DNR Status on New Admissions

I'm starting to love this blogging thing because I don't have to reference it in APA format. Anyway... listen to my YouTube video that I uploaded on DNR status. It is a little inappropriate, however, people don't realize why having a DNR code status is important on people who are frail, weak, have failure to thrive and are over 90 years old. In my hospital, I have many patients admitted who are over 90 years old and quite ready to die, but the family feels that they are playing God if they sign an order not to resuscitate. I'll tell you what playing God is like. Having a little old lady finally succumb to her renal failure or her weak, old heart finally being used up, and then in comes the crash cart. I jump on her chest and crack every rib while the doctor shoves a not-so flexible tube down her throat. We then inject her with epinephrine and other drugs hoping the heart starts on it's own but when it doesn't we will send an electrical shock through her until we hear a faint pulse and get a bp that perhaps will only continue for 2 days. Talk about it with your loved ones. Ideally, it's the patient who should decide.

The DNR Song

The days over 10C are becoming fewer and fewer. I can't believe that time is passing so quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were going through our course outlines on our first day. Everyone was a stranger. Nobody quite understood what we were getting ourselves into. Now the faces have names that are remembered. Everyone is feeling the stress of deadlines and oral presentations. We only have 25 more days until classes are done for Christmas break. We will survive. I'm finding that I work too much to do well in this program. I will not work on Wednesday nights anymore. Bad idea. I'm surprised that I haven't become sick yet. I want to finish strong and look forward to returning-not dread the idea of starting another term. Just think.....in 2 years and 8 months, we get to write the mother of all tests and become RN's.