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When a Nurse Says: I Don't Care - nurse phone

When a Nurse Says: I Don’t Care

“I don’t care. “ Those aren’t the words you want to hear coming from the mouth of a nurse. Now, true, nurses are human, and there are things that we don’t care about, but the phrase itself, while on the job,  just sounds so …. unprofessional. As nurses, we encounter so many challenges every day. Often we have to wait on other departments, facilities, or patients. If we are not waiting on something (a lab, a transporter, a phone call), we rush to do or get something done ourselves. It’s very much a feast or famine profession. Things rarely progress […]

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Code Brown, not Nearly as Exciting, but Often More Enlightening than the Blue Variety

How much poop can an old man poop if an old man hasn’t pooped in a week? A buttload. It was inevitable, don’t you think. I am after all, a floor nurse. Many of my patients have had bowel surgeries, or are attempting to avoid them. How long could I have possibly gone without writing at least one post about poop? In  my experiences as a nurse I have had the pleasure, and sometimes disappointment, of dealing with a wide range of characters. I have learned to appreciate the wisdom and wit of little old men. I have learned to

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The Hardest Shift I've Ever Had - A long, eventful, tearful, and stressful journey as a night nurse

The Hardest Shift I’ve Ever Had – A long, eventful, tearful, and stressful journey as a night nurse

One of most terrible nights as a nurse was early in my career.

My patients were all high acuity patients. It was a night full tubes, drains, fall risks, confusion, decubitus ulcer, vascular wounds, PICC lines, central lines, shunts, stents, pacers, OG tubes, family conflicts, blood transfusions, fresh post-ops, spina bifida, and sadness. In addition to the loads of problems the fact that nearly all of my patients required constant attention and management made for a very busy, and emotionally trying evening.

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