mursing

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?

Tags: humor, nursing school, ramblings, rants // Add Comment »

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?!

Tags: nursing school, rants // 2 Comments »

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.

Tags: nursing school, rants // 2 Comments »

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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My mind is all over the place. I have a hard time concentrating on a given task for any amount of time. I recently listened to a broadcast where a preacher admitted to his bout with depression and that a person can only tolerate hyper-stimulation (my school program) for so long before they even realize that something is terribly wrong. I can relate. I’ve been there before. I had a bout for about 6 months several years ago. I was lucky in the sense that I was still able to function but just could not place my finger on this lingering feeling of utter emptiness and activities that normally brought me joy were now tedious. I had an immense social schedule and a relationship had just gone sour but I tried to fabricate that everything was going hunky dory by filling my schedule to the brim. I at times feel like I am at that same edge again as I am on my 2-week summer break and have a hell of a time trying to relax. I blame our program going a million miles a minute and then you just… stop. But there are other underlying factors that I can’t hold to the system. It runs in the family. Even winning major recognition from your professors doesn’t seem to appease the feeling yet I know I have chosen the right profession. I am dreading the start-up of school next week to finish the last 2½ months and I haven’t been sleeping and I cannot relax for the life of me when I need it most. I sleep a couple of hours a night and I am exhausted. I never thought it would happen to me just like I used to make fun of people with back pain until I began to experience it myself due to sports injuries from rugby. This disease sucks.

Tags: random thoughts // 1 Comment »

My wife and I recently moved back to the town she grew up in so I could attend nursing school. I have had the privilege to spend a majority of my clinical time in a burn ICU. I failed at the opportunity today to do something that the professors have been trying to instill in us for the past 8 or so months that is an essential aspect of nursing care: Educating the general public. We were on our way home and had to fill the truck with gas when a hail storm hit our town. Much to my surprise, a carload of folks came whipping under the cover of the gas station at our corner grocery store and the female passenger chucked a cigarette butt out the window onto the asphalt. The glare I received after I watched the butt hit the ground could have frozen hell. The sheer lack of concern or pure ignorance amazes me. I only hope is that in the future she doesn’t end up on the unit along with the 20 (unaware), or uncountless others that she put at risk for her actions. She needs to see the pain and agony of our patients that have been harmed by the thoughtless action of others. I haven’t lost hope in common sense…yet. It will warm the cockles of my professors heart’s that I will not pass up another opportunity.

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My brain has been mush with the full week of pediatrics and tests and papers and reflective journals and… and… and… It’s summer break!!! Time flies when you’re having fun or busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. I now have three weeks to work on the house, rest, relax, study for the NCLEX and get vamped up for the last 2 ½  months of school before the real deal begins. Man, am I ever ready. My classmates are in the same boat and feel much the same way I do. Ragged, worn out and ready for margaritas. We are all very ready for August to be here so we can begin our respective careers.  I am off to relax… and catch up on some blogging also.

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I came across this video following the hullabaloo going on in my home state in a small West Texas town. I am in pedi rotations this week and this video really freaks me out. Parents are the hardest to deal with and the following is a perfect example as to why I don’t think pediatric nursing is in my future. With my luck, I would end up with about 4 sets of parents like these on one shift. Although they do make some valid points for choice and freedom, they certainly make a case for establishing a law requiring a license to become a parent. My question is, where in the heck are all the men from this… “we’re not a compound” hanging out?!

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I am surprised at the number of stories I hear of nurses that ostracize students. They too were right where you were at some point. I just don’t get it. I plan on getting into education (while continuing to practice) and I have promised myself never to be ‘one of those’ nurses when it comes to teaching. Although I have been fortunate enough in my unit to find people that are very willing to try and help students discover the processes of nursing as long as they are willing to put forth the effort and initiative.

This brings me to my coach. She’s incredible. That’s what we call our preceptor/mentor/instructor. The benefit is that we have one-on-one instruction for an extended amount of time. The woman has embraced education. Two bachelors, one masters and considering another masters or doctorate in nursing. I don’t think formal education is necessary to become curious but that’s the path she has chosen. I think I get the picture. She has tried to give me assignments outside of the normal work required for the program but finding the time to research them is another story when completing an accelerated program.

Intellectual curiosity is essential to nursing and the thing I enjoy is the she is trying to instill the skills required to become a self-educator. I think most of us in nursing would agree that we have some desire to learn something new on a regular basis. When that curiosity is no longer present, maybe change is in order. She has certainly broken the stereotype that nurses eat their young and often expresses her desire to teach.

Selflessness – it comes to mind when I think of most of the people I work with on my unit. We work as teammates for the most part and it makes the stress so much more bearable. My coach has shown through example and is willing to share her knowledge with anyone, and if she doesn’t know, she goes up the line to find out. So I’ll be spending my last 2 ½ months of school on an SICU. I am fired up but I certainly enjoy where I am now. I have grown comfortable but I need the experience spent on other units. Most of our intermittent rotations are short and you never seem to get in the flow on that particular floor. I am kind of sad to be leaving where I am currently, and will certainly interview if they have any opportunities open. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Anyway, I just getting home from clinicals. I am tired and I have a paper to finish.

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