Comments on ERNursey - An ER Nurse's Blog: Nursing 101

Thanks for your words. I want to know on what plan...

2008-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your words. I want to know on what planet There are hospitals where the staff nurses have taken the power to dictate the terms of their job - and these aren't necessarily magnet or union hospitals. I want to work there. I work at a magnet, non-union (never will be union) hospital and trust me, magnet means BOO for the nurses on the floor.

Also...when you ER nurses give us floor nurses report, keep in mind that I have 6-8 other patients to juggle, along with their demanding families, and I might not necessarily have the room ready with a smile to greet my new ER admit who is pissed off because he didn't get a private room.

I want to say bless you for labeling the IV lines,...

2008-04-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

I want to say bless you for labeling the IV lines, I consistently hear nurses say that they don't have time to label lines, double check insulin and narcotics, and other little things that when I worked on the floor was just how it was done. The worst part is how we allow ourselves to feel powerless about this because management or staffing ratios or the acuity of our patients is such that we have to spend the shift just being happy to keep our heads above water and not kill anyone. There are hospitals where the staff nurses have taken the power to dictate the terms of their job - and these aren't necessarily magnet or union hospitals.

Amen, sister... I am not in the hospital setting a...

2008-04-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Amen, sister... I am not in the hospital setting anymore but remember ALL of those complaints well. I think all new nurse should have to be a pt. for a couple of days to appriciate all the little corners that get cut! After my last c-section when I was up looking for a new draw sheet or sheet without wrinkles the nurse thought I was nuts!!!

I love it when I have time to do the little things...

2008-04-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

I love it when I have time to do the little things like that.

Some of us floor nurses are carrying 6+ sick/post-op patients. Cut us a little slack if everything's not perfect and we don't get there right away, huh?

-lpnmon

I had day surgery once and those warm blankets wer...

2008-04-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

I had day surgery once and those warm blankets were pure heaven. What's more, I could have all of them that I wanted. My nurse was wonderful. I was quite doped up but I hope I thanked her.

You can make lots of friends with warm blankets......

2008-04-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

You can make lots of friends with warm blankets...at least I have, anyway. ;->

I give them whatever they can have, and I keep my eyes on new people coming onto the unit. I let them get loaded into their bed, then I go back and ask them if they're okay.

If I get them into bed, I make darned sure their call button and phone works and is right there next to them and verify it before I leave. I'm also of the Boy Scout mentality, and I really don't like it when reporting nurses leave out important stuff like high humidity O2 when they give you report (this has happened) or your respiratory people just don't think it's important to get up to that patient's room pronto when you ask them.

There should be some hospitality in the hospital...hello! People are freaked out as it is, so you need to make them a little comfortable to keep them out of at least some mental anguish. People who think it is beneath them to make a bed or get someone ice or water really irritate me.

Great post. Keep it up!

A few weeks back a total Saint (who happened to ...

2008-04-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back a total *Saint* (who happened to be a tall bald guy) brought me a stack of warm blankets when I was in the ER after a car wreck with a concussion and cracked ribs. After I had been checked out and was waiting for - whatever- he tucked them in all around me completely - even around my head to muffle the noise. He mentioned that being comfortable keeps people from needing more pain meds than is good for them. He was right. I was able to nod off a bit even after that. His name is Todd and I did send him a thank you note. :) oh, and I feel better, thanks!

I'm too lazy to look for a source, but I learned i...

2008-04-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm too lazy to look for a source, but I learned in my nursing program that wrinkly sheets=bedsores is a little bit of a nursing myth. Of course, a "wadded-up sheet" is uncomfortable and should be fixed, but a wrinkle or two is really not associated with bad outcomes.

However, the chafing and friction from frequent boosting with a draw-sheet is very much associated with bedsores in addition to other things such as wetness, not turning the patient, and overall bad health/frailness. Oh, and don't get me started on backboards. Gr.

I was so thankful for the ice chips when I had to ...

2008-04-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

I was so thankful for the ice chips when I had to go in for a breathing treatment - amazing that the right virus can kick in childhood asthma - I thought I'd outgrown it.

whitecap nurse says: AMEN! especially the pillows...

2008-04-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

whitecap nurse says:
AMEN! especially the pillows - it makes all the difference!

Its not a lost art. How to change a bed and keep ...

2008-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Its not a lost art. How to change a bed and keep a patient clean and happy is the first thing we learned as a new nursing student. All we hear is culturally competent care, and patient satisfaction and such. We get nailed if we don't have everything perfect looking, IV tubing labeled with not only whats in it, but also when it was hung and when it needs to be changed. I can't hang a bag of fluid w/o relabeling everything and changing all the tubing. I was once scolded for not getting my patient a cool rang when he complained that his head hurt.

You are so right, we need to think of our patients in terms of how we want to be cared for. Damn nursing shortage makes that kind of care near impossible some days. I agree with a great blogger "my goal is to do something extra special for at least one patient a shift".

I'm not a nurse, or even in the medical profession...

2008-04-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not a nurse, or even in the medical profession. I read here more as a voyeur than anything. Unfortunately, I've spent more than my fair share of time in hospitals and, every time, it was the nurses who either made it tolerable or a horrid experience.

Before my twins were born I was in for an extended period of strict bedrest. For the first 2 weeks I wasn't even allowed up to shower. One night, one of the nurses came in and wheeled my whole bed to the sink, scooted me up and washed my hair in the sink. I know it wasn't actually part of her job and she probably had 100 other things she could have been doing but it made me feel better than anything else she could have done for me that night.

I know nurses frequently have thankless jobs and deal with patients who think you're maids and not medical professionals but there are those of us who know how busy you are and appreciate, even more, the extras you are sometimes able to do for patients.

Thank you for doing all that you do.