Migraine.
Three days.
Out of pain medication and vomiting so you wouldn’t keep it down, anyway.
Agony.
Emergency department.
*****
You’re in luck – no one in triage!
A bed opens up, the nurse takes you straight to a room.
Gown, blanket.
And….
Two minutes later you send your cousin out to ask how long it will be until you get your pain med.
Excuse me? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
The discussion regarding the entry level for nursing has been ongoing for decades. I have articles written in the 1940s extolling the virtues of the BSN long before the first ADN program opened in 1952.
Every now and then, someone broaches the topic of making the BSN the entry level and BAM! the flames that ensue make the health care reform debate look like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.
Why the rancor?
Well, if one states that the BSN should be the entry level for a registered nurse, then it follows there must be a reason why an ADN should not.
That does not sit well with ADN graduates. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
Constipated since childhood, but after 63 years, she decided to deal with it on Christmas at 0400.
Okay, not really.
Apparently, if you are constipated you should eat yeast.
Plain squares of yeast.
I don’t get the mechanism.
Yeast rises in a warm environment.
So, if you eat it, does it keep expanding until it explodes everything in front of it out the, uh, exit door?
*****
I will say that the most interesting chief complaints tend to cluster around the holidays.
It goes something like this: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
I was part of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism’s “Health and the Blogosphere” conference/brainstorming session last week. Bloggers and other health writers were invited to give input on a new professional training program, and I was honored to be a part of that group.
I took away so much more than I contributed. An unexpected focus (for me) was the idea of taking the blogosphere dialog about our own health (”my health”) and expanding that into a discussion about the health of our communities (”our health”).
But haven’t we’ve been doing that for the last year, health care reform having been debated ad nauseam?
Well, no. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
Browsing through my October ENA Connection the other day, I noticed the theme was “Government and Advocacy”. Came across an article on domestic violence. It’s a short article, written by Carrie Norman, RN, CEN, member of the Government Affairs Committee. The quotes below are taken from Carrie’s article.
“The CDC estimates that 37 percent of women who sought emergency department care were victims of domestic violence.”
What? 37 out of every 100 women I have triaged?
Seriously?
“Domestic violence victims are more likely to seek treatment for chronic and psychological conditions.”
Okay. But no way have I been taking care of victims of domestic abuse – I mean, hello, wouldn’t it be obvious? The hovering, overbearing abuser who answers all the questions for the patient? The bruises that aren’t explained by the story? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
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