Nurse Blogosphere...leads to outrage!

So, I have hit the jackpot in regards to other blogs by fellow nurses, and some funny doctor ones.  And as I find lots of new blogs that I find amusing and helpful, I also find something that makes me fearful as soon-to-be-newly-minted RN. 
As I came across The Nerdy Nurse , I read a story about a nurse from Arizona who is facing losing her license for doing exactly what we are taught to do in school, advocate for the patient.  Her patient didn't completely understand what was involved with receiving an organ transplant, and she provided education to the client, and arranged for the client to talk with someone who could answer their questions about hospice.  The doctor threw a hissy fit about having his surgery cancelled and had this nurse fired.
Her state nursing association will not help her because they don't want to tarnish their reputation, and she unhirable at this point, even if she gets her license back, she would probably have to move out of the area to find a hospital willing to hire her.  I think this is just so awful to hear.  We go through so much work to become nurses, and one doctor throwing a hissy fit can have all of that work taken away?  The patient was not harmed, she did not administer any medications or medical treatments without a doctor's order, she simply provided education, and tried to allow the client access to someone else who would only be educating the client about their options.
I realize that maybe it could be considered as undermining the doctor, but in my opinion, the doctor had not done his job in making sure the client knew all of their options, risks and all.  He only offered information on the treatment that HE wanted, not what the patient wanted.  This is the true injustice, what if this patient had this surgery and didn't survive it, died from the complications, suffered as a result of the health regimen required to keep their body from rejecting the transplanted organ?  Maybe the patient wanted to just be made comfortable, and spend the time with their families with as little suffering as possible.  Those options should be given to the patient.

I hope this nurse ends up prevailing, because if not, it is really disheartening about the lack of support that nurses receive.  We seem to be the one who always get thrown under the bus.

In other news, these are blogs that I am enjoying right now:

New Nurse, in the hood.

Crass-Pollination: An ER blog

Doctor Grumpy in the House

Welcome to Weird Nursing Tales

Nursing for Guys  I'm obviously not a guy, but I have been following this one for a while, and I am generally happy to see the guys be successful in nursing because bitches be catty!

There are so many more, these are just some of them that have been amusing me.  There are so many I still need to check out, but I suck at blogging, so it is gonna take me a while.  This whole blog would really suck if I end up flunking out of nursing school because I choose to lose myself in nursing blogs instead of studying. :)

Anyway, I wish I was witty and funny like these blogs, so enjoy!

Hull House

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/01/27/jane-addams-hull-house-cl_n_1237065.html

I heard the tail-end of a news story that said "Hull House Closed", and I had to have Mike clarify what was said, when he said it again for me, part of me was sad.

Totally random for me as I am in my last semester to be jolted back to stuff I learned about in 1st semester with just the mention of 3 little words. However, it is still a sad day even for those who aren't nursing students, as this establishment served many under-privileged people, and I can think if lots of celebrity-endorsed charities that probably don't come anywhere close to doing the things that this place has.

But I guess if it is a glamorous organization, it doesn't deserve funding, right?

*shaking my head*

In Flo's Name, I vow.......

to not wait until the frickin' last minute to do my clinical evaluations.  Granted, I only have 6 more of these babies to do and then I'll be done forEVER!! But they suck.  Especially doing two days of clinical for each day.  The problem I found this time is that they changed the categories, so I didn't know if I should write out my care plan, and how detailed to be in writing out my assessments because when I was in ER, it was kind of hard to do that because it went so fast.  My head was spinning a little trying to write this. And I found a spelling error AFTER I had already emailed it, when my instructor stresses the importance of making sure your spelling is always correct!

It isn't my best work, but I did as good a job as I could given that each instructor is different, and the first eval is always difficult to guage.  I am sure she will correct me LOTS! lol

On to more homework and studying!!

I love Nurstoons!!

Source: http://nurstoon.com/comic179.html

This is what it feels like sometimes as a student.  This cartoon strip definitely provides some laugh therapy!

Who started her first IV today??

This girl!!!

I was nervous about being in the ER today for clinical.  I knew there was a high chance of having to start IVs  or Foleys, and I have practiced.....but haven't done either on an actual patient.  So I was nervous!  I was with an awesome nurse today, and she really helped make me feel more comfortable as the time came to start my first IV.  She walked through the catheter syringe with me, and as I was selecting the site I was going to stick, she helped me, and told me where to insert the needle at.  It was a success on the first try!!  I was so happy that I got it without having to try a bunch of times!!  I would have felt awful if I was that nursing student who put the patient through  a ton of sticks.  I got to start several IVs and I got to do some butterfly venipunctures to draw labs on a few other patients, and all of them were with just one stick!!

The amount of happiness this gives me can not be explained, and is otherwise considered a weird thing to be happy about by most people.  Who is happy that they stuck a needle into someone's vein and drew blood??! lol  Nursing students, that's who! :)

I also got a beam of hope that I may get to be in ICU for my Capstone.  That's all I am calling it for now because that may be all it ends up being, but it was enough to brighten my day.  I just have to get 100% on my first Critical Care exam, lol.  I was just happy that I was able to have some discussion with my instructor about it, and that she isn't solely going by our letters of intent (hopefully). 

Then my husband brings me roses when he comes home from work.  I am extremely excited about my day, and just gotta kick it into high gear and keep up with the rest of the semester!!!  So much excitement!!!

Trying

I am trying to be better. I am what you would call chronically late. Sometimes it is because I get lazy when I am comfortable in my PJs and I don't wanna move. However, truly, it's because my brain gets too tied up in some idea, and I think...."just 5 more minutes and then I'll get going!" I read a news story, and I know there has to be more to the story here, and I google the local newspaper of wherever this story originates until I get the whole story. Stupid, but there have been a lot of times where articles are not written in an unbiased manner, and I need to see both sides.

I also can get overly vain, and my hair will NEED just a bit more blow drying to be acceptable. Personal flaw, sue me.

I am trying to be better about getting things ready the night before so I am not frantically trying to put things together. Of course, even with the best intentions, I will still be late, but at least I know I have everything I need.

So I spent time between classes printing out class notes for the next few weeks, and when I came home tonight, I got some things together for clinical tomorrow.

But I need to stop being late. I hate the feeling I get when I feel rushed. This will make me a better student, a better employee, and a better friend/relative.

So tonight I am just going to try to prepare the best I can for tomorrow. I will be in the ICU, and I have no idea what to expect. I want to shine, I want to provide the best care that I can. I also really want to see if ICU is something that will be a good fit for me someday, or to really cement that labor & delivery is where I belong.

The best way I can explain it is this: you are at Cheesecake Factory, and there are PAGES of choices. Who needs 3 pages of appetizers to choose from??! Ok, so there are these endless options, but you can only pick one meal. If you don't like it, too bad. You don't get to order something else, at least not at this time, so you ate stuck with this crappy meal that you don't like. So, you only get one first job as a new nurse, and I am terrified of it not being one that tastes good..err, scratch that....I mean, one that doesn't fit me well.

This is where I wish I had this passion right away for one area, it would make this point in my life less anxiety-inducing. Oh well! All I can do is push forward, and see where things take me!

Public Service Announcement

Source:http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2011/10/18/what-your-poop-and-pee-are-telling-you-about-your-body ">What Your Poop and Pee Mean