We like your comments. In fact, we need them. We’re grateful when you express an opinion, raise a question, respond to each other. Below we’ve collected some recent comments that we particularly appreciated. We have a constantly growing number of readers or visitors. We’re happy about this–but we hope that more of you will go beyond reading and take a moment to let us know your responses. (About your privacy: When you comment, you have to give a valid e-mail address to the system. However, this e-mail address will not be published unless you deliberately insert it into the body of the comment. When you sign your comment, you can use your full name or initials or whatever else you’d like to identify yourself to other readers. It’s entirely up to you!)
About Nurses Write, Right?:
“If 1 percent of the three million nurses in the USA would write about what they do, we could take over health care.”
–Dr. Teena McGuinness
About Saving SimBaby-Teaching Nurses to Speak Up, a post about using simulation technology for training nurses:
“I used to dread simulation situations (like ACLS years ago when it was much more stressful). Now I think they are the best way to learn and to teach some situations. Reproducing a certain degree of anxiety helps young nurses, and more experienced nurses, learn how to keep anxiety and stress from becoming fear. Being forced to repetitively face those anxieties diminishes the likelihood that a nurse will be overwhelmed by them in a real situation. No one likes to have an audience watch them perform, but learning to perform when you have an audience makes you better at whatever you’re attempting.”
-Suzanne Magee
About Trauma in Pregnancy: An Expert’s Calm Look at What Nurses Need to Know:
“I cared for a woman who was 39 weeks pregnant and was involved in a MVA where there was a death in the other car. Because of the magnitude of trauma on the other car, there was a significant mechanism of injury present to warrent keeping her for fetal heart monitoring and to monitor her as well. Turns out she had a partial abruption and needed an emergency c-section a few hours later.”
–Jo Hendrix
About From Flu Vaccine to Abortion Right: The Same Argument?:
“Somewhere in this I really miss the reason for someone NOT taking the flu vaccination, and this becoming such a big issue. Our society has become OVERLY sensitive to every potential infringement to our rights.”
–Jackie
“I stood in line and took the H1N1 vaccine.
“I didn’t do it out of guilt, or because of media induced panic. When it came down to it, I did it because of a child I love, and for a close family member who is pregnant. That’s all. I don’t want to catch the virus at work, and give it to either of these people. So far, my arm hasn’t fallen off or anything.
“I respect every health care worker’s right to make their own decision about the vaccine. Of course, all kinds of parallels can be drawn from this issue, including the rights of smokers to smoke, the right to drink soda without taxation, the right to drive without a seat belt, be overweight, or ride a bicycle without a helmet.
“One characteristic of effective conflict resolution between two parties is to stay issue focused. Otherwise, indeed, “slippery-slope” thinking occurs. A health care worker may not want the H1N1 vaccination, but be pro-life. One doesn’t necessarily support the other.
“I agree, the arguments are similar, but one issue at a time, please.”
—JParadisiRN (an artist and nurse who blogs)
About An End to Interruptions: Nurses Preventing Medication Errors:
“I saw this article about UC San Francisco. It is a great idea and more is being done around this as it is a problem. I have also heard of a “no interruption area” that is drawn around the med cart or Pyxis. When a nurse is inside this zone, no one can interrupt them. This has also been successful. Any other ideas? If your facility hasn’t implemented something like this, please consider it. Medication errors cost our system many many dollars a year.”
–Peggy
About Why Doesn’t the U.S. Have an Office of the National Nurse?:
“In today’s environment of healthcare reform, A National Nurse could and would represent nursing views and galvanize Nurses as the back bone of healthcare. Nurses provide the care let our views be known. Where do I sign up to support this endeavor?”
–Tafi Vista, RN, CM
Lastly, a bunch about The Top 5 Things You Wish They’d Taught in Nursing School:
“Wish we were taught to juggle 7-8 patients with IV’s beeping, demanding families, post ops and admissions while the unit secretary called out sick and there was no nursing assistant scheduled for that day, the computer system is down and your co-worker is really not feeling well and she needs to go home if you could watch over her patients while she tries to find a replacement! Just some real life scenarios that you don’t learn in nursing school!!”
–Andrea Johnsen
“As a new nurse in an adult ICU, I wish someone in school had taught me that when I started in July, the residents also started in July, so when I needed a doctor to write an order for a fentanyl or versed drip, they were pretty much as clueless as I was…..”I wish they had a class in nursing school on “How to interact with families that are less than cooperative and polite…””
–MaryJo Nonnemacher
“There was not nearly enough hard science or quality clinical experience. Too much emphasis on “reflecting,” and other emotional topics. That stuff is important too, but when you teach it at the expense of quality experience that will help to protect your license once you graduate, that is not okay. I felt horrendously under-prepared by my nursing school experience and I feel like the burden was placed on me to learn all the things that would actually help me in reality.”
–Luke
“I wished I had known about nursing opportunities in the US Public Health Service. When I found out about the variety of roles and travel opportunities, I had already put down roots and established an acute care career. Schools need to do better in helping students be aware of career possibilities.”
–Shawn
“Wishes there were available clinical sites in places that challenge a student nurse instead of places that are just “available”.With the number of nurses retiring it is harder to get clinical placements with nurses that have a large amount if experience as well as knowledge. Which can limit the clinical placements.”
–Joanne
“I graduated from a hospital school and feel that the extra bedside experiences were very helpful. However, time and experience gave me the critical thinking skills. This is why it is so important to have a skill mix that includes new and experienced nurses working every shift. Equally important is that nurses are rewarded for staying at the bedside and recognized for the labor of love it truly is.”
–Misha
Wow, what a great idea to feature reader comments! We may have to do something similar over at Midwife Connection. Reader comments are what make a blog come to life.