Feeling a bit bored during lunch break and needing some friendly banters.
Ask away anything regarding operation, recovery and that sorts of thing.
[AMA] I am a theatre (operating) nurse
LDolladollabill on 01/02/2022 - 12:10
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I have voluntarily redeploy myself to ICU for 3 months. To challenge myself. As i am currently in WA, we are still working full theatre capacity (16 atm)
But we have contingency plan to drop as low as 7 theatres which involve category 1/2 only (emergency, trauma and asap cancer).My colleague in eastern states are pretty much only doing category 1/2
How on earth do you survive wearing masks all day long? So many people have told us it's literally humanly impossible. What's your secret??
Years of wearing it. I prefer the tieback mask compared to the ear loop
tell them about the lead aprons.. ugh my back
we drink a cup of cement every morning.
That's what our HR Manager used to say in my old Organisation. I asked them to demonstrate.
Dont forget the tea breaks to keep us sane from the ego of the surgeons
Maybe, but those same surgeons are usually attractive, aren't they.
Who's the hottest one there? Girl, spill the beans!Im a dude. I found plastic specialties have the most attractive surgeons. Which make sense hahaha….
@cktftw: ABC News has interviewed many male nurses recently on tv, also a Nurse union rep also a male.
@Dolladollabill: Some stereotypes are true, and then there's some exceptions to the rule (ie yourself). I hope I didn't offend you, was making a joke, thought it was obvious but other people didn't quite get it lol.
@Skinnerr: No I think they got it, just wasn't funny. Didn't pass the social test. I shall continue with research and development.
You don't ask for much, do ya? 😁
What's your favourite overworked nurses tiktok vid?
My personal fav is not a nurse but Dr Glaucomflecken
Got any wild ‘peppermint oil’ stories?
Are you talking about foreign bodies lodge in orrifice?
Link:
Warning: hope you’ve already eaten
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/xo41d/doctorsnurs…
And now I'm hungry…
@Xistn: We find different thing in different holes all the time intentionally or "unintetionally".
Ear, butt, stomach, nose, V and P. You name it
I just read your link and i agree, smell of rotting flesh mixed with pus are the worse. Commonly caused by necrotising fascitis ( your flesh died due to multiple infection at the same time)
Our theatre do not have peppermint oil, but we have friar's balsam. Its commonly used to br applied on skin for extra adhesive prior to dressings but also used on our mask for stinky operation.
2 cases came to mind: both necrotising fascitis(nec fas)
1 lady had a nec fasc originated from her submandibular abscess (pus under her jaw) caused by unhygienic oral hygiene. The infection was so bad she came to surgery prob about 9-12 times in a span of 7 months. The infection spread so far as her chest. So we have to debride from jaw down until her mid chest. Her chest is pretty much open like a flower blooming or a predator jaw opening up, each breast flap.
The other case similar from the reddit link but caused by groin abscess.What wecall fornier gangrene. Infection so bad we have to deglove all his tissue, testicle and groin.
@Jimothy Wongingtons: I wouldnt reccomend google image fornier gangrene.
Careful you have been warned.
@brendanm: Nothing as appetitising as smell of pseudomonas. Or retained tampon, those are delicious too.
@Dolladollabill: wow, love it, think of the poor ward dealing with that post op… i think necrotic/fungating masses are the worse
Is everything I see in shows like "grays anatomy" and "new Amsterdam" EXACTLY how the operating theater works? ;)
Scrubs has been known to be the most medically accurate show. (9/10)
https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/realistic-accurate-medical…
Grey's scores the worst on this list (3/10)How do you want me to explain it? From beginning to the end, it will br pages long lol. And hoe do you want me to explain it? From my view or the view of the patient?
Easiest way to imagine it its like making a movie. Surgeons are the actor and actresses but the movie will not happen without the cameraman, make up artists, screenwriter, director.
But comes to oscar and golden globes, people only remember the actor actreses
is it still any truth to doctors yelling and screaming at staff?
I was told this during my work experience at a local hospital in the CSSD and it was to be expected as doctors didn't want mistakes with packing instruments.
It used to be quiet common among the "older" doctors.
In our hospital we dont tolerate these kind of behaviours and surgeons have lost their job because of these.On private hospital however they are still treated like kings
As a healthcare tech, surgeons in private hospitals are the worst. Scalpels wedged in the new Samsung TVs in the theatre made me so mad.
I remember a friend telling me about a very 'special' neuro doing his rounds.
Not one person chose tell him that his fly was undone.
I can think of a few hospitals where the assholes still rule the roost.
There is a degree of "white line fever" when a situation is tense and I have observed that behaviour, but usually aftewards when things are calmer, I've seen the surgeon apologise and say "sorry for being a little short."
But simply ranting and raving and screaming is totally unacceptable and would be called out in today's era. Bullying and harassment at work has no place, and as someone who trains junior surgeons, there would be disciplinary action against them. It's harder to change some senior surgeons, but they need to adapt with the times and treat people with respect.
Every surgeon has had to complete an "operating with respect" course, as bullying behaviour needs to be eliminated.
I try to set an example to my trainees that the care of the patient is paramount - not your ego - and to be decent human beings. It's better to be liked by all the members of the theatre team, as they'll go the extra mile to help out, and I think that improves the quality of care for the patient.
It good that things have changed now, when I was a resident/reg the consultants would mostly get away with being abusive as long as it wasn't violent/sexual. Only a few were bad but dam it gave surgery a bad name and put a lot of people off.
Is the workplace very clique and political
Like any other work place its unavoidable.
Specially when you stay in one surgical specialty you get clique with the same colleague.
Im what you call a floating nurse meaning i do any and all kind of specialty, that way im neutral
Do they have really strict instructions on how to handle the thread they use to stitch up bodies or can you suture self?
I can do simple sutures for skin closures. Many surgeons do their own sutures, afterall the wound closing is what patient see qt the end. So the final scar is important
What would you say to an IT worker who says in regards to COVID "This discussion that it's unfair on nurses who now have to (heaven forbid) do some actual work and treat patients is just media bullshit seeping through the cracks"
Look i will be honest with you.
Even sometimes im jealous of other nurses who do easier work and get paid same or higher than us.Why are we, theatre, icu, ward, ed nurses get paid a lot less compared to someone who work on minesite doing simple drug tests ? Unfortunately nursing is not really seen as a profitable career.
If a patient doesn't have DNR marked on them, will Texta (or Crayon) in someone else's handwriting suffice?
I believe the line is drawn at Sharpie or the more common Kilometrico (blue or black only and completed in B L O C K lettering only)
Similar to what Nurse Evelyn did in Pearl Harbour with her lipstick?
We wear the proper PPE and continue on. Working in public hospital we dont stereotype our patient. Sure there is personal judgement but we dont show it at our work. We dont operate only for "good" people. We operate on prisoners, criminals, drug users you name it.
In other words, you guys take your Hippocratic Oath seriously without prejudice and discrimination. Good on you !
You watch too much TV, and have never seen the coverup cculture and conduct of the medical profession when faced with a medical error. How many staff knew about the butcher of Bega and still kept going to work.
R U ok?
Im ok. Would like to go on leave but been unable to as we have been understaffed
Sorry to hear that, hope you do manage to get some time off soon, or have destress some other way
So how does that work? You request leave, and they say "Sorry, no", and you can't take it?
Or do you choose to postpone your leave in order to help the team?We usually have a calendar for a whole year on leave request and usially only up to 6 nurses can take leaves at one time not including maternity. But there are 150 theatre nurses in the department.
You have really to apply your leave really early. School holiday is like 1to 2 year ahead of booking.So yeah you can try to apply but once those 6 slots are full you just get rejected.
Do you really have a machine in the Theatre that goes "PING"
We have many machines that make many noises
How often does the surgeon that the patient is expecting to perform the op, actually perform the op? Does he/she come in for the "important" bits and then leaves, or does he/she direct the interns/residents?
Once the patient is under the general anesthetic, does anything go?Elective surgeries in private hospitals should be always performed by your surgeon. In a public hospital the surgeon does have doctors in training at his disposal so it's possible your operation was performed entirely by the registrar. Interns and residents typically just hold retractors in theatre, they are more needed on the wards.
This is spot on. I work in public hospital where we have training registrars. They are still under the supervision of the consultants tho. No training registrars will dare to operate beyond their capability because patient still under the care of a consultant responsibility.
It's probably worth noting "supervision" can mean as little as being available via phone call. I know of lots of ortho ops that were done solely by registrars.
What's your reaction on when surgeons made a mistake?
Does anaesthetist buy you free coffee?Mistakes unfortunately do happen. We are all human. What makes a great surgeon if they are adaptable, if you make mistake, know how to fix it.
Definitely good trait working in trauma hospital
Cover-Up
Not really. Just find a solution and move on.
At the end of the day, mostly leads to same outcomes.
"Mistakes" can be fixed e.g. by longer duration of antibiotics, by upgrading diet/mobilisation privileges more carefully, more careful anastamoses etc@diazepam: Third highest cause of death in the U.S. is medical error. 10% of all U.S. deaths are now due to medical error. https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139
The medical profession lies, denies and misdirects.
Read this article if you can stomach it - and try to convince yourself that the anesthesiologist, theatre nurse, staff nurses, referring doctors and hospital administrators weren't 'covering-up' for 'Dr' Graeme Reeves 'The Butcher of Bega'. And then try to convince yourself that they just "knew nothing". https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/i-woke-up-mutila…
Even after Greame Reeves the the Medical profession had to be legislated to report on serious misconduct but still fail to report their colleagues
From the Guardian
Reeves, dubbed by his victims the “Butcher of Bega” after the rural NSW town in which he worked, was not charged until 2008, by which time he had harmed dozens of women over almost two decades. In June 2008, the medical practice amendment bill was passed making it mandatory for doctors to report serious misconduct on the part of their colleagues.But despite regulatory reform another obstetrician and gynaecologist, Emil Shawky Gayed, has been revealed by Guardian Australia to have performed needless surgeries on the reproductive organs of women over almost two decades. Doctors and nurses who worked with him knew he was a problem.
Four public hospitals in NSW are now the subject of a major independent inquiry and Gayed’s victims are questioning how it took more than two decades for regulators to stop him.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/28/a-dec…
@[Deactivated]: The medical profession lies, denies and misdirects
That is a hurtful statement. Healthcare professionals swears by one oath. "To preserve life". Now obviously over the history there have been incidents of bad egg which hurts the profession credibility, and it has hurt us as a whole.
It is the same with police and their oath to serve and protect the public, incidents have occcured where they have abused that power.I guess I am sorry if you have very little faith in us. There are always alternative medicine to go to
@Dolladollabill: Facts don't require faith unless you are relying on GOD and the placebo effect to heal.
The issue is the medical professionals who were with Dr Greame Reeves in the theatre at that time, theatre nurses like yourself, said and did nothing.
Greame Reeves and Emil Gayed are on a long list of problematic doctors not reported by their work colleagues.
HCCC protect the doctors, a doctors medical errors do not appear on a public register, patients who complain publically on social media are sued for defamation constantly.
Most people, like yourself who go along to get along, or hide failures by complicit silence, and cryptic reporting if any. There should be video cameras and audio recording in operating theatres and laproscopic feeds should be saved and be available as part of the medical record.
If you are really AMA you would expand beyond dancing nurses ticktok videos and be authentic. The medical profession is a closed shop obsessed with their image and the the public's 'faith' in them.
Some of us here know the truth and it's uglier than Instagram. https://www.medicalerroraustralia.com/
@[Deactivated]: I agree. Don’t go to a hospital or see a medical professional ever.
Naturopathy is the way to go.
/s
@Jaystea: Sarcasm is often used by those who are fearful to speak the truth and hide their dissonance and insecurity in humour, to both deflect and dissuade. A passive aggressive behaviour to self justify a lack of accountability, responsibility for a disagreement.
Expecting accountability, not cover-up, from the medical profession for known adverse events resulting in failures in medical treatments reported as the third leading cause of death in the USA should chill you to your soul.
Shaming, sarcasm and misdirection - it's all over now take your pill, watch TV and go back to the 'dancing nurses' on Tick Tok.
@[Deactivated]: That’s an opinion, not a fact. But then again, I think that’s all you’re full of, misguided opinions and nothing else.
You sound like someone who just wants to be angry. You’re the type of person who only comes up with problems and not solutions.
Good luck in life, you’re gonna need it. Lucky for you, your idiocy is not a contraindication to having your life saved by the very people you condemn with no thought for the whole picture.
@[Deactivated]: there's always a few bad apples in any profession but it's a bit of a stretch to apply that to the industry as a whole. regulators in australia are among of the most stringent however with HCCC/AHPRA, on the flip side there have been many doctors driven to the point of suicide by frivolous investigations. but you probably don't want to hear about that. sorry to hear about your experiences but i think you've made it clear no one will change your mind on the topic.
@May4th: As I have repeated, it is not the bad apples it is the silent majority who stand idly by … and silently consent to the misconduct AND IN FACT support it by omitting relevant information that would potentially implicate a doctor in a medical error. Nurses and doctors are taught to do this and I am so disappointed by medical professionals who won't admit this. As for the the pollyannas you can't be helped.
Ever worked with a surgeon that listens to classical music while surgeoning? And then they switch the music off when something goes wrong and they need to take it more seriously, like in the movies.
Yes. Diff surgeons like diff music, some even death metal. But believe or not theatre is run by nurses. We prefer less distraction when we need to pay attention as well
That is very interesting. Never been in a theater run by a nurse before. Always the consultant dictates what they want playing, if at all. If no consultant, it's the fellow/reg's call.
What is the funniest thing a patient will talk about before he/she gets knocked out?
I had an Op when i was in high school and they surgeon tried to calm me down by asking me to describe the girl I had a crush in school. I was about to talk about some more "interesting" bits and the next thing I knew was that I'm puking in a bin and the surgery was a success.
Before knockout patient rarely talk funny stuff. Our anaesthetist commonly say, whats your favourite drink? This will feel like having a nice glass of your favourite drink.
Others will say imagine you can be anywhere in thr world for a holiday? Where would it be.
We dont really do the countdown anymore
Have you ever had a patient that was suppose to be anaesthetised but was actually awake?
Awareness during anaesthesia is an extremely rare case. Most commonly only during sedation/twilight anaesthesia. So during General anaesthesia i have never experienced a patient who said they were aware of it. But many surgeries we do under spinal or sedation if they are suitable for GA, even orthopedic surgeries. Patient get a little bit nervous when we are using power tools, hammering,clanging noises
power tools, hammering,clanging noises
Honestly just choke me out at that point, that sounds awful
The base of orthopaedic surgery was derived from carpentry. Plates,screws, hammer, drill, saw, metal rod
@Dolladollabill: I read through my daughter's file after her spinal fusion (T5 - L1) and was stunned at the count list - had the usual things like swabs, then listed hammers, drills etc. Thought she'd be in real trouble if they'd left one of them in her!
@sam-1966: Patient care, surgical count and sterility are probably the 3 most impt aspect of theatre nursing. T5-L1 thats quiet an extensive posterior spinal fusion. Scoliosis? 14-16 years old usually we perform for scoliosis
@Dolladollabill: Yes - she was 15. It was also what made my other daughter deciding on nursing as a career - she had been tossing up something in the medical field and spending time at the hospital with her sister, and again a few weeks later when she had a post-op infection (proprionic bacterium). She could see first hand how the nurses cared for the patients and got to know them. She wanted to do paeds, but for her grad year has been in elective ortho, currently on a covid ward.
Am also an RN. But have given back my registration to APRHA. After 35 yrs of constant education and multiple disciplines inc ICU HDU And CCU It was obvious to me that the job was killing me and my mental health. So after months of consideration I finally followed in the footsteps of many nurses I know and turned my back on what is arguably the most satisfying job.
I don't want to write a novel but suffice to say there are huge numbers of medical professionals exiting the system due to overwork/abuse/the reasons are many and varied.
I have much to say about the broken health system but I rekon you get my point.I wholeheartedly agree. The reason we do what we do is because we want to give the best for our patient, but it is not reflected by the understaffed, under resources, under supported day to day.
Small step and small changes and hopr in thr future things will get better.Ask any nurse the question.
"Would you change jobs if you were able to find a similar paying job that is not in the health field"?
You'll find very few nos.
The dissatisfaction of workers in the health field is mind blowing
It's a shambles out there.
Can I ask what role a highly qualified nurse moves to after leaving the industry?
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Thanks for your service. I know it's been an absolute shit show recently, especially if you've been redeployed. Has your department been significantly closed during covid outbreaks? I know in some areas theatre's have been closed for emergency ops only.