International Nurses Association

5:50-8:45 4:45 a.m. The alarm is vibrating my phone off the night stand.   Tired from the previous day, since I worked a 16 hour shift, I do what many other nurses do, I get up and go to work anyway.   Arriving at work, it's 5:50 a.m., and I am told that my patient in room 202 is not being cooperative. Then, the screaming started from my less than happy patient.   I faced the music or the patient in this case.   He informed me he was not being treated well, and he needed pain medications.   I agreed to check his chart regarding medication times, and he referred to me in no so nice terms and told me not to come back without pain medication.   I left his room and was immediately called to room 216.   An elderly woman, that was very kind and followed her doctor's instructions exactly, had a bowel movement after 5 days of no activity.   The problem was, she did not make it to the restroom.   Because of the patient’s lack of mobility, I s...

Even though we wear scrubs more than any other item of clothing, we usually only have a few pairs.   It’s very important to look after scrubs, as incorrect care can make them look grubby and worn very quickly, which of course gives off the wrong image to patients and their families.   So, what are the best ways to keep your scrubs looking as good as new, all the time?   1.      Quality over Quantity It’s worth investing in good quality scrubs.   Not all things are made equal, and that’s as true for medical uniforms as it is for anything else.   If you look on uniform websites, you will doubtless see scrub sets advertised as cheaply as $5.99 (maybe even lower), but this is the definition of false economy. Your scrubs are going to get knocked about and stained - the only thing that cheap material will achieve is a ruined pair of scrubs in a very short time frame.   It’s far better to buy the best quality that you can afford, so you...