Hey everyone

I was wondering if i could take a moment of your time!
I m a student in canada taking my Nursing coarse.
I have recently been failed on a skill test Where we act out how we would take
care of people in diffrent situations. Well mine was Jack, He was a paraplegic
and i had to give him a parcial bath, and then assist him with a sliding board to his
chair. Which is good i can do it all! I know my theory. I know i do!
Anyways , where i failed was i helped him sit up so he could do his oral care.
well i got a fail for that, my instructor told me that parapelegic can't sit on there own for that long to do
oral care. I just want to know ......because if im right im going to fight her
on this one! i fail this and this is going to prelong my grad ....and im going on a 90% average her.
i know she's wrong!!!!!!!!!
So would you be able to help me out!
Thank you so much for reading this and takin thee time!

Im pretty much doing this now ! its something i can't sleep over!
Dorinda

Ouch...you just undone yesterdays surgery.

early on is much different than later. While in the recovery phase a lot do have trouble with sitting for very long but then that gets better later on. Perhaps you were graded in that the someone you "had" was more newly injured or had other complications.....there are a lot of variables.

Agree with WB75 - too many variables! In reality, it'd be pretty obvious whether or not patient needs help!

While I was recovering from my injury I was prohibited from sitting up without my brace. This restriction was removed about six months post. Otherwise, most of us sit up all day long. If the patient is in their chair, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to brush their teeth, etc. If the assignment was as vague as you've described I'd say you have a legitimate complaint.

I agree with Kwag_Myers. It all depends how long the patient had been injured. If it's an old injury and the patient is in hospital for some unrelated illness then he should be able to cope for himself. On the other hand, if he was newly injured you might even need a second nurse to assist you. I don't think you should be failed if the circumstances weren't explained to you in full. Raise your concern with your instructor and tell her that you've done research, spoken to some paraplegics and you have found that the vast majority of paraplegics could sit do their own oral care (or any other care) unaided and most would prefer to. If she still intends to fail you, let us know and I'm sure we can rally round to sign a petition for you to put her straight.
Best wishes for your graduation. It's nice to see you've taken the time to look us up...hope you'll continue to do so as your career progresses.

i'd have to fail you just for your spelling crappy spelling by docs/nurses is how we end up with the wrong meds and care

Here's a thought, why not ASK the patient instead of just assume what they can and can't do! Who would know better what someones limitations are, that person or some cranky old bitch behind a desk?

In ICU they brushed my teeth. In the rehab ward, 3 weeks later, I brushed my own. I guess it depends on the setting.

Listen to Alista53. TRAIN YOURSELF TO EDIT EVERYTHING FOR SPELLING ERRORS BEFORE YOU LET ANYONE SEE IT. "Spell check" in your Microsoft Word program will do most of it for you, then you can cut and past it to wherever you need. You may be right about many things, but if you cannot use English competently people will think you are stupid. That's reality. Good luck.

If you mean sitting up in bed, the answer is no.

At least with a high lesion, most people will not want to trust their balance brushing their teeth. If a nurse just tried to sit up your average quad or high para in bed to brush ihis teeth, there would be a fall and a lawsuit.

Obviously sitting up in a chair is fine.

-G

P.S. I do not use a spell checker. Spell checkers are for wimps trying to appear perfect and who subsequently leave in ridiculous homophones that give the game away.

Spelling mistakes are fine. However, and this is where it gets sticky, they have to be perceived as mistakes within a context of competent language usage. In this case no one will fault you. But if the mistakes are the refletion of systematic ignorance, you are in trouble and a spell checker wil only make things worse.

Bottom line: There is no substitute for an hour a day with a good book.

Nothing reflects your disdain for the reader more than poorly constructed text containing bad spelling.

Always use a spell checker and, if you think it necessary, use a grammar checker as well before pressing the send button.

Colledge?

Dang you spell as bad as me. I should quit my job and go to college.

Oh dear... spell checker not helped you here Pwuff! "Cut and past" or "cut and paste" ???

So are you stupid...?

Dear GB,

Grammar checker? Now I am really horrified. Imagine the kind of stupid mistakes you could get into by trusting a machine with your grammar!

Remember. To err is human. Let us not be ashamed of that while always working to improve. Relying on mechanical aids, in something so sensitive as our use of language, is to abdicate our higher functions. Choice of language is a direct reflection of our thought.

Now there's an idea... A mechanical "thought checker".

I would prefer to be dealing with an unabashed idiot, than with that same idiot armed with spelling, grammar, and thought checkers.

Right. Now I understand where some of these posts are coming from.

Best Regards,

Gordon

I think some folks jumped on their high horse pretty quick here. I mean, crappy spelling or not, people could obviously tell what she ment as the question was answered. And !tz n0t lyk $#e w@$ typ!ng lyk t#!$

It seems that you view as idiots most of the poster to whom you respond.

Tiresome though it may be, "dealing with us idiots", as you put it, does afford you many opportunities to demonstrate your superior intellect. I am mightily impressed.

Have you spoken to your examiner yet Dorinda and, if so, what was the outcome?

I've seen 'college' spelled wrong so often now I'm not sure of the correct way. If I see it spelled 'collage' again I may go mad lol colledge makes a nice change.

Ignore this cynical lot, Dorinda,, all of us were able to read and understand your question. Those who chose not to answer it hardly merit your attention, let alone your scorn.

As was answered above, the level and age of the injury would have some bearing on the amount of aid needed. This,, and the clinical setting (ICU, rehab, other) should have been,,, in a well thought out test,,,, outlined in the problem as it was set.

I am a t10, and have not since being allowed in a wheelchair, needed supervision while brushing my teeth. Of course, I haven't been asked to do it balanced on a beach ball, either.

Thought checker,,,, interesting idea,,, censurship taken to the extreme. Personally, I've never been too concerned about what others thought,,, it's what they say and do that often takes me aback.
ed

college = a place of higher learning (+ toga & keg parties)
collage = an item usually made by adding photos, magazine clippings arranged in an artistic manner to "represent" or "mean something".

Why are people so nasty to other's if u don't spell or write things right ??? This is a reason why i am scared to post incase people attack me for not doing it right .

Hi Miss Piggy,

Unfortunately when communicating on the internet, the only way people can assess you is by what you write. Also, what is written remains available on the internet forever. You therefore owe it to yourself to present whatever you write in the best way that you can. A spell-checker is just an aid to help you to do that.

It really doesn't take any effort to use the spell-checkers that are built into most web browsers. They only need turning on, usually in the "tools" or "preferences" menu. Usually they underline words that you spell wrongly as you type. Right clicking on the underlined word gives a choice of similar correctly spelled words to choose from. Used sensibly they are a great teaching aid and will help you to make fewer errors in the future.

So don't be afraid to post, but be aware that people sometimes take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to be unpleasant. The majority, however, especially on this forum, will be supportive and generous with their offers of help and advice.

Another aid is the "Preview Post" button that allows you to see exactly how your message will look before you actually send it. Often errors show up in the preview window that are not obvious in the composer window, and you have the opportunity to change them before sending your message.

I hope this has helped, and apologise if you already knew most of this. I look forward to reading your posts.

Added: Miss Piggy, forgive me. I thought you were a new member, but I now see you have already made 271 posts. It must appear as though I'm "teaching granny to suck eggs". I'll leaving the post intact, though, as it may be of interst to others.

Greybeard HAS a heart... we knew it all along.

Actually, the main issue with text is, IMHO, not the spelling & grammar, but the lack of intonation, changing one person's friendly jibe into the next person's personal insult. And in a forum with 1000s of members there are always going to be those that annoy or upset. Let's learn not to take it to heart, eh..? (the advantage of so many siblings..)

a agree with the majority it really depends on how much information you were given, ie level of injury and age of injury, some of us para's on here even ride horses, so really depends on the individuals abilities and the circumstances, was it a real patient? if so did he or she seem to cope ok? if you weren't given enough information to make the corrct choice then you should definately appeal, good luck
wendy

ps if spelling is wrong , many appologise but i not got spell check on this screen!!

GB,,, you are showing your age,,,, in today's world, texting has become the norm. The use of acronyms and phonetic spelling has reached epidemic proportions. Is it any wonder that those under a certain age have little idea of how to use a dictionary.

One can become upset by it or amused by it,,, all a matter of choice.

As an aside,,,, those who use Twitter call what they do " tweeting",,,, I think, perhaps, those who use it might best be described by the first four letters.
ed

Haha! You got that right. You are sounding a little elderly yourself there Ed!

In my early years of foruming I made the mistake of correcting someone's spelling only to be threatened with banishment. Now I only do it to people who argue with me. If you want me to take you seriously then write like you have some level of learnin' (yeah, I did that on purpose).

It really surprises me that people in THIS forum are so quick to grab the red pencil when you consider the fact that many members have limited use of their fingers. Or is this a gang thing, "Look, there's an AB, let's get her!"

Seriously, some of you guys need to switch to decaf.

Ya got me GB,,,, that's the problem with getting old,,, no alternatives,, well, there is one,, but I think I'll hold off on that one.

Kwag,, some of us just have too much time on our hands, I guess.
ed

Wow! It seems as though my suggestion that folks should respect their readers by taking a a little effort over their posts has deeply offended some members.

I offer my sincere apologies if that is the case. Obviously Ed was right. I come from a generation that took pride in such things. It is clear that those rules no longer apply. I'll try to conform and make lots of errors in my posts in future. I don't want to be one of Gordonr's ( ) "wimps trying to appear perfect".

Anybody heard from Dorinda? I hope she wasn't frightened off by the word police. I'm kinda curious as to what happened with her.

If you're still out there, hon, tell us how you made out with your test. Did they let you retest, or change your score???
ed

I am in that group which uses language easily.

I also vehemently support the efforts of those who do not.

Authenticity is all that really counts.

Fresh milk in a wooden bowl will always be better than goat piss in a golden cup.

If you worry about your language being "not good enough", you are abdicating your own right of expression, and robbing the rest of us of the benefit of your ideas and feelings.

Improve yourself by reading the masters. But do not hold back your own expression until you think you have reached some arbitrary minimum standard. You are alive now. Your input is relevant now.

Follow the inspirational example of Grey Beard.


Best Regards,

Gordon

Blimey! Praise indeed. Do you think I should change my name to Grey Bard?

Geez Gord,
I reread this one 5 times, and I STILL don't follow?!
Where do you get this stuff, 1950's Reader's Digest issues?-lol


Sorry we totally thread jacked this poor students serious problem.
Hopefully you were able to turn the teacher around.

She probably changed her major now that she knows what we're really like. I'm sending her a PM and hoping she gets an Email notification, etc.