Since ixchel is taking a much deserved break, she was gracious enough to allow me to fill in for her. Here's hoping I don't blow up her thread.
My next door neighbor is a retired nurse. She frequently comes over to visit me, which leads me to the title of the thread: where two or more retired nurses are gathered, the talk eventually turns to nursing.
Sharon (not her real name) has a son who works at a local hospital. He frequently fills his mother in with his experiences. She'll often share them with me, and many times the two of us end up shaking our heads in disbelief at how nursing has changed, sometimes for the good, often for the bad.
So what did I learn? I know that now, with greater certainty than before, that I dearly miss nursing, but not what it has become.
I've also learned that I must have some sort of invisible "Welcome, Free Lodging" sign over my head that only respiratory bugs can see. Every year like clockwork these invaders turn me into a coughing, sneezing, snotting host for them. It will get better, but by Oct/Nov. it will happen again.
And when a doctor gives you abx. for a sinus infection from Hades and tells you to make sure you take it with a probiotic, believe. him/her.
So, what have you learned this week? Hope you had a good one!
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I've learned that an employer can seem like an angel to your face (this case my husband's face) & the devil behind his back.
Excuse me as I try not to explode.
So my husband was just denied unemployment. I am livid!!!!!! The company called & said they couldn't use him any more but yet the office said they fired him!!! Then the unemployment people ONLY spoke to my husband's former employer. They called him ONCE & after that my husband left tons & tons of messages. Not once did he get a call back or acknowledgement that his messages were received. How the hell is that fair?!
This month is gonna suck because my husband's former employer said they would work with him so we would get unemployment, but now we have $0 & no active income. I hope it doesn't come down to getting a title loan on my car. [emoji17]
I learned that I shouldn't let a student who has assured me she is completely capable of changing a CBI bag to do so. I mean I knew I should have been there but it was a CBI running just fine and no problems and her instructor said sure, she can do that, it's no tougher than changing an IV bag right? Except she somehow despiked while bag still in the air and she got a bath as well as the end of the patient's bed. and that I definitely made her change!!! next time I don't care how much the student is sure she can do it I'm going in too!!!!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, one night when I was working in the ED, a 16 year old girl, her boyfriend, and her mother came to the ED for a pregnancy test. (Because, of course, we not only have nothing better to do, but the ED is actually code for "Free Pregnancy Clinic.") The happy couple and delighted Grandma-to-Be looked at me with narrowed eyes and scowls when I suggested that they go to CVS or any drugstore of choice to get a pregnancy test to confirm, then they could follow up with the OBGYN of choice.
"Oh, no!" said the patient. "I know I'm pregnant, because my period is late. I just want to make sure, and anyway those tests are expensive."
Fine. Girl pees in cup, and while the specimen is ferried off to the lab, the three stooges talk about how exciting this is.
The ED doc got the lab result before I saw it. He came over to me and said, "Look at this." And there it was...incontrovertible proof that the grandma to be was the grandma not to be.
The doc told the happy family the bad news, but nothing could have prepared me for their response:
"You're wrong! She's pregnant...we've already scheduled an appointment with an OBGYN."
Poor Dr. S. tried valiantly to explain that the girl's symptoms, which she mistook for pregnancy, were actually related to a UTI, but there was no way, no how, that this girl was pregnant. Ex-grandma pipes up and says, "Maybe you need to do the test again." Dr. S. demurred, then handed the girl an Rx for the UTI. Here's where I thought the three of them were trying to gaslight us.
Mommy-to-Be (not) asks, in complete sincerity, "Is it OK for me to take this? I don't want to take something that could hurt my baby."
That's the point at which our mild mannered ED doc lost his cool: "THERE IS NO BABY!"
I did their D/C instructions, and believe it or not, the Ex-Grandma asked what her daughter should do about her appointment with the OBGYN.
"Should she keep her appointment?"
I said, "Sure, it wouldn't hurt."
omg I thought you were describing some people who were visiting my patient recently!!! I was holding my breath reading your story but then I'm thinking it's probably another family. the family I was dealing with had a relative in the hospital, my patient, and visiting was a teenage girl and her mother with the girl's inappropriately older boyfriend. They were talking about how they were planning to get pregnant, the teen that is, and once she had the baby they were going to get married. what on earth????? the girl was telling me about her mother's wedding dress and that it was too small for her now but after she had the baby she was going to lose all the extra weight and then be able to fit into the dress. so the plan would be to have the baby first and then get married because of the dress.
I can't believe I managed to not look shell-shocked but I just nodded UmmHmmm and left the room. where do these people come from?????
I learned that I shouldn't let a student who has assured me she is completely capable of changing a CBI bag to do so. I mean I knew I should have been there but it was a CBI running just fine and no problems and her instructor said sure, she can do that, it's no tougher than changing an IV bag right? Except she somehow despiked while bag still in the air and she got a bath as well as the end of the patient's bed. and that I definitely made her change!!! next time I don't care how much the student is sure she can do it I'm going in too!!!!
I learned that I shouldn't let a student who has assured me she is completely capable of changing a CBI bag to do so. I mean I knew I should have been there but it was a CBI running just fine and no problems and her instructor said sure, she can do that, it's no tougher than changing an IV bag right? Except she somehow despiked while bag still in the air and she got a bath as well as the end of the patient's bed. and that I definitely made her change!!! next time I don't care how much the student is sure she can do it I'm going in too!!!!
I've had this happen with many students. Not with CBI bags but regular IV fluids.
I guess they don't realize that if you unplug the hole, fluids will flow...
In the hallway with another student going over something or other. these are fourth semester students and have been doing a lot without their instructor right next to them, the CI mostly is there to check in with, they can ask questions but they are supposed to be able to do simple things on their own. guess not this one!!!!
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I started to read it but was unable to finish it. Didn't he also write a book about cancer? I can't recall the title at the moment...
Check out this book: The Emperor of All Maladies. It's a fascinating look at the history of oncology. PBS had a special that ran for several nights based on the book, narrated by Edward Herrmann. If you're interested in watching it, I'm sure you can find it somewhere either on PBS or maybe youtube. It was as good as the book, IMO.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I also learned I will go to the ends of the earth for my coworkers, even in the "other" units if they are struggling, but I will feel taken advantage of if I go off my side to help someone with an URGENT! request, and that request is that I make the pot of coffee for that unit. ***, dude. You can make your own dang pot of coffee, especially if you are sitting at a different coworker's pod and socializing when I walk around. I kind of had a work crush on you up until this point, but you just killed it dead. At least you made my life easier because I'm too busy being irritated by you to think inappropriate thoughts about you now.
Hold it, hold it, hold it...you were asked to go to another unit "urgently" to make a freaking pot of coffee! Oh no they didn't!
I would have made that coffee so strong that a spoon would have stood straight up in it.
Check out this book: The Emperor of All Maladies. It's a fascinating look at the history of oncology. PBS had a special that ran for several nights based on the book, narrated by Edward Herrmann. If you're interested in watching it, I'm sure you can find it somewhere either on PBS or maybe youtube. It was as good as the book, IMO.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I've learned that an employer can seem like an angel to your face (this case my husband's face) & the devil behind his back.
Excuse me as I try not to explode.
So my husband was just denied unemployment. I am livid!!!!!! The company called & said they couldn't use him any more but yet the office said they fired him!!! Then the unemployment people ONLY spoke to my husband's former employer. They called him ONCE & after that my husband left tons & tons of messages. Not once did he get a call back or acknowledgement that his messages were received. How the hell is that fair?!
This month is gonna suck because my husband's former employer said they would work with him so we would get unemployment, but now we have $0 & no active income. I hope it doesn't come down to getting a title loan on my car. [emoji17]
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I hope he's going to dispute that.
We are with tooth & nail. I have words, very certain words that I want to say to the owner of the company. I never liked nor trusted him from day one. This is why!
Check out this book: The Emperor of All Maladies. It's a fascinating look at the history of oncology. PBS had a special that ran for several nights based on the book, narrated by Edward Herrmann. If you're interested in watching it, I'm sure you can find it somewhere either on PBS or maybe youtube. It was as good as the book, IMO.
I've been meaning to read it. It's at the top of my list, along with The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. I'll try to look for the video!
OrganizedChaos, LVN
1 Article; 6,883 Posts
I've learned that an employer can seem like an angel to your face (this case my husband's face) & the devil behind his back.
Excuse me as I try not to explode.
So my husband was just denied unemployment. I am livid!!!!!! The company called & said they couldn't use him any more but yet the office said they fired him!!! Then the unemployment people ONLY spoke to my husband's former employer. They called him ONCE & after that my husband left tons & tons of messages. Not once did he get a call back or acknowledgement that his messages were received. How the hell is that fair?!
This month is gonna suck because my husband's former employer said they would work with him so we would get unemployment, but now we have $0 & no active income. I hope it doesn't come down to getting a title loan on my car. [emoji17]