I often hear non-medical people say " You ONLY work three times a week ". As I hear this statement, I usually try to put in mind that they would never understand what we are doing because normally, ordinary people only see a fourth of what is really happening in the medical field. I have been a nurse for years. Recently, I have been assigned in the Burn unit. A unit where we take care of patients who are severely burned or wounded. As soon as a patient enters our floor, pain medications, electrolyte replacement, intravenous fluids and all other medications and care for the patient SHOULD be given ASAP. On top of what is mentioned which other medical services don't do is to medicate, dress a burn or decrease the bleeding of a wound. These are only the things a nurse will do right? Well, wrong. If imbalances of these things would occur, we should inform the doctor right away and follow his orders to keep the patient alive. And then we chart, we document everything we ...
I am a Filipino working as a burn nurse in the US, its been 6 months since I entered my job. If nursing is already a tough job, it is tougher for foreign people, or at least to me. Here are some of the hurdles I had encountered in my first 6 months, 1. Language Although in my country, English is our second language but there are a number of medical terms which is pronounced differently from how we pronounced it in Philippines. Example: HEMOGLOBIN, in Filipino English, we pronounced it as "he-MOH-glo-bin", but when I practiced here, it is pronounced as "HEE-mowg-low ". Different right? 2. Tardiness In Philippines, if you are late for work, even for a day, you will be called and be asked why. In here, you can be tardy all you want, no one would ask since they are understaffed 3. Equipment All machines and gadgets in this country are all state of the art. In our country, its left in the cavemen era. IV pumps do not exist in our country but the traditional d...