My Job

In my job I need to be tough with my patients. I'm not dealing with the sick and dying, I generally deal with healthy individuals that have undergone ELECTIVE surgery. They wait 6 months or more to have this surgery - don't tell me they didn't have time to read the information package they received in preadmission. They are having major surgery. I think it should be their responsibility to know what they are facing. Its called informed consent. Too often I get patients saying, "If I knew it would be this hard, I wouldn't have done it." Now why would you think that having your hip removed and replacing it with a stainless steel prosthetic hip wouldn't be hard? Its not that I'm uncaring or mean, I just expect that if you're having ELECTIVE surgery, you should do your homework.

One of my pet peeves at work is when I get patients that don't belong on my unit. Now I know this isn't a problem that is easily fixed. Its a bigger problem than I know how to solve, but I don't have to like it. I work in orthopedics. Not on a medical unit, not in psychiatry, and not in extended care. And just because I'm a nurse doesn't mean that I can do any nursing job in the hospital. I know a little general surgery and orthopedic surgery. I don't know anything about oncology. And, no offence to them, but a lot of medical nurses can't work on a surgical floor. Its just not safe. No experience, no orientation, no specialized knowledge. I don't know what to do with a new stroke patient. I've just never done it before. But I do know the difference between an Austin Moore Hemiarthroplasty and an Omega Hip Pinning. I know how much blood loss to expect in a Total Knee Replacement, and I know how to watch for signs and symptoms of a DVT or Compartment Syndrome. My nursing knowledge has become very focussed and specialized. Don't expect that I can work anywhere in the hospital.