http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/ Non nursing related discussions go here. Current events encouraged! en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:01:46 GMT vBulletin 120 http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/images/un/misc/rss.jpg http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/friday-november-20th-2009-a-68068/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:42:55 GMT Morning, everyone! After today, the weekend begins....but this is my weekend on, Yeesh. Was also notified that the new schedule has changed--and it hasn't even started yet. Another yeesh.



Anyhow, has anyone even started their Christmas shopping yet? I ain't even CLOSE! Just talked to my sisiter-in-law, and told her don't expect miracles, especially with my work schedule.

Anyhow, see you all later, and hope your day goes well. Be sure to stop by later, as I'll be serving up the drinks.

]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/friday-november-20th-2009-a-68068/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/thursday-november-19th-2009-a-67828/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:31:30 GMT Good mornin', everyone; at least I am up.

Hope you all are doing ok; just found out that the new schedule is null and void before it even 'officially' came out. We all know what that means: More hours (yippee!), but I have a sneaky feeling I am working alone quite a few nights. We will see.

I'll be back later.....hopefully!
]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/thursday-november-19th-2009-a-67828/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/wednesday-november-18-2009-a-67596/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:59:21 GMT WAKE-UP!

Good morning peeps, hope all slept well. Well, some people will do anything to get some time off. DEC 7, I have scheduled L RTC repair. However, since this will be the third surgery on same shoulder since return from Iraq (JUN 08) I can tell you from experience post-op will be NO fun.

Anyway, y'all have a great day. ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic SoldierNurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/wednesday-november-18-2009-a-67596/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/tuesday-november-17th-2009-a-67415/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:37:44 GMT Mornin', folks. I'm up briefly, and planning on heading back for a bit of shut-eye. Guess it's one of those 'I just can't sleep' days.

Hope you all have a good day. I'll be back later. ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/tuesday-november-17th-2009-a-67415/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/monday-november-16th-2009-a-67227/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:37:11 GMT At least I am up; that's about it. Hope you all had a great weekend,

So, what's going on with the rest of you today? Anything much? ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/monday-november-16th-2009-a-67227/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/sunday-november-15th-2009-a-67119/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:19:17 GMT Mornin', everyone; I might have risen, but I ain't shining yet. Took a brief nap after working an over-nighter, and am still trying to get humanized here. Hope you all are doing ok, though.

Am trying to decide what the heck I am going to do today. I'll figure it out soon enough. Finding coffee may be the first thing.

]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/sunday-november-15th-2009-a-67119/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/saturday-november-14th-2009-a-66983/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:53:24 GMT Yeah, it's Saturday morning already; I did NOT want to get up. Unfortunately, too much noise over here got me outta bed.

OK, folks; so what's going on? For those off today, whatcha got planned? Or is it a 'play by ear' type of day? Me, switched a day (Monday) with a 'whining' co-worker, who JUST got off vacation last week. Geez! Her gripe? She'd be working 3 in a row. Lile I didn't have a streak going there when she was off. :biteme:

Now where's the coffee? ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/saturday-november-14th-2009-a-66983/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/friday-november-13th-2009-a-66735/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:22 GMT

Mornin', everyone; it's Friday again, and yes, it's Friday the 13th on top of that. Any superstitious folks out there?

One good thing about today is it's payday. Yippee! Won't be able to cash the check until tomorrow, though. (Booo!)

Coffee is calling. Anyone else want some? ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/friday-november-13th-2009-a-66735/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/thursday-november-12th-2009-a-66598/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:18:22 GMT Well, it's 6:15 pm, and I notice no-one started the Daily Thread. Where the heck's everyone been? I had a seminar to go to, so I have a pretty valid excuse.



Anyhow, what's going on? Anyone out there tonight? ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/thursday-november-12th-2009-a-66598/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/navajo-code-talkers-break-silence-66220/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:48:15 GMT Seeing as this is Veteran's Day, this story needed to be heard. Thank you, my friends! Navajo Code Talkers break silence for Veterans Day - Yahoo! News

The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them.

Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are believed to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution.

But on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade, set for Wednesday.

The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942 and 1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater.

They were sworn to secrecy about their code, so complex that even other Navajo Marines couldn't decipher it. Used to transmit secret tactical messages via radio or telephone, the code remained unbroken and classified for decades because of its potential postwar use.

"We were never told that our code was never decoded" or given identities of the original 29 Navajos who created it, said Keith Little, 85, who joined the Marines at 17 and remembers crouching in a bomb crater amid heavy fire on Iwo Jima.

"It was all covered by secrecy. We were constantly told not to talk about it," Little said. The Code Talkers felt compelled to honor their secrecy orders, even after the code was declassified in 1968.

The oldest of the 13 living Code Talkers is 92, and the group includes one of the original 29. Many Code Talkers who served in the war were young farmers and sheepherders who had never been away from home.

"The code did a lot of damage to the enemy," said Samuel Tom Holiday, 85, of Kayenta, Ariz., who also is joining the parade. He was a 20-year-old Code Talker when he and two other Marines went behind enemy lines on Iwo Jima to locate a Japanese artillery unit advancing on American forces.

Once the unit was located, Holiday transmitted a coded message to Marine artillery, which fired a big shell at the Japanese. After the Marine rifleman proclaimed it "right on target," Holiday messaged "Right on Target" to a Navajo Code Talker in Marine artillery.

Though the Code Talkers transmitted information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications, they did not know at the time how those messages figured in the greater battle strategy.

Today "there's a certain elation about" knowing how much their work affected the outcome of the war, said Little, who runs a family ranch in Crystal, N.M., on the Navajo Nation.

Before the code, the Japanese intercepted and sabotaged U.S. military communications at an alarming rate because they had expert English translators. American forces then devised ever more complicated codes, but that increased the time — sometimes hours — for sending and decoding them.

The code, based on the ancient Navajo language, changed that. In the first 48 hours of the battle of Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers worked nonstop, transmitting and receiving more than 800 messages about troop movement and enemy fire — none deciphered by the Japanese. What confounded the enemy most was that Code Talkers could use distinctly different words for exactly the same message.

Recognition from the U.S. government and awareness of the Code Talkers — even within the Navajo community — has been slow to come. It wasn't until 2000 that the Congressional Gold Medal was bestowed on the survivors of the original 29 Code Talkers and silver medals on the rest.

The 2002 film "Windtalkers," starring Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater as two Marines assigned to protect Code Talkers in Saipan, helped shed further light on the group.

At least five of the Code Talkers died just this year, creating an urgency for the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation to create a museum in their honor in New Mexico, near the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Ariz. It is slated to open sometime in 2012.


Yvonne Murphy, a foundation board member and daughter of Code Talker Raymond R. Smith Sr., who died seven years ago, did not hear of the Code Talkers until she was 16.

"I saw this outfit lying on the bed ... a Marine gold-colored shirt," she said, the uniform of the Code Talkers, laid out with some Navajo jewelry. But it wasn't until she was in her 30s "that I was able to grasp the whole concept," added Murphy, 45.

The Code Talkers in New York this week hope to highlight their efforts and financial needs for the museum.

On Tuesday, they attended a ceremony aboard the USS Intrepid, a World War II warship, to commemorate the 234th anniversary of the Marine Corps. They planned to visit ground zero later in the day.

"Our language was used to help win the war," Holiday said. "After we're all gone, there will be no one to tell the story." ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/navajo-code-talkers-break-silence-66220/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/veteren-s-day-wednesday-november-11th-2009-a-66209/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:45:30 GMT

Good morning! It's Veteran's Day, folks; have you thanked a veteran lately? If not, I advise you to do so immediately.

I'm awake, if you can call it that, and my next stop is the usual: coffee!

See you all later. ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/veteren-s-day-wednesday-november-11th-2009-a-66209/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/tuesday-november-10th-2009-a-65909/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:26:31 GMT

It's Tuesday, but still feels like a Monday. Hope you all are doing well today. Again, where WAS everyone yesterday?

I'll be back much later; gotta hit the road soon. Hope to see a few posts here when I get back. ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/tuesday-november-10th-2009-a-65909/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/god-bless-our-troops-65841/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:46:20 GMT Tomorrow is the USMC 204th birthday followed by Veterans Day. So, as a Marine veteran, as well as an active duty Army officer and more importantly a dad who's son is a deployed Army officer I'd like to share my thoughts on such things.

My heart goes out to those Soldiers and families involved with the tragic, needless, senseless, and horrific shooting at FT Hood. I found out this morning some of the Soldiers no longer with us were Medics processing in preparation for deployment. Without reservation we put ourselves in harms way for the sake of the mission. Our military bases are like little cities where we are understood, taken care of, and safe. Not so for those Soldiers murdered at FT Hood. Plus, the shooter was a medical officer... his duty as a Psych MD was to care for those Soldiers with troubled minds NOT to murder them for the sake of his own religious agenda. Okay enough on that before I say too much.

I'm assigned to the Dept of Combat Medic Training where we train Soldiers, young men & women up to 10 years younger than my youngest son! They may deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan ad soon as they report to first unit. I'm so proud of these young people that not only have chosen a very important specialty as medic but knowing the odds they will be put in harms way in the near future.

I'm so proud of my son deployed to Iraq. Sacrifices?!? His son will have 1st bday this January that he will miss, along with Thanksgiving and Christmas. While deployed I missed sharing two of my bdays with my wife, missed wife's bday and our wedding anniversary. Sure we volunteered for military duty. Yet, still it is a very lonely time while deployed.

Okay, I've rambled enough but please if you know someone that is a veteran or presently active duty ... walk up to them and say thanks. Okay ;-) ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic SoldierNurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/god-bless-our-troops-65841/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/monday-november-9th-2009-a-65741/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:22:21 GMT


Yeah, you read Garfield right: Rise and shine; it's Monday. In a way, I am ticked, as the weekend went by too fast. Then again, it WAS my weekend to work, and I did have one of the days off. The days off went by too quickly, also. Need I say I am off today? After the previous shifts the past few......Yippee!

So what's up elsewhere? Anything? ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/monday-november-9th-2009-a-65741/ http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/where-have-all-nursing-caps-gone-65671/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:16:14 GMT I thought this was an interesting story: stjoenews.net | Where have all the nursing caps gone?

Elaine Greer remembers how one of her classmates in nursing school got secretly married.

“If they found out, she would have been kicked out of school,” Mrs. Greer says. “Nurses couldn’t be married.”

That’s because it was during the 1960s at the former Missouri Methodist Hospital and Medical Center in St. Joseph, when things were much stricter. Schools thought women should be completely devoted to nursing, she says.

Nursing students went to school for three years with no summers off and had to be in their dorms by 9 p.m. at night. And they were also required to learn how to make up their own nursing caps from a white piece of cotton fabric.

“You had to learn to fold it up, back and around,” she explains. “We would starch it with really thick liquid starch. Then you would have to lay it out on a flat surface, so we would put it on the refrigerator and dry it overnight.”

The resulting cap was very stiff, almost like cardboard and was secured with paper clips, then attached to the hair with white bobby pins. They had to be white, of course, to match the white uniforms, white nylon hoes and white shoes.

At Women’s Health and Well Being, where Elaine Greer is a nurse practitioner, 30-year-old nursing assistant Holly Wells doesn’t remember ever seeing a nurse wearing a cap. But when Mrs. Greer graduated in 1965, they were a source of pride and distinction. Much like the military, the stripes on your cap let patients know your level of education.

“You got a powder blue stripe as a freshman, so patients knew you weren’t very experienced,” Mrs. Greer says. “Your second year you got two stripes across the corner of your hat. As a third-year student, you got three, then you got a black stripe when you graduated.”

Every school of nursing had its own unique style of cap, says Dr. Carolyn Brose, assistant professor of the school of nursing at Missouri Western State University. And if students successfully completed their training, they went through a ceremony called capping.

“It was your first sign you were on your journey to be a nurse,” she says.
Around the mid-1970s, the world of professional nursing evolved, she says.

Most nursing training became university-based, four-year programs and the caps were no more, partly because they got in the way and became a liability. Nurses now wear colorful scrubs with a badge identifying their qualifications. And for Mrs. Greer and Dr. Brose, the caps have become just a former symbol of a noble profession.

“I still have mine,” Dr. Brose says, “but it’s been in storage for a very long, long time.” ]]> General Discussion-Off Topic cougarnurse http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f6/where-have-all-nursing-caps-gone-65671/