Nuggets for July 3

Okay, I could have waited for tomorrow and had fireworks, but I had to post this today.

Stuff's just too good to wait, and I'll be busy keeping WildDog out of trouble (i.e. chasing errant people and fireworks.)

An interesting juxtapostion
I forgot how I found Jess's Juxtapositions blag, but I really enjoyed her post On Central Lines. Nurses: you'll never think about them the same way again. I know I won't!

RIP 
You may not realize it, but if you look at your computer and see a little thing with buttons and a cord, you have to thank this guy. Who can think of computing before the mouse?

RIP Douglas Englebart, inventor of the computer mouse.

A law we need in RehabLand

If you assault a healthcare provider, you should go to jail. Period. You will very soon in the state of Texas.

If you're 50, don't ever do this
Not sure what you shouldn't do? Check this article. Some items are funny, some just look like they'd hurt.

As a contrarian, of course, I'll ignore some of the advice, like Jell-o shots. (I hate people telling me what I can or cannot eat!)

Enjoy your fireworks wherever you are!

Not your average day

What a day. All was going well, I was on time getting our patient ready to roll when, as I was carefully prepping a dressing, I inadvertently snipped an access line. Nothing like lopping the end off a central line that was scheduled to come out Tuesday.

Off goes patient for an early appointment to get this removed. No harm, no foul, but no one can bring back the "saved" time that was lost.

All I had to say once it was done...TGIF!

Stay tuned...

Pick and choose

That pretty much describes my day, or at least the attitude of most of my patients. Two out of three could get up and go in their wheelchairs and both of them opted out. One didn't get ready until just before lunch appeared on the unit.

The tasks of the day weren't terrible--Foley replacement, WoundVAC dressing and managing ileostomies and colostomies. The Slug did get on my nerves a couple of times, but I managed to hide my irritation, since that would just be something she'd enjoy.

Education showed up and we had an impromptu in-service on flushing and drawing blood from central lines. I learned that our facility actually marks the lumens proximal and distal on our central lines. We don't have too many in rehab, since we mostly have folks with PICC lines.

I helped a couple of other nurses on the unit get their people up and out of bed. I try to do this with at least one person a day because I never know when I'll need help doing the same thing. Since none of my people got up, I just rounded and turned people. One of the other nurses, A., set up two of my patients for lunch, so that worked well for me. I fed Mr. I'm going home next week. He's happy to know he's getting out before Christmas.

Two patients left today and none were admitted, so it was relatively peaceful. One patient got to be bed bingoed to another room since he tested positive for MRSA in the nares. It worked out okay since Mr. W. was being discharged and his room, right across the hall, was a MRSA isolation room. Mr. Hogg (not his real name) in the Clinitron didn't mind at all, since he'll have a new roomie who likes to stay up late at night just like he does. I like Mr. Hogg. He's funny and is another artist on our unit. He draws cartoons that are downright hysterical, particularly of staff and the occasional nursing student. One of the characters he drew recently had a cleft chin that reminded me of Hank from the Family Guy.

I finished my paperwork and got to check out some of our VIP patient's photos from his ceremony last week. They were really good and the organizers even had a book made to commemorate the occasion. I'm sure he'll never forget it!

After that, it was time to get my coat and go home. More tomorrow.