WILTW 10/29: Trauma for breakfast

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Hi Everyone!

Another ER busy week for me; between lots of sick kiddos, boarding, and overtime; although ordering breakfast at a late night diner the last two scheduled days of work certainly helped improve my mood.

I had a near miss at work; I caught it and realized I needed to report it; I haven't had a near miss happen in about ten years; my eagerness to report it is reflective of the atmosphere that I work in and how we report errors; I'm also more reflective that I feel as though having three patients as opposed to four high acuity patients makes a difference, and the need for a quiet place to draw up meds is needed (which we don't have).

What I also learned this week:

Sharpnel can still cause through and through trajectory for a gun shot wound;

Serum sickness can occur 10-14 days after exposure to antibiotics, but can appear faster if one decides to continue a course of said antibiotics, despite given instructions to discard them after the therapeutic date.

That I develop borborygmus after an unsuccessful code.

So, what have you learned this week?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
That I develop borborygmus after an unsuccessful code.

So, what have you learned this week?

I learned what borborygmus is because I just looked it up a few seconds ago. :)

A stomach rumble, also known as a bowel sound or peristaltic sound, is a rumbling, growling or gurgling noise produced by movement of the contents of the gastro-intestinal tract as they are propelled through the small intestine by a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis.

I suppose I always learn something new with each passing day!

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Specializes in ICU.

I learned, I know more than I think I do.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I learned what borborygmus is because I just looked it up a few seconds ago. :)

That makes two of us.

I learned that come January 1 if I haven't found a new job, mine is going to be even less enjoyable. We're losing a surgeon, so the others are going to pick up the slack by working later and later. Without a second shift, that means this OR nurse is going to be rolling in the OT. Bye-bye, personal life!

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Specializes in Critical care.

I learned how it feels to have your car break down on you. I was really looking forward to no car payment in the next 6 months, but I just don't think that will be the case anymore. I just really don't trust my car anymore, even though I bought it brand new. I worked some really off hours this past week and it scares me that it could happen when I'm in the middle of nowhere during the dead of night, especially with winter coming (I live in the northeast). I was lucky that it happened very close to my house and to help tonight.

Anyone have any car suggestions? I like crossovers and small SUVs for their clearance and 4WD.

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I've realized just how much I miss the app. :(. I used to be on AN pretty much every day, but now if I check in once a month that feels like alot. Using the website feels so cumbersome now.

After spending the prior 7 weeks doing cardiac med-surg in school, I feel like someone slammed on the breaks for Psych. So for the past 2 weeks I've been dragging to class, unable to pay attention throughout the whole thing (4 hour lecture).

BUT! Friday, my clinical instructor and our group was going over the schedule for the rest of the semester, and I realized that its about to be over! Only one more full clinical day (we will have rotations at a chemical dependency setting, a hospice simulation, and a school for children with autism and behavioral issues). 3 more days of lecture, and 5 more days of lab.

And then I embark on my last semester of nursing school!! I cannot believe it! I am even more in shock that I just submitted an application for new grad interview yesterday. Where did time go?

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Specializes in ICU.
I learned how it feels to have your car break down on you. I was really looking forward to no car payment in the next 6 months, but I just don't think that will be the case anymore. I just really don't trust my car anymore, even though I bought it brand new. I worked some really off hours this past week and it scares me that it could happen when I'm in the middle of nowhere during the dead of night, especially with winter coming (I live in the northeast). I was lucky that it happened very close to my house and to help tonight.

Anyone have any car suggestions? I like crossovers and small SUVs for their clearance and 4WD.

I've owned Chevys for years. Great cars. Never had one issue with any of them. The Equinoxes and Traverses are great for crossovers.

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Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.
I learned how it feels to have your car break down on you. I was really looking forward to no car payment in the next 6 months, but I just don't think that will be the case anymore. I just really don't trust my car anymore, even though I bought it brand new. I worked some really off hours this past week and it scares me that it could happen when I'm in the middle of nowhere during the dead of night, especially with winter coming (I live in the northeast). I was lucky that it happened very close to my house and to help tonight.

Anyone have any car suggestions? I like crossovers and small SUVs for their clearance and 4WD.

I've driven nothing but Hyundai for the past 10 years. We currently own a 2013 Tucson. It's a crossover & we love it. I live in the Chicago suburbs so lots of ice & snow. This is the first vehicle I've ever had with AWD & I'll never get a car without it again. I can't believe what a difference it makes!

It's a very reliable vehicle, too. The only things we've had to do are routine maintenance & 1 recall item.

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Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.

I've learned that I'm not very good at being off work & not being able to do much because my right hand is in a splint. I've always known my left hand is only there for decoration & to make me look balanced. Now I'm being forced to learn how to use the stupid thing. Ever tried to eat soup using your non-dominant hand? Not a pretty sight! :roflmao:

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Specializes in ICU.

After deciding I needed to lose weight, I have learned that eating two protein bars a day as meal replacements gives me a whole heck of a lot more than borborygmus. It's bad... but I did lose weight, so I'll definitely be repeating that experiment.

I learned that wig glues made of latex are the devil to get off, as I literally spent nine hours today with my fingers dipped in lighter fluid (which dissolves latex) pulling on my scalp. At least I looked good for a Halloween party Saturday night. I also learned wearing wigs is a fun way to be a totally different person... assuming you can ever get the wig off again. The bottle of wig glue said not to stick it to your skin... but next time, I am using just a tiny dot and I am NOT sticking it to my hair. No bueno.

School related: I learned in my drugs in the brain class that one of the main components of black widow spider venom, alpha latrotoxin, is bad for your brain because it forms new channels/pores on the presynaptic neurons that allow calcium ions to flow through. The way synaptic vesicle docking happens is that all of the proteins that cause the neurotransmitter-rich vesicles to fuse with the presynaptic cell membrane (hence, releasing their contents into the synapse) are very heavily calcium dependent and need a decent concentration of calcium inside of the cell to work. Major influx of calcium through these new alpha latrotroxin induced pores not only depolarizes the membrane so NTs would be more likely to be released anyway, but it also gets all of those proteins excited to do their wonderful vesicle docking/fusing with the membrane action. You get all of your NT vesicles docking, merging with the cell membrane, and releasing all of their neurotransmitters all at once with a lot of alpha latrotoxin on board.

This sudden, massive release of neurotransmitters gives you all kinds of fun side effects, but the biggest problem is that you suddenly don't have neurotransmitters in your presynaptic neurons anymore. You are therefore unable to stimulate your post-synaptic neurons to fire, and this is a Very Bad Thing if you want your brain to be able to do things.

I also learned that I am now even more afraid of spiders than I used to be, which was pretty effing terrified beforehand.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

I learned that I'm starting to develop my "nursey Spidey sense": caught a GI bleed and a bleeding chest tube with air leak (two different patients, thank goodness!).

I also think I'd like to be a preceptor and maybe a Clinical Instructor someday (I know I have to get my BSN before I can be a CI for our local community college's program, but I have to do that anyway as a condition of my employment at the hospital). My favorite aide is starting nursing school next year, and I enjoy showing/teaching her things (like the subcutaneous emphysema that resulted from my patient's air-leaking chest tube). I'm gonna hate like heck to lose her as an aide, but she's gonna make an amazing nurse!!!

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

After spending so much time with my mother-in-law, I realize what a pain in the ass *my* mother is.

(I will try to make an EXTREMELY long story short.)

We (my husband, kids & I) live with my mother. Growing up I saw a completely different version ("better") of her. But now that I'm an adult, I have seen this other side ("ugly") to her. She is fake, rude, condescending & passive aggressive to me. One example is if she has spent too much time with my son (who is 2) she will get irritated with him & want nothing to do with him. Kind of like how you get irritated with a friend & need a break. I don't understand this because she barely spends any time with him to begin with & she wasn't this way with us (my brother & I).

I feel uneasy around my mom & don't know how to be myself. Because if I voice my opinion she could possibly blow up at me & kick us out. It feels like there is this black cloud over the house & I hate being here. But we have no other options on where to live. I just hate that I have to walk on egg shells around her & being constantly anxious.

I hope I get into the nursing program at the community college in my town when I apply. I would hate to live with my mother forever.

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