During the 3 long years you spend at university training to be the fully qualified Staff Nurse you learn a lot of new things but there are some things that the course severely lacks and I would like to outline them to you.
In my3 years at University I had1.5 hours worth of lectures on CPR in first year, yes I said 1.5 hours and then we were given a wee book and told to read it and you would have an OSCE (a practical assessment) in 3rd year.
Then we were told of the dire consequences that would be if we didn't stop at the scene of an accident to help a member of the public as we now had a "Duty of care". I was shitting it!
I was a wee bit scared as when I started my nursing training I had never nursed a patient before in my life, honestly and really took nursing as I couldn't really get into anything else and I wanted a degree but I was really a wanabee paramedic (but don't tell SMM). So I thought with a nursing degree and a first aid certificates (haha) and some good acute experience the SAS would be begging me to come and work for them.
But... Recently I have found out I cannot travel backwards in an ambulance without anti-emetic and get a migraine when I drive fast, so I think I will leave the blue lights and sirens to SMM and Kal and I will meet them in dark blue scrubs in A and E with a friendly face, my ALS certificate and a cup of Tea.
Well im not really sure 1.5 hours worth of CPR allows me to be fully confident and even know how to do it right. So I took it upon myself to take a first aid course, the full thing 12 lovely weeks of different subjects taught by people who know there stuff (!). So I enrolled and in the December I passed my first aid course and was asked if I would like to join the section and cover duties a a First aider.
Great, I love first aid and I love helping people and making a differance (it has nothing to do with the power of the hivis and seeing things for free) but I have a problem. Now im a nurse I have a responsibilty, if I see someone doing something that may harm someone...even a dr I have to say "oi mate, you shouldnt be inserting that there" or "move over I need to precordial thump as im a nurse and you are a lay member of the public with a basic first aid certificate". Its a fine line and im not really sure myself what the boundary are.
Equally thou, nurses are crap at first aid, and I will go back to the 1.5 hours CPR/first aid we had. A nurse know that a patient with platelets of 5 has a risk of bleeding and can administer the platelet transfusion/ check co-ags and FBC that the patient needs but do they know when a nose starts to bleed to pinch the bridge of the nose and lean the patient forward for 10 minutes..I would say NO.
Ask a nurse to put on an elevation sling and they cant or ask them to give you the treatment for a cardiac arrest and I bet the first thing they say is "phone the crash team aaaahhhhhhhh" not DRABC. This is why the crash team was on ward 99 to attend a fainted patient, we know the advanced but no idea of the basics.
Dont think I am not discribing myself here as I am, I would put myself top of the list.
Recently I was at a training weekend and I had to treat a chest wound, no blood just blunt trauma. I had no idea..... I made them comfortable and talked to them and done the nursey stuff but I really wanted to phone the Doctor. I suspect pneumothorax by the symptoms but out in the big bad world I had no idea how to treat it. I knew I needed help and I needed a chest drain and I could assist someone putting it in with a lovely display of aseptic techqnique. I done basic observations and the only other thing I needed to do was put him on his injured side but I didnt.....why didnt I ...because I am a nurse!
Nurse training it very holistic covering subjects like "homeopathy in modern nursing" and "Reserch and evidence based practice"and taught by airy fairly nurse lecturers who trained with Florence and have no acute nursing skills. They havent been on the ward for years. I think nurse training is where we need to look for our failing health service, MRSA deaths and drug errors.
Move over Patricia Hewitt and Andy Kerr......Im taking over.
