The "Teach a Student Something-a-Day" thread!

[agent]

In an effort to not enter nursing school as a completely nieve individual, I was hoping that some 2nd years or RN's could share something beneficial with us students each day.

It can be anything little or totally meaningful. Whatever you contribute will be greatly appreciated and hopefully will help me to be a better student and nurse

Thanks!

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Don't let yourself get so completely consumed by the technical side of nursing- remember that you are working with other human beings, and no matter how rude or inappropriate they are, they are someone's daughter or son or mother or father or sister or husband.

There is always something you can be doing to comfort that patient in some way- whether it's smiling or making them laugh or communicating with them in some other way. Being hospitalized is intensely stressful, and them having a nurse they feel comfortable with and whom they feel they can trust plays a large part in their ability to cope with illness.

When you're on the ICU or critical floors, remember that oral care takes but just a moment, but it can make a huge difference in the comfort level of the patient! Vented patients get nasty oral secretions that are not only uncomfortable and a breeding ground for bacteria (yuckies love that warm, moist environment!) but can actually impede expiration of breath and one of the first things family members will notice when they walk into the room! Grab a warm wet cloth and some gauze and take a moment to wash their face and clean the gunk away from the ETT tube! Not only is it comforting to them (not all vented patients are sedated beyond recognition!) but it's comforting to their families, and it's a human gesture that they will appreciate in more ways than you can count. If your patient has a dry mouth, or has been vomiting, use the lemon swabs to stimulate salivation, or get them a moist gauze to suck on to wet their palate. Dry mouth is uncomfortable! This goes for pediatric patients as well.

Also, always remember to respect your patient's privacy- don't leave them naked and vulnerable where other people can see! My mom was a nurse for 34 years altogether, and I've never forgotten a story that she told me. She got pulled to the PICU, and they had a code going on and it was just mayhem. There was an eleven year old boy, rather chubby young man, lying naked on his bed and unable to move. He was on a ventilator and the nurses had been performing something on him prior to the code, and had run off quickly to assist another nurse. My mother passed his bed and noticed that he had silent tears running down his cheeks and his face had turned red from embarrassment. She pulled the sheet over him to cover him up, and he just looked at her, crying, and couldn't say a word. She wiped the tears from his face and held his hand for a moment, then had to rush off to do something. Later, his mother told my mom that he'd said that he was terrified because of all the action going on in the unit, and that after he recovered he had just gone on and on about how much he loved her for covering him up because he'd always been self-conscious about his weight, and he'd cried when he told his mom how she sat down with him and held his hand when he was scared.

There is ALWAYS something you can do. Always.

[jjbaby]

Maslow's Heirarchy of needs:

Yes this is from Psych.....know him and his needs you will be hearing more about him all through school

Physiological Needs are basic life support needs

IE Food water and air.

[2banurse]

Originally posted by NICU_Nurse

Don't let yourself get so completely consumed by the technical side of nursing- remember that you are working with other human beings, and no matter how rude or inappropriate they are, they are someone's daughter or son or mother or father or sister or husband.

There is always something you can be doing to comfort that patient in some way- whether it's smiling or making them laugh or communicating with them in some other way. Being hospitalized is intensely stressful, and them having a nurse they feel comfortable with and whom they feel they can trust plays a large part in their ability to cope with illness.

When you're on the ICU or critical floors, remember that oral care takes but just a moment, but it can make a huge difference in the comfort level of the patient! Vented patients get nasty oral secretions that are not only uncomfortable and a breeding ground for bacteria (yuckies love that warm, moist environment!) but can actually impede expiration of breath and one of the first things family members will notice when they walk into the room! Grab a warm wet cloth and some gauze and take a moment to wash their face and clean the gunk away from the ETT tube! Not only is it comforting to them (not all vented patients are sedated beyond recognition!) but it's comforting to their families, and it's a human gesture that they will appreciate in more ways than you can count. If your patient has a dry mouth, or has been vomiting, use the lemon swabs to stimulate salivation, or get them a moist gauze to suck on to wet their palate. Dry mouth is uncomfortable! This goes for pediatric patients as well.

Also, always remember to respect your patient's privacy- don't leave them naked and vulnerable where other people can see! My mom was a nurse for 34 years altogether, and I've never forgotten a story that she told me. She got pulled to the PICU, and they had a code going on and it was just mayhem. There was an eleven year old boy, rather chubby young man, lying naked on his bed and unable to move. He was on a ventilator and the nurses had been performing something on him prior to the code, and had run off quickly to assist another nurse. My mother passed his bed and noticed that he had silent tears running down his cheeks and his face had turned red from embarrassment. She pulled the sheet over him to cover him up, and he just looked at her, crying, and couldn't say a word. She wiped the tears from his face and held his hand for a moment, then had to rush off to do something. Later, his mother told my mom that he'd said that he was terrified because of all the action going on in the unit, and that after he recovered he had just gone on and on about how much he loved her for covering him up because he'd always been self-conscious about his weight, and he'd cried when he told his mom how she sat down with him and held his hand when he was scared.

There is ALWAYS something you can do. Always.

I think that all the advice is great, but this is priceless. It puts back the reason why so many of us want to go into nursing, caring for patients. There is so much technical stuff going on and it seems as though the actual patients get lost in all the information.

Agent, this is a great thread. I hope that more advice is forthcoming!

Kris

[juji fruit]

jj, don't forget to check the Dr's orders :0) O2 is considered a drug. (think I've been told that enough times :0) Yeah, I have to reiterate, DO NOT GET BEHIND!!! It will just make your life harder.

Court

P.S. I have 2 quarters left to go too!!!!!!

[jjbaby]

Yes 02 is a doctor order, but a registered nurse can apply 02 to a sob patient pending a dr. order forthcoming. This is within the scope of practice for an RN. I learned this from clinical #1. So although it is a dr. order, an RN can apply 02 to a patient before the order is written.

2 quarters to go too......woo-hoo....

[nurse2be in ny]

NICUnurse,

What a beautiful story. It made me get a lump in my throat.

(Thanks for your response to my question about the words with asterisks.)

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by kimtab

Do all your care plans on the computer and save them and then when you are writing a care plan for "Pain" or "Infection, risk for" for the umpteenth time, you can recycle most of the old one instead of starting from scratch.

I just figured this one out, sigh.

this is excellent advice.

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Thank you. No problem.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by nurse2be in ny

NICUnurse,

What a beautiful story. It made me get a lump in my throat.

me too! thank you NICUnurse.

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Ya'll hush up now. :imbar

[agent]

NICU Nurse, that was a fabulous story.. I agree with others that when I hear something like that it really gets me excited about the helping people side of nursing. Now a days you get overwhelmed sometimes by the realistic negativity that gets thrown in your face.

I also love the statement that says, "there is always something you can do." Good for you!

When I created this thread I really wasn't expecting much, but I have been getting PEARLS here and I am extremely grateful to all of you for sharing. :)

[pokey sn]

When drawing up two types of insulin, always draw go from clear to cloudy. Clear is usually the regular insulin, Cloudy the NPH.

Once you become a nurse, remember you are part of team. Treat your Nursing Assistant like you would like to be treated.

Once you become a nurse, don't take the attitude that you are too good to put a patient on a bedpan or provide care. If you stay humble, your aides will help you with pretty much anything you desire.

Try never to forget why you want to be a nurse, when you have to deal with a rude patient or even ruder family member.

:) Pokey SN