I have great respect for the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our nation's freedom. The armed forces have nursing corps, and during my visit to the Smithsonian American History Museum today, I was deeply touched by the small display that paid tribute to the nurses who served during WWII. Sadly, I think people tend to forget about the nurses, but I will not forget. Their stories are inspiring and part of the reason why I chose the profession.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Go with the Flow
Dropping my phone has become a habit; a bad habit that to this day I have not overcome. The back of my phone will not even stay on now, unless assisted by tape. Ahhh, but I love my phone; my phone and I have been through a lot and into a lot of things. She is a girly phone too, all shiny and pink like a princess.
There was a day when my little princess phone became a dirty girl. On the day she became a dirty girl, I made the mistake of carrying her in the breast pocket of my scrub top; I was eagerly awaiting a call, she was set to vibrate when calls came in, and the only pocket I could place her in where I would feel that vibration was the breast pocket. I thought to myself, when I placed her snugly in my pocket, that I was going to drop her today, and the question for the day would be onto or into what would I drop her? Early afternoon, that question was answered. A patient rang out to be assisted to the bathroom, only this patient was in the Chest Pain Center, actively experiencing mild chest discomfort. I, being the vigilant and thorough nurse, would not allow this patient to ambulate to the bathroom that was 6 feet from her stretcher--she was destined to void on the ever popular and loved plastic bedpan. After my patient completed her business, I removed the beloved bedpan, placed it on the floor, and carefully assisted my patient in redressing herself. When finished, as I bent over to pick up the bedpan, I felt a sense of dread, and then I felt my little princess slipping out of my pocket; I watched and heard her plop into the urine filled bedpan. My cat-like reflexes kicked in, immediately plucking her from her dirty bath. Ohhh, she was now a dirty girl!
After cleaning her multiple times with toxic wipes, alcohol, and again with toxic wipes, she functions beautifully. Now, she no longer rides along in the breast pocket of my tops, and when people ask to borrow her, my princess phone, I never tell her dirty secret.
There was a day when my little princess phone became a dirty girl. On the day she became a dirty girl, I made the mistake of carrying her in the breast pocket of my scrub top; I was eagerly awaiting a call, she was set to vibrate when calls came in, and the only pocket I could place her in where I would feel that vibration was the breast pocket. I thought to myself, when I placed her snugly in my pocket, that I was going to drop her today, and the question for the day would be onto or into what would I drop her? Early afternoon, that question was answered. A patient rang out to be assisted to the bathroom, only this patient was in the Chest Pain Center, actively experiencing mild chest discomfort. I, being the vigilant and thorough nurse, would not allow this patient to ambulate to the bathroom that was 6 feet from her stretcher--she was destined to void on the ever popular and loved plastic bedpan. After my patient completed her business, I removed the beloved bedpan, placed it on the floor, and carefully assisted my patient in redressing herself. When finished, as I bent over to pick up the bedpan, I felt a sense of dread, and then I felt my little princess slipping out of my pocket; I watched and heard her plop into the urine filled bedpan. My cat-like reflexes kicked in, immediately plucking her from her dirty bath. Ohhh, she was now a dirty girl!
After cleaning her multiple times with toxic wipes, alcohol, and again with toxic wipes, she functions beautifully. Now, she no longer rides along in the breast pocket of my tops, and when people ask to borrow her, my princess phone, I never tell her dirty secret.
Labels:
cell phone,
funny story,
habits,
health care,
humor,
nursing
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Just the Other Day
I like to think that I have a strange and a somewhat sick sense of humor. Working in the healthcare field only helps this along, and it was just the other day that I realized, yet again, just how sick my sense of humor is. At the lunch table, we were discussing roads we have all travelled, and I mentioned the creepiest place I have travelled to, Berkeley Springs, WV. At the time I travelled to WV, I had just watched the movie "Wrong Turn," and I found myself with paranoid thoughts as I drove down poorly lit, poorly marked, narrow, unpaved roads. My co-worker mentioned a creepy encounter a homehealth nurse had while visiting a man who lives in the Appalachain region in WV. Apparently this man had an above the knee amputation, and asked for his leg remnant to be returned. I jokingly stated that he must have wanted a new chew toy for his dog :) The man actually strung his leg from a tree in his front lawn and used it for target practice. Imagine the homehealth nurse's surprise on her first visit?!
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