Tools, A Bowel And No Talking
For some of our more infectious patients, we have disposable stethoscopes. We're trying not to spread any more germs than we have to. One of the nurses said that she was going to take a disposable stethoscope home with her so that she could take the blood pressure of a family member. There are just two problems with this:
1) This is theft
2) She doesn't own a stethoscope?!!! This is like a plumber not owning a wrench.
I was having some difficulty understanding my English as a second language patient. He said something about wanting a bowel. I asked him to repeat it and he said something about a bowel again. I just stared at him and then he said he needed something to throw up in. He wanted a bowl.
I overheard a patient complaining of gas pains to his nurse. Her reply was, "Don't talk too much, talking causes gas." This is something new to me. Have you ever heard of this?
Written by Melissa on 12:35 AM
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Melissa blogging from sunny Santa Clarita, Southern California, United States.
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8 Comments:
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... now I know why I have gas all the time. Thanks =o)
Theft from the workplace is legion. People will take anything that is not tied down, whether they need it or not. I'm sure in order to pass her RN she had classes on medical ethics. It's amazing how some people can separate common theft from their overall professional diligence. Very convenient.
I've heard people refered to as "air heads". Maybe talking releases all that air through the safety valve :)
Was it a new stethoscope or one that had been used and she "disinfected" it to take it home and use on a poor unsuspecting family member? The disposables are crap anyway. I think I have 4 stethoscopes (don't you need them to match your outfits?). And last of all NO, there was no medical ethics class in nursing school...none of the instructors would have been qualified to teach it anyway.
I have never heard that talking causes gas. I have heard that chewing gum does, but I don't know whether to believe it or not.
Perhaps that is where the term "a real gasbag" came from when applied to people who just love the sound of their own voices.
Madwag, you're so funny. :)
Augustknight, I don't recall ethics being mentioned in nursing school. In law school, however, it was a whole semester course and a separate part of the Bar exam. Maybe lawyers need it more than nurses. But I do watch my valuables. Things tend to just walk off.
Irene, that sounds like my problem.
Sarah, it was new stethoscope still in the wrapper. I only have one stethoscope. If I actually wore it, I would need several to match my outfits, but I just get it when I need it. Doctors, who also don't like to wear them, sometimes ask to borrow mine. They never seem happy that it is hot pink.
Gary, I've heard that chewing sugarless gum can cause gas and diarrhea because they are sometimes sweetened with sorbitol or other substances that pass through the digestive tract undigested. This is sometimes recommended as a remedy for constipation.
Connie, I guess a person can be a gas bag in every sense of the word. :)
Does talking cause gas in the speaker or the hearer?
Gas is in the eye of the beholder?
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