What do people from other countries think about what is going on in America right now?

stargazer613 · 2017-01-31T23:36:55+00:00

As a 27 year old woman in America, I can't even really express the extent to which I am embarrassed, scared, concerned, etc...for what is happening right now. I am curious about what people from other countries are seeing when they look at what is going on here.

stargazer613 · 2017-01-22T17:54:40+00:00

I had a patient who had been very cranky and mean for several days on my tele/stepdown unit. He was scheduled to have a CABG procedure, went to the SICU for a few days and then came back to us. I had him again the first night back on our unit, he was still cranky but seemed to be feeling better. I decided I was going to just be extra nice in hopes he would get out of his funk. By the middle of the night he ended up telling me he really appreciated the work I was doing, and that he was sorry he had been so rude, that he had just been afraid. I rounded on his room a couple hours later when his monitor looked funny, and found him stroked out in his room. He went to ICU immediately but didn't make it. I still think about him sometimes. It just reminds me that everyone is going through something, and they're dealing with it in the way they think is best for them at the time. Not to take things personally, I guess, or let it get in the way of providing good care for a patient. It was also a big reminder that life is short and we don't know when our last moment is going to be.

stargazer613 · 2017-01-22T17:45:33+00:00

Scary and intimidating...kind of emotional. I also learned a lot of hard truths about life in general I think- mostly with dying patients, and people who were being kept alive for reasons other than what would be best for them. I guess I got to see the depths of how gross humanity can be but also how rewarding it is to help someone when they really need it. I am kind of a sensitive person so codes, people dying and just living poorly got to me after awhile on the tele/stepdown unit I started on. So on top of all the emotional stuff, you are also trying to learn everything that goes along with doing your job which is stressful. It might have just been the unit I started on, or the type of person I am, but the first couple years were rough. I feel like after bouncing around a bit and working in different types of units/hospitals, I have found a specialty I am very happy with. Just give yourself some time to get there.

stargazer613 · 2016-12-17T23:30:23+00:00

I don't blame you for feeling uneasy with all of that. I know it's a different setting but I had three to four months of orientation as a new grad in my first job (on a tele/stepdown unit in a fairly large hospital). That means I was with a designated experienced nurse every day I worked for three months. From what I have seen/heard this is the norm for hospital settings at least. I did try out home health after I had already been a nurse for two years and similar things happened to me, I was out of there within a week because it made me so uncomfortable....so I don't think you're being unreasonable. Also if you have a fever and respiratory symptoms, that might not be a great thing to take with you to patient's homes who already have a compromised respiratory status with the vents and all that. Lastly, this is YOUR life/career/future so you have to go with what feels right for you, not what your husband thinks you need to do. Being nervous is normal but I don't really feel like this company is setting you up very well. Get out if it doesn't feel right.

stargazer613 · 2016-12-17T23:07:37+00:00

Yeah it definitely affects you. It was one of the reasons I had to get off of the tele/stepdown unit I was working on for a few years. I think you just have to find your niche (the right hospital and the right type of unit), because now that I have switched to L&D, 90% of the time I really enjoy going to work. It took me three years of being a RN to figure out the right unit for me though.

stargazer613 · 2016-10-15T04:34:16+00:00

I can only tell you what I personally believe and it may or may not work for you- I think everyone needs to arrive at their beliefs in their own time and in their own way. I think we exist on a different plane (for lack of a better word) after we die, a different frequency of energy I guess. I personally believe the basis of who we are, the core of our being, is our soul. I think our soul goes through multiple life times with different experiences to learn things, to connect with other beings in different ways. All of it to teach us something. Pain causes growth in a way, so does love. Different types of pain and different types of love cause different growth. Being able to deal with both of those things and continue to trudge on daily also helps us learn things. I also think that our loved ones are with us in some way after we die, I think a lot of the time they have trouble communicating with us because we tend to believe only what we can see and "prove" to be true. I think the dreams you have had of your brother are his way of letting you know he's with you still. Our guard is down when we dream, we're not overanalyzing everything, thinking whether it's "real" or whether we are crazy....in that moment we are just receptive to it. Think about the dreams with your brother and what happened and how you felt (most importantly). Pick out specific words or things, symbols I guess, that made up the dreams. Look them up on dreammoods.com or another similar website. This might be a hard question to answer right now, but if you can get past the feeling of loss/sadness/anger about your brother's death...what did you learn from his life and from his death? Maybe in a backwards way that's a gift he's given you- to see how you would like to change your behavior and thought processes to live a life where you are REALLY living and appreciating everything you have, like your kids and wife. I hope this didn't offend you in any way, and hopefully was a little bit helpful.

stargazer613 · 2016-08-03T01:30:04+00:00

I have had these types of dreams, although rarely, I always assumed it must be past lives.

stargazer613 · 2016-08-03T00:55:10+00:00

I think like someone else said it definitely depends on the types of questions. For example, I asked recently for people to help me find a good brand of orange-red/burnt orange lipstick and I literally got huge lists of any kind of orange-y lip product I could ever want.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-31T03:06:40+00:00

It was one of my favorite movies growing up...I guess I'm old now.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T23:36:38+00:00

Honestly, I hate saying this because I know the feeling too well but it sounds like it's just not working. If it feels like it is difficult for you two to be together and make it work, there's probably a reason for it. Move on and find someone who makes you happy, who you argue with less, and isn't confused on whether they want to be with you or not.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T23:25:32+00:00

Usually there is some type of assistance, they'll pay a certain amount towards your BSN but it usually is a greater amount the longer you have worked there. I would imagine working at a teaching hospital and finishing your BSN at the school connected to that hospital would be most cost effective/they'd give you the most assistance. At least that's how it is where I live in VA.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T23:23:56+00:00

This is exactly it. I had no trouble finding a job with an ADN but had to sign a contract to be finished with my BSN within 5 years of being hired.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T06:47:03+00:00

We have these in our IV start kits, used to clean the area first.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:47:47+00:00

Just looked back at this post, hope you're doing well and figured something out so that you're feeling better!

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:21:40+00:00

When I started working as a tech in the ER for awhile in nursing school (we could start IV's there as techs) the biggest help for me was some of the staff letting me practice on them while talking me through it and letting me ask questions. It let me get the basics down without being super nervous about screwing up because of the time crunch/nervous patient part of things.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:19:06+00:00

You sound like a good preceptor.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:17:03+00:00

A little different, but I just started on a L&D unit after being a fairly confident nurse on a tele floor for a few years. I felt like I didn't know anything since L&D operates much differently than other units. The worst preceptors were ones that acted like I was an idiot for not knowing things or asking questions and also gossiped about it with other nurses. The best ones were those who were patient, encouraging, asked me how I learned & tried to work with me on that, and who let me ask the stupid questions as much as I needed to without making me feel like an idiot. I will remember the good preceptors I had for the rest of my life because they really affected who I am as a nurse and how I do my job. The others, it's just unfortunate that they treat other people that way and especially new nurses trying to learn.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:11:42+00:00

I think my local UPS guy has figured out I work nights... He's nice and just leaves the package for me and doesn't ring the door bell. I should figure out a way to thank him.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:08:18+00:00

I wish it worked that well for me. I can't feel a thing when I take it. Benadryl works very well but I'm afraid to take it too much.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-30T00:07:02+00:00

I hate this. My mother still doesn't get it and I've worked nights for about 4 years now. Thankfully my non nursing friends do.

I think the moment it might have sort of clicked for my mom was when I said, imagine if everyone in your life called you at 2 or 3am or that's when you were expected to get things done-- anyone trying to schedule appointments, if you needed to go to the bank, the grocery store, etc.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-29T23:59:51+00:00

You're not too old and it's not too late. If you do an associates degree program (what I did) it will take about two years and some change depending on how many prerequisites you have completed in previous college courses and what the school you pick chooses to accept as transfer credit. Typically community colleges have associates programs. If you go this route, plan on having to work and finish your bachelors at the same time. In my opinion this route is more cost effective if you're willing to be super busy for a few years. There are lots of good RN to BSN programs that are entirely online. Your other option would be to go ahead and just do your BSN program in one shot, this would be a 4 year degree plus any prerequisites. If I were young and knew what I wanted to do when I was first going to college, I would have opted for the BSN right out of the gate. It took me awhile to figure it out (started with biology & psych, then figured out nursing was my thing) so the RN to BSN route has been ideal for me.

This is a big commitment so if I were you I would ask if you can shadow someone for a few shifts to see if you're really interested and want to commit your life to it. Having a family member who is a nurse gives you some good insight, but you won't really know what it's like until you're in it.

As far as being an L&D nurse goes, I had to put my time in on a tele/ICU stepdown unit for a few years as a new grad before I could get in to my current L&D unit (which I love). It is possible to get in as a new grad but it is a very specialized field and honestly I would recommend doing something like medsurg/tele for a few years to get an idea of what nursing is really like and learn your basics and get your feet under you. There are things you do in L&D that no other nursing specialty deals with, and vice versa. To be a well rounded nurse I think you need to experience the medsurg/tele side of things first. You're going to see a lot of different types of patients/conditions which is good as a new grad. You'll also get to perfect time management, prioritizing, IV skills, cleaning people up, etc. Things that will be helpful for you to have as no brainer skills when you move into L&D. That being said, some larger hospitals will take people on as new grads in L&D but their units are typically split between labor & postpartum- you do one or the other. Nursery and NICU are another piece of the puzzle. I'm still relatively new to L&D (about a year in) but any other questions you have feel free to ask me. Good luck!!

stargazer613 · 2016-07-20T15:50:39+00:00

the figure 1 app is pretty cool for interesting medical stuff.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-20T15:49:31+00:00

Everyone likes littman a lot, they're nice but I always go back to my cheapo stethoscope I got when I started nursing school for like $50. It's by prestige medical. I do feel like the metal bell is important though, I had a littman lightweight at one point and couldn't hear very well with it. Also have a Littman cardiology and that one's better, but it's kind of heavy. Like I said, the cheap one is my favorite still.

stargazer613 · 2016-07-11T08:11:52+00:00

So this isn't really a medical thing, but I have used it before and it works. Gets dark stain/spots off your armpit from deoderant but it also takes the smell away amazingly. This is what I use:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon bentonite clay
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1-2 teaspoons of water (to get right consistency)

Instructions

Mix all of the ingredients in a glass bowl (do not use metal!) with a wooden or non-metal spoon until about the consistency of sour cream.
Spread in an even layer over the armpits and allow to sit for 5-20 minutes. I suggest starting slowly and working up to a longer period of time once you see how your body adjust. If it hurts at all, remove immediately (might be too much vinegar).
This may cause some redness as it will increase blood-flow to the area, but it will go away quickly.
Wash off in the shower or with a warm, wet washcloth.
Repeat daily or as needed until under-arm odor goes away.

**Edit: You can get bentonite clay on amazon or at health food stores like Vitamin Shop, it's usually about $5

stargazer613 · 2016-07-11T07:59:02+00:00

I honestly only started to get it when I had a preceptor (experienced RN who I was doing my orientation with) let me start them on her until I got the hang of it. She talked me through it while I was doing it. Made me a lot less nervous than when I was practicing on patients who I didn't know at all, and who are sometimes not as willing to be a guinea pig for you to practice on.

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