4 replies to this topic

[new sci nurse]

Hello all,

I am a new SCI nurse working in a critical care neuro floor. My hopsital has started a new nursing team to improve the care of SCI patients. In particular, we had a run a few months ago of many teens. I was wondering if anyone had advice as to what was most helpful and not helpful in the first 2 weeks of the injury. What do you wish some had told you about sooner, or what care do you think was missed that you may have really benefited from.
We will eventually be bringing our program hospital wide from the er to rehab, so any information you can provide would be fantastic.
The nurses on our team truely have a love for nursing and what do to all we can to give our patients the best care.
Thank you for any help you can provide!

[LadyPilot]

As a former nurse now SCI, I have one simple bit of advice.

Treat your patients in a manner you would like to be treated yourself.

[In The Wind]

Honestly if you really want to help acute SCI, and plan on taking SCI patients, drop few million on ambulation and fes gear. Otherwise you’re only limiting functional return. The large regional SCI specialty hospitals ave just spent the last few years updating their equipment to take advantage of what has been learned over the last 6 years.

If you can’t provide that level of care, get your patients into a program that does as fast as you can. That would be the best thing for them.

[new sci nurse]

LadyPilot, on Feb 24 2007, 01:22 AM, said:

As a former nurse now SCI, I have one simple bit of advice.

Treat your patients in a manner you would like to be treated yourself.

I try as hard as possible to treat all my patients as i would want to be treated. THe problem is that I can not imagine what my patient's and their families are going through. I do work at a large regional spinal cord injury center and as far as I know whe have all the most up to date equiptment and facilities. Working in the acute care setting one particular interest is how we can educate the families. Everyone is in a state of shock and are completely overwhelmed by what has happened. We often recieve patients straight from the ER or flown in from an outside hospital. What can we provide to the families in terms of information that will not totally overwhelm them, but still educate them on the situation. Does it help to have a rehab psychologist start seeing patients while they are still in a critical care unit to hlep them start to cope with their injury.
I am sure that everyone is different, it would just help to hear different points of views.

Thanks agian for all of your imput. I chose this field due to personal interest. I was a caretaker while i was in school for a C6 SCI, whom is now a very close friend, as well a caretaker for a child who had severe CP and was limited in many of the same ways, she unfortunately passed away. My aunt whom lived with me growing up, who is like a second mom is a para, not from SCI but a rare neurological disease. This new team is very close to my heart and I want to provide the best care in everyway for my patients.

[SpeedyBK]

I've had nurses for as long as i can remember, however if you can treat the patient as normal as possible and totally focus on positives. Don't talk alot about having a ton of fun but more on what they like to do now and pre injury because it's hope and everyone needs that. I've found myself very depressed even today hearing about swimming and somethings so just think sometimes before you say something.