A Good Feeling

It usually happens when you least expect it, and then it becomes a part of you.

There are many ways we nurses’ can and do get recognized, although it’s very few and far between.

We receive it from our education, from our co-workers, from our colleagues, and every once in a great while from our superiors.

The other day I got that certain kind of recognition that makes all the long-days, and tiresome shifts worthwhile. This type of recognition reminds you of why you became a nurse, and why you remain a nurse.

I was taking care of a patient in the PACU. She had an OB-GYN type of procedure. I was taking care of her, helping her recover from her surgery in a safe and controlled manner in my usual fashion. “Are you warm enough?”, “How is your pain?”, “Are you comfortable?”

Giving pain medication as needed.

I was encouraging her to cough, even though it hurt to cough. I explained to here the ramifications of not coughing, especially after surgery, no matter how minor it was. I demonstrated the use of a pillow to help less the surge of pain she was having.

I gave her as much information as I could on pain management. Making sure she understood the difference between controlling your pain, and chasing your pain.

During all of my ‘normal’ routines, this particular patient ever-so slightly placed her warm hand on my forearm, and with the stare of appreciation she calmly and quietly said,” You have a wonderful bedside manner. Thank You. You’re a good nurse”.

It caught me off guard for a few seconds, and now looking back on it.. I think I was staring at her. ()

I politely smiled and gave the most genuine thank you I could create, as I continued about my responsibilities.

In my heart, I wanted to give her a great big bear hug and tell how much she made my day… to tell her that her kind words had validated all my efforts to become and be the nurse I am today.

Her thank you meant more to me than any high marks on any evaluation, meant more to me than any certification I have attained. Her words will help me through the next ‘tornado’ of events that will happen.. as they always do happen to us nurses’.

It’s one thing to hear from a third party that a particular patient like you, and valued your care, but to hear it from the source… was priceless.

I think my heart grew a little bigger and my face was a lil’ more red that day.

I LOVE being a nurse.

Carpe Diem

 

Can You Bottle That Up For Me?

• The feel of a newborn baby’s skin
• The smell of a newborn baby
• The smell of freshly cut grass (TRUE SMELL)
• The giggling cackle of an infants laugh
• The smell of pavement after a warm summer rain
• The feel of a nice hot shower after being out in the cold
• The feeling of a warm summer rain
• The sound a foot step makes after the first freshly fallen snow
• The silence heard after a freshly fallen snow
• The peaceful void of sound in the wilderness
• The purring of a kitten on your lap
• The feeling of fresh bed linens after hanging on the line outside
• The feeling of flannel sheets in the dead of winter
• The warm embrace of my wife’s arms around me during her hug

These are a couple of moments, and experiences in my life I wish I could ‘bottle up’. So I could relive and repeat the moment as needed. A sort-of PRN self delivered relief, for when you need it the most.

I think it’s Murphy’s Law..every once in a while things will pile up on the ‘To-Do’ list, or life’s roller coaster will run ya’ ragged, and maybe you just need that lil ’spark’ to help you get through a tough moment.

Any of the above mentioned moments could and would get me over that ‘hump’.

I can say, some aroma-like products have attempted to reproduce some of the smells, but could you imagine if we could reproduce the feelings??!!

Whew.

I’d be one wealthy individual if I could create a product that reproduced and of the above experiences.

Until then, I will call upon my memories to help me through those tough times.

Aahh..

Dare to dream.

Carpe Diem

 

Times… They are A-Changin’

The one and only constant thing in life is CHANGE. Everything else is CHANCE.

I’ve been a nurse for over 3 years now. To some this would seem a very short time. But in this day and age of the nursing world, 3 years of experience in a nursing specialty ACTUALLY is classified as a seasoned nurse.

I’ll let that one sink in.

I’m pretty sure everyone has at least ‘heard’ of the nursing shortage that we are currently in, and the potential exponential increase in the nursing shortage over the next decade. The field of nursing is losing more individuals than it’s gaining. Due to this alarming fact, the face of nursing has CHANGED.

Here’s what’s going to blow your mind. Just 10, maybe 15yrs ago, a new graduate nurse had a difficult time finding a nursing job! I’m told stories from true seasoned nurses’ who have been in the field for 10 + years, that the only jobs a nurse could find right out of school were in the long-term care facilities (nursing homes and/or retirement centers). No other jobs existed.

And if you were a new graduate nurse who was interested in pursuing a specialty, like the critical care setting (ER, ICU), you were turned away. In fact you were told to come back after you had at least 2yrs of general nursing floor (Medical-Surgical) experience.

I’ve been lucky and blessed with all the opportunities I have experienced as a nurse in the short time I have been in this field. I have worked/trained as a first assist, worked as a travel nurse, as a telemetry nurse, worked in numerous ICU settings, and now as Recovery Room (PACU) nurse. Outside of my critical care experience, everything else listed was for a very short time of 6 months or less.

Had I attempted my career as a nurse a decade ago, I would not have been afforded any of the above opportunities. While I wish I would have chosen nursing as my original career, I’m almost positive my adventures would not have been the same.

Change takes courage, adaptation and adjustment. And for some fellow colleagues this is a hard pill to swallow. Some still believe in the previous mindset of ‘getting’ your experience first. You must first learn to crawl, before you can walk. And walk before you can run. (Ergo the specialty nursing example I spoke about.)

The truth of the matter. Today’s nurse has had to learn to hit the ground running. Heck, running at a sprinter’s pace. The present day nurse has had to learn from the very beginning of their education that nothing is given to you. You need to earn everything. The learning curve may not have changed much, but the pace of the curve has.

10 years ago basic nursing education was at a minimum of 3-4 yrs. Now you can enroll in programs that are 18 months long (of course you have to have your pre-requisite courses completed before hand).

Today’s nurse is used to the fast paced learning. Most information has been shuttle-passed to them and face-slapping, eye-popping, stomach-turning return demonstration clinical exams are not only the norm, but are generally an expected portion of their basic education.

10 years ago, a new nurse, green behind the ears, with no experience under their belt being hired into an ICU was unheard of. Now it’s common.

New grads are being hired into the busiest, fastest-paced, high-octane environments and their flourishing. The goal is to simply survive, and most exceed that goal.

This generation of new grads are hungry, agile, forthright and humble. The hard part is letting them learn at their pace. A pace most seasoned nurses’ think is too fast.

This new found speed does not increase the likelihood of things being missed. In fact it encourages the opposite. The attention to detail in this ever-changing fast-paced learning environment is uncanny, and unmatched.

The next time you meet a nurse, and learn of their ‘time-in-grade’. Don’t be so quick to judge. You’d be surprised what they’ve learned, and how far they have come.

Carpe Diem

 

KWITCHERBICHEN

Sorry.. I’m on this cartoon kick lately.

Nuff’ said.

Carpe Diem

 

Top Ten Reasons to go to Nursing School

Thought I’d start off the week with more humor. This one always makes me smile. Everyone who is or is studying to be a nurse can relate to any and ALL of the above.

Have a great day.

Carpe Diem

 

I Won!

Woo Hoo!

For those of you who have or have not been following Health Care Today and the Take Your Blog to the Next Level contest that was conducted for the month of September.  I was not only one of the top 5 contributors to the site for the month, but I was the TOP contributor! And according to the latest numbers.. I accomplished it by a landslide.

I won!

When I first heard of the contest back in the beginning of September over at Emergiblog, and read what you could win. I must say, I was one determined blogger. In fact I warned Shane I was motivated.

Every chance I got I was submitting relevant articles and viewing articles that others had submitted for possible votes. It was rather cool to watch the top contributors list constantly shift.

My secret weapon? My Google Reader. I scoured the internet for relevant healthcare related news feeds and added them to my reader. Every time a good article came up. I submitted. And a funny thing happened along my article submission journey. I became a much more informed healthcare provider. A lot of the articles I read were eye opening current trends and shocking information that I may have otherwise never been made aware of.

So I wanted to thank Shane and Health Care Today for not only giving me a chance to reform my dreary blog, but for also increasing my awareness as a medical professional.

I’ve decided to take the all inclusive package minus the new domain name. I figured since this domain name is rather new, I should keep it. Right?

What are your thoughts on my domain name? Think it’s a good fit for my ‘personality’ that you have all been unfortunately exposed to? Do you have any better suggestions out there? (I’ve asked Shane the same question) I’m open for any and all suggestions.

So I’m pretty pumped and anxious to see how my blog will be transformed,  ESPECIALLY with the assistance from the oh-so talented Shane.

WOO HOO. (Oh wait I already said that once)

Carpe Diem

 

Change of Shift | CoS

 

The latest installment of Change of Shift has been released. This edition is being hosted by Keith of Digital Doorway over at NurseLinkup titled The Autumn Harvest Change of Shift.

Be sure to check it out.

Word on the street is the next edition of CoS will be with Mother Jones over at Nurse Ratched’s Place. Don’t forget to send in your submissions.

As always a big thanks to Kim over at Emergiblog for creating this great blog carnival for nurses.

Carpe Diem

 

Anyone Have a Toothpick?

Just a lil’ TGIFF Fun Humor.

Have a great day.

Carpe Diem

 

Anti-Depressant Rx: How Old ARE they?!

I came across what I would classify as a sad and frustrating scenario today.

A 12yr old patient was prescribed Zoloft.

I had to do a double-take when I read that piece of information.

Now, my opinion is very biased and I’m a tad stubborn when it comes to the tween survival years subject, so I apologize up front if I offend anyone with my thoughts.

Now, I don’t have any children. I do however have many children in our extended family and within my circles of friends. Also, in my prior career I  worked with the high school population as a full-time job. So in my humble opinion, I think I have a firm grasp on what the run-of-the-mill teenager represents.

Oh yeah, I also forgot. I once was a teenager myself.

Anti-depressant medications  and depression are not my cup of tea. In fact anything that has to do with the ‘mental health’ aspect of nursing, I’m rather weak with. (Meaning I don’t have the temperance or tolerance for it.)

Maybe I have faulty wiring. Maybe I’m uncaring? Maybe I’m cruel? I truly don’t know the answer. All I know is I become tone deaf whenever I hear or am exposed to these classifications of illnesses. Everything from depression, anxiety, personality disorders, etc.

I was raised in the school of ‘hard-knocks’ as a teenager and I guess maybe I’ll just never understand.

I know being a teenager is tough. I know blending and fitting in is a must. Self-identity during those years is what makes or breaks a tween. I remember.

We all experienced that ‘jungle’ in one way, shape, or form as a teenager. We all had it in differing degrees and we all dealt with it in differing degrees. The teenage years came and left, just like the other ‘cycles’ of our lives.

The whole idea of being a teenager was to survive. That was the key. It didn’t matter how horrible you were at solving the problems, or how many problems you had in front of you. You simply had to figure out how to survive.

Now, maybe I’m just spit-balling here, but solving a teenager’s problem(s) with a pill… seems to me.. not to really solve anything at all. In fact it not only dodges the obstacle completely, but creates more obstacles for them to battle? Obstacles now and obstacles later in life?

Am I wrong?

Carpe Diem

 

I’m a Medical Professional… and I Blog Sometimes

There has been a lot of buzz around the Blogosphere (more specifically the medical circles of the Blogosphere) lately about medical professionals’, their personal and/or professional blog habits and HIPAA. Do we professionals follow any specific guidelines when blogging about our job, our co-workers, or our patients? How about the information we share on our  social networking websites? What about privacy, and identity management?

I believe some of my fellow med-blogger’s have touched on this subject from more than one direction. Phil Baumann, a fellow RN, touched on the gravity of our actions and what subject matter we discuss when using Twitter. Other med-blogger’s, including Not Nurse Ratched, PixelRN, and Emergiblog have shared their insight and opinions concerning this issue as well.

And then last week fuel was added to the fire when 2 employees from a New Mexico Hospital lost their respective jobs after they took pictures of patients receiving treatment and then posting the images to a social networking Web site.

In an ironic twist of fate, at work this week we were doing some ‘Fall’ cleaning in our unit and we stumbled across some very old photos. Photos of the department from years ago. I’m talking everything from 2 yrs ago up to maybe a couple decades at least.

One particular photo stuck out. It was a photo of a previous staff nurse on the job. And in the photo was the nurse at one of the bed stations, and in the far background of the photo was a picture of a patient.

It was a harmless photo. From the looks of it, I think they were simply trying to burn off the last pictures of a roll of film and just started snappin’ photos. (I’ve done this more times than I can remember) But the gravity of that picture hit me like a ton of bricks!

Do you think that picture would have been taken in this day and age? Do you think the camera would have even been near the patient bedside?

It made me reflect on the subject at hand.

Internet – Blogosphere – Medical Profession- HIPAA – Identity

I’ve been listening to the voices, and reading the posts lately and I still have the same opinion I did when this all originally surfaced.

Your actions as a professional in the (Virtual) electronic world should reflect your actions as a professional in the  (sorry…)  REAL world.

You already know how to act in a prudent, ethical and responsible manner as a professional. You get an annual reminder from the facility that employs you. I know I do!

After you’ve been working in the medical profession long enough you develop a sort of sixth sense for what is right and what is not. For what is within the limits of the law, and what is breaking the law. You intuitively know WHAT you can and cannot say, WHERE you can or cannot say it, and TO WHOM you can or cannot say it to.

How can being on the internet make things so gray and vague? How does pushing buttons on a keyboard or clicking a mouse change the rules?

It’s very simple.

We all know the arms of HIPAA extend past the walls of our employer. You must act as a professional in a professional manner even when you are not on the clock.

So.

Whatever it is you are sharing or typing, where ever you may be located on the world wide web, and with whomever your sharing it with. If you are at all confused or unsure of the legality of your actions.

Ask yourself this one simple question:

Would you be doing it if you WEREN’T on the internet?

Then don’t do it AT ALL.

Nuff’ said.

Carpe Diem