enrollednurse/hypochondriac annie. And life, good or bad? - nursing

Retiring????

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:30:23 +0200

Since the end of February 2004 I have been talking retiring fully. No bank nursing. It is now near the end of June 2008,
I think that a week on Wednesday I am really going to finish.

I will miss my workmates. I think it is them who have kept me going. (Bless them.) There has been a lot of changes, people moved on and new people starting work on the ward. But there are the few who have been there for years and years like I have.

Our kids have grown older, some married with children of their own. Time goes so quickly.

Nearly 9 months off the cigs, soz, just HAD to stick that in. X

Quit or Not?

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100

I just don't know what to do. I sometimes go to work twice a week. I like to do the late shift. I don't do the early shift now.
I retired 4 years ago and went on the Nursing Bank. (Did more shifts for the first couple of years.)

Now in those 4 years things have changed and not for the better. Lack of staff, moral very low. I bet most of the nurses where I work would love to go and work somewhere else.

So, here I am at 64, if I could be really picky and choose who I would like to work with, I would carry on. I don't mind the hard work but feel the need to work as part of a team. I also believe that we can have a laugh and still do the job we are paid for.
Very little thanks we get from a lot of patients.
Get blamed for the meals not being as good as they thought they should be. Too much gravy, not enough gravy. I even got a complaint that the tea was hot the other day. Not too hot, just hot.
We can take all this with a pinch of salt, we are used to being shouted at and even nipped and sworn at. We all know that it is part of the job, Shouldn't be but it's the ward we are on.

So, I just don't know what to do. I like nursing but is it getting more just a job than a caring profession? I dunno.

Hey ho.

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:55:00 +0200

Not long before I go to work. Set off in about half an hour. It's a wet and miserable day and himdownstairs is watching footie. Good day to work I suppose. I would cry if the sun was shining and it was lovely and warm.

A silly statement from someone who lives in the northwest of England. Still, seeing we got hot weather in April, September might not be too bad.

Have a lovely Sunday.

I am on day one yet again on giving up the cigs. Wish me luck please. lol I know, it's will power I need. I will beat this stupid addiction!

What do you say????????Hospital food.

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:23:18 +0200

A gentleman patient asked me today if his wife was in the kitchen. I could honestly say no as there was no one in the ward kitchen. Then I asked nurse in charge if his wife visits?
No, she doesn't, she died in January.

Some nurses, like I did, gloss it over, I did it because I just didn't know. Then nurse in charge told him, kindly but with complete honesty that his wife had died a while ago.
He became tearful then seemed to accept it.

I am going to work again on Sunday, if the gentleman is still on the ward, what's the betting the poor soul asks about his wife again?
Before my holidays and a very elderly lady asked the nurse in charge to ring her mother and father. No way.
I think it is so sad!

But once, we had a lady in her late seventies, her dad rang the ward to see how she was doing. Of course, the nurse who took the phone call was taken aback. But it was true.
So one must not assume must one?

I have been reading about patients not getting enough to eat in hospitals.
Ok.
Now, all I know about is the one I work at, (part time.) There is nothing wrong with the sizes of the meals.

You could choose from, small, medium or large.
Lunch is a three course meal and so is what we call supper.
I work with elderly patients. Now, my memory isn't good. I am first to admit it.
So, tomorrow (Monday) a nurse will go through the menu with the patient. (Unless the patient can do it themselves.) They will be asked what they would like for lunch on Wednesday. So say, tomato soup, Lancashire hotpot and rice pudding for afters. They will choose for supper too.

Ok.
Later that day.
Supper time, 5pm. Soup, sandwich and Plum Fool arrive. "But I didn't order that" they say, "I ordered Hotpot." Might even remember what they ordered for Tuesday. But it is different to what they ordered Saturday for tomorrow!
Hope you are keeping up with this. lol Of course, not all patients have a memory like me, but there are a few!

Please tell me too, how on earth can you make a patient eat when they don't want to??? It is sad for a nurse to see someone not eating. It's worse if they don't eat for a few days. All the encouraging, coaxing and such in the world won't make them eat if they don't want to do so.
Visitors bring things in and even they are left untouched.

It's so sad.

No Work This Week & Retirement.

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:55:00 +0200

Not one phone call this week, requesting my presence at work. I must admit, even though it's only Tuesday, I miss it a bit. But I can live without it!
It does get me out and about when I DO go. Lovely to see my old workmates too. In fact, now I don't have to go unless I want to, it has become a bit of a social thing for me. I know it's hard work at times but I still like going.

Retirement can come hard to some people. I know of one lady who didn't like it at first. They may run Retirement Courses, but there wasn't room for me as the course was full.

I know you should plan for retiring. But when do things go to plan? In my case, rarely. All the things I was going to do, well, I haven't done any of them yet. So, it seems, up to now, I am just wasting my senior years! But I am happy.

Death and the nurse.

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:25:00 +0100

INTRODUCTION.

What does death mean to you? Are you scared of dying? Are you scared stiff of the day when someone close to you dies?
I am sure that most of us don't like to dwell on these subjects, yet it is a subject we will all have to face at one time or another. I know that young nurses may only have encountered death in a hospital environment. Some may have that sad job yet to come. Others may have already faced death of family or friends.
Some of us were asked not too long ago what scared us about our own death and what we thought happened to us after death. I took the easy option and decided I would want to go quickly, without pain and any other unpleasant happenings. Am I being fair to my loved ones? Would they like to be there as I breathed my last? Would it help if they did not have to see me actually die? Would they grieve more if I suddenly died and did not linger? Would it be too much of a shock? I hope they would understand that I may, (and I am not too sure about this even yet,) want to leave this world on my own as I cannot see any dignity in dying however good the nursing staff and paramedics are. This of course is my view and that may change in the future. I may feel the need of comfort and support of family and friends.
As for what happens to us after death. Well that was a hard one! I cannot say what I honestly believe. I would love to think that I would be able to see loved ones and friends again and "live" happily ever after. But being a "Doubting Thomas" I really don't know what to believe. I really wish I had faith in the Hereafter; it must be a lovely feeling and lessen any fears of death.

Although I feel sad when someone dies, I am talking about patients now; it is the family that I could really cry for. Some blame themselves, doctors, nurses or any one they can. Some are obviously shocked; ashamed to let you see them cry, disbelief, anger, denial and some are very quiet. All sorts of emotions arise at this time. We, as nurses and human beings, as we all are, should try not to judge or say things like "I know what you are going through, something similar happened to me." We don't know what they are going though as every one copes and reacts in different ways. I know you would never say that to anyone, yet you might feel that the bereaved person/persons situation is similar to one you have experienced. We are all individuals.

There are many that deal differently with dying patients of different faiths. We, at our hospital are fortunate in having the clergy of different religions on call and they will attend after just a telephone call. Also they are there to help you in any way they can if you need their help. They may be called on to talk to relatives of poorly patients and not just after death has occurred. It is nice to offer spiritual help to patients or relatives at any time if you or they feel they need it. There are some people that are unaware that this service is easily available.
It is a fallacy, (I think this anyway,) to think that a person who has just died looks at peace. Some do but others do not however much care has gone into trying to make them look so. All that can be done is to make them look not too unnatural. E.g. don’t comb their hair straight back if they wore it differently while they were alive.

It can live in a bereaved person’s memory a long, long time how their loved one looked the first time they saw them after the death!

All we can do is try our best, sincere empathy and sympathy will not go amiss. Even silence can be comforting, no need for words, awkwardly said. Don't you be afraid to cry if you want to, you have feelings too! It is also nice to ask the bereaved person if they are all right to go home, have they someone to be with them when they arrive home. Even ordering a taxi or phoning a relative or friend to come and help at possibly one of the worse moments of the bereaved person's life can be a Godsend. They may be unaware of these things at the time, due to shock etc. Just imagine how you would feel going home to a lonely house and then the realisation and enormity hits you. If the bereaved person is alone it would be nice to try and organise a friend or relative to come and pick them up from the hospital, or at least to be at their home when they return, only of course, if that is their wish.

Sometimes it may be a while before you have to deal with death.

It will be somewhere. I am not trying to frighten you; there is nothing frightening about a dead body, possibly only your imagination.If you have any worries at all when faced with your first encounter with death on the ward, please try and voice your concerns to someone, do not go to the patient if you feel you can't cope. There will always be somebody to see you through it.

Violence in Hospital.

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 20:20:00 +0100

In A&E, you hear a lot about violence, also on the wards. We can call Security ot the Police.

But..............what if it's a little, confused old lady or man? Not aware of where they are, just want to get home. No amount of talking to them can convince them that they are unwell and in hospital. These elderly people are stronger than they look, they can sometimes, try to bite you, hit you or throw things. Part of the job, unpleasant it may be. It shouldn't be part of anyones job to face violence. I would feel really awful getting the police in to a confused elderly patient.
Myself, I have found the art of dodging the nips and bites. Up to now anyway!
It is against the law to restrain a violent patient.

I am still a bit unsure of what to do if faced by someone like that. I remember, a good few years ago, a gent was going to throw a punch, just because we wanted him to come back to the ward. I said to him, "You wouldn't hit a lady would you?" A look of uncertainty crossed his face and then he dropped his hand and laughed. THANK GOODNESS. He wasn't really, a bad man, just in a world of his own.
It isn't nice when you hear the poor people asking for their mum or wanting to be up for work next day. At the ages I am talking about, they will have retired many, many moons ago. There are the exceptions to the rules though but we know about them, usually!

One patient's dad rang the ward not long since, the look on the nurse's face! He was a 100 years old, so it isn't impossible.

Huh, phone rang!

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:34:16 +0100

A special hello to "Chocolate" and "Rack." Thanks for your comments.

Today the phone rang and it was them! (No not Chocolate or Rack, but work.)
So, on Saturday, I am working. So this is semi-semi retirement? I will see how things go, I am not working on my old ward but another. I had decided just to work on my old ward. Just for the one shift. But did agree to do 2 shifts next week. Suppose it helps to put jam on the bread.

I will have to get things sorted out and stick to it. I would love to do some more studying, but it's not worth it now. There's a lot of things I don't know. I am stuck in the tried and trusted mode of nursing. Unless they make it illegal, I will do it. Although I am not afraid of new things or trying them.
I find that I, as a bank nurse, miss such a lot. I seem to be the hired help and not worth training any more. Maybe I am wrong.

Any nurses out there?

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 19:30:00 +0100

Any Nurses out there? I would love to hear from any of you. My e-mail address is bumblebees321@btinternet.com

I would like your points of view about nursing today! Is it as good as it was? Is it as much fun? Too much paper-work? Is there any reason why we have to write observations on a chart, write it in the Cardex/nursing notes? Do we really have to write an "essay" every day on a patient who remains the same? Too many chiefs and not enough of us? I am at the end of my career, you maybe at the beginning, as a student or RGN. Good luck.

Are they still training enrolled nurses anywhere?

Any replies, if I get any. will be kept private. If you do allow me to publish part or all of your letter, please tell me. Names will be withheld! Honest.
Thank you. Anne.

HUH!

noreply@blogspirit.com (annec) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 22:42:27 +0100

I am a nurse, I am also a human being! I am sure some people think differently though!
Sorry to say this, but tonight, I have had fingers clicked at me and also the odd command. Not just me but all four of us. May I just say, not from the patients, no, from the visitors.

Now four nurses, on the late shift, looking after 24 patients is usually fine. Hard work but we manage very well. If someone is really not well, it's even harder. You tend to have to spend more time with them. Remember, I work usually on an Elderly Rehab ward. So the patients need more help that maybe usual.
So, 2 patients not well! Means we have to look after them a bit more. So, on my list of priorities, is patient care! Not a bunch of flowers.

I realise that flowers are brought in to cheer people up, it's a lovely gesture.

Also, a few visitors would like to see their loved ones tucked up in bed before they set off home. This is OK if the patient wants to go. Most of them didn't tonight. I agree with them, it's a long night if you go to bed early. I would hate to be put to bed at say, 7 pm just because I was a patient.
Some are really grateful to get in bed as soon as they can.

Ahh well, should be used to all this by now. Sorry! But seeing I can't say anything while at work, I will tell you. Goodnight. X X X X X