I'm new here and this is my first post. I'm about to reach my one year as an RN in L&D and it's been very challenging, stressful, rewarding, everything. I know how hard it is to go through school and then the stress of passing your exam and finally trying to get into the workforce and once you get into the workforce, the reality of a career in nursing kind of hits. So I guess after all of that hard work, this situation with a friend bothers me maybe more than it should:
Initially, my friend was at the University of Michigan in hopes of becoming an RN. After 6 years and failing her courses, she decided to go into a 2 year LPN course instead and has been successful at it so far. This is her first year into the LPN course and already she is telling people that she is a nurse. For example, when anyone tells her about a sickness or an injury she begins her sentence with, "Well as a nurse, I recommend..." or even "The struggles of being a nurse" as though she has experienced it full on. She has never been paid in any nursing position and again, she is still in school to become an LPN. She'll also say things like "My job [as a nurse] is really stressful but I love it." It makes me cringe but I'm not a very aggressive person and so I don't speak up about it.
I just wanted to know your general thoughts on this. Maybe it's my pride as an ACTUAL nurse that makes me irk about this? Should I let it go? Am I making too big a deal of it? I personally feel that it is wrong to call yourself any profession if you are not certified yet. Thoughts?
In a polite way you should tell your friend that without a license number they could run into a great deal of trouble both legal and professional. It could impact he or she's ability to get a full license depending on the state or province they wish to practice.
My family members/friends have pretty much stopped asking what every rash is, what that pain in the elbow means, why they have constipation no matter what they try, etc., because my standard answer is "that sounds exactly like a brain tumor. Better get in to see the doc asap."
Oh my! I'll have to use that one. My standard reply of "you need to see your physician about that" pales in comparison.
"Real" nurses never give any medical advice. She needs to know that giving advice could jeopardize her nursing future, and could endanger the health of any one that takes it.
You attempted to explain the ramifications. As she is defensive and will continue her behavior... why continue the relationship?
I didn't say I hear it okay. I hear it perfectly. I work in an OB/GYN office and routinely do it EVERY day. With a thin layer, bp can be heard well. I never heard a difference. I also elevate the arm above the heart and have them in cross their legs so I am well versed on proper technique. In school, they always said a thin layer was ok
I didn't say I hear it okay. I hear it perfectly. I work in an OB/GYN office and routinely do it EVERY day. With a thin layer, bp can be heard well. I never heard a difference. I also elevate the arm above the heart and have them in cross their legs so I am well versed on proper technique. In school, they always said a thin layer was ok
Oh, dear lord, ITS NOT ABOUT WHETHER YOU HEAR IT PERFECTLY, either. You will have a falsely narrow pulse pressure because you are placing layers between the cuff and the blood vessels. It might be compounded by ability to hear, but even if you use a perfectly functioning machine to do the "listening" for you, the reading will have a falsely low systolic and falsely high diastolic.
If your patient has blood pressure issues, or if you suspect they do, they should NOT have ANY layers on between the cuff and their skin. That also goes for anyone with neuro issues or bleeders. Pulse pressure may be crucial in those populations.
Please forgive the judgment of this statement, but as a nurse, you should know this already. Shame on your program for not emphasizing it.
I'm honestly not here to argue. I referenced my old Jarvis physical assessment book and no such rationale is mentioned. Not saying you are wrong. I just wasn't taught that so I will feel no shame and neither should my program. In a low risk population such as the one I work with, BP is almost always normal. If it ever appears any differently, I recheck in a silent room with no layers of clothes. Technically speaking, pretty much everyone performs BP "incorrectly" because we don't use the two step method taught in school.
I am a hospice nurse and when family and friends ask for medical advice, I simply state, I am a hospice nurse and you don't look like you need my services. Call your MD. They usually don't ask again.
I'm a nurse practitioner used to have a receptionist who gave medical advice all the time, would tell parents oh your child needs a antibiotic , I'd see the child and he had a cold , would then explain that the receptionist was not a nurse just because she was wearing scrubs. One day she told a parent that the child had a fracture before the report even reached my desk, there was no fracture .
Just today saw an ex-friend claim her daughter is a nurse. Her daughter couldn't even make it through the CNA class both of us enrolled in. I checked the BON because it has been almost 4 years, so who knows, right? No license, not even CNA certification. Some digging turned up that she's a medical assistant. And her mother is now giving advice for care of compromised skin based on her daughter being "a nurse."
ixchel
4,547 Posts
It's not about whether you can hear it okay.