There’s no normal day for a nurse. Every single long hour shifts have the potential to be exciting, reinvigorating, tiresome, upsetting, or all of the above. On any given day, nurses can see people at their most energetic and steady-state or the most vulnerable and helpless state. And we all know how it would be to deal with a combination of 12-hour shifts, constant working, not enough break time, and all the stress matters.

The perception of caregiving and nursing careers being dominated by females couldn’t be further from the truth. The increasing number of successful male nurses in the industry has eliminated gender stereotypes. This lucrative career can be a rewarding career path for anyone as long as you are motivated, caring, and passionate. If you want to become a male nurse you might want to prepare yourself for these vulnerable states and multiple duties.

According to a study conducted by the American Nurses Association, they found that in addition to their duties such as administering medications, assisting physicians and delivering test results, taking vital signs, making physical assessments, monitoring and recording patient health data, nurses also play an important role in publicizing health essential health information. Nursing is not a profession like others! They will go through the best and the worst, and here are some brilliant life hack tips to make their life easier.

1. Does your patient have a fear of surgery?

TomoPhobia or surgical procedures are not new. Calm down your patient by educating them about the procedures, chances are they might be self-educated on this procedure and reach their own conclusion. The information they received may be wrong, so as a nurse you have to educate them about procedures and calm them down. If that doesn’t work:

2. What music can’t heal

Every person has their own taste of music. And ask if they wanted to hear any of the music to calm themselves down. Or try:

3. Think your patient is nerdy?

There are many people who are fond of reading books. Reading self-help books will give your patients positive energy to overcome their fears and anxiety. 

4. Does your patient have needle phobia? 

Trypanophobia or we can say needle phobia! Next time when a Trypanophobia patient comes in try this method. Have your patient count 1 to 10 while taking slow deep breaths before sticking him/her for blood extraction. Taking deep breaths lessens fear and anxiety. Or you can:Tell them to wiggle their toes
Wiggling your toes is an excellent way of distraction. Ask your patients to wiggle their toes to divert their attention to it.

5. At the time of worst smells

Most nurses can handle any smell. But they are human beings too and there are times that it just gets too worse. Try putting theses between your masks: toothpaste, Vicks or any essential oils you think will help you to escape from those foul smells.

6. To remove those bloodstains

Hydrogen peroxide is a lifesaver to get blood stains out when the blood is still fresh! Just apply the hydrogen peroxide on the stained clothes, rinse with warm water and repeat until the stains are gone. Then launder as usual.

8. Difficulty removing dried blood stains?

Try removing the dried bloodstains using soap and water. Soaking the blood-stained clothes on cold water can help break up the molecules. After a while scrub it with soap and water, this method works wonderfully on sturdy materials like linen or cotton. Then dry the clothes as usual. Still didn’t work this on your scrubs? If this doesn’t work:

9. Maybe try this method to remove these hard bloodstains

Enzymatic cleaners break down the molecules that form stains. Soak the fabric in a mixture of enzymatic cleaner and cold water. Leave it for some time and scrub it with soap and water. Although it is recommended to not use this cleaner on wool or silk.

10. When you are not a fan of messy meals

There are times when you have messy meals, is it because you were in a hurry or it’s because the spaghetti decided to do some nasty work? Either way, if you are afraid of getting food stains on your newly washed clothes, wear an isolation gown. Isolation gown will work as an apron and will save you from getting stains on your scrubs.

11. Can’t bear the smell from your patient’s bedpan?

Could not bear the bedpan smell? Ground coffee is well known for its aroma! You can put it in the center of the room or under the patient’s bedpan. Coffee grounds reduce the bad smell and will turn the air breathable.

12. Make the nasogastric tube insertion easier

Soak nasogastric tube in ice before insertion. This will reduce the unpleasant feeling of insertion and as well as it makes the insertion easier. Instead of soaking it in ice water you can also try placing it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes.

 13. When dealing with dementia patients

When you are in charge of taking care of dementia patients, be polite with them, make sure to make eye contact, and importantly explain to them what you are doing. Like, “Mr.Johnson, I’m your nurse and I am just helping you to clean yourself”. This will help them to remind that you are not just a random person who invades their space.

 14. Male patients and catheters

One of the uncomfortable and painful things for male patients is getting a catheter inserted. Lubricating the tip of the catheter won’t help to ease the pain. To make it more comfortable take a syringe with lubricant and squeeze it into the sides of urethra. This will make receiving the catheter much bearable to patients.

15. Wear triple gloves in times of code brown

Code brown is usually messy. Wear triple gloves to save your hands from accidental exposure to any feces or any other thing. Peel away the first layer of gloves after cleaning up your patient.  This way, you won’t have to wear a fresh set of gloves before applying the diaper. Put on a new set of bedsheets and remove waste the peel off the second layer of the gloves. This trick will keep your hands protected and save you time.

 16. Put examination gloves over the stethoscope

In cases of infection put an examination glove over the stethoscope. Examination gloves are thick enough to reduce the risk of infection transmission and thin enough to transmit sensitive sounds through the stethoscope.

 17. Stick a piece of micropore and write there

There are times when you write down something on your hand to remember it later. This can be erased accidentally when you are washing your hands or your hands are sweaty. To avoid this stick a piece of micropore on your forearm and take notes there in cases of emergency.

 18. Go slow when you prime your IV

If you go full blast with the flow, there's a good chance to form tiny air bubbles within the tube. To avoid making this mistake, clamp the tube first, then fill the drip chamber and let the fluid flow slowly.

19. Count respirations when taking the patient’s pulse

Do not tell your patient that you are taking their respiration rate. If you tell them you are taking respiration count, consciously or unconsciously they will stop taking breathes or will take long deep breaths, and this will mess up the respiration count. So, when checking for respiration tell them that you are accessing their pulse.

 20. Keep an extra pair of uniform with you

It doesn’t matter if you are an ADN, MSN, RN, or RN to BSN nurse working as a duty nurse or a nurse educator, it’s better always keep an extra piece of uniform with you. There will be times when you need a second pair of uniforms in your work time, so always keep an extra pair of scrubs with you.

Author Bio

I am Keerthana Krishna, passionate about all the internet stuff such as affiliate marketing, blogging, and, most importantly, I like to do all the SEO strategies.

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