Archive for June, 2008

ME: Did you read all my smartass comments on Twitter when you watched Hopkins the other night?

MOM: No, I don’t want to do Twitter.

ME: C’mon, it’s not that hard…

MOM: It’s just that… if you’re supposed to type in whatever you’re doing at any given moment, then wouldn’t you just say, ‘I’m sitting at my computer, typing into Twitter’ all the time?

Twitter just hasn’t been the same for me ever since. Thanks, Mom.

As you know, I am always on the lookout for the finest nurse tchotchkes that can be found on the web, and one place I always like to peruse is Etsy. I present to you, Nurse Mouse. As it says in the desciption: “She’ll watch over you and make you feel better no matter what is wrong. She comes complete with white coat and little pocket watch.”

Not sure what she’s going to do with that pocketwatch (check my pulse with her tiny felt hands?) but shucks, ain’t she cute? I wonder if there is a male version. They could call him Murse Mouse.

Also wanted to remind everyone to watch Hopkins: The Series. It’s on tonight at 10 PM EST. I will definitely be watching and I will be live-tweeting my wise-ass comments about it via twitter, so if you haven’t jumped on the twitter bandwagon yet, now might be a good time.

My friends over at My Nursing Uniforms are having an excellent clearance sale on Dickies Scrubs and I wanted to call your attention to it.

First off, let’s review some of my favorite things about Dickies Scrubs:

• Durable fabric, yet very soft
• A flattering fit
• Lots O’ pockets

I know that I am not alone in saying that I don’t like to pay a lot for scrubs, so this sale is right up my alley. You can never have too many pairs of scrubs, especially if you work full time. Those of you who befriended me on Twitter may know that I am now only working one day a week but if I were back to working full time, here is a wish list of scrubs I would love to buy:

1. Dickies Button Front Cardigan ($12.49) This would be nice to have because I find that in summer, people tend to go a little gangbusters with the AC.
2. Dickies Camo Cargo Pants ($7.49) Because you know how much I love my pockets. These feature 2 roomy cargo pockets on the side.
3. Dickies Sandwashed two Pocket V-Neck Top ($7.99) Such a pretty array of colors; I would go for the lemon, sky or pistachio.
4. Dickies Sandwashed Six Pocket Unisex Drawstring Pant ($10.49) To match the top, of course. And yes, you read that correctly - six pockets! I would be in pocket heaven.
5. Dickies Bohemian Mini Mock Wrap ($17.99) Some of you may know my feeling on prints (don’t really dig them) but sometimes you gotta go a little Boho. This has the coolest little printed ribbon that goes around the collar. See? I’m not that boring ( ;

So there you have it! It’s really quite a sale, and these prices will give you a great opportunity to stock up on scrubs. As always, I will let you know that my friends over at My Nursing Uniforms are compensating me for this review, although the compensation was not dependent on a positive or glowing review - what I am telling you here is my honest of opinion of this sale.

Okay, I figured out why there might not be a lot of nurses on the Hopkins reality show which airs tomorrow night. Some of us are invisible.

Here’s an actual exchange that took place where I work:

Doctor: (not addressing anyone specific) We’re going to need an echo for this patient.

Nurse: (who is prepping the patient for a procedure, and the only other person in the room): Okay, I’ll call for one.

A few seconds later the doctor turns around and says to the same nurse, “Oh, hi. Are you here to do the echo?”

Look at these Hopkins Docs, rushing down the street! Off to save some lives, no doubt. Either that or they are trying to get to the Daily Grind before it closes.

So this Thursday night ABC is running the first episode of Hopkins. It’s a new reality series that showcases the lives of Johns Hopkins doctors. I’m looking forward to it, although I suspect it might turn out to be very doc-centric. I could get all in a huff about there not being enough nurses on the show, but I’ll leave the huffiness for those who do it best (Hint, hint, that means you, Center for Nursing Advocacy).

Besides, I’m a nurse at Hopkins and if people decided to follow me around with a camera, well let’s just say the results would be less than riveting. Checking vital signs and teaching people what to do with their new nephrostomy tube does not make for good TV. Now if you followed me around the MICU, that might be a different story. There’s nothing quite so riveting (and horrific) as a massive GI bleed.

Will you look at that? I’ve just officially outed myself as an employee of Hopkins (sort of - I’m actually employed by their internal agency called Intrastaff.) Doesn’t matter. No one (that I know of) at Hopkins reads blogs anyway, right? And nursing jobs are a dime a dozen these days, if they decide they want to ban us from blogging.

Anyhow, I will certainly be watching, and I might just live-tweet it. I have to say that I really love working at Hopkins. It is such a dynamic place. There is never a dull moment. I’ve met some spectacular folks there from the docs, to the nurses, to the people that sweep the floors, to the people that pray for you when you die.

It will be interesting to see what a an ABC film crew has to make of it all.

(photo taken by emdot)

It’s been a little quiet around here to say the least. I haven’t worked many shifts lately and so there’s not too much to write about. To tell you the truth I am thinking about shutting this here blog down and starting a new one in which I write about things other than nursing. As far as writing about nursing… I’m just not feeling it these days.

Ho hum. So anyway, here’s the latest version of Orientedx3.com. I’m happier with the look and color scheme. I do realize that when you scroll down the layout is seriously lopsided and I’m trying to think about how to fix that. I added a section at the top called “daily nurse” to post short blurbs about articles, blogs, or tweets that I think are interesting and nurse related.

In the interest of not leaving my readers completely unsatisfied I leave you this. The Laryngospasms are this completely adorable singing group made up of CRNAs. Also watch Breath, it will make you smile, I promise.

Apparently there is a wee bit o’ controversy over veterinary techs commandeering the term “nurse.” A complaint was made to the New York State Board for Veterinary Medicine, claiming that “nurse” is a term that should be reserved only for those who care for humans.

I’m not surprised that someone would make this complaint. Many BSN programs will spend precious class time explaining that nurses have some issues with image and identity, and there is a movement to make sure that nursing is looked upon as a profession, rather than just a job.

On the other hand, if someone wants to refer to themselves as a “vet nurse” an “animal nurse,” I really could not care less. It was this post, however, found on a veterinary blog, that had me ROTFLMAO:

Though I’m insulted by this RN action, I have a hard time defending the word itself. “Nurse” is an anachronistic, misogynistic term. Veterinary technician or “vet tech” is a far more descriptive and doesn’t denote a maternal suckling thing that has no place in modern medicine. After all, human nurses are technical and scientific; no longer do they fluff pillows and soothe the soul through their womanly presence.

Yes! That’s exactly what I’ve been wanting to tell my patients when they ring the call bell and ask for my help:

“Please do not confuse me for a maternal suckling thing! I am a human nurse, technical and scientific; and I will no longer fluff your pillows and soothe your soul through my womanly presence! (I’ll bet the male nurses out there love that part.) Sorry, looks like you’ll just have to lay there with your unfluffed pillow, I’m off to do something scientific and technical.”

(Many thanks to Shreela for bringing this to my attention!)