Nurse Sean (dot) com

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1.) I am obsessed with Days of Our Lives. I have been watching it since I was eight years old or so. I’m a little mad at the show for changing a bunch of the actors recently…but I know that a year from now I will have forgotten all about it. That’s just the way soaps work. My favorite character by far is Stepheno…I miss having him as a visible and regular character on the show. The Vivian/Ivan duo is a close second for favorite. I digress…

2.) I love the Mormon religion. I love it’s fascinating and rich history, beautiful architecture, rituals, and most of all..its people. I have through the years done a lot of research and talked with many friends who were Mormon. I seriously believe that if I were not gay, didn’t have objections to the rigidity of some of their beliefs, or dislike their their practices of prostelatizing, I would look into joining. I know…that’s a big list. However, most people don’t know the extent to which their rituals are based on old masonic/pagan influences–which definitley jives with me.

3.) I think nurses are much too obsessed with the cleaning of patients. I understand the importance…but not the obsession. We have elderly people come in who are used to bathing once or twice a week. However, some nurses insist in it being done twice a day. I wash my sheets at home once every 1-2 weeks…but 1-2 times a day in the hospital? I’m telling you….it’s an obsession that’s running rampant! On a busy day, it’s one of the things to go first when trying to prioritize. I know…it’s controversial…and makes me a horrible nurse. *rolls eyes*

4.) I believe nurses are literally decades behind in their technology skills. Nurses are touted as being users of technology, but for the most part their skills are laughable. I had to teach one nurse how to double click yesterday, and another how to scroll. Nursing is completely backward in its use of available technology…and this is completely because older nurses (who have the strongest say) reject it completely. We need to get into the 1980s and start to use computers!!! We just implemented a brand new computer system that is intended to create a paperless work environment. It *could* make our days easier and more efficient; however, there is a strong refusal on the part of the nurses to use the systems as intended. When I asked our unit educator about our incorrect use of available technology, I was simply told, “the older nurses would never accept the changes.” I say stop babying them and start expecting them to learn and change. Lets face it, computers are here to stay…LEARN HOW TO USE THEM!

5.) I hate crime shows. This includes Law & Order, CSI, Boston Legal, all true crime shows. I find them completely boring and uninteresting.

6.) If I could “do it all over again,” It’s possible I wouldn’t choose to become a registered nurse again. The job is nothing what I expected. It’s physically, emotionally, and mentally harder than I ever expected. Knowing the pace and amount of work I put in every day and the enormous decision making power/responsibility* involved, I wouldn’t have considered it a well paying job. Nurses deserve at least double what they make here (about $29 - $36 an hour).

*On a side note to point six…has anyone had this experience:

Nurse Sean: “I’ve decided to take your Foley out” (This was a urology unit where nurses made that decision…I know not all units give nurses that authority…insert any number of nursing decisions here if desired).

Patient: “OK, so we’ll wait until the doctor comes in the morning and tells us to do that?”

Nurse Sean: “Uhm….actually, doctors have nothing to do with this….nurses make decisions like that.

Patient: “Maybe we should wait until the doctor is here. He might be mad if you don’t ask him if it’s ok.”

Nurse Sean: *Sigh*

Everyone just assumes nurses are around to do what doctors say. They think we get a list of orders and go to work. It’s more of a team effort…they give us orders for what we need to do, and we make lists of things we need them to do.

For example, after my last night shift I gave the doctors a “to do” list that looked something like this:

1.) Mr. Smith needs an order to irrigate his drains
2.) We started an NG tube on Ms. Connor and need orders for same
3.) I gave Mr. Elliott tylenol, I need an order for it

On the same night, I called a doc and said,

“Mrs. Ruth is having chest pains, I ordered an ECG, CBC, lytes, troponins, started O2, and gave her morphine. I need you come see her and sign off on those orders.”

The point is, sure doctors make lots of decisions…however, it is often nurses who call doctors, or write them lists that say, “I have decided the patient needs (insert whatever) and I need you to order it. Television would have you believing that doctors are the only decision makers in the hospital.

I won’t keep going…this whole “media image of nurses” is a dead horse that really doesn’t need to be beaten right now. I’m just tired of people underestimating the power/knowledge/skill of nurses. I challenge anyone who’s not a nurse to follow me around for a day and not have a completely new understanding of our profession. You may think you know what nurses do….but you don’t.

Sean

P.S. I didn’t tag anyone…I’m not much of a “tagger.” If you haven’t done this meme and would like to…go for it!

I thought I had left World of Warcraft behind me. I had absolutely no plans to ever play again. I hated the feeling of being completely sucked in and addicted. Just this morning I said to myself, “it feels good to not have played WoW in three months…and it feels even better to not care.”

But I walked into Future Shop today, saw the expansion pack sitting on the shelf…and like a zombie I grabbed it and bought it.

So, here I go again. I will see y’all in a few months when I surface again.

Seriously….worse than crack!

After about a month of feeling confident about graduating and becoming a good nurse, I have hit a spot where I feel like I’m spinning my wheels, not getting better, and actually feel like I’m getting worse!

I know I had a bad week because I had to implement my “list method” in order to get to sleep. You see, if I have a bad day I struggle to fall asleep because I can’t stop ruminating on the events of the day. I spiral into a bad place where I start to hate myself, my job, my life…etc. etc. In my “list method” of falling asleep, I make a list of all the things I will do better next time I work. Once I have solidified this list in my mind, I find I can let the events of the day go and fall asleep.

It was supposed to be a great week because I was on night shifts. I thought it would be fun, relaxing, and interesting…as per usual. Unfortunately, the week had a bad start due to understaffing. Well, I guess it’s hard to call it “understaffing.” In reality, we’re always so short that it’s more appropriate to just call it a normal day. I was also given a set of patients that were much more complicated and intense than I’m used to.

Furthermore, I just couldn’t seem to get my “head out of my ass” all week. I was forgetful, sloppy, ackward, and just never seemed to get my feet under me. Typically, I feel this way the first night when all of my patients are brand new to me and I’m trying to sort out everybody’s issues and needs, but this week, the feeling never seemed to go away.

I had all sorts of things happen that I felt I could have prevented or noticed sooner if I had been a “better nurse.” For example, NG tubes slipped out, foleys stopped working, Central line dressings slipped halfway off, and hypodermoclysis needles stopped working. And because of our being understaffed, I just didn’t have time to fix these issues. The NG tube stayed out, the central line dressing just had to be reinforced and passed on to day shift, the foley was fixed (several months on urology payed off!), and I didn’t have time to resite the Hypodermoclysis.

It felt more like a day shift, running around, trying to put out fires before the end of my shift. But I just had too many patients…only so many fires could be put out. On top of all this, I just didn’t feel I could give the attention to my patients I wanted.

But errors were made as well. An order was changed, and a drain was supposed to be flushed at 06:00…but I missed the order. So, the next day I flushed the drain at 06:00…only to realize later that the order had been changed again and wasn’t supposed to be flushed at 06:00. *bangs head on desk.* But the biggest mistake was a med error. Not a huge thing, but a med error all the same. I gave combivent with a nebulizer when it was supposed to be a puffer.

*deep breath*

My list of “Things I could have done better” was long this week. People always warned me before I graduated that I would have a lot of bad days. One nurse told me that when she started out, every second day was bad, then one day a week was bad, and then only a couple days a month were bad. Now, she says that now she has maybe one day a month like I have been having this week.

I just can’t help but feel the need to completely erase this week and do it again. I feel like I could have done such a better job. I feel like I failed myself and my patients. But, I need to remember that crappy weeks like this only serve to teach me, guide me, and make me a better nurse (as long as I keep making those lists and acting on them).

I need to compare my skills now with a year ago in nursing school. I have improved 1000x since then, and in the next couple years, I will probably skyrocket in my abilities.

I just can’t help but want to be perfect now and forever–human nature.

I’m off to pout and figure out a way to “save face.” I need some comfort food ASAP.

I was speaking to a nurse on my unit who has her Master’s Degree. She works in a special capacity, focusing on the transition and discharges of our “difficult to discharge” patients. She particularly focuses on those that have been deemed palliative–something that is common on my surgical oncology unit.

She told me that when she was beginning her Master’s Degree, she was told that her thesis should be on something that really frustrates her. Meaning, some part of nursing that is always on her mind–that keeps her up at night.

She chose discharging patients as her focus. Every day, I become more sure that my research/thesis would be on the way nurses treat each other. Particularly how a certain breed of nurse treats younger nurses.

You know the type, they stomp onto the unit with a scowl on their face, pissed off because they have to be at work, surrounded by what they see as “incompetence.” They mutter under their breath unrecognizable grievances, “mumble mumble…idiots….mumble mumble…such a mess…mumbmle mumble….If I were in charge…mumble mumble.” And this is before they even start working.

Then they are given their assignment and all hell breaks loose. Unfortunately, the unit is three nurses short due to sick calls and assignment had to be changed. The mumbling turns to yells. Words like “unacceptable”, “unfair”, “not my problem,” are shouted at the charge nurse who was of course just trying to make the best of a difficult situation. So much for pitching in and helping out the team. And of course, she gets exactly what she wants, causing everybody else’s assignment to be changed, just so hers can be the same.

Then the horrific moment that everybody hates…giving her report. It’s not so much telling her the events of the evening, but feels more like an interrogation, followed, of course, by a lecture on why I’m incompetent…not to mention the worst nurse ever. In fact it sounds a lot like what was written in dianne marieee’s blog here.

The rest of her day is spent with everyone avoiding her while she slams things around and mutters more explitives under her breath.

OK, by now, you probably have figured out that this is not a general description, but a true story. Some people have said, “just give her back what she gives.” I refuse to lower myself to her level. So, I am still trying to find a way to stand up to myself…without just making her more angry.

Suggestions are certainly welcome….

The only thing I love more than night shifts, are the days off between night shifts. Right now I am watching DVDs of Northern exposure, drinking pressed organic english breakfast tea, warming up lentil soup, and chatting with a close friend online (one that I rarely run into).

I love that I have no choice but to hang out on my couch and relax. I can read, watch movies, write, or do any of a HUGE list of fun activities. No errands allowed (or possible)!

******

Today was day two of computer training at the hospital. I can’t wait until the new system is in place. I am completely in love with it! More than that, I love that I know the system inside out (I worked with it for months), while others on my unit will struggle with it! I was even showing the instructor of our course how do to certain things.

I just love that the power differential will shift (even if only briefly). I can’t wait until the nasty, mean, power-tripping nurses have to come to me for help. If I wasn’t a better person, I would be planning all my snotty responses, and cruel ways to say no.

I will settle for being needed….

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I recently bought a crockpot. I am in love with the thing! It is so easy to make hearty, health, home-cooked meals. I like the whole “Throw it in, turn it on, and forget it” philosophy that goes along with the contraption.

I’m on the hunt for great recipes. If anybody has one that is simple, PLEASE, throw it my way and I will try it.

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I feel a cold coming on tonight. I feel very guilty, but I may have to call in sick tomorrow. I know that we’re probably already short-staffed as it is. I know it’s bad to do so, but I may just drug myself with SudaFed and tough it out. I just don’t want everyone to be “screwed over” because I couldn’t handle a cold.

I’m not fully sick yet. However, I’m having one of those days where every hour feels closer to sickness. My throat is getting scratchier, my lungs are feeling ticklier. Perhaps it will be gone when I wake up (hopeful thinking).

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I’m frustrated with my blog. I feel the need for a change, but I just can’t find a look that I enjoy. I have tried on dozens of templates and not a single one feels right. I love the simple light grey that I currently have. It just works for me.

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Anyway, that’s enough of my late night ramblings.

I have realized that in order to find a nursing unit that matches me perfectly, I will have to create a set of questions that will tell me a lot about the unit. I currently have two questions prepared. The first is about technology, and the second is about support for Registered Nurses by Nursing Attendants.

My hospital is in the midst of training for a computer system that will replace the old system. This old system was implemented in 1988 and uses a pre windows style programming. It is clunky, difficult to use, and just plain ugly. On the other hand, the new computer system is user friendly, nice to look at, helps with unit efficiency, and rids us of the need for using paper on our unit.

I was at a different hospital in the fall that started using this system and I fell in love with it. I found my day flowed so much easier with this new system. Its functions were intuitive and complemented my nursing style.

The unit I’m working on now is as old fahioned as it gets. Even the old system offers opportunities to create a better work-flow and could decrease the amount of paper that is used by the unit, but they choose to hang onto some of the paper charting. All sorts of different flow sheets are still kept in the chart and on the bedside clipboard. I hate filling in these sheets since it’s easy to make mistakes, and crossing things out looks messy. Plus, you’re forever replacing filled sheets.

With the new computer system, all these sheets and more are offered right on the computer, but we have decided to still keep all the paper flow sheets. I am frustrated because we have this beautiful new technology that will make our lives easier, and the unit refuses to take advantage of it.

The problem is that our unit is populated by several older nurses who, of course, are the squeekiest wheels on the unit. They don’t like change, they like the old way, they don’t like new nurses, they treat anything different than what they are used to with disdain. And because they are loud and intimidating, they get what they want.

And that’s why I want to ask this question at interviews. “Do you use all the technology available to its full scope?”

If they answer “yes,” I will know that the unit isn’t afraid to embrace change and new technologies. This tells me that the staff are at least willing to give change a chance, even if they do it begrudgingly. This further shows that staff aren’t afraid of new ideas. If I have something to say, perhaps they won’t immediately shoot me down (read: shout at me and make me feel small).

I want to work on a unit that doesn’t spend half their day complaining about how things aren’t as good as they used to be. Instead, I want to work on a unit that gets excited about change, always willing to try new things, experimenting with new ideas of patient care. These units do exist, and I now recognize these qualities as very important in my work environment.

Now, I fully believe that nursing attendants are underutilized on my unit. I want to work on a unit where there is a Nursing Attendant assigned to every patient, and they are expected to wash/walk/feed/ their patients. On my unit we have one or two Nursing Attendants. They simply float to where they are needed, and as a result end up with those old, cranky, “squeeky wheel” nurses that demand (not ask) for their help. This leaves me to work even harder than those other nurses since every time I ask for help, the nursing attendants are too busy helping the usual nurses.

By taking these basic care tasks away from Registered Nurses, it would open up our time to care for more patients, OR we could begin to work on the outer edges of our scope of practice. Imagine what we could do with an extra hour or two in our day!

So, here’s my interview questions so far:

1.) Do you have what I feel is appropriate support by Nursing Attendants?
2.) Do you embrace new technology, ideas, change? What are some examples?

OK, since I’m in the mood for questions, I’m putting these questions out there to my readers:

1.) Is willingness to embrace change an indicator of the unit’s atmosphere? Should we look to the future, or am I completely wrong, and the past was much better?
2.) Do you feel that Nursing Attendants are vital to our job and should be utilized as much as possible? Or should Nurses maintain the basic care tasks of nursing, considering it an important part of our identity?
3.) What would you ask at an interview to find out if the unit is right for you?

OK! I figured out the issue with my pictures from Moose Jaw. They aren’t really anything special (most were taken spontaneously from the inside of a moving car…so not great quality), but I thought I would share.

This first picture is from the morning we left Moose Jaw to come home. This is the Motel 8 we stayed in. In the background is the sign for the Humpty’s where we ate. One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time!

This is the view of the pending sunrise. This was almost 9:00am! The sun comes up later in Moose Jaw

These next two pictures are from downtown Moose Jaw. The first shows Main Street with their Christmas decorations. The second picture is an example of the beautiful architecture available there.

These next two pictures are examples of buildings that gave me that “apocalyptic” feeling. Buildings like these were everywhere, and seemed too big for the town they existed in.

And of course…here’s my picture of Mac the Moose!

My weekend began with a call at about 9:30am on Friday. I was having a horrible day. I’m sure you know the type of day I was having–I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and the day just conspired to keep me in a cranky mood. Every word, gesture, or action by any human being just served to make me angry. The mere existence of humanity and the world itself was enough to make want to scream in rage. Yes, it was one of “those” days.

The phone call went out to R. that I needed to get the hell of the city. We had been hinting of driving somewhere on the weekend, and I knew that I needed to reinforce that idea. The comfort of R.’s voice and the knowledge of an upcoming mini road trip kept me sane for the rest of the day.

We woke up at 7:00am Saturday with absolutely no knowledge of where we would be going. I finally decided that we were just going to start driving east with absolutely no plans as to where we were going to end up, or what we would do when we got there.

I secretly hoped we would get all the way to Saskatchewan. You see, while I have been all over the world, I’ve only been to two provinces in Canada–Alberta and BC (as long as you don’t count airport visits). So, I thought it would be nice to add Saskatchewan to my short list. But, I knew it was a long way to Saskatchewan and we only had the weekend.

We hit the road with the requisite bag full of McDonalds crap. I received the Garth Brooks collection from Wal-Mart for Christmas, so I slapped in one of those CDs and away we went. I bet a lot of you didn’t know about my secret Garth Brooks obsession. It’s the only country I ever have (or will) listen too. I’ve never been a country music fan, but somewhere along the way I became obsessed with Mr. Brooks, and never let go.

The first of many Tim Hortons stops was in Strathmore. By then, R. was sick of Garth Brooks, so I put all 3298 songs on my iPod on shuffle. Strathmore was a symbolic spot for me. It’s the farthest east on the Trans Canada highway that I have ever gone. As soon as we drove east of Strathmore, the trip was officially an adventure.

Our next stop was Brooks for more Tim Hortons. OK, seriously, what is that smell? I’ve heard that Brooks, Alberta had a “smell” to it, but it still took me by surprise. So, I ask all those that may know…what the heck is that smell?

(by the way…as I type…I’m eating vegetable barley soup from Planet Organic. It’s delicious! Go get some!)

After Brooks, I started to realize that this is a really dull chunk of the Trans Canada Highway. It’s nothing like heading west into the mountains, and R. states that after Saskatchewan there’s trees and lakes etc. All I could see was farm after farm after farm. I really started wondering what the heck was the goal of this road trip. I knew that I wanted adventure and fun. I wanted to explore and to experience new places, but at this point, all I had done was eat fatty foods, drink coffee, and watch run-down farm buildings fly by.

Medicine Hat was all about stopping and eating Arby’s. I expected Medicine Hat to be bigger. Perhaps it just looked small from the Highway, but I was sure it would have some office towers, malls, and suburbs. Instead, it just looked like another small prairie town. It’s amazing how you tend to build up pictures in your mind of cities that you have heard about all your life, but have never been to. I guess one of the fun parts of road trips is seeing just how these pictures differ from reality.

A few more minutes out of Medicine Hat and *poof* we were in Saskatchewan. I can add it to my list of Canadian provinces I have been to. I expected the moment to be more exciting, but really, it was all about going from prairie to…more prairie. Saskatchewan stretched into the distance in every distance but behind and I couldn’t wait to see what this trip would bring me.

Saskatchewan immediately invoked a feeling of loneliness for me. There was a huge feeling of emptiness that surrounded me as I looked out the window. The best word I was able to use for what I was seeing was “apocalyptic.” Every building we saw looked completely abandoned. Farm houses seemed rare. There were no little tiny towns. It was as though we were the only people in the entire world.

The weather started getting bad. Clouds drifted in and created almost no visibility. Now, in every direction were dense clouds. Snow blew across the road in gusts of wind. This all added to the empty feeling as we ploughed though Saskatchewan. I had no idea what was keeping us going. Every kilometer we drove, the farther we came from home, the greater our drive back was becoming.

Swift Current was a welcome sight. We parked the van and walked through the powerful winds into an old small town mall. Swift Current was also so much smaller than I always imagined. I started to wonder why I see towns as bigger than reality.

The mall was filled with numerous old people sitting in the food court, gossiping about life. I definitely felt like an outsider as the occasional crowd of old people stopped their conversations midstream and looked at us, wondering who the hell we were. We quickly used the bathroom and got out of there.

R. finally asked the questions we were both thinking. Do we stop? Go back? Keep going? Up until that point I was thinking, “we need to stop in Swift Current. The weather’s getting worse, and we’re getting FAR from home.” but I couldn’t believe when out of my mouth spilled, “We have to go to Moose Jaw…and I’m driving.”

The weather was horrible for about an hour, but it cleared up as the sun started to sink. I couldn’t believe that we had been driving so long that we had left Calgary just after sunrise, and we would be arriving at our destination just after sunset. Not to mention, I still hadn’t discovered the purpose of our trip. While we were traversing new territory, we weren’t really exploring, discovering, or experiencing anything. Really, all we had done was sit in a car and listen to a couple hundred random songs that in some way represented my life.

Moose Jaw! I don’t know why, but I have always wanted to see Moose Jaw. So, as I drove into town, I couldn’t help but feel excited. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Moose Jaw was WAY bigger than I had expected. There were tones of houses, malls, tall office/apartment buildings. And Main Street was so cool! It was filled with old, historic buildings with big personalities. It was dark, so there wasn’t much opportunity to look around, and we were tired and numb from driving for seven hours. We found a dirt-cheap hotel, went to Boston Pizza for dinner, and went to bed.

Boston Pizza was fun. There really was a community feeling in that place. Everybody seemed to know each other, mingling at different tables. Some people seemed as though they just hung out there a lot, others seemed as though they came from their kid’s hockey game. Either way, there was a quirkiness and charm to the people and the environment.

In the morning, we were faced with a six or seven hour trip home, so we decided not to stick around too long. However, we did go for a drive around town before leaving. Once again, I was struck by the apocalyptic, empty, lonely feeling that arose in me while looking out at Moose Jaw. The buildings all seemed too big for the town. They were run down and seemingly uncared for (at least visually). However, there was an extreme beauty to these buildings at the same time. Moose Jaw was completely unique to me in a way that I just can’t put my finger on. It had the feel of a large city that had been mostly abandoned. As I mentioned earlier, the buildings just seemed too big for the city.

I realized at this point that there was no purpose, and never would be a purpose to the road trip. I hadn’t thought about work for about 24 hours and that’s what really counts. I removed television, computers, and many other stimuli that keep my brain jumping all the time. Instead, I just listened to soft music and stared out at near nothingness. This lack of stimuli relaxed and refreshed me. The lack of purpose WAS the purpose. I’m tired of always having a purpose to what I do!

The idea of small town living gained another point in my big city books. In fact, I have decided to write a book called “In search of Cicely.” I doubt it will ever happen, but I like the idea of this book. I am obsessed with the show Northern Exposure. Since I was a kid, I have wanted to live in a little teeny quirky town such as the fictional Cicely, Alaska in which the show takes place. I would love to travel Canada in search of a town that lives up to the standards that Cicely has set. It would be a fun Canadian travel book, similar to the stuff that Will Ferguson does. But, I would have to magically become a great comedic writer. If that happens, I’ll give it a try!

This trip back was fun, and pretty much exactly the same as the trip in reverse. We were a little depressed that our weekend was done, and we had nothing to show for it but a very brief memory of Moose Jaw.

All I know is that I would like to go back to Saskatchewan when I can explore a little further. Maybe next time I can see Saskatoon and Regina too!

Or perhaps we’ll go south next time…

Sean

P.S. I had many beautiful pictures of the trip but (insert long boring story here) so I don’t have them. Sorry!

I had a patient today with skin like tissue paper. I had to change the dressing on her PICC line. It was my first PICC dressing change so I had to have one of our unit educators observe. As soon as she observes me successfully change a dressing, I am certified to do so on my own.

The patient’s skin was so delicate that even with extreme care, when I took one of the steri-strips off, her skin tore. She shouted out in pain at the four inch gash. Then when I slowly, carefully took off another piece of tape, her skin came with it, exposing adipose tissue belown. Again, she screamed in pain.

And I was traumatized at the grotesque torture I was causing this women. Oddly enough, it was nothing new for this women. Her body was covered in dressings where people had previously shreded her skin to bits while taking tape off.

I just can’t get the image of the little fat cells exposed to air…something you’re just not supposed to see when removing tape. Try putting a piece of tape on tissue paper, then try to remove it. No matter how gentle you are, it will shred. This is what I was dealing with.

I forgot just how much I love days off. I forgot because for the last several months, my days off have been spent writing papers and studying urology. The last couple days I have instead been watching my second favorite all-time show on DVD. I recevied the first two seasons of Northern Exposure for Christmas, and yesterday I bought season three.

This second clip will give you a clue as to what I think is the all-time best television show EVER! What’s with the video quality though? I expect much better from youtube.com!

*laugh*

I have also been studying for the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam. I know, so much for that whole thing about not studying on days off that I just mentioned. For those that don’t know, this exam is the Canadian equivalent of the NCLEX that the United States has.

This test is nothing but a giant headache for me (And today, it has literally caused a headache). They changed the format a couple years ago from all multiple choice to half multiple choice and half short answer. This means several horrible things. First and foremost, the test is harder. Second is that the text now takes several months to mark and return, rather than days because they have to hire people to sit in a room and mark thes short answer questions (oh how I envy the fact that in the U.S. you get your results a couple days later and can call yourself an RN). Finally, because of all this extra time and expensive manpower, the test now costs approximately $500 rather than the previous $200 (ish).

I find the above to be wrong on so many levels. And the more I think about it, the more I feel that a bachelor’s degree from a university nursing program accredited by the Canadian Nurses Association (yes…they create the exam every year) should be proof enough that I am qualified to work as a nurse. Think of all the time and money it would save if they simply decided to stop administering the exam.

However, that is extremely unlikely to happen. You know….tradition…and stuff.

So, today I have been going through and answering question after question about nursing. Now, one HUGE difference between the Canadian test and the U.S. test is that the Canadian test is focused on psychosocial issues, rather than biological. The U.S. test may ask you what an appropriate hemoglobin result is, but the Canadian test will ask you how you should respond to the patients feelings regarding their low hemoglobin results.

Uhm…barf

The test is extremely focused on therapeutic communication. I think they assume that we will learn the science of nursing while practicing, but the “fluffy” aspects of nursing must be taught in school. I actually believe the opposite.

What can I say though. This enormous test is just one more obstacle, and I’m getting quite used to dealing with obstacles. I think I’m just a little jealous of the NCLEX and wish our test was a similar format and style. Those preparing for the NCLEX may disagree.

*shrug*