Sorry I've been so quiet I recently took on two new job roles in the last 6 months. I have now put on my Educator hat on at work and have gained a position as a Clinical Educator on a Surgical and Orthopeadic ward. It is all very new and exciting. I have just been …
Unrealistic Expectations
Have you had a patient so horrible that you wanted to cry in front of them, just so they could understand how rude they're being not only to you, but everyone else trying to help them at your workplace? Last week was a mentally draining week. I had to deal with a patient, we as …
Cryotherapy
In some hospitals it is hospital policy to commence cryotherapy at day 0 post-operatively and continue for 20 minutes, every 2 hours for the first 48 hours while the patient is awake. Barry et al (2003, p.111) states 'as evidence for treatment effectiveness is contradictory and there are no clinical guidelines'. If you hospital has …
MET Call this week…
Well this is a funny little story about a MET (medical emergency team) call I had this week. I'll just set the back ground: Patient: - Day 1 post Total Hip Replacement - Cardiac History - ?Early stages of dementia, family aware patient is confused but no diagnosis yet - At the 0800hrs round the …
Osteomyelitis Continued…
When caring for patients with osteomyelitis nursing staff can be presented with significant challenges due to the long recovery times (Sheff 2005, p32). More than 80% of cases occur due to foreign bodies and/or prostheses (Khan et.al 2017, p.31). Working on a surgical orthopaedic ward I predominantly see osteomyelitis as a result of postoperative infections …
What is Osteomyelitis?
The term osteomyelitis (OM) refers to the infection involving the bone and bone tissue (Zimmerli 2015, p.5). This infection of the bone can be limited to the bone or can spread to several regions of the bone including: marrow, cortex, periosteum and surrounding tissue (Lew & Waldvogel, 2004). Bejon and Robinson state that OM affects …
My Morning Round…
I'm sure most of us nurses have a few pet peeves but for someone's that's a bit obsessive compulsive like me, my morning round is a lot slower than others... Here's why! On receiving handover I look at some patients rooms in utter disgrace with how messy it is. This is due to unnecessary equipment …
Medication Errors
“Nurses are responsible for medication administration, and, as with many other nursing interventions, some risks are involved. If an error occurs, a patient may suffer harm or injury which may lead to a permanent disability or fatality” (Edwards et al 2015). Part of a nurse’s responsibility before giving patients medication is checking the 7 rights …
SHARED Handover
Clinical handover is defined as... “The transfer of professional responsibility and accountability or some or all aspects of care for a patient, or group of patients to another person or professional group for a temporary or permanent basis” (Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care 2005). In the facility I work at we …
When you nurse a nurse.
So this week I was faced with nursing a nurse, I had nursed with in my graduate nurse year.. Is that confusing enough for you? My day was going great I was team leader on a weekend, which for me involves a lot of organising the ward i.e., X-rays, doctor rounding, letting staff know about …
The Nifty Nurse 