Skills, skills, skills.

I was thinking maybe I should talk about something nursing related in this post, since I have not so much as even thought about even thinking about posting something for quite some time now, and b/c my last few posts seem to have as much to do with nursing as Ludifisk has to do with Tibetan Monks. 

As of late, a fair amount has happened in my small, but rapidly proliferating, world of nursing. 

1) IM injection (flu shot). Not really too difficult, just "throw it like a dart"...though it is possible for the needle to sort of, "bounce" out of the pt's arm if all the planets line up. And that's all I'll say about that (don't wanna break HIPPA regs).

2) Glucometer. Well, it didn't hurt me. This procedure was uneventful. This is the finger prick to test blood glucose for people /c Diabetes.

3) Rectal Suppository. Clearly my favorite thus far (I don't know how to express sarcasm in writing, but that was an attempt). This one was for constipation. Real easy to give...unless your client's just not havin' it. Technically, pt should be in Sim's position (lying on left side), and then you deposit the suppository. It is just medication injected into a wax "bullet" so it dissolves pretty quickly and then you wait 30mins or so for the receipt (i.e. a BM). Wow, that's an interesting way to explain it.

4) Staple removal. This woman, well into her 80s, had a Right femur Fx, I think, and her staples were ready to be removed (generally 10-14 days /p surgery). This was an interesting experience. I didn't actually get to remove the staples, just observed...which in this instance, I was perfectly okay with. The client was not thrilled, to say the least, about having her staples removed, though she didn't know that at first. Everything started out well. She was calm and cooperative. We told her it would hurt a little...but then the nurse removed the first staple: "OW THAT HURT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU STOP THAT!", same with the 2nd one.

Total staples: 15-20 staples (incision basically knee to hip). Total tolerance: zero. 

Then, "Oh Lord, please make them stop. Don't let them hurt me anymore!" In the most pitiful voice you have ever heard. You would have thought we were ruthlessly torturing her. After about 5 or 6 staples and one that was harder to pull out and had some skin grown around it, she'd really had enough and resorted to threats and violence: while swinging her fist at or pounding the nurse's shoulder, "YOU STOP THAT! I'M GOING TO KNOCK YOUR TEETH DOWN YOUR THROAT! YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" We tried to distract her, but no use: "S____, it looks like the weather is going to be nice for a few days." her response: "Oh yes, I hope so...YOU STOP THAT! I'M GOING TO KNOCK YOU TEETH DOWN YOUR THROAT! COVER ME UP! I'M COLD! STOP THAT! Oh God, I'm praying, please don't let them hurt me anymore. I'm too old for this."