Build an ADMIT KIT for unexpected hospital admissions when travelling

You never know when an unexpected medical problem will interrupt your trip with a hospital visit. Here is a list of useful items to take with you. Even better, if you (or a family member) are about to go to hospital, or you frequently require admission, why not make an admit kit. A small pre-packed bag with your name & contact number clearly attached to … Continue reading Build an ADMIT KIT for unexpected hospital admissions when travelling

Ian MillerJanuary 15, 2020January 16, 20201 Comment

Found objects

The Flatus Nurse

Life was pretty tough for a junior nurse back in the day*: Military hospital, France 1945: the flatus nurse does her rounds. At precisely 7 AM each morning the flatus nurse would commence her round.Patients would assume the Schlemberg’s position (recumbant with legs held high in the air) and one by one, amidst much grunting, straining and proclaiming, produce their best gaseous emission.The junior nurse … Continue reading The Flatus Nurse

Ian MillerDecember 17, 2019December 17, 20192 Comments

Life Support

What the heck is going on in this Emergency Department?

How come I have been waiting to be seen in the Emergency Department for 2 hours, and that lady walks in and goes straight through? That is just not fair. Everybody understands what a queue is. And it seems like a fair and reasonable way to be seen. After all, it works for banks, and GP surgeries, and football games. But the problem in an … Continue reading What the heck is going on in this Emergency Department?

Ian MillerSeptember 12, 2019September 12, 2019Leave a comment

Journal

Horror in Idlib

Let’s take a sobering break from my usual sorts of posts. This picture was taken during the week in Ariha, a rural area of Idlib province in Syria. Airstrikes by the Syrian government and Russian forces have intensified this week resulting in many civilian deaths. The number of children killed in Idlib in the last four weeks has exceeded the total for 2018 according to … Continue reading Horror in Idlib

Ian MillerJuly 27, 2019July 27, 20196 Comments

Found objects

Nursing in the 1950’s

A few of my mum’s standout memories working as a nurse at Mount Gould Hospital, Plymouth in the 1950’s. The Korean war had just begun, Polio Vaccine was saving thousands of lives, and the legends of Lego and Sputnik were just about to be deployed. This was the time my mum did her nursing training at Mount Gould Hospital, an orthopaedic hospital specialising in the … Continue reading Nursing in the 1950’s

Ian MillerDecember 7, 2018December 10, 201817 Comments

Journal

Goodbye NursePath.com.

There is this saying that everyone dies twice. The first time is when your physical body dies. The second time, is when your name is mentioned for the very last time. I sort of get the same feeling about my own retirement from nursing. A little death of sorts to be sure as any retired nurse will tell you. The first little death was that … Continue reading Goodbye NursePath.com.

Ian MillerNovember 26, 20183 Comments

Life Support

Advance care planning for travellers.

One of the most important pieces of paper you should carry with you when travelling is an Advance Care Document, yet very few of us do. Having worked for the last 35 years as an emergency department nurse, one frustrating situation we experience over and over again is when a person becomes seriously unwell to the point where they can no longer communicate, … Continue reading Advance care planning for travellers.

Ian MillerNovember 4, 2018November 5, 2018Leave a comment

Life Support, Travel

Snakebite first aid.

Yesterday we took a short afternoon amble down ‘Canyon Walk’ along the banks of the Ovens river. We had been advised by locals to take care as snakes were fairly active right now and walkers had reported seeing several warming themselves on the paths in recent days. Sure enough, 10 minutes into our walk Kelly spotted a large Brownsnake just ahead of us. Snakes don’t … Continue reading Snakebite first aid.

Ian MillerOctober 26, 2018October 26, 2018Leave a comment

Life Support

Responding to cardiac arrest!

Q. Do you have what it takes to respond to a cardiac arrest? A. Yes you do. Even if you have never done a life support course (or done it so long ago you dont feel confident you can remember what to do). You are at a shopping centre, or backing your caravan into a rest spot, or walking up the hill to a lookout. … Continue reading Responding to cardiac arrest!

Ian MillerOctober 8, 2018October 7, 20181 Comment