Bus Sighting, or, Nurses Are A Waste of Time

[mharbourgirl]

Me like male nurses. They're hawt.

My favourite uncle looks eerily like this guy:



And he was a psychiatric nurse his entire career (retired now).

[Sapphire Silk]

WTF is a blind stick? If I'm not at least resonably convinced a vein is in there, I'm not sticking it.

If you're injecting radioactive dyes that can cause extravasation, I would certainly hope not!

But if I'm starting a saline lock, or doing simple flebotomy, and I can't see a vein (a common problem with the obese or very dark skinned), I'll go based on feel and knowledge of anatomy.

Failing that, knowledge of anatomy (hence the "blind stick"). And actually, it isn't as hard as it sounds. Most of the time I'm successful on the first stick. If I'm not it is either because the vein is simply too deep (possible) or too fragile (if the patient is very sick or old). But at the least, I'll get flashback (blood in the vacuum chamber telling me I hit the vein).

[jedimaster91]

But if I'm starting a saline lock, or doing simple flebotomy, and I can't see a vein (a common problem with the obese or very dark skinned), I'll go based on feel and knowledge of anatomy.

I would go for a vein I could feel but not see before one I could see but not feel.

Failing that, knowledge of anatomy (hence the "blind stick"). And actually, it isn't as hard as it sounds. Most of the time I'm successful on the first stick. If I'm not it is either because the vein is simply too deep (possible) or too fragile (if the patient is very sick or old). But at the least, I'll get flashback (blood in the vacuum chamber telling me I hit the vein).

I hate getting that inital flashback and then the blood just stops. I did see a tech do a blind stick once. Personally, I'd rather call IV therapy since I'm not quite good enough to pull one off myself. And I wouldn't want to blow/miss the one good vein a patient has.

[Sapphire Silk]

Practice, practice, practice

The more you do them, the better you get at it.

[Captain Trips]

My sister (4th year Osteopathy student) and one of my cousins (cardiac care nurse) have a great saying about the difference between a doctor and a nurse.

A doctor gets all the understanding of WHY things happen the way they do. The hard science behind disease and injury, and the mechanisms of repair. They are there for diagnosis, and to specialize in the details that sometimes get overlooked in the grand scheme of an illness (or in health).

A nurse understands the HOW of disease and injury. How to properly administer the treatment. How to keep the patient in the condition necessary for treatment. How to talk to the patient without using all the big, scientific words. How to care for the patient on a daily basis.

Both are necessary, for each performs a different function for the patient.

I've always put it more simply: Doctors treat the ailment, nurses treat the patient. (Or: Doctors treat the body, nurses treat the soul.)
And yes, both are necessary components of health care!