Shortly after returning from the lake district recently I was sat in my local with a friend and we were discussing the complexity of reintroducing red squirrels to the south. The concept is referred to in ecological circles as humpty dumpty communities. The intruder greys came in and won dominance over the red squirrel. It seems the solution is simple, remove the grey squirrel and reintroduce the red squirrel but it is far from that simple. A species often has different requirements to establish themselves in an environment. A certain insect or plant which has long since died out may be required in abundance to allow the red to reach the necessary numbers in the initial stages in order to survive in an environment long term. Many people say they prefer the red squirrel but ultimately evolution has led to the rise of the grey squirrel and as much as many would like to see a predominantly red england again, what right do we have to tamper with the progression of nature?
The grey squirrel is larger, more aggressive and more of their progeny are likely to survive infancy. This clearly placed them at an advantage over the more timid, less hardy red squirrels.
This concept is best explained by Olivia Judson(one of my heroes). Whilst I was in the lakes I asked my fiance(a northern lass) why the grey squirrels dont seem to have penetrated the lake district(loads of red squirrels and I've never seen a grey in the lake district). Her reply made me laugh "we're better shots than you".
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I am aware that some of my readers are avid gardeners and I would like to ask for any tips when it comes to battling white fly on my pepper plants. Every year about 75% of my plants are ruined by the little buggers.
Monday, 17 August 2009
Friday, 14 August 2009
My Return
I have returned. I decided to take a little bit of time away from blogging(and the computer) whilst I was on my A&E placement just so I could keep focused. That placement is now over and I am really going to miss it. When I qualify I fully intend to find a job either in that A&E department or to one in a local hospital.
Now down to the business of the day. As many of you will have heard President Obama is presenting the idea of a government funded healthcare system(a bit like our own) in the US. This has been met with fairly aggressive opposition and frankly more than a little sniping at our system in order to discredit it. The problem is, as I see it. most if not all hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, etc in the US are businesses, they have many investors who will suddenly lose a lot of money if free healthcare finds a place. The current system mean thats most americans only have access to healthcare if they can afford it, leaving those that cant in a pretty sorry state. There are of course a few very badly funded, understaffed, underequipped services trying to cater to the needs of those who cant afford the care they need but it is wholly insufficient.
The problem here is how do you introduce a state funded system that will rival big businesses in an entirely capitalist society?
Now down to the business of the day. As many of you will have heard President Obama is presenting the idea of a government funded healthcare system(a bit like our own) in the US. This has been met with fairly aggressive opposition and frankly more than a little sniping at our system in order to discredit it. The problem is, as I see it. most if not all hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, etc in the US are businesses, they have many investors who will suddenly lose a lot of money if free healthcare finds a place. The current system mean thats most americans only have access to healthcare if they can afford it, leaving those that cant in a pretty sorry state. There are of course a few very badly funded, understaffed, underequipped services trying to cater to the needs of those who cant afford the care they need but it is wholly insufficient.
The problem here is how do you introduce a state funded system that will rival big businesses in an entirely capitalist society?
Monday, 4 May 2009
Shorthand
Pt biba following RTC. 3xPCW around R 4-5 IC spaces. ?# R NOF as S+R of limb and dec ROM. GCS 12. MEWS of 5 due to rr 22, pr 114 and systolic bp 98. 15l o2 via non-rebreathe, maintaining sats 89%. ECG done and shown to dr. IV morphine administered as per prescription chart. CXR, Abdo XR and Hip XR ordered. Pt a/w tx ESAU.
This patient was an absolute wreck, I was helping work on him. Later that shift I found this nursing note written by a charge nurse also working on that patient. I can understand everything written there but I feel nursing notes should be a little clearer. The translation is as follows -
Patient brought in by ambulance. Three penetrating chest wounds around the right fourth and fifth intercoastal spaces. Query fractured right neck of femor as there is shortening and rotation of the limb and decreased range of motion. Glasgow coma scale of 12. Modified Early Warning System score of 5 due to resp rate of 22, pulse rate of 114 and systolic blood pressure of 98mmol. Patient on 15 litres of Oxygen via non-rebreathe mask and maintaining oxygen saturation of 89%. Electrocardiograph done and shown to doctor. Intravenous morphine administered as per prescription chart. Chest X-Ray, Abdominal X-Ray and Hip X-Ray requested. Patient awaiting transfer to emergency surgical assessment unit.
This patient was an absolute wreck, I was helping work on him. Later that shift I found this nursing note written by a charge nurse also working on that patient. I can understand everything written there but I feel nursing notes should be a little clearer. The translation is as follows -
Patient brought in by ambulance. Three penetrating chest wounds around the right fourth and fifth intercoastal spaces. Query fractured right neck of femor as there is shortening and rotation of the limb and decreased range of motion. Glasgow coma scale of 12. Modified Early Warning System score of 5 due to resp rate of 22, pulse rate of 114 and systolic blood pressure of 98mmol. Patient on 15 litres of Oxygen via non-rebreathe mask and maintaining oxygen saturation of 89%. Electrocardiograph done and shown to doctor. Intravenous morphine administered as per prescription chart. Chest X-Ray, Abdominal X-Ray and Hip X-Ray requested. Patient awaiting transfer to emergency surgical assessment unit.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
A&E: Day Four
My fourth shift started with my primary mentor in majors, we had a couple of chest pains(?MI) and a headache with left sided vision impairment and limb weakness. All very pleasant patients. And then I got asked to take a set of obs on a patient in resus because they were rammed in there and didnt have the time to juggle everything. Seven hours later I left resus.....
It was incredible, juggling obs, drawing meds and just generally identifying jobs that needed doing and doing them before the qualified staff realised they needed to be done. At the end of my shift I got a chance to chat with two of my patients in resus(they were on half hourly obs and nothing else in there needed doing). One lady in her late eighties came in with chest pain(i'm told she was a little bit in love with me). I find that a lot of elderly patients get spoken down to. as though they have no right to know exactly what is happening to them as long as their progeny have been filled in. I do not agree with this, as long as the patient is competant and willing to know, they have every right to know whats going on with them. This also seems to help me form nurse-patient bonds. This patient was very stable when I went off duty.
Another patient was a lady probably in her late fourties, overdose of paracetamol. her fifteenth suicide attempt in the last twelve months. This told me several things. The patient felt rewarded by the attention her suicide attempts acheieved, the patient shouldnt have been in a position to make a second suicide attempt, let alone a fifteenth. She should have been sectioned under the mental health act. As a result I felt obliged to give her my most professional behavior, I did everything by the textbook, with no more than the professionally required level of warmth. Its a shame, the patient was such an intelligent person and she was wasting her life by trying to end it.
On the other hand we all over our stories and people dont end up like that unless a series of events has guided her path there. To be honest I had no idea what to do non-medically that would be in her best interests. I am sure she will survive to discharge and in all probability make another attempt, who knows one day she may accidentally succeed.
There was another patient who died under circumstances that really effected me but it is probabilty disrespectful to recount the events of his failed resuscitation on a public blog. Needless to say there are some parts of the job I will never enjoy.
However I have had another great day, largely thanks to the staff I have been working with. I am more than ready for my two days off now and a bit of sleep.
It was incredible, juggling obs, drawing meds and just generally identifying jobs that needed doing and doing them before the qualified staff realised they needed to be done. At the end of my shift I got a chance to chat with two of my patients in resus(they were on half hourly obs and nothing else in there needed doing). One lady in her late eighties came in with chest pain(i'm told she was a little bit in love with me). I find that a lot of elderly patients get spoken down to. as though they have no right to know exactly what is happening to them as long as their progeny have been filled in. I do not agree with this, as long as the patient is competant and willing to know, they have every right to know whats going on with them. This also seems to help me form nurse-patient bonds. This patient was very stable when I went off duty.
Another patient was a lady probably in her late fourties, overdose of paracetamol. her fifteenth suicide attempt in the last twelve months. This told me several things. The patient felt rewarded by the attention her suicide attempts acheieved, the patient shouldnt have been in a position to make a second suicide attempt, let alone a fifteenth. She should have been sectioned under the mental health act. As a result I felt obliged to give her my most professional behavior, I did everything by the textbook, with no more than the professionally required level of warmth. Its a shame, the patient was such an intelligent person and she was wasting her life by trying to end it.
On the other hand we all over our stories and people dont end up like that unless a series of events has guided her path there. To be honest I had no idea what to do non-medically that would be in her best interests. I am sure she will survive to discharge and in all probability make another attempt, who knows one day she may accidentally succeed.
There was another patient who died under circumstances that really effected me but it is probabilty disrespectful to recount the events of his failed resuscitation on a public blog. Needless to say there are some parts of the job I will never enjoy.
However I have had another great day, largely thanks to the staff I have been working with. I am more than ready for my two days off now and a bit of sleep.
Friday, 24 April 2009
A&E: Day Three
Today has been the best(and most exhausting) day in my two years of training. I was working on resus. I lost count of how many chest pain patients we saw. We also had a few stroke patients. Normally my hospital thrombolyses(injects an agent to break down clots) about eight people a month. Today we did this to six patients. They have to meet a very specific criteria to be eligable. It was all very exciting. While we didnt have any actual arrests in resus all of our patients were very ill. We also had two patients with very impressive breaks (one elbow, one wrist) who were sedated and had their breaks manipulated (pulled into a more stable position and cast) both of these patients were admitted as they would require surgery.
Something that strikes me as very different here is that the doctors actually get stuck in with general nursing duties, a doctor helped me transfer a patient to the ward. She also later on helped me roll a patient so I could get a bed pan under her. This would never happen on the wards. The nurses in A&E are all so laid back and relaxed, someone could walk through the doors in flames and they would probably yawn before putting the flames out. There is no such thing as a rush in A&E. I like this approach, calm and sure.
Something that strikes me as very different here is that the doctors actually get stuck in with general nursing duties, a doctor helped me transfer a patient to the ward. She also later on helped me roll a patient so I could get a bed pan under her. This would never happen on the wards. The nurses in A&E are all so laid back and relaxed, someone could walk through the doors in flames and they would probably yawn before putting the flames out. There is no such thing as a rush in A&E. I like this approach, calm and sure.
A&E: Day Two
Back on majors again today, and loving it. A couple of old ladies collapse query cause. This means taking a full set of basic tests - ECG, Pulse, Blood Pressure, O2 Saturation, Resp Rate, Temperature. And blood tests including - Full Blood Count(FBC), Microcultures and Sensitivities(MC&S), Blood Glucose Levels, etc. Because its easy enough treating the injuries sustained in the fall but the cause could be very sinister. In this case on patient was admitted with fast atrial fibrilation(Fast AF) and the other wise discharged as the fall was caused by a raging urinary tract infection(UTI, very well known for knocking little old ladies off their feet and making them a little crazy at the same time).
We also had a couple dementia patients who didnt stay with us long, they were admitted for a social sort out. Not really our job but the ward nurses are very used to this sort of thing.
All in all another awesome shift, Roll on Tomorrow!
We also had a couple dementia patients who didnt stay with us long, they were admitted for a social sort out. Not really our job but the ward nurses are very used to this sort of thing.
All in all another awesome shift, Roll on Tomorrow!
A&E: Day One
Sorry for my lack of posts recently I've been putting a bit of time into preparation for my new placement. I am now spending eight weeks on Accident and Emergency. This is very much where I want to be career wise.
For my first day I was working majors. This is where patients go if they have a serious injury or illness and will probably require inpatient admission. My first patient was a known alcoholic in his mid-fourties who was found in the middle of a road unconcious with some very nasty grazes down his arm. Grazes dont sound that bad however he was losing about a pint of serous fluid(clear body fluid) every few minutes. He had taken most of the layers of skin off his. Obviously the key here was to dress the wound and get as much saline into him as humanly possible, we also gave him various vitamins to ease the effects of the alcohol withdrawl. All in all a really good first patient.
We also had a couple of road-traffic collisions(RTC's) one of whom was triple-immobilised by the ambulance crew(neck colar, head blocks and straps all over hte body). We had to get an x-ray of his c-spine before we could remove any of this. This shouldnt be too hard but we are fairly sure he dislocated his shoulder as well so it was damn near impossible to get a clear picture of the last cervical(that spelling doesnt look right but my brain is melting so it will do) vertibrae.
All in all an exciting first day.
For my first day I was working majors. This is where patients go if they have a serious injury or illness and will probably require inpatient admission. My first patient was a known alcoholic in his mid-fourties who was found in the middle of a road unconcious with some very nasty grazes down his arm. Grazes dont sound that bad however he was losing about a pint of serous fluid(clear body fluid) every few minutes. He had taken most of the layers of skin off his. Obviously the key here was to dress the wound and get as much saline into him as humanly possible, we also gave him various vitamins to ease the effects of the alcohol withdrawl. All in all a really good first patient.
We also had a couple of road-traffic collisions(RTC's) one of whom was triple-immobilised by the ambulance crew(neck colar, head blocks and straps all over hte body). We had to get an x-ray of his c-spine before we could remove any of this. This shouldnt be too hard but we are fairly sure he dislocated his shoulder as well so it was damn near impossible to get a clear picture of the last cervical(that spelling doesnt look right but my brain is melting so it will do) vertibrae.
All in all an exciting first day.
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