Because We Care

Happy Mother’s Day to all Nurse and Midwives

Sunday, May 9th, 2010 by NU_Editor

To all the selfless nurses and midwives who look after us….

A very happy Mother’s Day to one and all!

nurses sydney

nurses sydney

Here are some inspirational Mother’s Day quotes we found just for you:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
~Tenneva Jordan

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.
~Peter De Vries

Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.
~Author Unknown

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
~Rajneesh

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.
~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

Mother – that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.
~T. DeWitt Talmage

A mother understands what a child does not say. ~Author Unknown

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
~Abraham Lincoln

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. ~Irish Proverb

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey

Children are a great comfort in your old age – and they help you reach it faster, too. ~Lionel Kauffman

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

From the Nurse Uncut Team

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Nursing – the Final Frontier

Friday, December 4th, 2009 by Bernhard

22 February 1971 Starlog:  that was the date I entered this space ship, trying to pick up pieces of damaged personalities across the cosmos. My mother was a nurse in Vienna ( as was my aunt) and came to Sydney in 1960 when I was eight years old. I lived in a tin can in Villawood migrant village for 6 years.

Bernhard2 at Lidcombe

At age 19  I had just taken up a pilot cadetship with a major airline, when my mother, who was nursing at Lidcombe Hospital, asked why I didn’t do nursing. My sarcastic reply about male nurses didn’t faze her, and she had me take her to work, where she proudly paraded me around the wards, introducing me to her colleagues.

The 1970’s was a great time in Sydney. So, I have my mother to blame for the last 38 years spent in this chess-game. I started nursing on the above date, and by 1974 was working in intensive care, becoming deputy Charge Nurse (NUM).

I also moonlighted as an agency nurse across Sydney (what I called “spy missions into enemy territory” – in order to see if there were better methods, systems, charts etc elsewhere that we could use at Lidcombe). I did a management course in 1975, then the Coronary Care Course at The NSW College of Nursing in 1976.

In 1978 I was accepted at Sydney’s St.Vincents Hospital Intensive Therapy Unit (they probably couldn’t spell “Care”?) for their ICU course under Dr Bob Wright. 1979 and I became NUM of Lidcombe Hospital Intensive Care, then of Bankstown Hospital Intensive Care and also Coronary Care units in 1983.

A work accident removed me from nursing (but I didn’t make a workers comp claim) and I switched to agency nursing, which I have done since 1987 and have worked most Sydney hospitals over the years.  It opened many windows on the variety of care practices, and the different responses and attitudes of nursing staff.

The main character I see is that of the disillusioned burnt-out  nurse, who brings his/her frustrations to the work place and thus transfers her attitudes to new nurses. The ‘family’ atmosphere that seemed to pervade the 1970’s hospitals has become cold.

In addition, the rapidly escalating deterioration of  lifestyle and eating habits of the general population is creating a landslide of physical vegetables, on a roller-coaster ride to drug-company hell.  I enjoy educating everyone about nutritional health, about the stand they should take to save their bodies/ replenish themselves, and to repair the mental, physical, financial damage they have done.

I thrive on work as a critical care nurse and often spend 60-80 hour weeks in acute care areas. I enjoy motivating, encouraging and redirecting other health care workers (and patients plus their ‘others’) into better health options.

Nursing, for me is a complete energy recharge.  There is so  much to do (too much!) with so little time to do it in!

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Nursing from a Migrant’s Point of View

Thursday, November 26th, 2009 by NU_Editor

Not even in my wildest dreams had I thought I’d be a nurse 3 years down the track. Although I respected the work nurses provided to the community, the stigma of being a male nurse was always at the back of my mind. spiritual door

I was happy pursuing the career and dreams that I day-dreamed of when I first flew over the seas to Sydney 9 years ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nursing. Like any teenager, I wanted to be successful and rich.

At that time the obvious key to that world was Information Technology (IT). Struggling with the overseas lifestyle, I completed several IT courses only to find my dreams shattered gradually to the point where hopes had no room and the dark tunnel looked even darker.

Maybe that was depression which I failed to recognise then but I knew I had to make some changes in my life. I couldn’t run away from reality anymore or pretend everything was alright. I desperately needed a new beginning, a new career.

I ventured my options, my interests and passions:

  • Pilot (my childhood dream)
  • Astronomy (my all time fascination)
  • Scientist (what I really believed in)
  • Doctor

Still no Nursing in sight. Medicine was too expensive for an international student. Becoming a pilot, astronomy and scientist didn’t seem that feasible in my future (near future). My friend’s dad being involved in health care himself was the one who put the idea of nursing into my head.

Now, I can’t thank him enough. Thank you Mr. Thapa. For the first time I seriously thought about it:

“There is an enormous amount of science involved in nursing, the job diversity is infinite”

but seeing me as a researcher further down the track, was what pulled me right into it.

“I am going to accompany the lonely and needy ones”

“I am going to listen to they have to tell”

“I am going to make who is low and down, feel better; who is unwell get well”

“I am going to assure the frightened ones”

“I am going to install hope in people who has lost everything in life”

“I am going to save some lives today”.

That feeling with sheer determination is much more than humane and the joy it brings when you actually do save a life is out of this material world.

What more can you be more proud of? That is nursing to me, a portal to step into my spirituality.

Photo courtesy: www.saviourbehaviour.com/…/ascension1.html

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Family Centered Care

Friday, October 2nd, 2009 by NU_Editor

family_playing_time-simmbarb-sxcWorking in a children’s hospital you learn to develop an understanding of family centered care and how this can be applied to practice.

Family centerd care (FCC) encourages and enables family members to be involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of their child’s carefamily centered care. FCC identifies the primary care giver as the most important person in the child’s life and also the only constant factor the child can relate to during the chaotic time of hospitalization.

Ineffective FCC can result from a break down in communication and the inability for the health care professional to commit to the process due to the acuity of patients and heavy patient loads.

Additionally, the establishment of FCC can be hindered due to a resistance by health care professionals, including nurse, to relinquish control of the patient care and enable the empowerment of the family to become actively involved.

Effective FCC has been demonstrated to diminish hospital length of stay, reduce anxiety for the child and their family, decrease infection risk for the patient as their parent or carer can provide care and increase patient advocacy.

Where I work, we view family centered care as an essential aspect of quality paediactric nursing care and aim to facilitate FCC at all stages of the child’s journey through our hospital services. We identify the child’s family as those people who are significant in the child life.

How do you define a family? Do you have experiences or opinions about utilizing family centered care in your work place?

Image source: simmbarb (via sxc.hu)

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Patient’s Relatives Driving you Nuts?

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 by NU_Editor

Recently I had the experience of being a concerned relative when my niece with advanced cancer was hospitalised for the first time, to bring her pain under control.

I was there to support my sister and niece who were both very anxious about going into hospital with very low expectations of being understood or having any control over treatment options.  Because I am a nurse, I was able to help them build a bridge with both nursing and medical staff.  I was also able to show my sister how she could assist my niece without putting anyone off side.  I had the unique perspective of both a relative and a nurse.  This had me thinking, when does a relative cross the boundary of being actively involved and helpful to just plain annoying?

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It can be easy to categorise people; questioning, helpful, assertive, agitated, abrupt, anxious, bossy, demanding even uncooperative. We have all had to deal with patient’s relatives that can be hard work.  The question is what can we do to help ourselves to cope (not go nuts) and help relatives at the same time, which in turn, helps our patient.

What strategies can we develop to cope with the challenge of dealing with relatives whose company you don’t particularly enjoy?

First and foremost, it is (probably) not personal! When you think about it most people feel very vulnerable in the hospital system, whether they or their loved one is the patient.  Sometimes when we are going about our normal daily work in the hospital environment, day in and day out, it is easy to forget being in hospital is not normal for most people.  Most times I try to remember that there is often more going on with people than I am aware of.  My experience has been that often relatives become anxious when they don’t know or understand what is happening with their loved ones.  Sometimes it can be just the feeling of not knowing what to do or feeling helpless.

Whatever the reason… don’t avoid the problem, nobody likes to feel ignored, it will only make things worse.   I have personally found the best approach is the direct one, firstly acknowledge you perceive that the relative/s appears to be upset and ask if there is anything you can do to help.  For most relatives and patients alike, half the battle is feeling you have been heard by staff.

Next time you have a patient’s relative driving you crazy, stop, take a deep breath, try and put yourself in their shoes and really listen to them, you may be surprised what a positive difference this can make.

What have your experiences been of dealing with patients’ relatives? How have you coped with these sometimes tricky situations?
Rich

Photo by Alexey Audeer www.photoxpress.com

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The Greatest Influence in My Life

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 by NU_Editor

Father’s Day makes me think of the major influences in my life that have helped me to become the person I am today.

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First we have my great Uncle David Hall who has only been gone for 2 years. David was always there for me when I was growing up. In fact when we first came to Australia, he used to translate what this little 4 year old Scottish girl (that was me!) was saying.

When I got married and had the kids, David became LITTLE POP.  Little Pop was always there for concerts,plays and walks. All of the kids had holidays and happy days down the coast. In the last few years, we would go down and take Pop away out for the day. We all have great memories of David that we will hold in our hearts forever.

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The next lovely person is my father in law who I am pleased to say I still have a great relationship with. Vincent is a wonderful grandfather and is BIG POP to the kids. He is always there to help. Accepts all of the kids as individuals which I truly appreciate.

So I consider myself very lucky and always strive to be as honest and hard working as these two fantastic men in anything I do.

What about you? Who serves as your inspiration in life?

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Dad is my Superman

Saturday, September 5th, 2009 by Ruth Guevarra

random pix 058

This Father’s Day I want to share with you my relationship with my dad. His name is Romeo Guevarra.

When I was growing up with my brother and 3 younger sisters, my dad looked after us whilst mum worked full time as a primary school teacher.

In short, Dad was our primary caregiver and what we fondly called the “house-husband” (as opposed to a ‘housewife’) *smile

Mum made him quit his job from the airforce when we (the children) arrived on the scene.

I have so many fond memories of Dad caring for us, feeding us, bathing us, taking us to school, to church, to the playground, to the movies.

The one unforgettable experience I have with my dad is when he went beyond cleaning his  4 little girls’ hair which was infested with lice. Ewww… but he did it. He made us put coconut oil in our hair and then waited in a queue to be combed until all our nits fell off accompanied by hair strands (ouch!). It was a horrid experience. How I wished there was headlice shampoo then ;-)

Dad was not only our official hair care specialist, he was also Superman who’d carry me in his strong arms to bed whenever I fell asleep in the couch before he transformed back to being our hygiene assistant to look after our grimy toenails. ewww

Dad is such a loving and gentle caring dad. I miss him so much. We’ve been apart for almost six years now since I left the Philippines and moved to Sydney to embark on a new life of my own. I have only been home twice since I left. First was when mum was very sick and the other during mum’s funeral when she lost her battle with cancer.

Dad is my only parent now. He is both dad and mum to us. He looks after my disabled brother with help from my other younger sisters. One of them is a nurse too. I am planning to go home to the Philippines for Christmas this year to see dad and my siblings and spend some quality time with them.

Life is short I realised. I want to show Dad how much he means to me and that he is loved. Dearly.

Before I end this post, I also want to share this music video by famous singer-songwriter (also a dad), Steven Curtis-Chapman called ‘Cinderella’.

I cried when I first watched this video at my friend’s church. He dedicated this song to his adopted daughter from China, Maria Sue, whose life was cut short from a tragic accident. I hope every daddy’s girl could relate to this as I have.

To my Dad and all dads in the world, Happy Father’s Day!

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Thinking about my Dad on Father’s Day

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 by patience

Dad on board HMAS SydneyMy Dad, Charles Joseph Wilson, died back in 2001 at age 85; but it’s true when people say that someone only really dies when you have forgotten them. I haven’t forgotten my Dad because he was a man of many colours and most importantly a man of his age. He is very much alive in my heart.

My Dad was born during the First World War and fought in the Pacific through the Second World War. My Dad was a Chief Petty Officer who did nursing and pathology duties in the Sick Bay on the now famous ship HMAS Sydney II that was lost in action with all hands off Western Australia in November 1941.

My Dad was on leave when his ship went down, but it haunted him throughout his life. He lost so many mates and memories. We would now say very knowledgably that he experienced “survivor guilt” for the rest of his life and he really struggled with this. I can remember family pilgrimages to the Australia War Memorial in Canberra and we would stand as a family in silence and gaze sadly at the “Sydney’s” broken life raft – the only piece left of a unforgettable tragedy. My Dad didn’t say much – but he didn’t have to, we all knew in some silent childish way that the life raft had a significance far greater than a mere bit of flotsam.

But this terrible experience was such a big part of who he was. AND if he been lost into the deep dark sea, then there wouldn’t have been me and my brothers and sisters. So here we are and his loss not only gave him strength and courage, but he also passed this onto his children and we learned some important life lessons from him.

He taught us how to keep going even in the darkest of times. He taught us how to stand up for ourselves and fight for justice. He taught us integrity and the meaning of the rewards of working hard, honestly and persistently.

The times I miss him most is when I am having significant troubles and difficulties – because it’s then that he would come roaring through like a lion;  ready, willing and able to protect and help me from the injustices of life. That was when he was at his best. It’s from him that I learned how to be brave and stand up for what I believe to be right.

Most other times he just loved animals, made many, many silly jokes and sang in a lovely tenor voice to his favourite records.  I think his great loss had made him solitary and wary of getting too close to friends which was sad.

However, my Dad was a self made man who was completely devoted to his family. I believe his loss enabled him to see and understand that the most important thing in life was relationships and he put his energy into his family. He didn’t always do it very well mind you! Like all human trauma his Trauma sometimes made him extremely hard to be with. But that’s not what I remember and isn’t that what matters?

So to all the Dad’s and especially to mine where ever he is now – have a lovely Father’s Day I wouldn’t be writing this if it wasn’t for you!Dad & wounded sailor copy

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Being a DAD: Is There a More Important Job?

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 by NU_Editor

In honour of Father’s Day on Sunday, 6 September, Nurse Uncut is featuring each of our nurse bloggers’ thoughts on this special occasion.

The first one is from Richard:

I am the proud Dad of my two sons Oliver 11 and Baxter 6. I am not here to bore you with all that I find great about being a Dad but just to say that I love being a Dad. I treat it as a privilege and in my opinion it’s the biggest responsibility I have ever been given.

happy familyHey, you don’t have to take my word for it… I am reading a book called “The Biology of Belief” by Bruce Lipton PhD and it says

”Frontier science is confirming what mothers and enlightened fathers have known forever, that parents do matter, despite best-selling books that try and convince them otherwise. To quote Dr Thomas Verny, a pioneer in the field of prenatal and perinatal psychiatry:”Findings in the peer-reviewed literature over the course of decades establish, beyond any doubt, that parents have an overwhelming influence on the mental and physical attributes of the children they raise.” (Verny and Kelly 1981)”

While as nurses we may not all be parents we can still however try to make the kids in our care feel like they are special and that they are important. Never underestimate the positive influence you can make in a child’s day, even just a simple smile and a friendly hello.

While my late Dad and I have fairly different approaches to parenting, the principles underpinning them are basically the same, let your kids know and feel that they are loved.

My Dad was very much old school where kids were seen and not heard and hugs were few and far between. Probably not surprising as his father was a Headmaster of a boys’ school.

I will never forget the day I was feeling at my absolute lowest when I got my Higher School Certificate results and opened the envelope (no internet back then) only to discover that I had failed. My Dad came home after work that day (he was a Bank Manager) and instead of being angry or disappointed he just let me know that he loved me and that I would get through it. I got to know and appreciate my Dad on a whole new level that day and hey, I did get through it.

Have there been times in your life when your Dad has come through for you when you really needed him to? How has your Dad shaped you?

Rich

photo by Tolchik at www.photoxpress.com

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6 Aged Care Nursing Myths & Misconceptions

Friday, August 21st, 2009 by NU_Editor

There are so many perceptions of nursing and aged care in general that will be good to de-mystify. Do you know of any that you’d like the community to know? Here’s my list:

aged care

1. There is always enough staff to do the job.

Not really. One of Because We Care’s campaign themes is this public perception. It’s a myth. We are negotiating to have proper staff to resident ratios.

We would love to be able to attend to requests straight away BUT sometimes more often than not there just isn’t enough of us to go around. So we do the side ways shuffle and priotise whose need has to come first. Families sometimes get ANGRY but my twin has not come through in the mail yet!!!

2. Residents in a Nursing Home is like in the movie where the oldies sit and play Bingo.

Residents in Nursing Homes don’t always behave in a socially acceptable way. We can’t always stop things happening in a public area. Sometimes nurses have to deal with wanderers who are intrusive, aggressive and violent.

3. My personal favourite — Nurses earn a massive amount of money.

That’s what I hear from people. Because We Care campaign exists to fight for wage parity with the public system.

4. Aged Care nurses spend all day simply looking after residents so why do they still make mistakes?

Nurses are people too. We can and do make mistakes BUT we do the best job we can in the environment we are in.

5. Aged Care nurses don’t care about their residents.

One of the main parts of our job is CARING — not just personal care but being an advocate for our residents. If we see they need new equipment, etc….we lobby for it.

6. Nurses only look after residents. That doesn’t take much.

We have to be all things to all people residents, visitors and management. That takes skills, commitment and dedication.

What about you? Have you got your own list of nursing myths and pre-conceptions that you’d like to share?

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