Kids these days

I feel like an old lady reading this article, or perhaps, rightly so, like a person from another century. This is a non-nursing publication, but I hate to say this could have been about some folks (and some spots) at the Hotel.

I know startup companies (from reading, and hearing from my friend's kids who have one, not experience) often allow booze at work. That's not too shocking, probably because I did once work in an environment where we talked of imbibing all day, and we actually did it after work ("product testing").

However, who'd a thunk that you'd have to tell people not to have sex in public parts of your office building.

Different strokes. Ugh!

Stay tuned.

What not to do as a nurse, version 100

We have new staff members at the Hotel, so I'll be sure to bring along the latest installment from the RehabLand State Board of Nursing newsletter.

This issue was more sad than silly, unfortunately. When they say you are a "licensed professional nurse" they really are stressing all three of those things. Licensed (you have one) professional (you are one at all times) and nurse (the occupation, not just the job).

Here are the top 10 items: (I wish there weren't this many, but...)

1. Yes, you really can get a ding on your license if you decide to take some controlled substances you got in 2010, and for which you no longer have a prescription.

The little problem happens when your employer makes you pee in a cup.

Can you say "just dispose of this properly and get a script if you need one."? I knew you could.

2. Don't just screw up one thing, screw up many.

A nurse had a really, really bad day and just kind of forgot to follow a bunch of orders on an acutely ill patient (meds, isolation, etc.)

3.Sleep on duty.

Just say no. Sleep on your own time and no one ever reads about it in a newsletter or on the news. End of story.

4. More on not following orders: disobey transfer orders on a patient, then remove a surgically implanted port, then attempt to reinsert it yourself.

O.M.G. After reading this, I would have had a hard time not thoroughly throttling this nurse.

5. Just forget to renew your license for a year.

Whoops! No license, no job. Sorry!

6. You work in an office and you just don't call the patient back when they ask to reschedule. If that's not enough, you just forget other things, too.

My question: How did you pass your boards? Certainly you had to remember SOMETHING?

7. Do drugs (at work, at home, at some place you can't remember).
Yes, all of those came up this issue (cocaine, meth and alcohol). The scariest one: the pregnant nurse doing meth. And yes, the kid tested positive.

Hello, another state agency, Children and Family Services.

8. Fake your license renewal.
Because, really, who wants to pay the State of RehabLand money to work when you can do it for free?

9. Get drunk, go driving, and wave a gun around in the air.
You will win the following: an unlawful use of a firearm, peace disturbance, and driving while intoxicated charges.

10. And finally, the worst one this issue: steal a dead patient's identity to get a cell phone in his/her name.

Despicable... be warned, professionals!

Surprise, surprise

Yes, according to the CDC, five things cause most of the deaths in the United States.

I found it funny that alcohol is not mentioned in the unintentional injuries section. At least, it's recognized as a cause of 1 in 4 spinal cord injuries.

More later...enjoy your weekend wherever you are. It's gorgeous (except for that pollen) in RehabLand.

Sunday stealing, just for you, dads

I'm not exactly sure if this is truly the Father's Day edition, but I'm posting my answers below today for a selection of the questions.

Bubba was the pancake master for breakfast, and so far, our day has gone really well. Dahey liked all of his gifts.

Enjoy your Father's Day wherever you are!

What is your ring size?
Depends on which hand. One ring finger is an 8. My mother told me not to crack my knuckles, but I didn't listen...

How often do you wear jewelry?  
I'm not an accessory freak, but I wear "work-appropriate" jewelry every day.

When was the last time you consumed alcohol?  
Last weekend.

What is your favorite comfort food?  
It depends. I love bread (my greatest loss while on this low carb diet) and anything bread-like.

Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus?  
Asparagus would be first.

What color are your bedroom walls?  
I think the color is called "linen" (basically a white color, chosen by my husband).

With whom do you live?  
Dahey, Bubba and WildDog. We have visitors occasionally, but none lately. Dahey's got a couple of coworkers and a couple of cousins who've lived with us at one time or another.

Which Star Wars movie is your favorite?
Return of the Jedi. I'm old school.

How about Harry Potter?  
Don't really have one.

What was the last movie you saw in theaters? 
Probably Paranorman.

Did you get the popcorn or candy?  
Always candy. I'm a Sno-caps kind of girl (if it's chocolate, I get it).
 
Have you ever played miniature golf on a date?  
Yes. Over and over and over. Not a lot to do for teens on dates when I was growing up.

Do you always use good grammar?
I try.

Do you have an accent or a speech impediment?  
I have been told I have an accent, based on the region of the country I'm from.  I'm often mistaken for a Canadian. (You know, eh?)

What did you eat today?  
Breakfast omelette. I really wanted lots of pancakes, but I didn't make those low carb ones.


Do you prefer to watch or play sports?  
Play, definitely. If it's pro, I'll watch.

What size engine is in your vehicle?  
Depends: one four, one six cylinder.

What do you need to do tomorrow?
Get up and go to work (ugh!)

Just when you think you've seen everything...

Something completely different happens. We got a person who came onto the unit at the Hotel who asked to be "checked in" right at dinner time. Rehab is not a unit people just typically appear on, so this was the first red flag.

Patient then says, "Oh, I was over in the unit down the way over 10 years ago. Can I just go back?" Patient then describes an experience between psych and drug rehab (they mistake us all the time--no surprise when the word "rehab" is on the sign). I call the supervisor who asks me, "Do you think he's a mental health patient?" Yes, I reply without belying that the super has asked if he has suicidal ideation, which he did not.

Thankfully, I managed to get walk-on to the ER, where I later found out that he told them a different story. He was indeed suicidal, so he won a free trip to the psych unit. Not sure if he'll rehab or not at our lovely Hotel, but if he does, I'm sure he'll see the drug rehab folks, and not the physical rehab folks that I'm used to working with here on our unit.

Sometimes people just want to go home again at your hospital.

Stay tuned...

Nuggets for February 25

Yes, I'm a little behind, but I've been saving up so many goodies I've found, I thought this would be a better use of my time at this very moment, instead of getting ready for work.

Here are a few of the items I've found out on the 'net and in the blogosphere while meandering. Hope you enjoy!

Tips and tricks
Ian from impactEDnurse has a great little video about keeping air bubbles out of your IV
lines.

Not Nurse Ratched has an informal tip for you (or your patients) experiencing nausea. Not sure where it came from, but would be happy to do the research. The Hotel is full of smells, particularly on evenings.

While it's not a specific trick, this PBS segment on Dr. Atul Gawande's book, The Checklist Manifesto, talks about using checklists in hospitals and health care.

Jo has a survival guide to the night shift at her blog, Head Nurse.

Check 'em out
If you work odd hours, such as evenings, nights and weekends, you need to check out Life in the Trenches: Nursing at Night and on the Weekend. This blog is a part of Dr. Patti Hamilton of Midwestern State University's RWJF funded research project about nursing at these times of day and what happens.

We've heard a lot about the Haiti earthquake's wake lately, and one thing, you don't always hear about is how to meet the psychosocial needs of patients after disaster. Somehow, I stumbled upon this interesting CEU article called Psychiatric Emergency: Caring for Patients in Crisis.

The OMG section
Rehab is predominantly a low-tech area of nursing, because patients need to get up and running with a minimal number of devices. As an escaped techie, though, I never cease to be amazed by all the technological prodecures and devices that are on the market or will be there soon.

Liver transplants that do their job, then fade away is about a transplantation procedure, used primarily in kids, featured recently in the NY Times.

Coping
Bravo Roger! I found the Well blog article over at the NY Times which discusses life for Roger Ebert since his cancer surgery. Appearance is not everything. You might just blurt stuff out, as your wife says, but sometimes they are things we just need to hear.

Scuba diving accessible to people with disabilities? Check it out here in this article. (from www.pva.org)

Deep Thoughts

With all due respect to Jack Handey, I've been pondering the following lately.

1. Why, oh, why would someone's family think it's appropriate to bring granddad alcohol to the hospital? Especially when he's on meds that will make him really, really stupid (and potentially sick)?

2. What doctor would purposely forget a patient's Baclofen order, when s/he's been on a high oral dose for ages?

3. Why on earth, in this, the 21st century, do we still have to have books that read like this? And why on earth would your coworkers tell you, in a diverse organization, "That's just the way it is."
That, like rehab bowel programs, smells really bad and for one, I'm tired of it. It's one of the things that drives me nuts about Madison.

And on that note, I leave you, back with Jack...check out the notecards. They are a riot!

More to come....from happier climes.