Convenience Cart

Things are easier to do at the hospital if given proper equipment. It can hasten the work thus avoid delays. My aunt, who is a nurse, said to me that they use medical computer cart at their hospital and so far, it had helped them a lot with their performance. They find it very convenient to use and easy to maneuver. Glad that everyone's trying to adapt changes these days. All of us will benefit anyway.

Designer Scrub Suit

Are you a nurse or are you working in a medical-related field? Are you required to wear a uniform or a scrub suit? If so, you might like to check this site http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ to see for designs that you think is perfect for you to wear.

When reporting for duty or work, it is necessary that we wear something comfortable. Imagine entertaining a client and you cannot concentrate because the cloth you are wearing is too tight or too loose, or too itchy or very dull to look at. Remember, it's best to be presentable when dealing a patient.

If you want to buy hospital scrubs, you can visit the site I mentioned for they have a lot to offer. You can select which clothe suits you best! So, check it out now!

Safety Tips on the Operating Table

Two years ago, I worked at the hospital and was assigned at the Operating Room. Sometimes, I was the scrub nurse where I got to assist the doctors. Oftentimes, I was the circulating nurse where I had to check the patient's chart prior to his or her surgery. I had to make sure that everything was in place before the operation started and one important thing was to shave the patient. This was actually the hospital protocol especially if the patient was to be inserted with a catheter. And if the surgical procedure was to be on the abdominal area, I had to remove the hair by shaving it as not to cause hindrance during the operation and also to minimize infection. It was our duty to clean the patient first before letting the surgeon takes over.

In order to make sure the patient was comfortable throughout the shaving procedure, we had to have a good technique for shaving and use only a safety razor. It was also best to avoid putting too much pressure when using the razor so as to prevent unwanted cuts or injuries which could possibly endanger the patient. Moreover, the razor blades must always be checked if they are still sharp and usable. My experience at the OR may be short but I've certainly learned a lot on the art of shaving :)

Disclaimer: I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

My Scrub Nurse Experience

My hospital training days at the Operating Room are already over. It ended last week and I can say that it was good while it lasted. I haven't encountered any troubles with the staff, with my superiors, with my colleagues, with the surgeons, with the equipments and most especially with the patients. 3 months was not enough to make me a confident scrub nurse. Heck, I cannot even memorize some of their equipment and some sutures being used.

When I was assigned on Orthopedic cases, gosh, I had a headache looking for the right incision set. Good thing that the surgeons were quite understanding because they really have plenty of equipment to use. I often thought that these Ortho doctors were also good in carpentry (and all of them are great in dress-making as they were good in stitching the wound, hehe). The other week, the patient had a Below-Knee-Amputation (I think you know what that means) so they have to use wire cutter to - well - be able to cut the bone (whew!). I was one of the circulating nurses then, so we were to receive the amputated leg of the patient and put it in a box and give it to the relatives. We could also see some hammers, screws, etc, being used by those surgeons. And if I had to scrub, I needed to wear a lead vest (which was quite heavy) to protect myself from the X-ray. They needed to do that in the middle of the operation to correctly determine which area was affected. Oh, and on my last day there, I was to monitor the patient who was hacked (literally, I mean hacked on the face up to the neck!) at the Recovery room. I don't know what happened to him now but I hope he survived.

Anyway, some surgeons from other field were nice but some were really strict and with an acerbic tongue! I think all of us were not exempted from experiencing some of the surgeons 'insult. It was irritating but then we had to let it pass by our ears. Sometimes, they blame us for giving them clamps that were self-releasing/dilapidated (as they termed it) but why blame us? They were the ones who frequently use it while we only served it to them? And to think some of these surgeons were just neophytes/residents and ironically, the consultants were kinder than them. But of course there were some surgeons who were very nice also and treated the nurses very well. They said they can't function without us (now, that's teamwork!). I wish they would all think like that, hehe.

Well, if there were some irritating surgeons, there were annoying staff nurses, too. I think some of them had become lazy because they let only the trainees do all the work for them. It would have been ok but at least they should stay at their post to guide us in case we lost track especially on rare cases. And to think we rendered our services for free - no salary for the whole 3-starving-months!!! (I think i'd rather do blogging and earn even just a little, hehe). Well, that's how the system goes in here in order to get a certificate (take it or leave it). But some staff were amazing and helpful, too, and I was glad to have met them.

Despite that kind of atmosphere, overall, the experience was worth it. It taught me humility - of course, we were to clean the bloody area afterward and if the patient pooped, it would be our responsibility to clean it up, too - which, unfortunately, did happen to me!!
It also taught me discipline, to be more compassionate, to have a good interpersonal relationship with co-workers - and to be more careful with my health.

Well, maybe someday I'll work with them again (I thought of working at the ICU - another challenging area) but Not now, especially that I just kicked out our house help last week for being so hard-headed (she went home late again!). She was a bad liar, too, and what's worst, she couldn't be trusted as I found some of my items on her cabinet. Now, at least I feel safe not having her around anymore.

Chloe is Well

I've shared in my previous blog that Chloe is sick. She had high fever midnight of March 20 and she had cough and colds, too. When her fever didn't subside, she was hospitalized on Wednesday (March 25th) afternoon because her platelet count was already near the borderline level and she was nose-bleeding from time to time. We were afraid that it might be Dengue Fever, but then the doctor ruled that one out on Thursday when her platelet count increased. However her WBC was still down, so was her neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and basophils. Anyways, a possible diagnosis might be Typhoid Fever but just the same, it was ruled out later because her fever did not recur anymore. But whatever it was, I thought it was best to have her admitted just to be safe.

By Friday afternoon, Chloe was cleared for discharge from the hospital. Thank God for that! We still continued her medication and I am just too happy to see her alert and enthusiastic again. I'd rather that she was restless and noisy at home all the time than to see her so weak and lying down on the bed most of the time. I'm thankful also for my family and for all those people who included Chloe in their prayers. I thank God, too, because we only paid a very minimal amount in hospital bills. Insurance and Philhealth really helped a lot :) But more than that, I thank God that we're home after only 2 days of confinement at the hospital...Indeed, there is no place like home!

TGIF!!!

I haven't been blogging lately even though I wanted so much to post an entry here. I actually visited my friends' blogs and tried to post a comment or left a message in their cbox, however, I can't do it to all of them. My eyes can't seem to stay longer in the computer now. I also suffered back pains last week and the entire weekend were spent mostly staying and relaxing at home or lying down on the bed. Even sleeping is a luxury for me these days. I slept early yet I need to wake up as early as 5 am to get prepared and to cook food, too. So, bear with me, I know I owe some of you with my visits and I haven't even posted the tags I promised to post last weekend...sorry for breaking it :(

I'm still in the transition period right now and tried adjusting with my schedule especially that I don't have a house help at home. That's why I thank God that my mom's around to take care of Chloe. Well, I guess I need to make a little sacrifice with my time in order for me to fulfill my endeavors in life. I must have guts to do it or I might regret it later to have wasted my profession. Anyway, things may be tiresome for me these days but I've learned a lot, too. It's no joke to be an OR nurse but it's also fulfilling.

My assigned area for this week is not so 'toxic' compared the other week. But one thing is for sure, we Never ran out of patients. What a busy hospital! My training period will only last for 3 months and after that, it's only up to me whether I want to extend it for another 3 months or just stop. As of now, I chose the latter because I have another plan after that. But I know it's also possible that I'll choose the former. Oh well, I'd better think of the current situation...

Oh, anyways, I really wanted to say this today - Thank God it's Friday!!!

Scrub

Hello my dear beloved blogger friends! Sorry, I wasn't able to drop by your sites lately. I've been trying to visit some blogs and hope to leave a comment but my eyes was too tired to do it. My back was also aching that I can't stand sitting on a chair for a long time. Besides, I got easily tired and went off to bed early. Whoa!!! - you might think that my work was getting me off to nowhere, hehehe. My O.R. duty was getting more exciting, challenging but yeah, tiresome and one has to be very alert!

I started assisting the surgeons last Monday. As I've mentioned in my previous post, I got a feeling that I'll be more of a Scrub nurse this week, so, this is the week! I'm not that fast yet like the senior staff nurses but well, so far, so good. I wanted so much to share with you, guys, what I've seen in there but of course, I have to protect the privacy of the patient. But what I can only tell you this time is that it's only in that hospital where I saw the rarest and weirdest kinds of illnesses, hehe. Maybe I will just share a glimpse of my experiences at the OR whenever I am free. Ta-ta!