oatmeal89

Yes! I think this is exactly what the nurse I'm thinking of had. It's been a while, so I must have imagined the square shape up. That's perfect! This and the milk bag opener should be easy to find. I'm going to grab one of each tomorrow to see if she likes one more than the other ? You guys are awesome!

Oh my goodness, we haven't had milk bags where we live for years! That's a great idea. I just googled it, and a store down the street sells them, so I'll be checking it out tomorrow :) So simple, but I just couldn't figure out how to describe what I had imagined in my mind! Thank you!

That is such a good idea! We don't have any smallish children in our family, so the lego might be out of place, but manipulating small objects is a great idea! I wonder if knitting would be good? I'll think about that next time I sit down to do some knitting. Thank you!

Hello, all! I'm new to forum, and very excited to be part of it! I've come across this forum many times (usually googling things), but never thought to join until today. I have a very specific question for you all: Do any of you use any specific tools/items to open medication packets? My mother and I are both nurses, so we have a lot in common, and talk frequently about or jobs :) Recently she's been mentioning that she has been getting quite a lot of hand/wrist pain, mainly when opening medication packages. Both of our facilities dispense medications in individual plastic baggies which must be torn open to release the tablet. Years ago I worked with a nurse who had arthritis who showed me a scissor-thing that she used to open these packets: square, flat, with a small V-shaped blade to open the packets, no moving parts: Think open scissors to cut wrapping paper. For the life of me I cannot remember this woman's name, so I can't contact her to figure out what this thing was. Scissors are an okay option, but they're bulky, and dangerous to leave lying around on a med cart for patients to steal. Any ideas out there? I'm very open to suggestions. I'd like to give her something to help with the pain she's been having. I realize that the pain is a symptom of something larger that should be addressed, but in the meantime I'd like her to be comfortable (or as comfortable as one can be at work). Thanks in advance! Again, I'm very happy to be a part of this forum. I was (unpleasantly) surprised by the number of threads regarding compassion fatigue and stress. I've been feeling very worn out these days (newish job; adjusting to FT 12 hr shifts, and the switches from day-night constantly), and it's just really nice to not feel so alone :) Doesn't immediately fix the problem, but I'll take what I can get!