mursing

Tucked away on the back page of the local rag I read is the news that the U.S. government run postal service loses $1 billion dollars in the 3^rd quarter. Combine that with the recent collapse of federally run banks in California, and there are still people (AND the media) that want to elect certain individuals wanting to give yet more power to the federal government to control our lives?! Absolute insanity.

One day to the exit exam and I am almost a free man. Free from the tyranny of nursing school that is, only to be bumped into a higher tax bracket because I will actually get a paycheck now.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

- Benjamin Franklin

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I am down to one week and I am so amazingly tired that it concerns me going into my final week of tests and clinicals. I find it interesting that I get the feeling from numerous students, their schools seem to be involved in the same practice of pushing students to the stress levels that we know are detrimental to the health of our patients. I actually had a teacher tell me to work on my breathing technique. ?!?!?! I am not in a freaking Lamaze class! I think I’ll stick to my swimming routine 3 – 4 times per week instead.

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So Obama goes to Europe to campaign for the U.S. presidency. I try to steer clear of politics because the ‘no common sense’ we see from just about everyone in politics drives my blood pressure through the roof.  Try is the operative word, but the comments he makes ensures the fact that he is just another puppet. He says one thing here in the United States but goes to another country to apologize for the United States?! Okay Barack “Natalie Maines” Obama, DO NOT go to another country and lambaste the USA. Freakin’ idiot!

Two weeks left. Three tests and three papers last week. Four papers and three tests left.  I’ll try to blog more relevant material later…

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…at a triathlon and you might hear some amazing stories. Like the 79-year-old fella that is competing in his 200 and umpteenth something race…this year. There is phenomenon about triathlons and athleticism that stirs the soul. I see the competitors and I am moved to the point that I make resolutions much like the ill-fated promises of New Year. I keep telling myself that I am going to get back into shape. Don’t get me wrong, I do work out on a regular basis. Lift a couple to three times a week and swim just as many. But by looking at my backside in this picture, you’d wonder if I ever set foot in a gym. I blame the genetics on the pop. He is a big ol’ boy. To see the blood sweat and tears left in the battle field is beyond words. Props to all those who get in the game and compete through the end including this incredible pic of my buddy TriTPastor2B gutting it out in the final stages of a recent Ironman qualifier while I sat the bench in the med tent. No more excuses.

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I had to get Bloglines to recognize me.

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First of all let me apologize to those of you that have commented since I have taken my sweet time in replying to your insight. I am humbled that you would take the time to peruse my mental meanderings. Thanks to Kim for the support!

Secondly, the reason I have been so lax in posting is my ever busy school schedule. The profs are really laying in on with only a month left. Haven’t they every considered using the calendars in the online material they are so driven to use for presentations?!

Thirdly, I just love me some practice NCLEX questions:

A client comes to the emergency department while experiencing a panic attack. The nurse can best respond to a client having a panic attack by:

1. staying with the client until the attack subsides.

2. telling the client everything is under control.

3. telling the client to lie down and rest.

4. talking continually to the client by explaining what is happening.

Correct Answer: 1 Your Answer: 1
RATIONALES: The nurse should remain with the client until the attack subsides. If the client is left alone he may become more anxious. Giving false reassurance is inappropriate in this situation. The client should be allowed to move around and pace to help expend energy. The client may be so overwhelmed that he can’t follow lengthy explanations or instructions, so the nurse should use short phrases and slowly give one direction at a time.

As if we really have the time in an over-crowded ER with a waiting list of 3+ hours, a gunshot wound, 2 (or is it 3) suicide attempts, an MVC – Ped, an MCC and collapsed lung from a construction accident. Forgive me for not wanting to listen to you freak out while other people might actually die.

What are some of your favorite Utopian questions?

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I am not the sharpest turnip to fall from the truck but I ain’t stupid either. Some of you jaded ER nurses might want to listen up every now and then and take some advice from a ‘student’ nurse. When I tell you the hospital medical directors’ brother is a patient in the hallway, your response should not be, “So you think I should kiss his ass like every other patient or something? He’s in a hallway bed, do you think I f!@#$% care?” Your response should be a polite nod and ‘okay’ whether you know him or not, and regardless of what your opinion is of nursing students. You too may have been that bumbling student in the past. What I am saying (for those of you that are not as sharp as a turnip) is that you should mind your p’s and q’s just like you should with every patient regardless of whom they are. I know this concept is outside anything your pea-sized brain can fathom and I do realize the number of jokers that present in the ER but you never know who your patient is unless they are one of our frequent fliers. I observed a slack-jawed patient in the hallway watch you and your girlfriend complain less than 5 feet from him in a ‘hallway’ bed, about some pathetic social situation that you just had to gripe and moan about. NO ONE, much less a patient, wants to hear how your white trash ex-husband’s cousin’s brother is such a pain in the ass but you still continue to sleep with him. Get a life and PLEASE don’t scream your love life in the hallway. A very simple tenet you should have learned in nursing school. I too would want to forget the nurse that carried on in front of me that way. And you wonder why the medical profession gets such poor “customer service” satisfaction surveys?!

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Am I really that jaded now that I have spent time in and ER as a tech and a majority of what little free time I do have in nursing school surfing nursing and medical blogs? Today, I was allowed to observe for 4 hours in triage in a large, county hospital. I have learned that I will not make a good ER triage nurse or I might run the risk of being fired for telling people to get out. I sat through 4 hours of unmitigated hell. There is living proof that licensing should be required to birth people into this crazy world. One patient out of 47 I think actually had an emergent situation. Arterial blood spurting all over the place tends to draw the attention of the leeches and you want to holler at those sucking on the teet of society, “SEE PEOPLE! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! The rest of you need to disperse because there is nothing to be seen here. Go to your local, non-emergent clinic and find a PCP!” This community has several, easily accessible clinics that are set up for this purpose. Educating the public is a daunting task. One thing for sure, Momma wouldn’t allow this nonsense occur.

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Man have I ever been busy with school. Saw some blurb on the local news about Ted Kennedy and his hospital stay. I wonder what he thinks of the medical treatment he is getting while lying (ba-dum-dum) in his fancy-schmancy-pantsy hospital suite while indigents struggle to get the care they need?

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It’s amazing what a few days of lifting weights watching some good rugby videos and reading entertaining WWII books can do for the soul.

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