Things not to do as a nurse, February edition

Yes, the fun never stops in RehabLand. Days ago, the State Board sends out renewal notices and today, they send out their regular newsletter.

Guess it's a reminder to answer those questions correctly.

We have plenty of our regulars: lapsed licenses and drug testing abuses. Here's the ones from this edition that you really need to put on your "DO NOT" list, students (and any other RNs for that matter...).

1. Do not attempt to substitute blue mouthwash.
Yes, we all know that certain forms of morphine smell just like some of the mouthwashes on the market, but stealing pain meds from terminally ill patients, is, was, and ever shall be unforgivable.

It will also cost you your license (there were actually two mouthwash switchers in this edition from RehabLand State Board of Nursing).

2. Don't go to a party, get wasted, then trespass.
This is also a problem, especially when you are convicted.

3. Do not share your Pyxis/Omnicell/drug dispenser password.
One person lost his/her license for this (and diverting narcs), but my question is, what happened to the idiot who shared the password?

Here at the Hotel, you would be fired for violating the information security policy.

Speaking of policies...follow them.

4. Don't assess the patient after a violent incident involving security.
This nurse was reprimanded for leaving that lil' old task to someone else. If your facility states you will assess following any altercations you must.

Besides, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Remember: you're considered in a position of power.

5. Don't just "borrow" a retiring physician's prescription pad.
When you are from a little town, people talk. And those pharmacists are smart. Hence the reason why they didn't fill any of your prescriptions.

And finally, my personal favorite:

6. Don't go offroading in the company car.
This applies to anyone really, not just nurses, unless of course your company car is an off-road vehicle and/or your job demands it.

Home health RN was out on his/her regular route seeing patients when he/she ran off road and damaged the axel of the car, requiring towing. Luckily, no one was hurt, but since this is a recordable incident while on duty, HHRN was required to submit to a drug screen.

As you may have guessed, he/she flunked (positive for marijuana). Remember kids, buzzed driving, driving while high (or getting high during working hours) is really NOT a good thing.

Passwords I'd like to use

With the all the Heartbleed news, (a computer security issue) I've spent a good portion of my evening trying to figure out some easier to remember strong passwords.

The Hotel makes us change them on a regular basis, and they've gone from 8-12 characters to a minimum of 15.

So at home, I'm trying to have a middle ground: strong passwords that are easy to remember.

Some I've thought about but won't use are:

• My phone number + my home address (postal). I might run out of characters with that one.
• Engl3bert!Humperd1nck. (just too oddball)
• Pick an expletive (I have used them in the past...because that's what I'm thinking whenever I have to change them).

So I'm going to go with some other options.

• Hiding in plain sight with non-standard characters (wherever I c@n!)
• Plenty of hints
• Creating a passphrase

Hope you enjoy your evening...back to the changing of the passwords. More later!

In the news

Since I haven't done one of these in a while...why not?

Here are a few goodies I've encountered in my meanderings on the internet. Hope you enjoy!

Surprise, surprise
I guess we shouldn't really be surprised that a reality show producer would try to get some free publicity for a new story idea via Twitter, should we?

I know a couple of my friends were crowing that they figured him out right away. I just thought it was funny.

A hot ride
The good folks at the BBC gave an account of some stolen cobalt-60 in Mexico. The authorities are looking for the thieves, since they have been exposed to radiation.

My expert, Dahey, says there's no such thing as a little, harmless cobalt-60. Nice.

Finally, if that wasn't scary enough...
This may be. Millions of passwords compromised. All you need for Christmas is a new one. Change yours accordingly, so the bad guys can't masquerade as you on social media.


Cross this off your Christmas list
23andme, the genetic testing firm got in trouble with the FDA this week. So much for my brother and Aunt Martha's Christmas gifts.

So much for...

Giving patients an easy way to remember their password on the Hotel's web portal. You can't even use even password-altered expletives on some sites anymore. Nice...

Guess I'll have to figure out more ways to alter pet names (as if I don't already).

Stay tuned.