Happy Birthday Big Guy!

Today it's my sweethearts Birthday.  I won't say how old he is because....well he is younger than me and he takes great pleasure in reminding me of that.

I chose this Birthday header because I am actually making him a cake for his birthday.  It's a recipe I haven't used before and I am hoping it turns out(picture to follow).

It's been a busy work week and I haven't finished my gift for him either, I'm hoping he will get his silly butt out of the house and go do what he said he was going to do so I can get on with finishing his gift.

 So  honey please get your butt moving so I can finish what I should have started a week ago!  Here's to you hun....hope you have a super terrific.  Love you!

Humour Thursday......

This being the last Thursday before Halloween I thought I would do my Humour Thursday with a bit of a Halloween twist.  I've also decided to throw into the brew a little Halloween political humour...enjoy!

Do the Clothes really matter?

A while back I was reading a post done by one of my favourite bloggers StorytellERdoc his post was titled "He is Loved".  It's a must read if you ask me.  I believe the Doc was trying to demonstrate the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover".  In my comment to the Doc I said his post was heartfelt and it reminded me of a paper I had written when I was working on my degree.

My paper was titled "Do the clothes really matter".  It was a reflection on how the nursing uniform has changed from the time of Florence Nightingale.  It posed the question on whether wearing a uniform makes for better nurse and or nursing care.  While doing my research for this paper I came across many articles written about the patients perception of the nurse and the care they received or would receive.  One of the papers I read  the author had interviewed psychiatric patients and asked them their perception on whether they felt they would receive better or worse care dependant on the nurses attire.  Their response was that they appreciated the nurse wearing a uniform as it distinguished them from others in their environment and they knew that would be a person they could go to.

Today as you know it can be difficult to identify your nurse and I think we have become a little lack in what is acceptable.   I am not sure it is the lack of uniform to blame but rather a lack of identification.  At the facility I work the official identification card lumps RN's, LPN's and RCA's all under the title of "Nursing".  So from a patients perspective they don't know who they are dealing with unless the individual identifies themselves. I remember when I was in nursing school my instructor always said to us  that when we go to a patients bedside we should identify ourselves i.e. Good morning Mr or Mrs ..... I am .......and I will be your RN for today.  That has stayed with me and to this day even with my barely conscious patients I tell them who I am and what my name is.

This brings to mind another topic on clothing and attire.  Multi coloured hair and tattoos seem to be the norm.  Not a very professional look if you ask me.  Don't get me wrong I don't have a problem with either, but I do think it looks less professional.  I have seen RN's and other healthcare providers with tattoo "Sleeves" and almost rainbow hair.  Do these interfere with their care....I would hope not, but from a patients perspective they might feel a little put off and wonder about the care they are receiving.

Maybe I am old school, but we certainly have come a long way from the white uniforms and caps.

What are your thoughts.....Do the clothes really matter?

Password

Do you remember the 1960's game show called "Password" with host Allen Lunden?  It was a game show where celebrity guests would give a word clue to a contestant and the contestant had to guess the word.

That game  is what came to mind yesterday when I am trying to remember my password and secret reminders for one of accounts.

It seems that  with all the computerization, ATM's, chip cards, now days a  password or code is required.   Now I don't know about you but I can only remember so many of these passwords and codes, especially if they aren't ones that I use very often.  I appreciate the security aspect of all these codes but boy is it making it difficult to remember them all.

At my work  I have a password to log into the computer, every three months we have to change our password....pain in the butt.   It's not a simple password either, the password must contain a capital letter, small case letter and number and it is case sensitive.  Ok so I do this....now on our internal job positing which of course are all on the computer you have to have a different password and a different log in name...geesh.

So yesterday, as I was saying I was trying to log into this account online, an account that I generally get sent to me in the mail, but my hubby who is a computer whiz thought I should have all my accounts online so I could have immediate access.  Well of course that sounds all well and good until such time you have to remember the Password!  Needless to say I ended up locking myself out of the system because of my "3" failed attempts so off to customer support I had to go.  I spoke with two agents who of course were very helpful but still all the numbers they had me enter and screens I had to look at was all a bit mind boggling, but I did it.  The funny thing was at the end of my tutorial with the agent, he said to me if I had an iPhone or the likes I could access my accounts via my cell phone... are you kidding! I just laughed

Decisions, Decisions

They say that one thing in life that is for certain is "Change".  Working in health care is no exception.  I have worked as an RN for over 20 years and in that time I have certainly seen my share of change.  With the continual technological and pharmaceutical advancements in health care one sometimes feels overwhelmed with the attempt of trying to stay on top of current treatments and drug regimes.

With the advancement of technology nurses are forced to learn and maneuver their way through the world of computers.  For younger nurses this is almost 2nd nature.  Many nurses now entering the health care field grew up using computers and think nothing of searching the Internet to research a medical issue.  When computerized documentation for nursing came into vogue many senior nurses were intimidated.  They were or are winding down their nursing careers and are forced to learn not only the nuances of the computer but for some the basics of "typing".

This post however, is not about technological  or pharmaceutical changes in health care but rather change as a whole and the impact it has on the aging nursing population.

Nursing is still predominantly a female profession.  However, over the past years with the improved wages and benefits nursing has become an attractive employment option for many men. They say the average age of the nurse today is 48 and most nurses at that age have been nursing for 20 plus years.  We also know that at that age women themselves are going through some major hormonal changes.  These changes can run havoc for anyone, but you add those hormonal changes to someone who is working shift work and for some it is a recipe for disaster. Sleep deprivation is a major concern.

In the area that I work most of the nurses are female, most of the nurses are 50 plus, most of the nurses have worked in nursing for over 25 years, most of the nurse are looking at retirement within the next 5 - 7 years.  In the recovery room we work a variety of shifts. Our first shifts starts at 0800 but we are put "On Call" at 0600 which means we can be called in at 0500 to start work at 0600.  Our latest shift starts at 1600 hrs(4pm) and goes until 2400 plus "On Call" until 0600 the next morning.  I have worked many 14 hours shifts as a result of the "On Call" portion of our rotation.  Our employer is now wanting to initiate a Night Shift  from Tuesday to Saturday.  Most of us on our unit are not in favour of the Night shift primarily for the fact that it would mean 5 night shifts in a row.  I personally  I won't be able to do that.  Not at this stage of my life.  I have worked my share of 12 hour nights and I would be more in favour of doing that with extra days off, but to come off of 5 night shifts and turn around and have to do  day shifts with only a day and half off is not enough recovery time for me or for most nurses.

So I ask myself, what are my options?  I love what I do!  I love the nurses I work with!  I still have 8-10 years before retirement I want to make those the best years I can.  Do I stay in an area I love and work the 5 night shifts in a row and run the risk of ruining my health?  Or do I look for alternate employment?  In the rural area I live my options are limited for working in an acute care environment.  What I do know is that I already suffer from sleep deprivation and as a result I suffer with GI issues, cardiac issues and migraines.  I love nursing but the shift work is taking it's toll on my body and I seriously have to look at what is important for me in my life.

When I entered nursing my 20 odd years ago, I was young and energetic and bounced back after night quickly, not anymore.  I can remember  awhile back my doctor told me that I had to give up night shifts.  I told him "doc that's the nature of the beast".   Night shifts are a reality not only for me but for many nurses and other shift workers.  Our employers talk about the detriments of night shifts and what they say we should do about it, but when it comes to sleeping on breaks and even though all the literature supports it management doesn't.   I'm just not sure what the answer is, I don't think I am ready to be put out to pasture.  I know I still have something to offer I just don't want to do it at the risk of my health.  I never would have thought I would have to make such decisions.