Defibrillator Battles

One heart attack down, another dozen to go I reckon.
Everyone smokes here, the maintainence guys are mostly over 50, or even 60 year old. They smoke about 30 cigarettes a day, and have a pretty decent amount of alcohol. Hell when I arrive at work in the morning to open the health center, the hall is full of the smell of cigarette smoke drifting up from the basement workshop.

The head of business has told me he's not keen on spending money on some defibrillators. "Well, there's legal issues involved" he said and "It's not just as simple as going out and buying a defibrillator." I shook my head at this "It is that simple. We buy it, then I show the staff how to use it. They're desgined so that even young children can use them. You switch it on and follow the instructions, which usually are "Push the button"

Anyway, to be thorough, I offered to have the school send me on a course to officially train others ie lay people like the teachers and maintainence guys, on how to work the damn thing.

Too much money apparently.

I wonder what happens when the next staff member drops dead. We had our first heart attack last week. Fortunately he survived, but no thanks to the health center.

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You don't really want the truth!!!

Is our curiosity insatiable? It would seem so. We relish the gory details. Whether on TV, in the newspaper, or in the bookstore, stories which tell the good, the bad and the ugly always sell... at least I thought so until now.

People love hearing the truth about what goes on in your average restaurant, the gross stories which show the horrible things which happen to your food. People love reading about the lies, cheating and debauchery of literally anything. But do people want to know what really goes on in your local hospital?

I think not. Again, the book I'm trying to get published, an honest look at nursing, told from a male perspective has been turned down. The publisher said it was written well, even said I had some writing talent, but they don't think books about hospitals and nurses will sell.

What makes it even harder is my book is not a cheap, nasty tell all book. It's an honest book which shows how amazing nurses are, what horrible conditions we sometimes work in, but also show some of the horror of what can happen. Why show the horror?

By showing the bad, we can see what happens when hospitals are chronically understaffed and managers cut staff. Maybe this way positive changes can happen.

By showing the bad we can see what it takes to be a great nurse or doctor, and show how easily it is to be a bad nurse or doctor.

The publisher enjoyed my work, but doesn't think the public want to know, as well as think the public can't handle it.

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Religion vs Nursing

A nurse in Britain was recently suspended for offering to pray with/for a patient. The patient said no. The nurse said 'Ok, no problem' and never offered again.

Has the world gone mad? Hell, nursing and caring for the sick has always been tied up with Christianity. There is no big deal about what this nurse did. She was professional.

If people find it offensive if being asked whether they would like to pray, then soceity is even more pathetic than i imagined.

Oh no, I got asked if wanted to pray, I need counselling. It's soooo offensive. Hell, I'll sue the insensitive religious buggers, that's what I'll do.

Simply put, we can't be too afraid to ask.

It doesn't matter what profession we are in. Everyone's so bloody worried about offending someone. Well, I'm offended that I can't ask. Hell, if the patient gets offended, too bad. Say 'Sorry, I won't ask again. I didn't mean to offend'.

Patients have rights as well. They have the right to appreciate what we do for them, and not take offense when none is intended.
Hell, any patient who decides to take offense is probably looking for an excuse to stir.

Patients need to show a little common sense and tolerance as well.
No one should ever be 'deeply offended' if asked in a non forceful or persisting, nagging way.

Get a grip you politico correcto's. A nurse should be able to offer if they feel it appopriate.

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Sick of Management

Aim of management - To get something for nothing

Aim of nursing staff - To give the best with nothing

From my first days as a new graduate nurse to many years later, all I've ever seen is senior management making life miserable for those that do the caring.

A classic example: Happened in my first ten months working. The ward was very short staffed and bed numbers increased from 25 to 30 beds. The charge nurse wanted to recruit this student nurse who had been working her electives there for the past four weeks. She was a great student who worked well and the staff liked. When the charge nurse wanted to employ her, the big bosses said no. The charge nurse (best I've ever worked under) quit as she was sick of not being able to do what was not just right, but safe, for the ward staffing level.

Within one month of her resigning, the student nurse (now a graduate nurse) was getting work on a 'on call' basis, all the time. This happened because the understaffed and overworked nurses in the ward kept calling in sick. The big management types realised that the extra workload with those five extra beds was too much for the already overworked nurses. They eventually employed the newly qualified nurse that the now resigned charge nurse wanted to.

Result - One great charge nurse lost. More anger/frustration at management.

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A Thakless Job

"Give me" said Darren, pointing at the medicine cabinet. I could hear Darren sniffling and blowing constantly into a tissue, but he wasn't going to get any sympathy from me. In fact very very of the teenagers in the health center waiting room would get sympathy for me.

"Ah Darren, what's your problem?" I asked, my voice deceptively calm. "I'm sick. Just give me some medicine" he said again, completely oblivious. "I know you're sick, but there's something wrong with your eyesight. Didn't you see the twenty other children in the waiting room who got here before you" I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder and gently turned him back towards the waiting room.

"But I'm sick. It will only take a minute. You can't do this. I'm sick" protested Darren. "I know, but you're not the only one here Darren. You're blocked nose is not an emergency. You'll have to wait just like the others" I explained. Darren's face went red, but not with embarrassment. "My parents pay your wages" he exploded as he pulled out his cell phone and hit the redial button. Thirty second later and he thrusts the phone to me "My parents want to speak to you." I shook my head and walked away. "You'll have to wait your turn just like everyone else. I'm not talking to them right now."

Sure enough I received a scathing email about how terrible the health staff are, how we don't care for the kids, how their child has been suffering terribly for the last month. It's normal. I expect it. It's a shame when you learn to expect this sort of behavior.

Oh, and if you're thinking I brought this on myself by not speaking to the parents, trust me, if I'd got on the phone things would only have been worse. It seems no matter how kind, how reassuring, how professional I am, phone calls usually go awry.

Oh well, maybe I'll get a job in anaesthetics.

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Broken bones & Bullshit

The kids at our school are privaleged to live in a ski resort, and even more privaleged to get two half days a school week to ski. It's just a shame so many break their bones. Two broken wrists on the first day. Both kids were jumping. I keep telling them to take it easy, but they never listen. Even so, I still feel some sympahty for these victims of their own over-confidence.

But there is a group I don't have sympathy for. In fact there's a group of students that make me want to bring back corporal punishment (caning).

Bang, bang, thump, thump, slam. I looked over at Stacey, my fellow nurse, "Ah, do you want to get that" I tentatively offered.

"You got to be bloody joking, you go out there" Stacey replied.

"I'll go out there then, but it won't be pretty" I offered.

The problem was that the health center was besieged by a horde of teenagers claiming they were either too ill or injured to ski.

One look outside at picture perfect day, the brilliant blue sky and glistening snow covered peaks made me angry enough to open the door.

"Why's the door locked? I'm sick. I can't go skiing"
"My knee's playing up, I can't go skiing"
"My mum said I'm too sick to ski, so I'm not going"

I motioned everyone to quienten down while blocking the door and physically restraining kids who tried to push past. "We're closed. You had your chance to come to clinic this morning at breakfast clinic. If you don't to your activity, you'll be marked as absent. Goodbye."

I began to close the door but someone's foot was in the way. I looked up at the owner of the foot. "Ah, olga, you need to move your foot, it might get hurt" I said, the soul of innocence.

"It's your job to help me. You're the nurse. My parents pay for you to help me, so do your job. I'll call my dad. You don't want me to call my dad." It was interesting to note the change in Olga's tone from just plain obnoxious to sinister. Olga's parents are Russian and as far as I can tell they've never earned an honest rouble in their life. Mafia, Russian Mafia, that about sums up Olga's family.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. Should I make her cry. Should I tear her to pieces in front of her friends. Nah, she's not worth it. I know how to make her more angry.

I forced the door shut, completely ignoring Olga.

I am a caring nurse, but I don't care for bullshit.

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