Those Things I Learned in Nursing I Use In My Daily Life.

I like to think I am a bit less emotional since I have become a nurse. I use to get upset over every little thing in life. I cried for 2 hours when my car got broken into for example. Now, it would be like, Oh, well. Better call the insurance company, lol. Working around the very sick and dying really puts that kind of stuff into prespective. What is REALLY important in life, sure isn't a car:rolleyes:

I like to think I am a bit less emotional since I have become a nurse. I use to get upset over every little thing in life. I cried for 2 hours when my car got broken into for example. Now, it would be like, Oh, well. Better call the insurance company, lol. Working around the very sick and dying really puts that kind of stuff into prespective. What is REALLY important in life, sure isn't a car:rolleyes:

I think it's a requirement in nursing to become somewhat more stoic when facing stresses. This is the survival mode we use. I admire those, especially those who are either are running for public office (I can think of one high profile politician now) or in public office who show little emotion when hearing bad news or facing good news. I am better off when I can think level headed and not let my emotions get the better of me.

I love it when either family members or pts entrust their emotions to me when I show kindness and practice patience.

I don't get wound up in drama. I think I know better what matters to me and what is just wasted energy.

1) I wash my hands ALOT more than I used to and so does my family.

2) I actually read food labels and try to exercise. I never want the day to come where I cant wipe myself, because I cant reach!!!

3) Ibuprofen and topical benydryl solve almost any ailment my children may have.

4) Kids are tougher than I ever thought and it really takes alot to seriously injure them.

5) Alcoholics can really bleed and bleed fast.

6) Seat belts do save lives and so do helmets.

7) 1 teen age boy has 1 brain, you get two teenage boys together and they share that same brain so they are only half as smart, add a 3rd boy to the mix and they are now only a 1/3 as smart etc etc etc.~~please refer to #4.

8) Sleep is a precious commodity and deserves to be treated as such.

9) It is possible to consume 3 diet pepsi's, 2 cups of coffee and a water bottle and still be able to "hold it" for a 12 hour stretch.

10) I thought motherhood taught me how to multi-task. No---Nurses invented multi-tasking!!!

Learning to take care of myself in the same way I try to educate patients to take care of themselves:redpinkhe

I set boundaries when I did night shift about how much I could/could not do when I should have been sleeping.

I try to eat better and exercise, sticking with it until I actually enjoy it. (It does happen!)

I LOVE Hans Seyle's stress theory of General Adaptation Syndrome - - - when I need the energy, I get it from drama and stress just to get through it. Hightened concentration and all that jazz. And then I can feel when I've "adapted" long enough, and it's time to go horizontal on the couch. I can just feel all the stress hormones wrecking havoc on my nerves. Now I'm wise enough to know to take care of myself instead of trying to get just one-more-thing done.

How many of our patient's can't "take care" of themselves because they truly don't know how to!

I agree with all the above (especially the one about teenage boys -- Amen sister!!!), plus:

1. Make a list of what I have to do today, prioritze it and know that any second something can change it all to he**.

2. If extreme amounts of death or blood aren't involved, chances are it can wait.

3. Sleep is a precious commodity, and take it when you can get it.

4. Just because a company is health care centered, it doesn't mean they really care about health care.

5. If you don't take a mental health day occasionally, you will ruin your mental health.

6. Medical shows on tv are often wrong. And you will yell at them what to do. And your family will refuse to be in the same room with you while you do it.

7. Most people are freakin' crazy, at least some of the time.

8. And a LOT of people are either ignorant or misinformed or uninformed. And a few are completely stupid and cannot or will not be educated.

I can explain why it is not good to take OTC meds for something to

family members. Example

DH:" I am coughing up stuff, what can I take to stop it"; ME: "Don't dry it up with OTC stuff, keep it coming".

I agree with previous post about ibuprofen and kids. That is all I am willing to give my kids, unless of course they have an infection that actually need

abx. OK, on occasion there may be something else.

I have greatly improved my communication skills, especially in the face of stressful situations. Back when I worked int the lab, I used to basically fall to pieces whenever a physician or patient would start yelling and screaming at me. Now I take it in stride and have the skills to actually calm them down too! This has helped immensely in family situations involving high stress and high emotions.

I've gotten really good at yelling at the television set. Esp about CPR - people'd die if compressions were done that slowly.

people are ruder and demanding than they used to be; and they're also less grateful.

press-gainey was conceived in the depths of hel!!

there's nothing more dangerous than standing around, minding your own "bidness" and no one more dangerous than "some dude" unless it's "dem two dudes."

the first pulse to take in a code is your own -- and this not only applies to work, but also applies to little old ladies who habitually go down in church on a hot summer day, mvas you happen across, the drunk you encounter in the gutter and anyone who comes flying through a plate glass window as you're passing a rough bar in the french quarter of nola.

the human body can survive a lot of abuse.

there isn't much that cannot wait while you take a pee break or eat a balanced meal!

you never want to be "an interesting case" in a teaching hospital!

don't get sick (or injured) in july!

4) kids are tougher than i ever thought and it really takes alot to seriously injure them.

7) 1 teen age boy has 1 brain, you get two teenage boys together and they share that same brain so they are only half as smart, add a 3rd boy to the mix and they are now only a 1/3 as smart etc etc etc.~~please refer to #4.

:redpinkhe:yeah:

oh this is too funny! and what happens when you add an attractive girl to the mix, brain fuzz!? obtunded bliss!

heaven knows what the gathering of 3 teen age girls would result in??? perhaps it depends on if they are in 13 yrs range or 17 yrs range. got to love humor.

you never want to be "an interesting case" in a teaching hospital!

or show up for work resting upon a gurney. omg no!

I wash my hands a LOT more than I used to.

If you haven't bled out at least a pint, don't expect me to get excited; a little blood goes a long way. BNS (before nursing school) I would have been freaking out.

If it's wet and it didn't come from my body, I'm not touching it without gloves on. Blows my mind on TV when there's a blood drop and a cop checks it with bare fingers. Girl at the local diner sliced her palm open (in all fairness, she did whack herself pretty good, and I know her and her family socially) but I made them give me gloves before I touched her.

I have first aid kits in car, kitchen, bathroom and workshop. And I check them monthly to make sure they're stocked and nothing's expired.

If you've fallen down the steps at church and you're holding your ankle and screaming, you've got an open airway and positive blood pressure. No, you are not dying, and yes, your husband can take you to the ER in your own car; I'm getting you an ice pack, not an ambulance. And if it was a weekday, I'd give you grief if you didn't go to your doctor's office instead. Before nursing school, I'd have been right in the middle of the drama.

When I'm cooing over a new baby at church, I also discretely check the fontanels and the babinski reflex.

My phone calls to my parents usually have the phrase, "so has the doc changed any of your meds recently?" in them somewhere.