i pikced nursing as i had more ability to switch where i was working once i got tired of the fast pace/older (not sure the first one will happen though). either way both are neat jobs. I SUGGEST JOB SHADOWING EACH POSITION! GOOD LUCK! ~Loquacity (PS sorry bout the spelling)

Thanks that answered a lot... well is till have 3 years left ...buyt hopefully i'll get back to au soon. thanks!

perhaps there is a co-worker willing to do this for you. someone else might be willing to go speak harshly with the patient. Make sure they are bold & let him be aware of he consequences he faces. Good Luck with this awkward situation. No matter what you do...this situation cannot be allowed to continue. (I'd be willing to give him a verbal smack if you were too shy too, and i was around) GL

uh...did you hear it yourself...maybe it'd make more sense in context....anywyas...sometimes ppl say things and they just come out wrong.....although sometimes not...but do you really just want us all to tell you this... my best advice....is this a recurring event....is there a pattern of this behavior... if not it probably was just a statement that came out wrong... howevoron the other side...sometiems ppl are just arrogant, narcicists, demening..or any other colelction of words....hope the problem solves itself ~loquacity

hey....i was born in brisbane (in the now demolished/rebuilt royal australian womens hosp....and when i was 4 i moved to canada....anyways....im 2nd year RN student and im just wondering...i have the option of doing my last clinical experience (its a one on one mentoring thing) international...and i could do it in australia.... Firstly would you folks recommend doing it in australia and get a taste of what i'll likely move back to australia for...or should i stick in canada...would doing the last clinical in australia be confusing...( there will be some differences between canadian and austrlaian nursing im guessing)... & Secondly would the fact that i have dual citizenship complicate the matter...eg. paperwok wise as i wouldn't need a visa etc. Thirdly are any of the hospitals designated specifcally as teaching hopsitals...where i'm from some hopsitals are, how should i put it, more focused on teaching than others. (if so i hope the Princess Alexandria Hosp. is...that place looks fun!....as one poster said ina another column cus it's a "tertiary" something or other..."there is lots of weirds & wonderfuls" lol. Plus i checked out their web site and it seems a lot like the biggest hospital in my city which gets all the high risk, wierd surgeries. etc. Thanks ~Loquacity (sorry for all the q's lol)