To unionize or not to unionize, that is the question. Do Unions have a place in healthcare? They do to a certain extent. I believe in unions as long as there is a no strike clause in the contract. Strikes for healthcare professionals are just wrong because we are there for the patients. But in …
Oxygen for nurses
Time and time again in my practice as an RT I see that there are many nurses that don’t have a clue about oxygen modalities, how to use them or what is appropriate for their patients. Even some critical care nurses. In my nursing classes we did not spend a lot of time on this …
2nd mental health day
I went to my mental health make up day today. Even though I am very interested in mental health disorders I was less than enthused to be going there today. I don’t know if it was because its almost the end of semester and I’ve had some time off where I did nothing nursing. Or …
It’s coming down to the wire
The semester is winding down. I am ready for it to be over. I am at work today working in the CVICU, waiting for my first and only open heart to come out today. My patients are all taken care of for the moment and my charting done. I’m just sitting here thinking about what …
Codeine
Codeine is the most widely used, naturally occurring narcotic in medical treatment in the world. This alkaloid is found in opium in concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 2.5 percent. However, most codeine used in the United States is produced from morphine. Codeine is also the starting material for the production of two other narcotics, dihydrocodeine …
For the ones I wanted
I was busy in the emergency room Right away this morning when I got to work. Registration was starting at 7am and it was five til and I had two nebs and an arterial line to put in. What is a girl to do? I started the two treatments and while I was waiting for …
Clinical Catch up
Wow, I haven’t said much on this blog since my exam. I don’t recall if I said I did poorly on it or not. Well, I did according to nursing school standards my score is failing. (76). I am ashamed an nervous about the rest of the exams.(2) My last day of clinical was kind …
AA
My classmate and I went to an AA meeting tonight. Yep, alcoholics anonymous. It was for school. They sent us so we can hear their journeys, struggles, and how they became alcoholics. There were all kinds there. Since it is anonymous I can’t divulge specific people or stories but let’s just say it was very …
Not so good
I essentially failed my last exam. The grades came out today. What is a “C” for normal college students is an F for nursing students. (anything below at 77% is an F.) I got a 74.67%. That leaves my average as a B. If I do very well on the other exams and my other …
Clinical Update Day 7
Clinical Day 7 was a pretty busy one for me. I had two patients with similar stuff going on but they were very different and they kept me busy all day. And we didn’t even give medications! This coming week we will. I had done all my nursing diagnosis for the one more needy patient …