5/29 This week, I have learned... One year later!!!

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One year ago today(ish) saw the birth of WILTW. In that time, we've been able to grow together as people and nurses, and it has been awesome!

I've been wanting to put together this massive, awesome recollection of each week, but then I realized how ridiculous that would become. So, I wont do that. But, I did want to peek back at some of my more monumental lessons, and encourage you to peek back, too, if you would like.

As always, please share present day learnings, too.

What I learned, over the last 52 weeks...

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/this-week-i-991434.html

Making sure your nurse knows you have breast implants can prevent an embarrassing ICU transfer when a dislodged boob looks like a hematoma.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/what-i-learned-998813.html

If you're going to give a nonresponsive patient a titty twister in an attempt to establish they are actually responsive, warn the other people in the room first.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/9-5-what-1007775.html

When you read a patient's chart notes and see they couldn't be stopped from punching and spitting on staff with 25 mg haldol and 10 mg Ativan, you might actually think to yourself, "thank god he's only felt me up this shift".

9/12 What I learned this week...... | allnurses

This is one of the threads that was moved to blue. It is, however, the first WILTW after Brian died, and feels worth it to include.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/10-31-what-1021192.html

Herpes can literally get in and on every part of the body. I'm glad my innocence was already shattered by sidepockets because for real, people. EVERYWHERE.

(It was in the lungs.)

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/12-5-what-1026131.html

If a coworker is charting in a darker, quieter space, YES, they are are hiding. Go away.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/12-19-what-1028089.html

Never remove an African American woman's wig.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/1-9-what-1030794.html

This thread was linked on social media and people were royally pissed off by it.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/2-27-what-1038754.html

This week, I learned the end of a patient story and I celebrated with a happy cry.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/3-19-what-1042681.html

If you shave your dog to determine if she has a heart block, you may be a little unbalanced. (And that stethoscope I mentioned? Gone. Thanks, AHole.)

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/4-16-what-1047607.html

Why is the end of a straight cath ribbed? It certainly is NOT for her pleasure!

(Incidentally, my husband learned how to change an instead cup post op.)

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/5-21-wiltw-1053097.html

It comforts me to know my LEO hubs and his coworkers have devised an apocalypse plan. I also just realized being nurses makes us all valuable (like, save the nurse, kill that guy instead, valuable).

And what have I learned this week?

5 hours of driving in a day when almost 6 weeks post op from lumbar fusion can make the rest of the week complicated. So can carrying a ~15 lb load of groceries.

My time away from work could be as long as 6 months. I miss it, and I don't miss it.

When a person awakens during a focal epilepsy seizure, they will potentially continue to interact as though in the dream still, while also interacting with their real surroundings.

So, friends, with that I say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILTW! You all have been wonderful to share my nurse growth with. Every time we get new posters, I feel the excitement of this weekly installment growing. What began as sort of a journaling process for me has become a highlight for many on AN, and I love that! Thank you all!

[video=youtube_share;MjF1bG5LUcs]

I LOVE dimensionsal analysis. People start talking about formulas before tests and I literally cover my ears while singing lalalalala. Dimensionsal analysis + a little common sense = never struggling with med math questions.

I automatically did dosage calc in a way that boils down to algebraic, but nobody in my program was able to teach a method besides DA. DA just feels like a dozen extra steps to me. Not everyone learns the same way, and in school at least, I think they should teach several roads to the destination and let the students use what works best.

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If you move over to the Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo side of the state, lemme know and I'll hook you up!

Also, if you need "just a job" to get you some experience on your resume, check into private duty. There are lots of agencies that will hire new grads -- just make sure you're comfortable with the case and know what to do in an emergency before working on your own.

I visited a friend when she lived in Grand Rapids a handful of years back and it was absolutely gorgeous. I'd ask what those openings are if I were in a position to be job hunting right now. :yes:

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"In my day" there were 5.:rolleyes:

Aren't there 17 now? :facepalm:

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Guess who's an RN?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

P.S. Hit me up when you do medical missions if you need and extra nurse on hand.

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True. That was very considerate and amazing of you. I'm sure they really appreciated it.

I've been thinking of a situation. I had a pt who had been in the hospital for 2 weeks and was stressed about her hospitalization. She really wanted chocolate from the chocolate shop on the first floor, so I went down and purchased them for her on my break. She was really grateful. Would that be a sufficient answer?

One of the things that came to mind for me was a kid (well, younger than I) who was a gunshot victim and had lost a limb as well as several essential bodily functions. Visitors brought him a mixed bag of mini candy bars, but he gave most of them away because he only liked the Snickers, and there weren't many of those. On my lunch break I got him a Snickers from our vending machine. It certainly wasn't a life-altering exchange, but he got a Snickers from me and I got a smile from him, so it was worth it.

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True. That was very considerate and amazing of you. I'm sure they really appreciated it.

I've been thinking of a situation. I had a pt who had been in the hospital for 2 weeks and was stressed about her hospitalization. She really wanted chocolate from the chocolate shop on the first floor, so I went down and purchased them for her on my break. She was really grateful. Would that be a sufficient answer?

A second thought: One hospital I worked for emphasized "going the extra inch." They said they weren't expecting us to do something outlandish for a patients, but that a little extra caring touch made a big difference in how patients felt about their experience.

It doesn't have to be big to be important.

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Specializes in CVICU CCRN.
A second thought: One hospital I worked for emphasized "going the extra inch." They said they weren't expecting us to do something outlandish for a patients, but that a little extra caring touch made a big difference in how patients felt about their experience.

It doesn't have to be big to be important.

I actually love this idea. I think it's a great concept.

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Specializes in critical care.
I'd totally be honored!

Ahhhhh boogers!!!! I asked LadyFree on a different thread and she said yes. I will definitely hope for someone to do it next weekend, too. It's a lot harder to build a good OP list while on a leave of absence. That's why I've been asking so often lately.

Next week??? (Say yes!)

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Ahhhhh boogers!!!! I asked LadyFree on a different thread and she said yes. I will definitely hope for someone to do it next weekend, too. It's a lot harder to build a good OP list while on a leave of absence. That's why I've been asking so often lately.

Next week??? (Say yes!)

Ummmm. Lemme check my calendar and get back to you.

Oh I seem to have an opening.

Hahaha. Of course! Putting in a calendar reminder now!

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Specializes in Hospice.
Aren't there 17 now? :facepalm:

At least, including DNA and dental record analysis.

Hehehe I just realized that's the punchline to a Jeff Foxworthy joke:

Why are there so many unsolved crimes in the South?

No dental records and the DNA's all the same. [emoji41]

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Specializes in critical care.
Ummmm. Lemme check my calendar and get back to you.

Oh I seem to have an opening.

Hahaha. Of course! Putting in a calendar reminder now!

Yay! Keep an eye out for a PM from me shortly.

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Specializes in Med Surg, ICU, Infection, Home Health, and LTC.
1) I really, really hate poison ivy. Lucky me, I got cellulitis and a fever from it on my arms, that required an urgent care visit. My arms are wrapped up like a mummy's from the weeping sores, I'm on a prednisone taper and cream, NSAIDS/Tylenol, antibiotics, and so many antihistamines I'm dry as a bone. Blergh.

I must be totally weird. My roommate and I can work in the yard and if she gets within even 3 feet of poison ivy she breaks out. I go out and pull the mess out by the roots to get rid of it and have not once reacted to poison ivy or sumac. I cannot figure out why, but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

My exam shut off at 77, and I got the last question right. I'm hoping this is a good sign. My brain hurts, and I could really use some liquor or chocolate right now. Or both.
and

Guess who's an RN?

Absolutely fantastic!!!! I am so proud of you and thankful to see such a passion to continue growing through education in nursing. I once had a question asked "What have you done to facilitate the next generation of nurses?" and my answer was simple, I had a child who grew up and became an RN. I think that balances my karma. You are a blessing as well to the profession.....now hurry and run out there and save the world. LOL :headphone:

One of the things that came to mind for me was a kid (well, younger than I) who was a gunshot victim and had lost a limb as well as several essential bodily functions. Visitors brought him a mixed bag of mini candy bars, but he gave most of them away because he only liked the Snickers, and there weren't many of those. On my lunch break I got him a Snickers from our vending machine. It certainly wasn't a life-altering exchange, but he got a Snickers from me and I got a smile from him, so it was worth it.

So many times it is the small things nurses do that says the most and touches hearts the deepest. You may have reached out and touched his soul at his deepest darkest time and will never know how much it meant to him.

WILTW:

That sometimes I have to say "no" even though my boss is likely to hang me by my toenails when she finds out I refused to have our facility be a part of yet another long drawn out research project. I am over it! In the last 7 years I survived the last two research and data collection studies. The endless hours of paperwork and education when no one else wanted to bother with any of it about drove me up a wall. In the end the administration people got their name on a research article and I got a piece of papers thanking our hospital for being a part of it. Really? No thanks.

That sometimes you can get so depressed that you think it's a way of life. You don't feel like eating, going to work, or even brushing your hair. What can be saddest of all is to hear your daughter talk about her battle with depression and not know how to help her cause you are barely treading water yourself. :cry::unsure:

That I miss bedside care and patient interaction.

That after working 30 plus years in nursing my current position makes me feel like I am not even a nurse anymore. I have spent over 23 years doing med/surg and ICU direct hands-on patient care. I am grieving the loss of being a nurse because doing anything else to me just feels like I am not a nurse. I know it is perception, but I feel useless most of the time.

That as I write this I am realizing that my last 2 WILTWs may be somehow related to one another and exacerbate the depression. Hmmmm?

One really neat and cool thing...........I finally figured out how to do the multi-quote feature that you all have been trying to teach me. LOL. Slow but steady wins the race.....wish there was a turtle emoji! :yes:

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