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The NursesPTO crew

by Jennifer Smith

Changing your name

by Wendy Kelton under Life

When a girl gets married, it is expected that she will take her husband’s name. This may seem romantic to some, like ownership to others. The process though can be quite complicated. The level of complication has a lot to do with where you are in life at the time of your marriage. A young girl just out of high school maybe has to change her driver’s license and social security card and that is it. A woman that is older may have a bit more trouble.

My first marriage was right after high school and I had no problem changing my name…7 years later I was divorced and everything I had accomplished, college, nursing degree and license, certifications, maybe a few credit cards, numerous bills, my four children…well they were all attached to that name. I did not change my name back to my maiden name after divorce for that reason. Then 6 more years passed…and I was married again. I have been married about a month and a half…and still not everything is changed over to my new name. Every week I try to change my name with one of the various agencies that knows me. It has begun to seem like it will never end. I couldn’t change my name at work until my nursing license was changed….so I had to use my old name there, my new name on checks, my old name at school, and my new name somewhere else…it was confusing! Many times at work I signed a medication record with two different initials. I finally changed my name at work, but all my logins to the med pyxis and supply pyxis and computers all still use my old last name…yet another thing to change…

All the while, my new husband has no similar distress to worry about. His name is his name. Some women decide not to change their name with marriage and I think that is understandable, and some men are accepting of that. Though I do know of a woman that kept her ex husband’s name even after 20 years of marriage to someone else…I have already told my new husband that he cant have his name back! This is the last time I am changing my name….not just because I love him with all my heart and am so happy to be with him, but well….it is just too much trouble! ;)

Are nursing unions necessary?

by Jennifer Smith under Nursing

Are nursing unions really necessary? I am trying to look at this from all angles of medicine. The first point of view I am going to take is that of being a patient. I have been very fortunate in my times as a patient to be surrounded by amazing, educated and capable nurses. A good nurse is worth their weight in gold. Nurses are not only the number one patient advocates but, they are the eyes and ears of the physicians. Most of the nurses I have come across in the past 11 years are great but, there are those few that made me wonder how they kept their license but, they did lose their jobs. So, as a patient, does a union make it harder for hospitals/clinics/etc. to fire bad nurses? The reason I ask this is because I was married to a union guy. Read More

Are more nursing degrees too much?

by Rachael Keilin under Nursing

diploma-mortarIn October, at the Blogworld Expo I had the privilege of hearing “Nurse Ratched” who blogs at her site Nurse Ratched’s Place speak on a panel. The most fascinating thing she discussed (at least to me) was a phenomenon she noted of nurses always undercutting other nurses. She had written a blog post about it entitled “nurses eat their young” and she felt it was the most pressing issue facing the nursing community today.

Her main focus was the ever-increasing pressure to further your nursing degree. Read More

I’ve had 3 colonoscopies. The insurance company was more painful.

by Wendy Kelton under Health

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I have now had two experiences with colonoscopies….I am only almost 32 but I have a very extensive family history of colon cancer and would like to stay healthy. My father died when he was 50, and he had a brother that died at 40 of colon cancer. His other brothers also had cancer and I believe a couple sisters that were diagnosed with different forms of cancer…I never knew this side of my family so I am not that well informed.

But I try to stay healthy by exercising, not smoking or drinking (too much) and eating….well a semi balanced diet. Colon cancer has always been a fear for me though. I had my first colonoscopy at 24 because of symptoms which I thought were concerning but it turned out normal. I remembered everything and could feel the scope inside of me. They said I fought terribly and was not a good patient. That experience was absolutely horrible though and I waited almost 8 more years to have another one done. This last one at 31 was much better. I remember nothing and everything turned out fine. I do wish there was a way to make the prep a bit more pleasant….

I was upset though that this time for my colonoscopy the insurance company didn’t want to pay for it because they do not pay for screening colonoscopies until the age of 50. I guess they would rather pay for colon surgery and chemo for me when I am 40 than a screening colonoscopy. My dad was dead at 50, and his brother had been for 10 years by that time…so I am thinking that 50 would probably be just a bit late for me….but the insurance companies do not care about such things. My doctor recommends I have another one in 3 years…and every 3 years…that is about 6 more by the time I am 50. Luckily I have a good job and can pay for procedures, but those that can’t like my father are just at the will of the insurance companies…

7 reasons I loved being an operating room nurse

by Jennifer Smith under Nursing

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1)  I could go to work in my pajamas because the hospital provides the scrubs, so I got to change when I got there. I could take a cute outfit to put on after work for any about town errands or about town bar hopping afterwards.

 

2)  I did not have to fix my hair because I would be wearing a surgical hat. A ponytail knot and I was out the door. There was an ample supply of hair essentials in my locker such as: hair dryer, curling iron, hairspray etc.

 

3)  I did not have to put on make up, my patients only saw my eyeballs. I would usually put on mascara but there was no reason to put on my full face only to be in a mask all day. Now, if I woke up a little earlier I would put my face on as not to scare my co-workers but, as far as my patients went, they didn’t see my face.

 

4)  I didn’t have to buy scrubs. The hospital requires that surgical scrubs be processed in a certain way, therefore they provided them and we put on a new pair each morning. If we had a patient that had any type of infection, the scrubs were changed in-between cases. Tell me that does not save some major cash!

 

5)  A guarantee in the operating room is a fast paced atmosphere and almost always an adrenaline rush. Even if the surgical case was an elective, scheduled case, trying to turn the room for the next case in a quick manner is a must. If you are slow at turnaround, not only does your boss yell at you, your surgeon will not make your life easy. If you bust your butt then not only do your supervisors notice but surgeons will start requesting you personally.

 

6)  You make some awesome friends because, the operating room is it’s own universe. We may bicker amongst ourselves but let an outsider try and jack with one of us and we would stick together. There are no float nurses in this field because it is such a specialty. The benefit of that is you are with the same herd most of the time. It’s like a family, a dysfunctional family per say but, still a family.

 

7)  A guarantee you would do something different, every day. You never know what traumas will roll in. You never know what surgeon is going to throw a fit and you never know what new drama has arisen since last shift. The operating room is notorious for some good drama, hehee.

 

 The operating room is a fun place to be, I think it’s a pre-requisite that you be a little off your rocker to work in this environment, I obviously fit in just fine. One thing you better have is, a skin made of steel because; you will be yelled at on numerous occasions by different surgeons (most of them apologize after their sphincters relax). I always enjoyed yelling back, there’s just something that makes you feel good about standing your ground. Actually, we didn’t yell at each other all that much, only days that end in Y. Then we would go drink a beer an laugh (if we were not on call of course).

Thankful for modern medicine

by Rachael Keilin under Health, Life

Before diving into yet another dry, overcooked holiday fowl this week, I am going to give thanks for getting to attend an old fashioned, rockstar-worthy, hotel-room-destroying party last Sunday night.

We arrived kind of late and the two other party goers with me kept staring out the car window pouting because they thought we’d arrive too late to join in the fun. But after pushing my mommy-mobile close to the speed of sound, we finally made it to the parking lot of the hotel. The girls composed themselves admirably as they walked past the front desk trying to affect a bored, nonchalant look. “Who us? No, we’re not yet another group going up to room 213. Please don’t call the police or the fire marshal……”

Through the hotel room door, I could hear muffled screams and giggles which were quickly squelched when we knocked. The door was slowly opened a crack as the hostess peeked out to see who was in the hall. She swung it open wide when she saw us saying, “oh, good it’s you guys! I thought it was the hotel manager, telling us to be quiet….again.”

We walked in to chaos. There were empty pizza boxes littering the tables, half eaten and abandoned pieces of pizza and drinks lying on every other available space in the two bedroom suite. TVs were blaring, ignored, while the guests ran around jumping on the furniture, acting like they were wired for sound.

Despite being late, we arrived just in time to catch the chauffeured car over to the hotel next door, where the management, in deference to the star of the gig, let our group swim in their heated indoor pool, since it was about 40F outside. After the pool takeover, the ensemble then headed back to the room, where the party continued late into the night with everybody eventually crashing on the floor.

You may well ask why I’m thankful for such a wild bacchanal at the almost rocking-chair worthy age of 41. Didn’t I get the memo that drugs and wild parties were sooooo 1980’s? Yeah, I did, but when the drug of choice is leftover Halloween candy and all the crazy party people in the house are under 4 feet tall, I’ll make an exception to the rule.

You see, this party was to celebrate my five year old daughter’s best friend finally being finished with treatment for a scary tumor her mom, a doctor just finishing her training, found accidentally back in February. Both of the girls had a little cold, but when our little friend had some nausea in addition to her headache, her mom took an x-ray of her stomach and found an advance-stage cancer in her four year old little girl. Nine months later her chemo/surgery/radiation are completed and her blonde hair’s just starting to grow back in. She describes her scalp as feeling like a horse’s nose, soft and a little fuzzy.

So this Thanksgiving I want to pause and appreciate the miracle of a little life saved by modern medicine. I am thankful for all the people who slave away doing unheralded bench-work in basement labs to create medications that heal us. I am thankful for specialized hospitals that have the knowledge and trained professionals to support us when the bottom falls out from under what we thought- just that morning!- was an otherwise normal life. I am thankful to have friends like the moms in our little group, who have never thought twice about doing many special things, big and small, for a family faced with the ultimate horror. And last, I am thankful for my two daughters and the reminder not to take them for granted. Every smile, every pout, every lost tooth, every trip to the principal’s office, every dance recital, all the trips to the overpriced doll store, the long car rides with 50 potty breaks, the weekday mornings filled with frantic searches for books and folders. I am thankful for each and every one.

kids

VIP patients

by Wendy Kelton under Nursing

limo

I do not know if this is a practice in most hospitals, but where I work it is. Some patients are considered “very important people” when they come in to the hospital and this allows them to pretty much do as they please. There really are no rules for these patients or their families. You might say…but that is unfair…everyone should be treated the same…what makes them more important than grandma? Well, apparently money and influence go a long way. I personally do not agree with this practice. Administration rarely show face in the units….but when VIPs are present…look out cause they will be in your room all day. They are catered to and given special privileges when it is others that could use the help more. I noticed one of the administrative team took a VIP patient’s husband to lunch one day…and I was thinking… but that other young girl down the hall has been eating off extra trays because she doesn’t have any money to buy food. And I am not blaming these patients for receiving this treatment, most of the time it has nothing to do with them asking for it.

I know hospitals need money to run and these people have money and influence and are possibly contributors to the cause…but still it just isn’t right to treat one patient one way and another a different way just because of an income difference.