mursing

bu·reau·cra·cy

qec — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:13:39 +0000

2: government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority

3: a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation

I had to write about it. The ‘burden’ placed on our current cost of medical insurance in this country is certainly NOT the medical industry. It is the vast paper pushing bureaucrats in the insurance industry itself that is the cause of these dreaded financial woes.

Cutting out the middle man of TPA’s would create so much less a hassle. Let me build this incredibly exciting scene. Yeah…right. So I recently accepted my new job at General Hospitals Are Us. Your (a)typical County Medical, largest employee in the area etc. HR says, “Well all you need to do is show our TPA your records that you had credible coverage and you will not have to proceed through medical questionnaires proving that you had coverage for you and your spouse while you were in school”. The onslaught of the paper wave tsunami hit the house. Granted it didn’t help that we had 3 changes of coverage while I was in school but I am sure it is a HIPPA initiated requirement that every time any smidgen of information is changed or requested in your coverage, you are to be notified. So along with the 3 changes, I think we received them all in duplicate. From each provider. As well as from the TPA. Seriously. I have a stack of paper requesting the same information 3 times and getting letters from the TPA that inquiries have been made regarding coverages. So the TPA is sending letters, the previous providers are sending letters. You get the picture?

So I receive a final letter from the TPA indicated that now they have received my (patch worked) proof of coverage over the following year, but yet they need the medical questionnaires anyway. WHAT?! Egg sucking, mother trucking, gosh for saken *&%$#@! You mean to tell me this could have been nipped in the bud 4 weeks ago when I specifically asked the TPA which would be easier, filling out the medical questionnaire or sending in proof of coverage?! We could have saved a couple of trees during the process. I swear it must be a set-up between the insurance industry and the postal service for job security.

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I Will Do My Best…

qec — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:00:18 +0000

On my honor, I will do my best - to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the law; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Well, I have plenty to write about, however, I have had little time to express the things that running through the vast amount of grey matter I have added over the course of nursing school considering I have been on orientation and studying for the dreaded NCLEX.

During the absolutely mind blowing (ahem) orientation where it seems the nurse educators are trying to cover the entirety of nursing school in 5 days, I realize that nurses should do more for themselves when it comes to preparedness. We are the Boy (or Girl) Scouts of the medical field along with our First Responders. It’s required that we show up with our pencil, pen, eraser, calculator, stethoscope, scissors and especially our brain. I want to thank the Civil Air Patrol for providing the following suggestions for creating your own emergency pack. However, if you don’t want to spend a bazillion dollars, here’s one that an incredible nursing instructor from the beloved state of Arkansas suggested:

1. Vinyl gloves 1 box: Walmart

2. 4×4 dressings/OTC dressing materials

3. Roll of tape (pink plastic? waterproof tape)

4. Vaseline gauze

5. Ace bandages

6. Alcohol handwash/foam cleanser

7. Old sheets and old towels kept CLEAN in plastic bag (The plastic bag can double as a waterproof field…under a woman’s bottom when she is delivering in the back seat of a car stopped in front of you…some old sheets may be torn up for slings)

8. Blanket (for shock and warmth if weather is freezing)

9. S tube (local medical supply house…we have Ladrael…our CPR manikin suppliers…you do not have to put your mouth on anybody…and there is a side vent so you do not come in contact with their exhaled air either)

10. Tourniquet (to control arterial hemorrhage)…if you need to do other things than hold pressure

11. Premoistened wipes…like pampers for cleaning babies…wipes up all kinds of stuff

12. Floor mats in your car may be used for splints with a roll of duct tape to secure them around a limb

13. Two sanitary napkins in a ziplock baggie (for emergency delivery)

14. plastic cup and scissors (to stabilize penetrating objects…cut a hole in the end of the cup and tape it down over the penetrating object so it can’t wiggle and cause more damage)

15. Umbrella (sometimes all you can do is sit with somebody on the highway and keep the rain out of their faces) plastic poncho’s can be purchased for $1 at Dollar Tree

16. Duct tape can be used to bind a flair chest that is ballooning out on exhalation…wait for the chest to suck in…then quickly apply the tape over the caved in area to stabilize the chest wall.

17. Paper bag for rebreathing if hysteria has caused rapid breathing and respiratory alkalosis

Suggestions?

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Is ignorance really bliss?

qec — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:44:38 +0000

Your perspective seems to be different when death affects someone other than those close to you. Does that mean I don’t care? Am I already cold hearted because I (may) appear unfazed by death? Am I a slug when I am emotionless while taking care of someone that means nothing to me other than from what I have seen from them lying in a comatose state in a Rotorest? When I see they have been told repeatedly over and over about their lifestyle and yet continue down a path that involves terrible choices or they refuse to accept the information provided, how am I supposed to feel? Futility can be humbling.

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Strive

qec — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:57:32 +0000

Watching the athletes that have sold themselves to their dreams and desires makes me think about the impact the nursing profession could continue to have with the numerous people that have chosen this path as their profession. What if we strove to reach our fullest potential? This brings me to the point of my post. I can be a sap. I watch the Olympics and get emotional. Hey, guys are allowed. Especially watching athletes strive to do their best. Ask any man that has ever fought in the trenches in some sport and then have them relate the camaraderie they have experienced to the movie Brian’s Song. Ask any athlete that performs in an individual sport and ask them why it is they seek the joy that causes them to strive through all the hurt and pain for their achievements.

We are designed for relationship. The frustrating thing about nursing is that many of us have to forego those emotional ties when dealing with our patients. The constant struggle I have had in completing nursing school is that I thought I would become some automaton with no emotion. There is some logic that needs to be taken into account when dealing with our patients. We can’t become some illogical, emotional sap because we would then be pulled in numerous directions but we wouldn’t have chosen this unless we had some amount of heart. I am ready for the real education, the process of nearing but not crossing the fine line of losing my caring abilities in this crazy career of nursing.

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It has a certain ring to it (Bring The Noise)

qec — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:43:12 +0000

I am now a GN. What an anti-climactic finish to school. We had our exit exams last Friday and it has still taken a couple of days to sink in since we had our ‘official’ graduation back in May because the medical and nursing school I attended only has one graduation annually.

I think the angst has I was feeling towards the current administration of our program has lessened because I have actually slept since the exit exam. The requirement to graduate from our program is much higher than the national average and the amount of nonsense that we have had to put up with has certainly given us the wherewithal to get past the NCLEX. It makes me wonder if the method to the madness in the program is designed to prepare us for any situation in the medical profession.

Heaven knows I didn’t sleep before the exit exam and I say it again, I am amazed at the amount of pressure that we (I blamed the program earlier) put on ourselves all over an exam. I realize that some folks believe that this is the end of the line if they do not pass but I we are taught to be an encouragement to patients as well as classmates. Regardless of what the challenge may be, we have the capability within us to bounce back from what is thrown at us, even if you didn’t pass. It’s not the end of the world it’s just a delay in your road trip of life. I heard recently that experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want but continue towards your goal. The resolve that nursing students rely on to get through nursing school should be an encouragement to those of you still wading through the morass. Kudos to my fellow classmates of ‘08 for surviving.

p.s. I passed. That will sound so much better after the NCLEX.

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Benjamin Franklin had it right

qec — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:35:57 +0000

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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The end is near…

qec — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:37:49 +0000

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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Barack “Marionette” Obama

qec — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:02:46 +0000

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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Work The Med Tent…

qec — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:24:26 +0000

…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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Well kiss my grits

qec — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:35:22 +0000

I had to get Bloglines to recognize me.

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