violence in our hospitals. the wolf who cries boy.

reflective practice. 7 Responses »
Jan 162012
violence in our hospitals. the wolf who cries boy.

  Every day in emergency departments and hospital wards all over the country, medical staff are exposed to incidents of violence and aggression.  Much of it goes under reported. Even so, you would think that violence involving a weapon and including a threat to kill would be taken a little more seriously. A report on  cairns.com sites a lack of clear policy for the delay of more than eight hours for police to be notified of a serious incident of violence in the emergency department of Cairns Base Hospital. A 46 year old patient agitated that he was refused admission [continue reading this...]

Posted by impactEDnurse on January 16, 2012

Road trip with Thumper.

not just a nurse. 1 Response »
Jan 122012
Road trip with Thumper.

Thinking of taking a road trip on Thumper from mid next week1. Down to Victoria (into the ‘Respect our Work‘ heartlands), and out onto the Great Ocean Road. A little Zen time. Will be traveling light ( but will have my iPad ) and taking the road less traveled, so posts may get a little quiet depending on WiFi/phone coverage etc. If Im unable to post during the trip (Will more likely be posting along the way on Facebook and Twitter), I will definitely be writing,  and I will give the catchup when I get back. In the meantime here [continue reading this...]

Posted by impactEDnurse on January 12, 2012

Victorian nurses actions: “Respect our Work”.

piss and vinegar 8 Responses »
Jan 112012
Victorian nurses actions:

Members of the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing Federation have been undertaking industrial actions since November last year after failing to reach an agreement with the Victorian Hospitals Industry Association (VHIA) and the Victorian government, with respect to their enterprise bargaining agreement. The following is a guest post from a nurse working somewhere in Victoria, Australia. She is one of many currently struggling to improve the nurses working conditions and the standard of patient care in that state. I know this nurse, and she deserves to be heard. The use of negotiation as a term to describe what is [continue reading this...]

Posted by impactEDnurse on January 11, 2012

how to collect a mid-stream urine specimen.

tips and tricks 1 Response »
Jan 092012
how to collect a mid-stream urine specimen.

Urine does not normally contain any significant numbers of micro-organisms. However, it can become contaminated from bacteria or yeasts introduced into the urinary tract. The resulting infection causes symptoms of pain or burning during urination (dysuria),  frequency and a cloudy, offensive smelling urine. Most urinary tract infections (UTI’s) are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). Other frequently identified bacteria are Proteus, Klebsiella, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus1. Why send an MSU? Once a mid stream urine (MSU) is obtained, the laboratory dudes are able to count the number of white blood cells (pus cells) or micro-organisms such as bacteria or yeast (colony [continue reading this...]

Posted by impactEDnurse on January 9, 2012

back to the bedside. 8 in 8.

ectopics 12 Responses »
Jan 082012
back to the bedside. 8 in 8.

These days being a nurse is tough. Really tough. I look around and see many struggling at the bedside. I see the increasing perception that this is menial or bottom-of-the-professional-foodchain work. I see more and more of this sort of feeling online: “I Coach Nurses” is a community set up to “help struggling nurses escape the bedside by creating highly profitable businesses with meaningful impact.” These sort of sites promise to help disillusioned nurses reinvent and themselves using their nursing skills and knowledge. So, I went from restless, unfulfilled bedside nurse to practically jumping out of my bed with excitement [continue reading this...]

Posted by impactEDnurse on January 8, 2012
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