Odd News

Blair has promised to devote the rest of his life to uniting the World's religions and getting world peace.

Sorry mate but you're on to plums there. Even if all the Miss World's got together they couldn't cause world peace to spontaneously break out. Saint Teresa had more of a chance.

Saint Blair?! The words 'pass' and 'buckets' comes to mind...

Goodbye, Beryl Cook

Goodbye to one of my favourite artists, Beryl Cook.
I loved the way she looked at society and the way she saw a different side to people.
She will be remembered for her art and how it was a contemporary look at community.

Goodbye, Beryl, from a long time fan.

(Photo Credit!)

Shepherd's Pie

I've been messing around with my shepherd's pie recipe. Well I say recipe I was making it up to begin with.

• Using sweet potato instead of Maris Piper potatoes. Actually I think I mix of the two works well, cos the sweet potato can be quite fibrous and doesn't spread so well
• I've used beef, lamb and turkey mince. Beef reminds me of chewing little bits of plastic and I won't tell you what I think boiled mince smells like. Lamb was nice but the turkey was the best yet, mmm soft and tender.
• Cornflour to thicken the gravy. Old trick yes but I can't stand it being too runny, besides it holds up better when you're trying to serve it.
• Last night I ran out of my usual carrots so I used chestnut mushrooms. I prefer that to carrots.
• Caramelise the onions before browning the mince, then you can taste them in the gravy.

You can guess what I've been eating over the last few weeks. Granted I've fed my flatmates a few times too.
Next week: Cookies!

Negligence

Who would leave a patient having a fit for over 2 and a half hours? Apparently these 2 nurses.
Neglected until she died. It's not just criminal negligence but a complete disregard of all the rules, regulations and ethical concepts a nurse would be trained to follow.
The sick thing in all of this? The UK justice system only gave them a 4 and 6 month suspended sentence. Is that all a human life is worth? At least they'll never nurse again.
Dereliction of duty - can't you still be shot for that in the army?

Because You Needed to Know

1,977,360How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Patients = Odd?

The writing on the box says do not insert into ear canal. Heck even I don't follow that but how do you lose the fluffy cotton end of a q-tip in your ear canal in the first place?

Then why would you go and lose ANOTHER chunk of cotton wool into the other ear? What possessed you to keep on going? You can't hear anything now and you've had to take a day off to get your ears syringed!

(Photo Credit!)

All Degree Profession?

I've been questioning the viability of destroying the diploma option and turning nursing in the UK into an all degree profession.
EH? The drop-out rates are sky high already. We would be depriving patients of good nurses that could honestly NOT survive the course as it stands.
I say this because I'll be one of those not graduating with a degree. I don't think it changes the levels of patient care. I can still be a competent nurse working with the latest research without having to write 5,000 words on something I cannot comprehend.
I dinna ken the reasoning behind this. They say they want a profession and that means university degrees.
Does not compute... According to the Guardian 83% of nursing students take the diploma option. So how would this do what the RCN says and increase the intake? Making it a degree is not going to somehow encourage students from other subjects to choose nursing instead, if that's what they're thinking. To squeeze out the weaker academically is sometimes to squeeze out those who perform best with the patients.
Knowing the difference between qualitative and quantitative isn't gonna help me when a patient looks at me and asks when they are going to die.

Its Happened Already

Arrgh! Just when you think you've covered everything someone comes along and asks you a question and you haven't a freaking scooby.
Who suddenly decided to make this so difficult? And how can I go about getting their head on a stick?
Oh and this ain't even about nursing, freaking Windows XP.
Ugh can I got back to studying now? I have exams in a matter of weeks and you want me to fix your computer for no fee?
Dream on folks...
See Peer2Peer file sharing? It be the computer equivalent of needle sharing.
The fact that you have NO anti-virus, spyware, or firewall software installed? Now you're just letting all the fruits of the forest free reign on your files and system.
Ultimately? It's your fault, DEAL WITH IT! Cos I quit!

P.S. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

How To Become Public Enemy Number 1

I am now persona non grata within my group of friends.
Why? I voiced the opinion that our dreaded finals are gonna be a scoosh. Well sorry folks I think they are.
Maybe it's the study I've been doing or maybe I just think I understand the work that is being covered.
Or maybe I have this odd level of self-confidence....
Whatever. Just don't go stepping on my plumage!

WHAT?!?

How many people are going to make that joke today? I may have to strangle the next person.
There I was freaking out at my ENT appointment because my hearing has deteriorated again. Now people think they have the right to take the piss? Eh, No.
Ossification of the ossicles and yea it's getting worse apparently. Luckily it's only in one ear and it's not so bad that it needs surgery yet.
In other news, tonight I'll be making fudge!

Happy Nurses' Day

Go hug a nurse and make them feel like their job is the most important in the world! Because it is the best job in the world.



Actually pass on the hugs, you'll end up getting done for assault. This has a lower profile than a Z-list celebrity at an A-list party but we will drag it into public consciousness. I mean come on it's better than Valentine's day! I'd rather know I was loved 24/7 than on 1 stinking, over commercialised day per year. Of course I'd also rather know my job was valued 24/7 but I'll settle for 1 high profile day for the moment.

Wow I didn't mean this to turn into another rant. Props to Lele, Zuzu, Dee Dee, ex-mentors and staff in placements, lecturers, nurse bloggers, the rest of my class mates and to all nurses everywhere!

Warning: Large Unidentifiable Rant

Was watching the top 100 best sellers of the 21st century on the hits and I broke into rant mode.
At least half of the top 10 was daft reality TV show winners and losers. The other half being made up of freaking Bob the Builder, Band Aid and finally someone with talent Kylie!
Why are there so many freaking stupid reality show hits? Well the sold loads. More than the really talented people that didn't need a leg up from TV. Which leads me to think that the general public are stupid and/or sheep.
The songs are bad versions of what were good originals. The videos are invariably montages of them crying on the TV as the 'fixed' results are being handed out. These people can't write their own songs or often play their own instruments.
WHY, OH WHY do we have to suffer this rubbish? Why can't people listen to decent music from talented people?
Oh and P.S. I count Kylie as talented because she has been around for so long creating catchy songs and reinventing herself. NOT being a one-hit-wonder like these manufactured pop bubbles.

Lack Of Interest

I've run out of interest. Not for the blog or nursing or women....but for the bits in between. I think someone should come and kick me or something.
It's not a feeling of being depressed again just apathy. I'm sure it'll come back....
It better come back.

Social Evils

There was a comment in this week's Nursing Standard about the study into new social evils. Back in 1904 Joseph Rowntree (yep the sweet maker) found poverty, war, slavery, intemperance, the opium trade, impurity and gambling to be the social evils.
Hate to say it but they all still exist... Except the opium trade now fuels war, girls and young women are being smuggled into this country and others for sex, binge drinking is the major feature in young people's lives (and at a younger age too) and as for impurity and gambling I would love to see what he would say about most of the internet.
Today's social evils aren't all that different;
A decline of community, Individualism, Consumerism and greed, A decline of values, The decline of the family, Young people as victims or perpetrators, Drugs and alcohol, Poverty and inequality, Immigration and responses to immigration, Crime and violence. (All found here.)
Anyway apparently the state of the country hinges on the break down of 'normal' families and religion. What isn't clear about religion is whether lack of religion is the cause or the strength of some people. Clearly many wars have a base in religion. However those who believe think that atheists and agnostics are the root cause because they have no moral compass provided by religions.
Ask some and you will find that anyone that isn't white, Christian and takes no money from the state to feed them should be locked up.
I guess that makes me a social evil! Cool.... Homosexuality has already been put on a par with terrorism.
So I can cause earthquakes and now I'm a terrorist causing the break down of the country's morals too. No wonder people are scared to come out and I hide behind a screen name. Still sometimes it's funny offending people.

The Keys to a Cold

Please people clean your keyboards!!! And mice!
If only because they look bogging.... they carry germs too!

Popcorn

I can't juggle. For anyone that knows me it's not a surprise. I drop stuff and fall over and for some reason people still trust me to hold... my ticket, wallet, popcorn, hot dog, bag, drink.... Question: how do other people manage it?
Anyway, no I didn't drop it all before I got to my seat, however the problems started halfway through the movie.
We were watching Made of Honour.... Please, please, please don't assume all of Scotland looks and acts like that!!!!! I think that counts as a spoiler, maybe, ah sod it you need to be informed. They did have a nice little ad for the Clachaig Inn. I've stayed there, lovely part of Scotland. Actually, on a side note, there's a camp site 10min walk down the road called the Red Squirrel (stayed there too) and 10min further on is the Glencoe youth hostel. Just go to the pub, have a few beers and roll back down the hill to your tent. Still all this is against the point of the story.....
So some time after the Clachaig Inn sighting Bob reaches for the popcorn and I offer her the bag (yes a girl called Bob). Gracefully I tip the bag towards her hand and the sodding thing drops out of my grasp, dumping half the remaining contents on to her lap. Later she's convinced that I did it on purpose and I wondered if she was OK with eating the popcorn, literally, off her lap.

Slow Week

See this is what happens when you give me the week off.... nothing.
No internet either.
Bah Humbug!