I'm ready for a change!!!

The personality test I took means that based on the standard measure of personality traits, your natural leadership skills make you the go-to person during times of crisis or needed inspiration. You are blessed with the ability to maintain balance in the office or motivate others to join the team. You possess excellent communication and people skills, and help maintain a positive work atmosphere that allows people to grow. You remain focused and encourage others to reach a common goal.

You dislike office politics and try not to get involved in the murk. Instead, you rise above it all with your understanding nature. You like taking control of situations and projects, but do not flaunt your power in people's faces. You have a deft touch and inspire others with your magnetic charisma. You are well organized and are a strong multi-tasker.

Surprisingly enough, the above actually describes me pretty closely. I hope it's true because I'm up for a new job at work right now. Monday through Friday salaried position with an office of my own.. Cross your fingers!!!! I'm really ready for a change and it will be a challenge.. I want it real bad!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to pop in and tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving! Had to work today but will celebrate tomorrow.. Stay safe!

Oh, I Get It..

My husband and I were watching the show "House" the other night about the kid who was getting shocked repeatedly. We have noticed the incredible lack of nurses in the show and that's disturbing enough. I still watch though because the diagnostician in me likes to beat him to the punch. Sometimes they stump me, but it's fun to play the game.
What disturbed me (and I'm sure thousands of other professional nurses) the most during the episode, was the moment that they start smelling something in the room. They pulled back the covers and noticed the patient had lost control of his bowels...What do they say???????

We need a nurse in here.

Why?? Can't they clean up the patient themselves? Are they too good to get their hands dirty? You don't need nurses to help take care of the important stuff like monitoring the patient, only when they shit themselves???? How freaking arrogant once again!!!

Besides, the writers need to figure out medical stuff.. Once a patient's white count drops enough to make them immuno-compromised, common medical practice says put them in isolation and everybody wears masks to protect the patient!!!

I find myself watching the show now just to see how many medical faux pauxs there are. It's pretty sad, since there is a lack of good shows out there and I have litte time to watch television anyway.... I can't wait for Scrubs to come back on.. At least I can laugh at that....

Please Buckle Up Your Kids!

I swear to God if I see one more kid out of a seatbelt, I'm going to go vigilante on somebody! I see it every day when I pick up my son from school. Kids hanging out of windows, kids riding in the back of pickup trucks, (yeehaw!) and basically jumping around in the car. It just drives me absolutely, frigging batty!!!!!!!
Once when I was pregnant with my youngest, I was sitting in my car waiting for my husband to come out of a store when this chick pulled up in a Trans Am with two kids sitting in the front passenger seat. One was about 4 years old and the other was under a year old. I said pleasantly of course, "where's the car seats?" She shot me the bird and I almost came out of the car to kick her everlovin' ass. Ooppss, I remembered I was pregnant. Damn!

"Did you know...

During 2003, 8,089 passenger vehicle occupants under 15 years old were involved in fatal crashes. For those children, where restraint use was known, 30 percent were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 53 percent were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2004)


In 2003, 21 percent of the children under 15 years old who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes. (NHTSA, 2004)


Of the children 0-14 years old who were killed in alcohol-related crashes during 2003, 47 percent (209) were passengers in vehicles with drivers who had been drinking. (NHTSA, 2004)


It is estimated that 446 children under age 5 were saved as a result of child restraint use in 2003. An estimated 7,020 lives were saved by child restraints from 1975-2003. (NHTSA, 2004)


Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children from two to 14 years of age. (NHTSA, 2003) "

Please buckle up your children if you love them! I don't want to read in the obituaries about the fatalities. Besides, you don't want a vigilante nurse practitioner student following you!

Factors That Can Cause Sexual Difficulties

     There are many factors that can affect people’s sex lives. Medications, smoking, surgeries, illnesses, disabilities, and recreational drugs can interfere with sexual response and satisfaction. Chronic illness can be especially devastating because it tends to sneak up on a couple. It can appear as though one is losing interest when in fact, it is the result of circulatory function loss. Diabetes is the leading cause for erectile dysfunction in men. Neuropathy can cause a person to use their hands and fingers less during sex due to pain stimuli that interferes with pleasure.
     Medications related to psychiatry, hypertension, and some over the counter antihistamines can cause problems with desire, arousal delay, orgasm, and erectile dysfunction. One should ask their healthcare provider about potential side effects of medications of antidepressants, tranquilizers, and anti-cancer drugs etc.
     Performance anxiety can play a large part in sexual dysfunction. With all of the media hype about multiple orgasms for woman and the seemingly endless stamina of men, many people feel like they cannot compete. This sets a person up for failure from the start. Worrying about a recurrence of this can result in a vicious cycle causing many to stop attempting to have sex at all.
     Body image is very important to sexual satisfaction. It is well known that women worry about how they look due to media hype over the perfect, thin woman. Women who think they look good tend to rate their sex lives higher. Men also must live up to media standards of washboard stomachs and stamina. Many men take steroids that can cause sexual side effects of their own.
     Being a victim of sexual assault or abuse can severely limit one’s perception of a good sex life. Flashbacks can occur and interfere with good sexual activity ruining the mood. It is vitally important that one’s partner understands that this can happen even years after an incident of abuse or assault.
     Pain or orgasm difficulties can cause problems as well. Sometimes one either has an orgasm too fast or cannot have an orgasm at all. Women may have pain from inadequate arousal or lubrication. Sometimes, it’s a matter of positioning. Some women have shorter vaginal canals, and in certain positions, men can hit the cervix causing pain. Men may have pain due to prostate, bladder, or urethral infections that can cause pain during or after ejaculation. For men, there is a condition known as Peyronie’s disease caused by fibrotic tissue and calcium deposits in the penis. This can cause extreme curvature than can interfere with coitus or erection.

Reference:
Crooks R., & Bauer K., (2005). Our Sexuality. California: Thomson Wadsworth.



     

Look where I am!

Scroll down and see where some of the nursing blogs have ended up! I really like looking at my referral list and the site meter. It's amazing where people come from and where one's blog ends up being posted! I especially like finding myself in places where I haven't actually attempted to put a link to.. I think being listed on a university site lends a bit of credibility.
Well, I'm done tooting my horn for a little while!!

Dr. Helen's story

I just read Dr. Helen's story via Grand Rounds and it really struck a chord. Too many times women ignore symptoms or are diagnosed with something insignificant and are missed completely until it's too late. I have been "poking a stick" at a health condition of my own and am finally going to take a very active role in getting diagnosed. I don't want to die trying!
I have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism but don't think it's the only condition I'm dealing with. I have been told that I have fibromyalgia. While I understand that it's a valid condition, I almost would rather have something that has a definitive test so I can feel less crazy.
I have Lupus like symptoms but with a negative ANA titer. After doing some extensive web surfing, I think I have finally diagnosed myself. I now have to make a list of the determinant blood tests and go see my nurse practitioner. Sounds like a great plan! Now I have to get off my duff and do it.
If any of you have been dealing with mysterious or not so mysterious symptoms, please do something about it. Health care professionals are really bad about not taking care of themselves because we are always trying to take care of others. You know who you are!!!!!
Now for my elusive symptoms! Let's play diagnostician!! If you can guess what I think it is, please post so I can compare differential diagnoses. Are we ready to play??

Extreme fatigue
Diffuse hair loss (no bald spots yet thank goodness! and not where I would like to be bald!)
Butterfly rash when exposed to sunlight
Knots underneath the skin from my knees to my hips and from my elbows to my shoulders that feel like a fibrotic mesh of pain from hell when any pressure applied.
Tearing pain from my left inner knee to mid-thigh like someone just stabbed a knife and drug it upwards that comes and goes without any predisposing factors like exercise or rest
Anxiety attacks at night that feel like I'm going to die any minute (the ones that feel like you are drifting out of your body and if you don't concentrate REALLY hard you might not come back)

Curiously enough, if I was ready to die, the experience would be pleasant. I hope that's how it really feels to "let go". It won't be scary when I'm ready.
Off I go to do more homework!! Eagerly awaiting any answers!!!

This is too cool from Grunt Doc's site

Went surfing for the Grand Rounds and found this really good video about ER nurses. I usually don't like rap but it's old school!!

Some great advice for Nurses and Nursing Students

Someone will always be smarter.
Their house will be bigger.
They will drive a better car.
Their children will do better in school.
And their partners will fix more things around the house.
So let it go and love you and your circumstances.
Think about it.
The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.
And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.
The richest woman you know - she's got the car, the house, the clothes - might be heartbreakingly lonely.
So, love you.
Love who you are right now.
Tell yourself, "I am too blessed to be stressed."
"To the world you might be one person, but to
one person you just might be the world."
Possibilities and miracles are one and the same.
Author Unknown

I received this in an email and thought it may be appropriate for nurses and nursing students of all kinds. Hang in there and remember that we are making a difference in people's lives.