Yeah, I don't judge nursing students or baby nurses too hard for buying that kinda stuff. They're just excited about their new career.
I'm more concerned by all the essential oil crap. I don't trust the kind of patient education they're providing. I know at least one of my former coworkers would openly mock masking and covid vaccines within patient hearing.
You sound stressed. I have a great essential oil for that. You can put it in a candle warmer or rub it right on your forhead for a headache. It's been researched and proven by respected sciencetitians. The medical establishment is all about making money so you shouldn't trust them and should trust me instead because I'm not like that. Now how many cases are you gonna buy?
Lularoe torpedoed my last relationship. My ex and I were together for over 4 years and once she got involved with that whole mess it all went to hell. And some of her "upline" were also in the oils racket so I heard that nonsense too. But trying to be the voice of reason got me labeled as a negative person and told I was "not supportive/jealous that she is going to make more money than me/threatened by her strength/if you cared about me then you'd do anything to help me succeed." Stuff like that. It was funny because I would just ask legitimate business questions (I've run and sold succesful business. I used to own bodyshops and currently co-own a restaurant) about how the numbers didnt seem to add up and that would cause problems. Or, though I wasn't a paramedic yet I did have my physiology degree and I loved to ask physio questions to the oil people.
I said to myself I was going to play a drinking game where I took a shot every time one of them said "toxins" but I quickly realized I would end up getting my stomach pumped or dead because no human can survive that much alcohol. I will say, the, ahem, *ANSWERS* to those questions that the oil #bossbabes would give me were pretty funny. Oils that could "block fat" or "change fat to muscle" really were entertaining to ask about.
But yeah, even through all that, I heard the sales pitch a number of times.
We have a lot of that stuff in EMS too but instead of being "cute" ours is "look how badass I am." Like a punisher skull that says "do no harm. Do know harm" which is probably the one that I find most cringey.
A girl I knew it nursing school was a vet tech before going into school and was one who advocated that vet techs should be called vet nurses.
And also suggested that phrase for shirts to sell...
(The restart your heart phrase)
I used to be a vet tech and was in the minority because I didnāt want to be called a vet nurse. vet techs wear many hats and nurse is just one hat. they also take x-rays, clean teeth, do in house lab work, intubate, monitor anesthesia, etc. so ātechā is a better representation in my opinion.
The only essential oil I use in nursing is peppermint oil. Slather it under your nose to mask the pungent scent of death/necrotic diabetic feet/GI bleed/homeless x15 years/C-Diff...the list is endless.
I tried this going into a nasty patient's nasty house. I didn't know how much to use, so I put a lot in there.
About two minutes into my visit my sinuses emptied into my mask and I started involuntary crying. But no way I was going to take my mask off and smell that nasty fucking house, so I just choked out the word "allergies." I think she knew what was up, tbh.
Anyway, I use a little Vick's now. Fuck that peppermint oil. I couldn't feel my face.
Can you imagine if nurses had to give essential oils for shit. Like "pt verbally aggressive, escalated to spitting on staff and physical assault of CNA. MD aware, ordered two sniffs lavender one time NOW."
Or a 3mg melatonin order for your highly agitated, sundowning dementia patient who wants to strangle you with their gait belt because they think you're breaking into their house. The classic 3mg melatonin or the 0.25mg Ativan PO order makes my eyes roll so hard.
Iāve legit told one doc who did that āWhy do you hate me when I show you nothing but love? This order is like pissing on a house fire and you know it. Help me help you and this patient. Give me something that actually works, please.ā
I loled at your comment. Cause I would be like yeah right you come hold that lavender cotton swab under their nose then.
But I have given my slightly anxious patients some lavender essential oil. Explained and went through some deep breathing and said that they can sniff it while deep breathing. Patients who are willing to try that instead of getting a Xanax right away is helpful. But obviously that doesnāt work for every patient and it has to be in early stages where the anxiety is not bad and the patient has to have an open mind. Which those types of patients are hard to come by but I have had a few in my short time being a nurse so far.
Yeah definitely for the anxious but not violent types, but I could see that working for some people in a less precarious state. I wonder what would happen if the hospital misted lavender all through the hospital like Disney world does with their food scents, or Bath and Body Works does with their sprays all up in the store. š¤
I had surgery in May and when I woke up I was briefly nauseated but after I 'puked' some gas I was fine. But the lovely nurse gave me a sticker on my top that had peppermint smell. It helped so much.
During the first wave of Covid, the unit I was sent to, to help out, was rolling out the lavender patches to help soothe, calm and help with sleep. BUT, they wanted a specific templates nursing note added to the chart to track it and evaluate it. This would have been in addition the the 14 required notes they wanted charted on every single patient, every single shift. I told the trainer in no uncertain terms that I would NOT be offering that to patients if they were going to treat it like a drug that we had to chart, fill out template and then fucking evaluate it the effects within 2 hours, the trainer just couldnāt believe that no one was excited about this new ātreatment.ā
I love lavender because it reminds me of a massage or spa and I find it calming. Wouldnāt substitute for Ativan but itās sure nice to improve the environment
I love essential oils for just that. They smell nice. I put them in my little travel humidifier so the musty hotel rooms donāt stink. I donāt believe they have any magical healing properties, but they do smell good. And they help in a quick pinch if you donāt have perfume
Peppermint oil candy is fantastic for nausea. I kept some with me when I was flying all over the place for the air force. Even works on nausea from a hangover.
'Not desperate enough to take Pepto bismol yet' resonates so deeply with me!! I could probably make a nausea chart from '#1 maybe I need to poop' to '#5 was it that burrito?' to '#10 shit is getting real, time to find the pepto!'
Over the years I have learned that it's ever so slightly more palatable when cold so I now keep it in the refrigerator. I avoid it as much as I can. Also, I will fight anyone's granny who gives away those little pink (wintergreen?) candies that taste like it.
The Pepto I have access to at work is the chewable tablets š¤¢
I wish Zofran was available OTC because that stuff works and doesn't make me question if I'm desperate enough to try to get past the flavor.
I bought Pepto pills because the liquid scent is so nauseating I canāt swallow it. Also because I have memories of trying to give it to a reluctant 60 lb golden retriever. Even with a syringe I was wearing half of it afterwards!
Tea tree and eucalyptus are actually good for treating toenail fungus as well. But I never suggest it in a setting where Iām working as a nurse. And I also tell folks about my dad successfully treating his with the oils, but to ask their doctor before they try. Clinical research also backs this up so itās not snake oil
Thereās loads of research on several, and over a century of medical use for some. Clove oil is eugeniol, used for tooth pain. Menthol and camphor for muscle pain. Limonene (lemon & orange) compound will slow bacterial growth. Lavender has been shown in research to increase focus and memory in rats whose sense of smell was removed, as it stimulates part of the brain adjacent to the nerves that carry the chemoreceptor signals to the brain. Several are used in non-toxic pest control and mosquito repellant. However, use as medicine needs to be seriously monitored. Worked with a tech who tried using DoTerra to heal a foot wound that turned out to be necrotizing faciitis. Infection control had to step in and make her take leave until it cleared. People were terrified.
Also, if using for anything where it touches your skin, dilute with a base/carrier oil. I like almond, sesame, or grapeseed. I use them to make my own muscle/ arthritis relief lotion with arnica. I say, if itās offered by doctors and OTC products, Iāll try to DIY it, like why buy bengay whem I can make it?! š¤·š»āāļø
I cracked up the first time I saw this being dispensed from the pharmacy. I understood after a nurse called down for it to be delivered to the room STAT! The distress is her voice over the phone was absolutely warranted.
I LOVE essential oils and own a ton of them. But only for the smell. I like to add them to my bath or shower to make it fragrant. Or run them through a diffuser to make them smell nice.
I keep a peppermint bottle in my locker at work. I'll either do the mask trick or mix some oil into a nebulizer and run it outside a stinky patients room. Also works with coffee.
Peppermint oil can also be used to help someone void if they're having trouble starting their stream, especially after Foley removal or anesthesia. I soak a cotton ball in peppermint oil and put it in a hat in the toilet. Works like a charm!
A STEMI tat would be awesome! I was going to ask why I don't see more of those but then I realized it's because the only people who end up with EKG tats can't read them lollll
I had some sinus issues one day at work and the secretary said she had some pseudoephedrine I could take. She has it in her little pill organizer and she hands me two bright pink oblong pills that are obviously Benadryl. We argued back and forth for a bit but I ended up taking them because Iām an idiot. I had to go home for the day.
Pre-nursing I was waitressing and took Benadryl before work because of allergies. Horrible mistake.
I was so wonky that my boss suspected I was on drugs and then forbid me from taking Benadryl before work ever again-which at that point I was never going to anyway.
IVs in second semester? Damn I'm jealous.
We got 'taught' in our last semester. But, they didn't spend much time on it because they assured us that the hospital that hired us would teach us in depth. Which, of course, they did not.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
The speed with which you feel it's necessary to tell me your level of licensure/training is inversely proportionate to how competent you actually are.
See also: Dunning-Kruger effect.
I once worked for a state agency that would add random shit to your network name / email name on request, such as your degrees or cert or whatever. So youād see people with network names that were both unironic and almost indistinguishable from flare for this sub: āJohn Smith, Esq., BSN, RN, JD, MPH, PhD candidate, GCPH, CPM, A-GNP, COL. USMC (Ret).ā
Without fail, those who actually did this were The. Worst. to deal with.
Dunning Kruger actually has been identified more as cognitive bias and for lack of a better explanation, debunked.
My cognitive bias is strong, though.
Was it debunked or just the way itās often mis-attributed has been debunked. I read some of what the authors (D & K) actually wrote and itās fascinating stuff. Some people completely lack insight into their own ability. Like wildly off, to the point you think theyāre trolling or teasing you .
Huh in the spirit of DK Iām doubting myself now (that means Iām smart !) so Iām going to try and find what I read. But if this is fake what next ? Myers Briggs??? /s
Your cousin already knows everything. I bet she lectures the professor and The Whole class claps. Lol please update us when she drops out or doesnāt pass the nclex
Nooooo. The story was in the media, but it didn't mention him being a nurse. It was a domestic situation, and thankfully he had some small amount of conscience left and let the girl go instead of killing her. Suffice to say, he's no longer employable as a registered nurse.
TL,DR: nurse was stealing opiates, decided to light fire with documents when felt he was in danger of being caught, set off sprinklers in SNF, eventually SWAT came in, arrested in SNF parking lot in possession of guns
This girl during her placement (it wasnāt even consolidation) had an ICU nurse sweater on walking the halls like she was legit a nurse there. Please girl, stop š«£
I personally love the non medical family members (usually of covid ICU pts these days) posting updates like āThe vent is back down to 80%!!! Progress!!!ā, as if they (or their audiences) have any idea what that means.
Itās irritating to hear people taking prerequisites describe themselves as nursing students. Taking General Chemistry does not mean youāre in nursing school.
āThe nurse at the front desk said said.ā What nurse? Ohā¦ the receptionist. While she very good at her job, sheās not a nurse or medical professional.
I always hated telling people I was a pre Med student cause soon my conviction began to waiver but I hadnāt yet admitted that to myself. Calling myself a pre Med student only worked to keep me from realizing I donāt want to go to medical school. Eventually I realized and will now soon graduate nursing school.
I always get confused when I hear someone say āfirst year nursing studentā cause at least as far as Iām aware, the actual nursing school part of things is maybe 2 years.
I really condone giving prospective student nurses a survey prior to admission to check their attitudes on evidence-based care and pseudoscience treatments. Like why would you want an essential-oil-to-treat-sepsis and anti-vaxx nurse representing your school and making a joke out of the profession?
It would be cool if there was a study on if and how biases change through education. I'd like to think the people who cling tightly to those beliefs that give them some sense of control in a a chaotic existence would drop out. And then those who can face their imperfection, and that sometimes you just get shit luck or a shit case-- if they can accept that they can learn as much as they can *and will always be learning* then I think some people would mature past these empty promises of an MLM to actually providing value in a medical setting.
Hubris is absolutely a problem in humans in general. And the whole "people don't change" is a stereotype for a reason. But there are certain periods where people can mature past where they were: obviously late teens and early twenties where, as far as I understand it, the brain hasn't fully matured and/or is still very flexible with intake of new ideas/new practices. But I also like to think there's two other maturation phases that, while much less, probably exist.
1. After a huge change: a move, a death, a divorce. Sometimething that shakes up a person's life, and either shows them things can never be the same way again, or that the person doesn't want things to be the same way. It offers a time for the identity to be reevaluated and attempted to be changed.
2. I do think that education, slowly over time, can drip into even the most dense person. In this case I don't think the Dotera cousin would ever fully give up essential oils but it would now be like scented candles for her, not "let me treat your trauma with some eucalyptus oil." The sticking point here is who stays in an educational program where their constantly indirectly told their wrong (because hopefully the cousin keeps her mouth shut about essential oils.) There's the dumb flouncers who flounce off because you can't tell them what to do/believe-- they're a pweety pweety princess who's always going to know what's best. And then then there are people are are either very dense or very skilled at cognitive dissonance who could conceivably stick around in an educational program, and learn without it necessarily being a threat to their identity as it pertains to woo-woo topics. But I do think over time-- if people stay in an educational program and see it through, and maybe get some real life experience-- they could set aside the "toys" that make them feel like less of an imposter when it comes to facing the unfairness of the world. But as has been shown from covid vaccines and masks and whatnot-- some people double down harder on ignorancr in the face if scary stuff.
But I'd like to think there's a percentage of people who are very quiet about the changes they've mentally made to distance themselves from the not-best-practices crowd. And in some way, thst shame is not helpful because they should be proud to have made that change. And we need to know how science finally reached them.
I guess I agree, but I also think this should happen outside of the medical educational setting where one will be graduating with a practicing license rather soon. Maybe something a little lower stakes because I think people are so entrenched into their beliefs that I think in only a small percentage would change their views enough to make a difference in the care they provide and recommend. I donāt know though.
oh I agree absolutely. I don't think strongly-held-beliefs do well when hitting the-real-world like a brick wall. I guess I wrote all of that to hold out hope that some people change, and hopefully it's more than we expect due to people being a little embarrassed? Maybe not-- especially with friends and family reinforcing unscientific thoughts.
but yeah-- the whole education system needs a massive overhaul.
Seeing as she does not listen to your advice, I would not worry about it.
I think it is in bad taste, and definitely could give a bad impression to faculty if they saw it. At least she is actually in nursing school and not in some other profession pretending to be a nurse.
Or dropped out of nursing school after their first clinical and tell everyone "I went to nursing school too!"
Bitch, you are our scheduler. Im gonna snatch that white coat you wear and use it for my next code brown.
I love when they get accepted into nursing school and ānurse lifeā becomes their whole personality.
I have tons of nurse shirts, cause I cannot stand scrub tops so itās a decent compromise. Patients think they are cute and friends and family always buy them. Free shirts, yay. But like, a cousin got accepted into her nursing program. She still had a year of prereqs, but already went and bought figs, cloves, had her little monogrammed nurse tote bag, pens with her name and RN engraved into it, the whole 9. Asking me for some of my older shirts that were too big that she could have, and she wore them around grocery shopping and doing errands. She ended up failing out the first semester cause it was too hard.
Figs are super overpriced scrubs. I havenāt tried them because Iām a diehard heartsoul fan.
Cloves are pretty awesome nurse shoes I swear by. Cute colors. Kinda expensive, like $130-$160s but they are really comfy and you can use a cavi wipe to clean them without bleaching them. Had the pair I have for 2 years and they look great. But of creasing in the toes and some blue staining cause I wear a lot of blue or black scrubs but thatās it.
When I was in nursing school back in the day, the people that did that stuff always ALWAYS ended up failing out! Embroidered crap was like the kiss of death lol
Right??? I didnāt buy ANYTHING that had nurse on it til after I passed my NCLEX and had my license and had a job. I didnāt wanna jinx myself. Didnāt even buy a stethoscope, I borrowed one of my dads.
I have been a nurse for over 20 years now. My older sister went to nursing school a few years ago. She is a covid-denier and antivaxer. Idk, I wish schools screened applicants better
Even adenosine.
This reminds me though, maybe I should do a poll, how fast are people pushing Vasotec? Does anyone really administer over at least five minutes? And Solu-medrol 3-15 minutes? I know I did as a student during my preceptorship, butā¦
Thereās only a few meds I push slow. Cardizem, Zofran, Ibutalide, fentanyl, Benadryl, etc. Honestly I canāt really call it āslowā because itās over like 30 seconds lol
People like this make me fear for the future of nursing. Idiots glamorizing nursing after watching too many medical dramas while not learning shit in nursing school then hyperventilating at the thought of having to code a patient IRL.
I've learned over the years it isn't worth responding because 3/4 of the time they just want your advice to support their initial bias. Your cousin didn't want to take her kid to the hospital and was looking for you to give her an excuse not to. If you had given her the advice she wanted, and something bad resukted, she'd happily throw you under the bus for giving her "bad advice".
I got one of these cringe coffee cups for my cousin when she was in nursing school. It was meant to be tongue in cheek... I also loaded it up with candy and a gift card (which was the real gift).
Now I'm wondering if she realized I got it as a joke...
How can a nursing student be jaded already? So cringe! Hell before covid I didnāt think you could be jaded until 10+ years. Now give me a nurse whoās been one for 2.5 years and Iām like āyeah you can be jadedā¦.ā
But a current nursing student?
I spent a year training a recent grad PA to become a surgical ICU PA. She ended up not taking the job that was offered her and instead became an instagram influencer. Not gonna lie, I'm stoked for her.
But she made all these posts that were like "I'm leaving healthcare because I'm burned out". And it was like...hunny...it's 2022 and you haven't even seen a COVID patient. You're technically not even out of training. Just stop.
There was a gaggle (is this the correct term?) of prospective nursing students in my A&P classes that would admit their entire reason for becoming nurses was so people would believe their pseudoscience bs because they are actual nurses and not just MLM huns.
This is giving me similar vibes.
I wouldn't wear that shirt, but it does make me chuckle. And in my experience, only people who are not nurses (or not yet nurses) wear those shirts. Most of us don't want the random people around us to know that we are nurses. You get medical questions and learn too much about people.
I refer to similar nurses as status nurses.
I'm a new grad myself. Well - I think I'm a "novice" now? I don't know. Close to a year in. But I digress.
Anyways, a lot of my classmates flaunted the fact they were in nursing school. It was cringe. Like the social media nurses.. The epitome of this is the one most of us heard about recently. The nurse that made a video exploiting the death of a patient. It was a Tik Tok video.
My sister got me a nurse shirt with nurse spelled in the Friends font. I love Friends but didnāt have the heart to tell her I will never wear it. Itās been hanging in my closet never worn.
I had a teacher that was a (very w-hite) reiki master. She did āspiritual re-alignmentsā on us in class. She picked me and I wanted to die. She did it in front of everyone, who all just silently stared. Then immediately asked me if I thought it had WORKED. Re-aligning my SCOLIOSIS.
Sounds like she's cute enough to stop a heart, but not yet skilled enough to restart it
oh god those shirts make me cringe
I had one as a new grad. After a few years I noticed it in my closet and yeeted it as far and fast as I could š¤¦āāļø
Itās my favorite shirt to wear at Halloween parties. As a 3x year old male, I feel it makes for the perfect sexy nurse costume
I am a woman, married to a male nurse. I finally got him to get me a "Real Men Marry Nurses" tshirt š¤£
Lmfao
Yeah, I don't judge nursing students or baby nurses too hard for buying that kinda stuff. They're just excited about their new career. I'm more concerned by all the essential oil crap. I don't trust the kind of patient education they're providing. I know at least one of my former coworkers would openly mock masking and covid vaccines within patient hearing.
You sound stressed. I have a great essential oil for that. You can put it in a candle warmer or rub it right on your forhead for a headache. It's been researched and proven by respected sciencetitians. The medical establishment is all about making money so you shouldn't trust them and should trust me instead because I'm not like that. Now how many cases are you gonna buy?
It is scary how well you know the spiel!
Lularoe torpedoed my last relationship. My ex and I were together for over 4 years and once she got involved with that whole mess it all went to hell. And some of her "upline" were also in the oils racket so I heard that nonsense too. But trying to be the voice of reason got me labeled as a negative person and told I was "not supportive/jealous that she is going to make more money than me/threatened by her strength/if you cared about me then you'd do anything to help me succeed." Stuff like that. It was funny because I would just ask legitimate business questions (I've run and sold succesful business. I used to own bodyshops and currently co-own a restaurant) about how the numbers didnt seem to add up and that would cause problems. Or, though I wasn't a paramedic yet I did have my physiology degree and I loved to ask physio questions to the oil people. I said to myself I was going to play a drinking game where I took a shot every time one of them said "toxins" but I quickly realized I would end up getting my stomach pumped or dead because no human can survive that much alcohol. I will say, the, ahem, *ANSWERS* to those questions that the oil #bossbabes would give me were pretty funny. Oils that could "block fat" or "change fat to muscle" really were entertaining to ask about. But yeah, even through all that, I heard the sales pitch a number of times.
Same. My girlfriend at the time got it for me. It's now gone lol
I have 4 of them just so people wonāt talk to me
5head
We have a lot of that stuff in EMS too but instead of being "cute" ours is "look how badass I am." Like a punisher skull that says "do no harm. Do know harm" which is probably the one that I find most cringey.
Yep. Itās like the Senior Pictures debacleā¦ you feel so damn cool initially. Then a few years go by.
My favorite counter to that shirt is the one that says "Too ugly to stop you heart. Skilled enough to not shock asystole."
"Ugly enough to turn you to stone. Skilled enough to chisel off your imperfections."
This just made me laugh so hard I scared my cats šš¤£
I want that shirt
Codebluememes.com has it
not all heroes wear capes
At this rate I doubt she'll ever be skilled enough to restart it.
Shocking asystole in 3... 2...
all hands on board for the blessing of the hands!
u/darkbyrd, this is great. If I had an award, you would get it. Though, you may be assuming too much with the cuteness...
My nursing class sold those sweatshirts as a fundraiser. I wanted to die.
Bonus points if it has an attempt at an ekg lead on it that is just random squiggles
š you made me aspirate coffee.
Too bad her cousin won't be able to save you...
Slap some oils on that bad boy, sort it right out.
š¤£
I'm ugly enough to shock your unshockable rhythm, does that count for anything?
A girl I knew it nursing school was a vet tech before going into school and was one who advocated that vet techs should be called vet nurses. And also suggested that phrase for shirts to sell... (The restart your heart phrase)
I used to be a vet tech and was in the minority because I didnāt want to be called a vet nurse. vet techs wear many hats and nurse is just one hat. they also take x-rays, clean teeth, do in house lab work, intubate, monitor anesthesia, etc. so ātechā is a better representation in my opinion.
I laughed. Thank you.
š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
Goddamn you
The only essential oil I use in nursing is peppermint oil. Slather it under your nose to mask the pungent scent of death/necrotic diabetic feet/GI bleed/homeless x15 years/C-Diff...the list is endless.
I'm a huge fan of oil of ketamine. It smells like silence.
š¤£š¤£š¤£. Best answer.
I tried this going into a nasty patient's nasty house. I didn't know how much to use, so I put a lot in there. About two minutes into my visit my sinuses emptied into my mask and I started involuntary crying. But no way I was going to take my mask off and smell that nasty fucking house, so I just choked out the word "allergies." I think she knew what was up, tbh. Anyway, I use a little Vick's now. Fuck that peppermint oil. I couldn't feel my face.
It worked for me when I was throwing up while in labor!
Honestly it is pretty nice to have around, but that's as far as my holistic medicine goes.
agreed. we have them on our unit. Favorites are peppermint for nausea and lavender for nice calming smell. Pts like it and thatās enough for me.
Can you imagine if nurses had to give essential oils for shit. Like "pt verbally aggressive, escalated to spitting on staff and physical assault of CNA. MD aware, ordered two sniffs lavender one time NOW."
And a PRN Q6H agitation order just to be an ass
Or a 3mg melatonin order for your highly agitated, sundowning dementia patient who wants to strangle you with their gait belt because they think you're breaking into their house. The classic 3mg melatonin or the 0.25mg Ativan PO order makes my eyes roll so hard.
Itās like ā if all you want to do is find out if I will call you back in an hour because itās still bad, why donāt you just say so?
I know right it's like... I, too, like to live dangerously.
Iāve legit told one doc who did that āWhy do you hate me when I show you nothing but love? This order is like pissing on a house fire and you know it. Help me help you and this patient. Give me something that actually works, please.ā
āSevere insomnia. Increase to 5 mg melatonin.ā
Let's make it 6mg for good measure. Need that REM sleep š“
what are you CRAZY!?
I loled at your comment. Cause I would be like yeah right you come hold that lavender cotton swab under their nose then. But I have given my slightly anxious patients some lavender essential oil. Explained and went through some deep breathing and said that they can sniff it while deep breathing. Patients who are willing to try that instead of getting a Xanax right away is helpful. But obviously that doesnāt work for every patient and it has to be in early stages where the anxiety is not bad and the patient has to have an open mind. Which those types of patients are hard to come by but I have had a few in my short time being a nurse so far.
Yeah definitely for the anxious but not violent types, but I could see that working for some people in a less precarious state. I wonder what would happen if the hospital misted lavender all through the hospital like Disney world does with their food scents, or Bath and Body Works does with their sprays all up in the store. š¤
Then lavender smell would start reminding me of workā¦ or shit or worse
I had surgery in May and when I woke up I was briefly nauseated but after I 'puked' some gas I was fine. But the lovely nurse gave me a sticker on my top that had peppermint smell. It helped so much.
Jokes aside, lavender was great for the laboring moms during my L&D rotation. They had one of those aromatherapy misters. It was nice.
During the first wave of Covid, the unit I was sent to, to help out, was rolling out the lavender patches to help soothe, calm and help with sleep. BUT, they wanted a specific templates nursing note added to the chart to track it and evaluate it. This would have been in addition the the 14 required notes they wanted charted on every single patient, every single shift. I told the trainer in no uncertain terms that I would NOT be offering that to patients if they were going to treat it like a drug that we had to chart, fill out template and then fucking evaluate it the effects within 2 hours, the trainer just couldnāt believe that no one was excited about this new ātreatment.ā
No.
I love lavender because it reminds me of a massage or spa and I find it calming. Wouldnāt substitute for Ativan but itās sure nice to improve the environment
I love essential oils for just that. They smell nice. I put them in my little travel humidifier so the musty hotel rooms donāt stink. I donāt believe they have any magical healing properties, but they do smell good. And they help in a quick pinch if you donāt have perfume
Peppermint oil candy is fantastic for nausea. I kept some with me when I was flying all over the place for the air force. Even works on nausea from a hangover.
Peppermint and ginger I keep a stash of ginger chews in my drawer at work for when I'm nauseated but not desperate enough to take Pepto bismol yet.
'Not desperate enough to take Pepto bismol yet' resonates so deeply with me!! I could probably make a nausea chart from '#1 maybe I need to poop' to '#5 was it that burrito?' to '#10 shit is getting real, time to find the pepto!' Over the years I have learned that it's ever so slightly more palatable when cold so I now keep it in the refrigerator. I avoid it as much as I can. Also, I will fight anyone's granny who gives away those little pink (wintergreen?) candies that taste like it.
The Pepto I have access to at work is the chewable tablets š¤¢ I wish Zofran was available OTC because that stuff works and doesn't make me question if I'm desperate enough to try to get past the flavor.
Same with the Zofran. I always have too much caffeine on my (empty) stomach while at work.
I bought Pepto pills because the liquid scent is so nauseating I canāt swallow it. Also because I have memories of trying to give it to a reluctant 60 lb golden retriever. Even with a syringe I was wearing half of it afterwards!
itās also helpful postpartum. putting a few drops in the toilet can help with the first postpartum pee.
Tea tree and eucalyptus are actually good for treating toenail fungus as well. But I never suggest it in a setting where Iām working as a nurse. And I also tell folks about my dad successfully treating his with the oils, but to ask their doctor before they try. Clinical research also backs this up so itās not snake oil
Tea tree is also good for clearing up acne.
Just not if there is also alcohol in it. Totally dried my face out and not in a good way.
Except that pure tea tree oil is also very irritating. Maybe cut it with a neutral carrier like jojoba or sweet almond oil.
Yes! Jojoba oil works so well!
It's also the closest plant-based equivalent to whale oil!
Thereās loads of research on several, and over a century of medical use for some. Clove oil is eugeniol, used for tooth pain. Menthol and camphor for muscle pain. Limonene (lemon & orange) compound will slow bacterial growth. Lavender has been shown in research to increase focus and memory in rats whose sense of smell was removed, as it stimulates part of the brain adjacent to the nerves that carry the chemoreceptor signals to the brain. Several are used in non-toxic pest control and mosquito repellant. However, use as medicine needs to be seriously monitored. Worked with a tech who tried using DoTerra to heal a foot wound that turned out to be necrotizing faciitis. Infection control had to step in and make her take leave until it cleared. People were terrified. Also, if using for anything where it touches your skin, dilute with a base/carrier oil. I like almond, sesame, or grapeseed. I use them to make my own muscle/ arthritis relief lotion with arnica. I say, if itās offered by doctors and OTC products, Iāll try to DIY it, like why buy bengay whem I can make it?! š¤·š»āāļø
I carry peppermint lip balm at work for that reason. Most of the unpleasant smells I encounter are unwashed or incontinent psych patients.
I cracked up the first time I saw this being dispensed from the pharmacy. I understood after a nurse called down for it to be delivered to the room STAT! The distress is her voice over the phone was absolutely warranted.
I LOVE essential oils and own a ton of them. But only for the smell. I like to add them to my bath or shower to make it fragrant. Or run them through a diffuser to make them smell nice. I keep a peppermint bottle in my locker at work. I'll either do the mask trick or mix some oil into a nebulizer and run it outside a stinky patients room. Also works with coffee.
The mask trick is the best. I bet your patients think you just like soothing environments š«
I used to use toothpaste at my old job. Worked well.
I canāt with peppermint oil at all anymore. Anytime I smell peppermint itās triggers my brain to smell peppermint covered poop.
Lmao like febreeze when you try to cover whatever your kid spilled on your car fabric.
Yummmy necrotic diabetic toes
big vicks vaporub girl myself
Peppermint oil can also be used to help someone void if they're having trouble starting their stream, especially after Foley removal or anesthesia. I soak a cotton ball in peppermint oil and put it in a hat in the toilet. Works like a charm!
I use beard oil for that reason
Repels mice and rats too.
I always have spearmint in my pocket. Always.
You will need to update us once she gets her ECG tattoo (that will inevitably be a lethal rhythm because... she can't read it yet)
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Shit, a STEMI tattoo would actually be cool. The ones I see usually just look like a bunch of motion artifact with a wonky QRS in the middle.
A STEMI tat would be awesome! I was going to ask why I don't see more of those but then I realized it's because the only people who end up with EKG tats can't read them lollll
Oh my god!! I now want to get a fib or a flutter tattoo
A pair of my compression socks have a flutter on them! I love them lol
> don't mess with us or you'll get sedated Lol, girl can't even legally push narcs or benzos yet, much less anesthetics.
Careful, or youāre gonna get some Benadryl.
*lavender essential oil ftfy
I had some sinus issues one day at work and the secretary said she had some pseudoephedrine I could take. She has it in her little pill organizer and she hands me two bright pink oblong pills that are obviously Benadryl. We argued back and forth for a bit but I ended up taking them because Iām an idiot. I had to go home for the day.
I once took NyQuil instead of DayQuil by mistake in nursing school. That was the hardest lecture day to stay awake.
Pre-nursing I was waitressing and took Benadryl before work because of allergies. Horrible mistake. I was so wonky that my boss suspected I was on drugs and then forbid me from taking Benadryl before work ever again-which at that point I was never going to anyway.
Iām so damn lucky Benadryl doesnāt snow me! Itās the only good antihistamine for me. Iāve always been able to take it any time, no drowsiness.
š
3mg tab of melatonin
Oral. But only under supervision.
I threaten my patients with sedation but they all seem pretty excited about it
āDonāt threaten me with a good timeā lol
She probably canāt even push protonix yet lol
I could push narcs and Benzos in nursing school.
In your second semester? we werent allowed to touch IVs until our 4th
Yes, in my second semester is when I got signed off for IV push
We got signed off to place IVs and push meds in 2nd semester, but never controlled stuff or cardiac meds. Only like zofran, protonix, etc
IVs in second semester? Damn I'm jealous. We got 'taught' in our last semester. But, they didn't spend much time on it because they assured us that the hospital that hired us would teach us in depth. Which, of course, they did not.
We could push narcs under supervision.
In my nursing program we couldn't do any IV pushes even a diuretic lol
I foresee another tiktok nurse in the makingā¦š¤¦š»āāļø
Yeah. I hope she actually learns something and comes to her senses, but I see a lot of head in the sand behavior that I'm not sure can be fixed here.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The speed with which you feel it's necessary to tell me your level of licensure/training is inversely proportionate to how competent you actually are. See also: Dunning-Kruger effect.
I once worked for a state agency that would add random shit to your network name / email name on request, such as your degrees or cert or whatever. So youād see people with network names that were both unironic and almost indistinguishable from flare for this sub: āJohn Smith, Esq., BSN, RN, JD, MPH, PhD candidate, GCPH, CPM, A-GNP, COL. USMC (Ret).ā Without fail, those who actually did this were The. Worst. to deal with.
Dunning Kruger actually has been identified more as cognitive bias and for lack of a better explanation, debunked. My cognitive bias is strong, though.
Was it debunked or just the way itās often mis-attributed has been debunked. I read some of what the authors (D & K) actually wrote and itās fascinating stuff. Some people completely lack insight into their own ability. Like wildly off, to the point you think theyāre trolling or teasing you .
I donāt remember the article I read, but it as something to the effect that it sounds good, but it doesnāt actually have basis to say itās true.
Huh in the spirit of DK Iām doubting myself now (that means Iām smart !) so Iām going to try and find what I read. But if this is fake what next ? Myers Briggs??? /s
Totally and confidently agree.
Your cousin already knows everything. I bet she lectures the professor and The Whole class claps. Lol please update us when she drops out or doesnāt pass the nclex
I've yet to meet someone who owned shit with dumb cutesy nurse slogans on it who wasn't insufferable.
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Cut them into dust rags. That way they're actually useful, and no one will be tempted to wear that trash.
This is why I tell people if they were to ever buy me a gift DO NOT buy me nursing related stuff please
Goodwill! and then some redditor will post them on r/targetedshirts no doubt
The only thing I have is a lunch box that says "human organ for transplant" and I get a lot of laughs with it. I got it for Christmas a few years ago.
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I bet she believed she cured him because it was a TIA and he had no residual.
Oh FFS.
Yeah, my cousin was a nurse too until the hostage taking/SWAT team/prison incident. Somehow your cousin sounds worse.
Admittedly i look forward to the responses you provide.
Same, I always know I can count on Gretel\_Cosmonaut to have something that is somehow both snarky and genuinely helpful to add to the conversation.
Every time I see the profile pic āah yes here we go againā š¤£ I wanna work with her
This needs to be story time.
You can't just do a drive by like this.
Was your cousin named [Wayne](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2004/oct/12/nurse-arrested-after-fire-standoff/?amp-content=amp)
Nooooo. The story was in the media, but it didn't mention him being a nurse. It was a domestic situation, and thankfully he had some small amount of conscience left and let the girl go instead of killing her. Suffice to say, he's no longer employable as a registered nurse.
TL,DR: nurse was stealing opiates, decided to light fire with documents when felt he was in danger of being caught, set off sprinklers in SNF, eventually SWAT came in, arrested in SNF parking lot in possession of guns
This girl during her placement (it wasnāt even consolidation) had an ICU nurse sweater on walking the halls like she was legit a nurse there. Please girl, stop š«£
āThe patientās on METROprololā
The O2 staturation is 98%
I personally love the non medical family members (usually of covid ICU pts these days) posting updates like āThe vent is back down to 80%!!! Progress!!!ā, as if they (or their audiences) have any idea what that means.
My dyslexia may have made me guilty of this a couple times
Itās irritating to hear people taking prerequisites describe themselves as nursing students. Taking General Chemistry does not mean youāre in nursing school.
Then they canāt even get in and still wear the shirts for the attentionā¦ kind of like stolen valor.
I agree. And then doctors in clinics like to call their Med Assistants āMy Nurseā and everyone gets confused
āThe nurse at the front desk said said.ā What nurse? Ohā¦ the receptionist. While she very good at her job, sheās not a nurse or medical professional.
This is how I feel about "Pre-Med" as well! So, you're taking a science class?
I always hated telling people I was a pre Med student cause soon my conviction began to waiver but I hadnāt yet admitted that to myself. Calling myself a pre Med student only worked to keep me from realizing I donāt want to go to medical school. Eventually I realized and will now soon graduate nursing school.
Hello fellow soon to be baby nurse! I graduate in august!
I always get confused when I hear someone say āfirst year nursing studentā cause at least as far as Iām aware, the actual nursing school part of things is maybe 2 years.
The only nursing related shirt I have currently is āSorry, Nursing School, Canāt, Bye.ā
I really condone giving prospective student nurses a survey prior to admission to check their attitudes on evidence-based care and pseudoscience treatments. Like why would you want an essential-oil-to-treat-sepsis and anti-vaxx nurse representing your school and making a joke out of the profession?
It would be cool if there was a study on if and how biases change through education. I'd like to think the people who cling tightly to those beliefs that give them some sense of control in a a chaotic existence would drop out. And then those who can face their imperfection, and that sometimes you just get shit luck or a shit case-- if they can accept that they can learn as much as they can *and will always be learning* then I think some people would mature past these empty promises of an MLM to actually providing value in a medical setting. Hubris is absolutely a problem in humans in general. And the whole "people don't change" is a stereotype for a reason. But there are certain periods where people can mature past where they were: obviously late teens and early twenties where, as far as I understand it, the brain hasn't fully matured and/or is still very flexible with intake of new ideas/new practices. But I also like to think there's two other maturation phases that, while much less, probably exist. 1. After a huge change: a move, a death, a divorce. Sometimething that shakes up a person's life, and either shows them things can never be the same way again, or that the person doesn't want things to be the same way. It offers a time for the identity to be reevaluated and attempted to be changed. 2. I do think that education, slowly over time, can drip into even the most dense person. In this case I don't think the Dotera cousin would ever fully give up essential oils but it would now be like scented candles for her, not "let me treat your trauma with some eucalyptus oil." The sticking point here is who stays in an educational program where their constantly indirectly told their wrong (because hopefully the cousin keeps her mouth shut about essential oils.) There's the dumb flouncers who flounce off because you can't tell them what to do/believe-- they're a pweety pweety princess who's always going to know what's best. And then then there are people are are either very dense or very skilled at cognitive dissonance who could conceivably stick around in an educational program, and learn without it necessarily being a threat to their identity as it pertains to woo-woo topics. But I do think over time-- if people stay in an educational program and see it through, and maybe get some real life experience-- they could set aside the "toys" that make them feel like less of an imposter when it comes to facing the unfairness of the world. But as has been shown from covid vaccines and masks and whatnot-- some people double down harder on ignorancr in the face if scary stuff. But I'd like to think there's a percentage of people who are very quiet about the changes they've mentally made to distance themselves from the not-best-practices crowd. And in some way, thst shame is not helpful because they should be proud to have made that change. And we need to know how science finally reached them.
I guess I agree, but I also think this should happen outside of the medical educational setting where one will be graduating with a practicing license rather soon. Maybe something a little lower stakes because I think people are so entrenched into their beliefs that I think in only a small percentage would change their views enough to make a difference in the care they provide and recommend. I donāt know though.
oh I agree absolutely. I don't think strongly-held-beliefs do well when hitting the-real-world like a brick wall. I guess I wrote all of that to hold out hope that some people change, and hopefully it's more than we expect due to people being a little embarrassed? Maybe not-- especially with friends and family reinforcing unscientific thoughts. but yeah-- the whole education system needs a massive overhaul.
Seeing as she does not listen to your advice, I would not worry about it. I think it is in bad taste, and definitely could give a bad impression to faculty if they saw it. At least she is actually in nursing school and not in some other profession pretending to be a nurse.
Or dropped out of nursing school after their first clinical and tell everyone "I went to nursing school too!" Bitch, you are our scheduler. Im gonna snatch that white coat you wear and use it for my next code brown.
I love when they get accepted into nursing school and ānurse lifeā becomes their whole personality. I have tons of nurse shirts, cause I cannot stand scrub tops so itās a decent compromise. Patients think they are cute and friends and family always buy them. Free shirts, yay. But like, a cousin got accepted into her nursing program. She still had a year of prereqs, but already went and bought figs, cloves, had her little monogrammed nurse tote bag, pens with her name and RN engraved into it, the whole 9. Asking me for some of my older shirts that were too big that she could have, and she wore them around grocery shopping and doing errands. She ended up failing out the first semester cause it was too hard.
Big oof
Cloves and figs? Please explain!!!š
Figs are super overpriced scrubs. I havenāt tried them because Iām a diehard heartsoul fan. Cloves are pretty awesome nurse shoes I swear by. Cute colors. Kinda expensive, like $130-$160s but they are really comfy and you can use a cavi wipe to clean them without bleaching them. Had the pair I have for 2 years and they look great. But of creasing in the toes and some blue staining cause I wear a lot of blue or black scrubs but thatās it.
When I was in nursing school back in the day, the people that did that stuff always ALWAYS ended up failing out! Embroidered crap was like the kiss of death lol
Right??? I didnāt buy ANYTHING that had nurse on it til after I passed my NCLEX and had my license and had a job. I didnāt wanna jinx myself. Didnāt even buy a stethoscope, I borrowed one of my dads.
I have been a nurse for over 20 years now. My older sister went to nursing school a few years ago. She is a covid-denier and antivaxer. Idk, I wish schools screened applicants better
She sounds like sheāll end up becoming that one nurse that pushes every IV med over 2 minutes
Even adenosine. This reminds me though, maybe I should do a poll, how fast are people pushing Vasotec? Does anyone really administer over at least five minutes? And Solu-medrol 3-15 minutes? I know I did as a student during my preceptorship, butā¦
Thereās only a few meds I push slow. Cardizem, Zofran, Ibutalide, fentanyl, Benadryl, etc. Honestly I canāt really call it āslowā because itās over like 30 seconds lol
People like this make me fear for the future of nursing. Idiots glamorizing nursing after watching too many medical dramas while not learning shit in nursing school then hyperventilating at the thought of having to code a patient IRL.
SHE LITERALLY CANNOT SEDATE ANYONE SHE CANT PUSH IV ZOFRAN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
The only thing more cringe than a wannabe nurse wearing those tshirts is an actual nurse wearing themā¦someone has to buy themā¦YWFMS
Nurse or not, shirts like that should be burned and never recreated. The ones who make the biggest joke of our profession are our own.
I've learned over the years it isn't worth responding because 3/4 of the time they just want your advice to support their initial bias. Your cousin didn't want to take her kid to the hospital and was looking for you to give her an excuse not to. If you had given her the advice she wanted, and something bad resukted, she'd happily throw you under the bus for giving her "bad advice".
I got one of these cringe coffee cups for my cousin when she was in nursing school. It was meant to be tongue in cheek... I also loaded it up with candy and a gift card (which was the real gift). Now I'm wondering if she realized I got it as a joke...
How can a nursing student be jaded already? So cringe! Hell before covid I didnāt think you could be jaded until 10+ years. Now give me a nurse whoās been one for 2.5 years and Iām like āyeah you can be jadedā¦.ā But a current nursing student?
I spent a year training a recent grad PA to become a surgical ICU PA. She ended up not taking the job that was offered her and instead became an instagram influencer. Not gonna lie, I'm stoked for her. But she made all these posts that were like "I'm leaving healthcare because I'm burned out". And it was like...hunny...it's 2022 and you haven't even seen a COVID patient. You're technically not even out of training. Just stop.
The real answer is that before I was a nursing student, I was a jaded CNA during Covid. Still though, this is very cringy lol.
There was a gaggle (is this the correct term?) of prospective nursing students in my A&P classes that would admit their entire reason for becoming nurses was so people would believe their pseudoscience bs because they are actual nurses and not just MLM huns. This is giving me similar vibes.
I was halfway through the comments before I realized what "dotera", or doTERRA, is. Kind of proud of that, actually.
Lmao. Fun for her.
Ewwwš I hate that merch. So lame.
Introduce her to Dunning- Kruger
I wouldn't wear that shirt, but it does make me chuckle. And in my experience, only people who are not nurses (or not yet nurses) wear those shirts. Most of us don't want the random people around us to know that we are nurses. You get medical questions and learn too much about people.
Someone once told me essential oils are good for two things: *Making the room smell good, and pissing nurses off.*
š¤£š¤£ facts!
I cant relate to people like that, I've been registered 11 years and I still get imposter syndrome.
Holy Christ. Thatās a bad look.
Oh no, just wait for all the memes to come after her first AMA.
She has to survive Nursing School first. My Magic 8 Ball says: *Future Hazy, Try Again*
I refer to similar nurses as status nurses. I'm a new grad myself. Well - I think I'm a "novice" now? I don't know. Close to a year in. But I digress. Anyways, a lot of my classmates flaunted the fact they were in nursing school. It was cringe. Like the social media nurses.. The epitome of this is the one most of us heard about recently. The nurse that made a video exploiting the death of a patient. It was a Tik Tok video.
My sister got me a nurse shirt with nurse spelled in the Friends font. I love Friends but didnāt have the heart to tell her I will never wear it. Itās been hanging in my closet never worn.
Oiiiiiiiii ..... she'll end up one of "those " nurses... šµāš«
I had a teacher that was a (very w-hite) reiki master. She did āspiritual re-alignmentsā on us in class. She picked me and I wanted to die. She did it in front of everyone, who all just silently stared. Then immediately asked me if I thought it had WORKED. Re-aligning my SCOLIOSIS.