Homework Again!?! You Have GOT to be Kidding Me!

Week 1 of Nursing School now complete.  phew!  I'm counting this as a week of successes.  By Wednesday, I had pretty much recovered from the initial shock and stress of being told that between class and homework we would be spending almost 80 hours per week with school...and were subsequently told "remember to be good role models for your patients and eat right, sleep, exercise, and leave time to relax".  Excuse me?!?!  When are we supposed to do all that???  I know, maybe I can improve my multi-tasking: while taking a patient's vitals, I'll jog in place, while simultaneously eating a salad, and I'll invite some friends so I can relax at the same time...I'm sure my patient will understand...

Here's what I've learned so far: 

1. How'd YOU like to be called "Geriatric"?!?!  I didn't think so..."Older Adults" (O.A.'s) is the current PC term.  Somewhat contrarily (I think), the official terms for the various age groups of O.A.'s are - 65-74: young old (fair enough); 75-84: middle old (still not too bad); 85-94: old old (do we really need to say it twice?); and 95+: oldest old (a little excessive, don't you think?).  How are these supposed to make people feel better?  You might as well call them "spring chick of the old folks", "you've had better days", "really wouldn't wanna be stuck behind you in a grocery store aisle", and "haven't your organs shut down yet?"...I think I'd prefer Geriatric... And besides, it's called "Gerontology" anyway.  Not really fooling anyone the term "O.A.", or else they should call it "Olderadultentology".

2. Florence Nightingale had a hand in sabotaging the Nursing profession by allowing only women to enroll in her program.  As a result (and a lot of history and other factors later), many men are disinclined to become nurses, which is unfortunate because I'm sure all the men in Nursing are delighted by the question: "How long have you been a male nurse?" -- "Well, I've been a male since the X met the Y.  As for Nursing, I've been in the profession for ___ years."  (unless there's been a gender reassignment, in which case the format of this question may be perfectly appropriate).  The point being: no need to point out that he's a male...since anatomy is a prerequisite for Nursing, he likely already knows.

3. Using a Hydraulic Lift to move a patient from, say, a bed to a wheelchair, you don't even need to remove the lifting device for them to use the restroom because it doesn't contact the perineum!  Here's what the lift looks like.  Enjoy the music: YouTube - UNILIFT Ceiling Mounted Lift