Note to Nurse Day: but I dont need to write a silly note.

Note to Nurse Day. May 9th 2013. Why bother sending a note to a nurse? I mean, come on,  that’s all a bit soft around the edges isn’t it? After all, I show my appreciation every day to my colleagues…. and the nurses that I really think make a difference already know as much….. Besides, if I sent a note to one or two nurses, some of the other nurses are bound to get their noses put out of joint no? And besides the first besides, writing little warm fuzzy notes to people isn’t…..well it just isn’t me. OK then. [continue reading this...]

Aged care activity box for emergency departments.

At a recent meeting one of my colleagues proposed we start a dementia activity box for our department. This, I thought, sounds like a particularly good idea, and might even be extended to include some resources for the aged without dementia. As a department, we are very good at providing play equipment and distraction activities for our paediatric patients, but the elderly spend far longer in our care and are oftentimes left staring at the ceiling. For ever. It got me thinking as to what sort of kit we would include in such an activity box. Here are some ideas [continue reading this...]

The Thunderbox Papers: recognising VT.

The Thunderbox Papers are a set of short pithy one page information sheets. The idea is that you stick one on your toilet door for one week and commit to learning the information during each visit. A Thunderbox refers to an old Australian ‘out-house’ or outside toilet. These toilets were often nothing more than a small drafty wooden shed containing a seat over a deep hole in the ground. Toilet paper consisted of old pages from newspapers or magazines threaded together with string and hung on a hook. I will post a Thunderbox Paper here every week or so. Stick [continue reading this...]

nurses fuck cancer.

I’m sure your have seen the powerful slogan: Fuck Cancer. Well, I am going to tell you that our profession has the power to not only fuck cancer, but to fuck cardiovascular disease, fuck chronic respiratory diseases and fuck diabetes. Between them these four diseases are responsible for 60% of deaths worldwide. In low and middle-income countries they will kill 90% of their victims before the age of 60, and will inflict an added economic burden on those countries surpassing 7 Trillion dollars by 2025. Go back and read that again and think about it a little. As nurses we [continue reading this...]

4th Australian Emergency Nurse Practitioner Conference.

For the diary of any Emergency Department Nurse Practitioners: The 4th Australian Emergency Nurse Practitioner Conference. Thursday 9th May (also Note to Nurse Day) and Friday 10th May 2013 in Melbourne. NursePrac ED has evolved to become a premier conference for ED NP’s, and Extended Care Paramedics with its strong clinical focus. This years program includes: A paediatric management stream. Workshops on Ultrasound, Physiotherapy, Suturing and Splinting Orthopaedics Toxicology Burns Haematology Infectious Diseases. There will also be free papers showcasing Nurse Practitioner research and case studies. More information and registration details can be found here.

  • Where (exactly) to stick a needle into your patients bum. (29)
    • Brenda said: Let me say this about putting needles in the WRONG spot. I have lived my entire life with a weak left leg and partial foot drop, because of someone not taking the time to learn how to give a proper needle to a young child. (I was four) I had repeated surgeries, and unpleasant shock treatments, to try and fix this problem. It is...

  • in praise of our wardsmen (and women). (1)
    • Marty Williams said: Great article re Wardsmen. I currently work as a wardman at Redlands Hospital in Queensland Australia. Having worked as a wardie for 24 years I was heartened to read your great article. We wardies have just started a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/group s/27930216803/ We would like to connect with wardies/...

  • can your bladder rupture if you dont pee? (14)
    • Amy said: As I hospital nurse, I’ve been there so many times, running around super busy and needing to pee something terrible. Somehow I manage to wait until the end of the shift and then find a nearby private visitors toilet in the hallway. I’ve had many relieving moments as I urinate non-stop for well over a minute. I’ve...

    • Chris Wood said: I was cathed today. Weighed in before and after. Lost 17 lbs. Removed 11litres.

  • air bubbles of death. (45)
    • Ashley said: I’m about to graduate from Nursing School this August and I understand how frustrating it will be to have patients question you and your knowledge. However, I also believe that patients SHOULD know as much as they can about their health. Isn’t that our job as nurses? To educate our patients on prevention and maintenance...

  • how to calculate paediatric fluid rates. (15)
    • nirmal said: very easy to understand,,,helps more nurses to maintain fluid balance….

  • What…no unit newsletter? (4)
    • sue moore said: I have recently been promoted to ward sister on a busy male surgical ward in the hospital in the Isle of Man.A newsletter is something I have been thinking about for a while.I originally wanted to keep an established journalclub going but was told a number of years ago by one of my seniors that it was...

  • Urinalysis for dummies. (11)
    • Pritam said: I just read about an iPhone app called uChek that the FDA is investigating. uChek seems to be basically just reading the strips from the phone camera, using a light box as an attachment to keep the strip in and the phone over. I am not sure how accurate it is, but they seem to have compared it against the lab method. Will be...