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! :)