Robots?

One of my patients recently asked me when we were going to get robots to hand out the meds like they did in another hospital he visited. They've been in the media a few times, so you just never know....

I can think of a few uses for a robot right now at the Hotel.

1. Monitoring one-to-one patients. If we equipped one with Taser turned on a low setting, maybe we could keep one particular character from ripping off his/her dressings all the time.

2. Entertainment. When someone wants to talk for ages, we'd send in our friend, the robot. "Gotta run, but BOB the robot will be glad to talk to you for a while." Or you could play a video game on BOB's screen.

3. Send the robot on emergency call lights runs for things like ice, water, and blankets. Now if we could add an ice maker to said robot...ooh!

But finally, I don't think we'll be doing this with our robot: marrying folks on the unit. I just don't think Giacomo and the other chaplains would go for it!

More later...stay tuned!

Happy, happy, joy, joy

The latest semester of grad school is finally over.

Dahey and I celebrated by going out to eat and I had a very lovely sangria. We had dinner at a hip restaurant with some of these funky bar stools. Afterwards, we marched around the neighborhood sampling at a few of the stores, and then we sat out on a patio with a coffee and an espresso version of these treats while the weather was lovely.

More to come....

And to end Nurses' Week...

The Muse, RN is hosting Change of Shift at her place...go check it out!

Thanks for including me in your list, and to start things off, even. Wow!

Back to the final paper....almost over!

You are the best

Thank you readers for nominating me for the Best Nurse Blog list over at Lydia's Uniforms. I didn't top it, but RehabRN made it into the top 5 (see this page).

Thank you all!

Nuggets for May 12

Yes, it's nugget time again, and I'm blogging on my lunch break here at the Hotel. Here are a few goodies I've encountered in between reading, writing, and working.

From the blogosphere...

Just don't go there
As ER Doc points out in a recent post at Serenity Now Hospital, some people just shouldn't have an iPhone.

Finding a pearl
NYCRN has this great post of the same name on his blog about how his reasons for being a nurse are reaffirmed regularly.

Don't just sit there...
Dr Ves over at casesblog tells us we gotta get up and going while we're blogging. So do I get points for standing and blogging?

Open a window...
Kim at emergiblog got the door shut on her plans, but a window just may be opening...you go, girl!

Off I go...enjoy your day!

The greatest nurse

I've only been a nurse for a little while compared to the people I've worked with, but I've noticed a few traits to consider if you want to be the "greatest nurse."

1. Roll with it, baby. My preceptor and confidant, G., instilled that in me in my orientation at Saintarama. Life happens while you're making other plans, as the song says, so always go with the flow and use plan B if you have to do it!

2. Have a sense of humor. As a kid, I hated shots. One of my favorite nurses, Mitzi, always found a way to get me to take them without them hurting so much. I use her line, "Dangle that arm like a dishrag and relax." a whole lot. Her counterpart, Rita, used to do a Bickersons routine every time she saw my mom, which usually sent the office folks away laughing.

3. Appearances can be deceiving, so use it to your advantage. Moral of the story: never mess with a 4 foot eleven inch former Navy nurse. MMB taught me that a good nurse can be tough and tender at the same time....and that nurses who work with moms and babies will take you out in a heartbeat if you mess with either. (Said nurse had to diffuse a momma/baby daddy situation before security came on one clinical.) She managed to do it without force. Whew!

4. Do what you have to do to get done, but get a break wherever you can. You're not going to be a very good nurse if you're crabby, have to pee, or have six phone calls to make . Prioritize accordingly. It may not solve every problem, but your bladder will thank you.

5. Sleep. Get enough sleep so you can deal with the tasks of the day. Many of your coworkers will slack off or work too much overtime, so someone needs to be paying attention.

6. Old school's not always so bad. Don't knock primary nursing. You may end up with less patients. My professor gave me the greatest compliment when I told her I was going to be a rehab nurse on a primary care unit. "That's what nursing is all about!"

7. Vent and get it out, but treat everyone you can with dignity. Yes, we get frustrated, but if we do nothing about it, it bubbles up and takes over. Find ways to relieve stress in a constructive manner, both at home and at work.

Happy Birthday Flo

Found this interesting article about Florence Nightingale across the pond at BBC News...enjoy!

One day

There was no rain
That riotous, sunny day,
You left us.
And we still remember, with a laugh and a tear,
This day in May,
As the cortege nears,
On its way to a soldier's rest,
Beneath the flowering trees.
The guns fire,
And bugles playing taps
Stifle the sound of tears.

Caffeinate...

And the countdown begins, amid cup after cup of coffee....

Three more days and class is out...for a while. Twenty-two days until the start of my conference.

It makes staying inside on a pretty, cool day worth it.

Please stop me...

From killing my new nurse coworker (aka crack New Nurse--and not for those brain skills, either...can you say klutz?) who keeps saying "I'm bored."

I'm thinking up some stuff for you to do, like getting ice and materials that I need, etc., but can't you think up something yourself? Every heard of reading a journal article (the Hotel pays for them) or two...or doing those online learning modules?

If I only had a dollar for every time he/she says "I'm bored"! Now back to our regularly scheduled program...work.

Mother's Day epilogue

My day:

Wonderful brunch with Dahey and Bubba, even if it was a tad cool outside. We had a nice afternoon stroll immediately following in the sunshine, playing by a fountain, which was a magnet for all of the little boys nearby.

The volunteers at work brought us stuff: fast food. Not sure why...no bingo games were going on last night. Just because, I guess.

One of our groups brought flowers for all of the nurses who were mothers and the chaplain corps handed them out while they were in the neighborhood for services. I told Dahey I didn't want flowers, but got some anyway. It was nice.

We celebrated amongst ourselves with a dessert cart...cake, ice cream, cookies and pie. That trolley and brunch played hell with my diet yesterday, but thankfully, it's only one day.

Back to the lions' den tonight, for more wild and crazy excitement. Stay tuned!

Reading and writhing

I had to take a break recently on a shift, because I got so tired of hearing everything second hand. Reading charts is a very important thing, especially, for all you new nurses, so you can really find out what's going on. Sometimes it doesn't matter if your facility uses SBAR, recorded, or in-person report, you just don't always get all the information, or you miss out on some interesting consults. Reading the chart will give you a glimpse into these items you missed.

One of our people had a CT scan recently that mentioned fungi balls. This page from an online medical dictionary tells you basics about fungi balls, and this one from the American Rhinological Society talks about sinus ones. (Warning: there are photos).

Another person had a PET scan. We don't have too many of those normally, but since a number of our patients have had cancer diagnosed while they're staying with us, we're seeing more of them done. I felt pretty confused reading the note on the procedure until I read this page (patient education from Cedars-Sinai) on PET scans.

While the material was not always the most comfortable to read, learning more about my patients helps me to take better care of them.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all from one of the crew. Moms do what no one else will do, just like nurses.

One sweet patient talked Mom into bringing us flowers from the garden and another had a bouquet delivered to the nurses' station.

At least it covers up the bowel routines a little.

More to come...

What more...

Can you ask for this lovely Mothers' Day weekend:

1. Weather prediction: storms.
2. Husband sick. Dahey worked and something worked him over.
3. That last paper of the semester looming over your head.
4. Working all weekend.

Here's to crossing fingers that I'll get to wear my new dress without being rained on!

More to come...

Semester in the crosshairs

It's almost over, it's almost over...and then it will be summer, for a mere three weeks.

I love school when it's recess.

Low tech, high tech

This story below is from Giacomo, my friend, hospital chaplain at World Renown, a fancy-schmancy level one trauma center.

Giacomo was at the nurses' station in a certain ICU unit, talking to a fellow chaplain, when he noticed something move on the floor. Turns out one of the resident varmints (aka good sized cockroach) ambled into the nurses' station in the middle of day shift.

Giacomo says to the charge nurse, "What's your policy on him?" pointing to said cucharacha. Charge nurse just shrugged and took off.

Being the manly character he is, Giacomo strolls over to the stopped varmint, smashes him and with a tissue, picks it up and buries it in the nearest garbage can.

Giacomo goes back to his spot with the other chaplain and says, "It's nice to know in this high-tech ICU, some things are still low tech." which caused an enormous roar of laughter from the intensivist sitting nearby.

I'll have to remember to tell our chaplain this story the next time he's on the unit....

Nuggets for May 5

Yes, it's the Cinco de Mayo edition of Nuggets, so enjoy your selection wherever you are!

Thank you, Uncle
The Department of Veterans' Affairs has spent lots of money on electronic health records over the years, but it's gotten the bang for the buck according to this article from Medical News Today.

You just never know...
We've had more than a few cancer patients already with us this year and this article is absolutely amazing: Cases: 17 years later, a cancer survivor is savoring life. (from www.nytimes.com)

Artsy
Dahey is a big pop art lover, so he enjoyed this book review called the Pop Revolution (from www.wsj.com)

My addled brain ain't so bad
This article from the Well blog at www.nytimes.com sure made me, a middle-aged nurse, take heed: The talents of a Middle-Aged Brain.

Kiddos, the best IS really yet to come! More next time. Thanks for stopping by...and adios!

Whew!

The days fly by at the Hotel Rehab when you're busy. It's been a lot like a bus station this week, with all the discharges, admissions and tests here, there and everywhere.

I got the pleasure of orienting a guy who wants to do everything himself. Yes! We don't get too many motivated characters. He's plugging away and wants to make the best of everything. I hope it all works out well. Once we straighten out his bowel, bladder and skin issues, we'll be set.

On top of all this, we had an in-service today. The Slug was a primo b*&tch, snatching my materials, so I withheld something near and dear to her...the presenter's chocolate box. There's no better way to get the nurses' attention but with a large plastic box filled with chocolates at the end of the day. It just warmed the cockles of my heart, as I ate her favorite dark chocolates before the box managed to get passed to her at the end of the presentation.

There was a big crowd at the pain seminar. Our people are some of the best customers for Ye Old Pain Med manufacturers....Percs, Roxies, you name it...we could have some people on the wall of fame.

Thankfully, when I got home, Bubba felt much better. After significant GI upset yesterday, he was happy and smiling today. Probably had to do with all the quality time he spent with Dad.

Oh, to be a kid again...just without vomit! Stay tuned...

Heard on the unit, volume 88

Oh, we have so many interesting characters coming and going, it's a laugh every minute.
Here are some of the silly scenarios we've had at the Hotel recently.

A little modesty?

"I gotta cover up." Mr. S.
"Okay. Let's pull up those pants and move the towel." Nurse A.
"Oh, I gotta stay covered up, so YOU don't look at me. I know you want to see!" Mr. S.

Say what? Do you know how many bare butts and gonads we have to look at every day? And, yes, as a professional, it IS strictly business. And no, I don't look anymore than is absolutely necessary.

But when you consider yourself Don Juan, I am not at all surprised you have such high esteem.

Why are you here?
Doc B:" Now we will start your liquid diet tomorrow and you'll have your procedure on Friday."
Patient Z: "Why do I have to keep pooping for an MRI?"

Maybe Patient Z misunderstood something when Doc B mentioned him/her about this earlier...oh no!

Patient satisfaction

Patient Y: "I want to talk to the head nurse. My nurse is sitting outside eating his/her lunch."
Head nurse: "It's his/her lunch time. What can we help you with?"
Patient Y: "Nothing. I'm just trying to stir up some trouble."

Yeah, so we don't look at you....right?

And last but not least, Mr. Demented left for a nursing home recently. He was in rare form screaming all night before he left. He cussed some on his way out and he said, "Hey babe" to others.

To me, he said, "See ya, babe." I'm sure we will...hopefully, not too soon!

More to come...stay tuned!

The sun is shining...

The birds are singing, I've got a new car to ride around in while mine is in the shop...and I have a brain cramp.

My paper is due soon...hope it will go away!