Patient Abuse - Can You Take It

One of the most daunting challenges faced by both inexperienced and experienced nurses alike is patient abuse. Abuse of patients by medical staff is uncommon, but widely reported. Less widely addressed are the abuses dealt out to nursing staff by patients. An inexperienced nurse entering the profession for the first time must develop strategies for dealing with this aggression. If they don’t, they run the risk of becoming disillusioned with their profession.

Abuse as “part of the job”.

A study conducted by Curtin University of Technology reported in May of 2010 that two thirds of all nurses had experienced violence in the workplace. These incidents were only reported one in six times. 92 per cent involved verbal abuse, 69 per cent physical threats and 52 per cent involved physical assault. On average, the nurses were confronted with 46 violent events each year. That’s nearly one incident a week.

Why would so many incidents go unreported?

Nurses are generally motivated by a desire to help others. This makes it less likely they will report incidences of abuse by patients. They believe the abusive environment is a part of the job.

Moreover, nurses have often invested a great deal of time and money in obtaining their nursing degrees and licenses. If they’ve taken out thousands of dollars in student loans, they won’t be able to simply walk away from their chosen career.

Abuse contributes to the nursing shortage.

Statistics show that there are enough people in the United States with an RN certification to solve the nursing shortage two times over. There is a strong possibility that the violence experienced by nurses during their workday might be linked to the reluctance of licensed RN’s to work in a healthcare setting.

Having an adequate number of nurses on staff is crucial to preserving patient health. Patients die when there are too few nurses to care for their needs. Measures seeking to address the nursing shortage should start in hospitals and health care institutions. We should expect patients to treat the nursing staff with the same respect they would give to any other professional. If nurses are expected to simply stand by and take the abuse dished out by difficult patients, the nursing profession will continue to experience a shortage of willing volunteers.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of accredited online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Veritas Liberabit Vos: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Ever since I started going to a Jesuit institution, I was always told of the saying "Veritas Liberabot Vos" which some of you may know is Latin for "The Truth Shall Set You Free". I am an advocate of being honest. My conscience always bothers me whenever I lie, especially when I know that there are no lies that will forever be kept secret.

Although, there are several occasions when you have to lie to protect people from getting hurt and these are our so called "white lies". White lies have saved my relationship with several people especially when I have nothing good to say to them. I can't just tell someone in the face that they looked terrible if they wanted my personal opinion on their physical appearance. 

Well the most common reason why people lie is to protect themselves. I myself have a lot of skeletons in my closet and I do not want to reveal these secrets out of fear that my friends and family will turn their backs on me once they've found out my dirty secrets.

Lies are inherently evil because they are meant to deceive people but there are times when one has to commit a necessary evil for the greater good. I will continue to hold on to my secrets and the secrets that other people has trusted to me. Although I want to share my skeletons to the world, I have to create a different blog under a false name. This might be the best idea after all. I want to create a blog under the cloak of anonymity so that I can truly express my true self with out fear of retribution.

I just hope that my dirty secrets won't haunt me in the future.

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Photo credits to Eternal Stickers

I've Grown Up

As I was looking through my older posts, I can't help notice how different I was back then. It amazes me how different I am now from my high school self. I can't believe that I'm already 21 years old and boy oh boy, experience does change a person's perspective on life.

Back when I was a naive 16 year old boy, I was sheltered and lived a privileged life.You can say that I was a semi-bourgeoisie. I studied in one of the most prestigious school and I was placed on a pedestal. I was made to think that the world was at my fingertips and that I, being a person who is more fortunate than others, had a responsibility to the less fortunate people. I had accustomed myself to the title of being elite and my world rotated around studying and getting great marks. You would notice in my early posts that my rants were always concerning school.

My world crumbled when I had to move to Canada. One huge mistake on my part was working for a fast food chain, Tim Hortons. I have to be honest, I was never a humble person. I had always taken pride over the fact that I wasn't one of the millions of Filipinos who lived in poverty. I was different, I actually had a great future ahead of me. This pride has caused me great misery and depression. As I said, I foolishly worked at a fast food chain where Filipino contract workers are well known for. I unfortunately didn't take this into consideration and I was always confused for a contract worker. Naturally, my pride kicks in and I blatantly tell people off that I'm not a contract worker. By people I mean other brown-nosed (they like sticking their noses in other people's shit) Filipinos, and they then retaliate with the "If you're an immigrant then why do you work here comeback". Although it's none of their business, the only reason why I stayed with Tim Hortons for two tormenting years is because I loved my co-workers and that I had huge difficulty finding a job that doesn't suck as bad. Let's face it, I was a Filipino landed immigrant who didn't have any job experience so employers would over look my resume. 

I'm just glad that I now have my old life back. I'm back to school finishing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and I don't have a job where I am looked down at as a loser (well only fucking Filipinos does this). I used to be a person who was an idealist who had principles guiding my life. After seeing and experiencing the real world, I realized how impractical my old values were.

Right now I am a person who has a level head. Like any other Canadian, I don't see people based on social status or how rich a person is. I see people for who they are and I treat them the way the way that I want to be treated (Platinum Rule).

Thinking of You

I was supposed to study today but my "creative side" was begging me to make a cover of Katy Perry's "Thinking of You". If I fail this Thursday's final, at least I have a good excuse. It beats being lazy and not doing anything the entire day right?

I did an "Improved" version but I think it's a bit over done.

Win a NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nestle Nescafe Dolce Gusto. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

I have always been a huge fan of coffee. It's my pick-me-upper especially during the cold winter mornings. I have always been a Nescafe lover and this new product from Nescafe is amazing!

How would you like to have your very own coffee house machine in your house? Well you can with the new NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine! It uses the same high pressure system like the well known coffee places use, so you can enjoy a great cup of joe right at the comfort of your new home.

What's even more exciting (if you haven't seen the huge banner in my post) is that you could actually win a NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine! Yes that's right! I've actually joined the contest. I want this machine so badly. You don't even have to buy anything to win, you just click on the contest banner or this link. Better hurry, because this contest ends on June 24, 2010.

I actually have a coffee maker at home but it's bulky and clean up is a hassle plus I tend to make too much coffee that they just go to waste. With the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine, it uses coffee capsules so you can make a perfect cup of coffee each and every time. Guess what this machine can do that other coffee makers can't. It could actually make cold coffee beverages! Isn't that fantastic?! I could always invite friends over for coffee and we don't have to wait in a line-up or anything.

Another awesome feature of this machine is that it seriously looks amazing. It's a fantastic work of art that you can display on your counter top.

Well if you don't win or if you miss the contest deadline you could always buy your very own NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine at The Bay, Home Outfitters, London Drugs, Sears, Wal-Mart, and other fine kitchen stores across Canada. Two models are availablem the Krups for $179 and the T-Fal for $159. The coffee capsules are sold at your favorite grocery store or online at http://bit.ly/aUVwOe.