Yes, as the title mentions, I've been doing a bit! I now have a pedometer, so I'm counting all my steps around the Hotel and the SU. I get in extra ones whenever I can.
Today was a lot of different exercises. At first, it felt as if a lot of my day was an exercise in futility, but eventually, I saw that my work was paying off. Patients got updated orders and the MDs on the unit were happy I got them what they needed.
I also had an exercise in compassion. I had the pleasure of sitting with one of our confused characters and calming him/her down. It took a little while, but worked. So well, in fact, that I would have fist bumped anyone walking down the hall had they been there.
And finally, the real exercises come out. Dumbbells and bands and medicine balls, here I come!
Stay tuned...
Showing posts with label compassion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compassion. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, April 13, 2009
Nuggets for April 13
No, I haven't forgotten these...just been a little busy. Here are a few I found recently while perusing the net in my rapidly disappearing spare time. Enjoy!
Out and about in the health world
DNA test outperforms pap smear (from www.nytimes.com)
I can count the number of female patients I see at Madison on one hand. This article discusses a new test that could eventually replace the infamous Pap. Prevention of this disease is a very good thing.
In cancer, a deeper faith (from www.nytimes.com)
I really enjoy the first-person accounts that appear in this section. This one, geared toward the Passover/Easter season, is quite memorable.
Uncovering the secrets of gray hair (from www.nytimes.com)
I don't cover mine, yet! I really enjoyed this article on how hair turns gray. As usual, they found out much of the information by accident--researching another topic.
A little more nursing-oriented
Are you feeling a little burned out and need some helpful hints to post on the back room bulletin board? Never fear, the folks at the Compassion Fatigue Project have the Eight Laws all ready in nice PDF format. Here's a description of what they're talking about from their web site:
The Eight Laws...
Here at the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, we believe you can take control of your own well-being and create steps towards healing in your own life.
The following are 'Eight Laws' to help you create a healthier workplace for yourself, provide healthier care for others, promote healthier change in your life, and practice better self-care.
Just remember...if you don't take care of yourself, no one else will!
I found this tidbit about nurses at Hell on White Clogs: An open letter to every patient and their family. It made me think of a lot of things: patients, regular people and the good, old Press-Ganeys.
If only we had bosses like these
$80,000 for a year off? She'll take it
A law firm in NYC offers a third pay to associates to take off for one year. The not-so-bad catch: you won't be laid off if you choose this when you come back.
Finally
And just when you thought RehabRN gets all of her nuggets from NYC...I found this one via my ANA newsletter: Dean researching off-peak hour hospital death rate. It certainly made me look...since it seems like all of our problems happen in the off-hours.
Out and about in the health world
DNA test outperforms pap smear (from www.nytimes.com)
I can count the number of female patients I see at Madison on one hand. This article discusses a new test that could eventually replace the infamous Pap. Prevention of this disease is a very good thing.
In cancer, a deeper faith (from www.nytimes.com)
I really enjoy the first-person accounts that appear in this section. This one, geared toward the Passover/Easter season, is quite memorable.
Uncovering the secrets of gray hair (from www.nytimes.com)
I don't cover mine, yet! I really enjoyed this article on how hair turns gray. As usual, they found out much of the information by accident--researching another topic.
A little more nursing-oriented
Are you feeling a little burned out and need some helpful hints to post on the back room bulletin board? Never fear, the folks at the Compassion Fatigue Project have the Eight Laws all ready in nice PDF format. Here's a description of what they're talking about from their web site:
The Eight Laws...
Here at the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, we believe you can take control of your own well-being and create steps towards healing in your own life.
The following are 'Eight Laws' to help you create a healthier workplace for yourself, provide healthier care for others, promote healthier change in your life, and practice better self-care.
Just remember...if you don't take care of yourself, no one else will!
I found this tidbit about nurses at Hell on White Clogs: An open letter to every patient and their family. It made me think of a lot of things: patients, regular people and the good, old Press-Ganeys.
If only we had bosses like these
$80,000 for a year off? She'll take it
A law firm in NYC offers a third pay to associates to take off for one year. The not-so-bad catch: you won't be laid off if you choose this when you come back.
Finally
And just when you thought RehabRN gets all of her nuggets from NYC...I found this one via my ANA newsletter: Dean researching off-peak hour hospital death rate. It certainly made me look...since it seems like all of our problems happen in the off-hours.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nuggets for October 1
Here are a few goodies I've encountered on my meanderings on the internet recently. Enjoy!
From the blogosphere...
Hell on White Clogs had this crazy scenario involving Google and residents on fhe floor of one unit. All I have to say is...I'd have to say no to that cath if I didn't see the "real doc" with experience, thank you very much!
ImpactEDnurse had this post about helminth therapy...ugh! I think I'll have to show my allergist this one. I'd be scratching my eyes out, too.
Code blog has this story of the Bigger Picture. Oh, yes, I go there so many times. What do they not understand?
Out in news land...
The Chicago Tribune had this recent article about ways to combat compassion fatigue (aka burnout) among nurses.
The NY Times is running a special section called Decoding Your Health. In today's installment the author discusses using the internet to get medical information. I particularly like this line, "The goal is to find an M.D., not become one."
TV station KTTC of Rochester, MN ran this article about nurse practitioners recently on their web site. It also points out that Nurse Practioner Week is November 9th through the 15th.
NursingLink has this article about avoiding back injuries, which is a good thing, no matter what type of setting.
A subject near and dear to a rehab nurse's heart...bowel routines. Since it was recently National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, this article discusses how one Delaware hospital works with patients to relieve constipation.
From the blogosphere...
Hell on White Clogs had this crazy scenario involving Google and residents on fhe floor of one unit. All I have to say is...I'd have to say no to that cath if I didn't see the "real doc" with experience, thank you very much!
ImpactEDnurse had this post about helminth therapy...ugh! I think I'll have to show my allergist this one. I'd be scratching my eyes out, too.
Code blog has this story of the Bigger Picture. Oh, yes, I go there so many times. What do they not understand?
Out in news land...
The Chicago Tribune had this recent article about ways to combat compassion fatigue (aka burnout) among nurses.
The NY Times is running a special section called Decoding Your Health. In today's installment the author discusses using the internet to get medical information. I particularly like this line, "The goal is to find an M.D., not become one."
TV station KTTC of Rochester, MN ran this article about nurse practitioners recently on their web site. It also points out that Nurse Practioner Week is November 9th through the 15th.
NursingLink has this article about avoiding back injuries, which is a good thing, no matter what type of setting.
A subject near and dear to a rehab nurse's heart...bowel routines. Since it was recently National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, this article discusses how one Delaware hospital works with patients to relieve constipation.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Shifting gears
RIP Paul Newman...now there was a guy who could really shift gears!
Yes, I'm back to the evening shift and so far, things have not been too bad. I've had two patients and a med cart to lug around, but since our census is lower than it's been in a while, it's not too terrible. Our nurse who's famous for calling in on his/her shift to work on Friday even showed up last night.
Our census may stay low for a while since we don't have too many admissions scheduled for next week and only one or maybe two discharges. I'm sure all of the admissions will wait until I come back from my time off next week (Sometimes I think my middle name should be Murphy...as in Murphy's Law.)
My patients have been pretty good considering everything. Mr. AB #1 was back on my list. For some reason, I don't complain about people and I get to take care of the same people over and over. I hear my co-workers say things like, "If I have Mr. X for another day, I'll kill myself." so the boss reassigns them...to me. I must have "team player" or something stamped on my forehead in invisible ink, since I'm always "taking one for the team." At this point, I'm beginning to think that some of my coworkers have more mental issues than some of our patients, or just a heck of a case of compassion fatigue. I think my own compassion fatigue and stress from being the newbie has resolved itself...for now, anyway.
Mr. R. is also one of my customers. He's a trainwreck, who's heading to Washington this week for surgery. He's been made aware that it's very likely he could die during the surgery or not be weaned off a vent after, but he's going for it anyway. His chances of long-term survival are slim. I watch him very carefully, and thankfully, he's been pretty calm when I'm working. He desats when we reposition him in bed, so it makes things really interesting. The one good thing is that his bed actually goes into Trendelenburg mode, so we can move him more quickly and easily.
Finally, I have been busy planning in my off time along with other things, like buying a new furnace and air conditioner (ours is 20 years old and the furnace is dead) and going to doctors appointments. I'll get to do some fun stuff (manicure and pedicure) before Dahey and I go out and celebrate our anniversary. What joy! I love the pedicure place and by a stroke of luck, I found out about a deal with them, and it starts next week!
Gotta run and do work before I go to work. More later...
Yes, I'm back to the evening shift and so far, things have not been too bad. I've had two patients and a med cart to lug around, but since our census is lower than it's been in a while, it's not too terrible. Our nurse who's famous for calling in on his/her shift to work on Friday even showed up last night.
Our census may stay low for a while since we don't have too many admissions scheduled for next week and only one or maybe two discharges. I'm sure all of the admissions will wait until I come back from my time off next week (Sometimes I think my middle name should be Murphy...as in Murphy's Law.)
My patients have been pretty good considering everything. Mr. AB #1 was back on my list. For some reason, I don't complain about people and I get to take care of the same people over and over. I hear my co-workers say things like, "If I have Mr. X for another day, I'll kill myself." so the boss reassigns them...to me. I must have "team player" or something stamped on my forehead in invisible ink, since I'm always "taking one for the team." At this point, I'm beginning to think that some of my coworkers have more mental issues than some of our patients, or just a heck of a case of compassion fatigue. I think my own compassion fatigue and stress from being the newbie has resolved itself...for now, anyway.
Mr. R. is also one of my customers. He's a trainwreck, who's heading to Washington this week for surgery. He's been made aware that it's very likely he could die during the surgery or not be weaned off a vent after, but he's going for it anyway. His chances of long-term survival are slim. I watch him very carefully, and thankfully, he's been pretty calm when I'm working. He desats when we reposition him in bed, so it makes things really interesting. The one good thing is that his bed actually goes into Trendelenburg mode, so we can move him more quickly and easily.
Finally, I have been busy planning in my off time along with other things, like buying a new furnace and air conditioner (ours is 20 years old and the furnace is dead) and going to doctors appointments. I'll get to do some fun stuff (manicure and pedicure) before Dahey and I go out and celebrate our anniversary. What joy! I love the pedicure place and by a stroke of luck, I found out about a deal with them, and it starts next week!
Gotta run and do work before I go to work. More later...
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