free from restraints of this paper

Whew. I think, is it possible?, that i am finished with my 13 page paper on restraints. The research was actually really interesting, albeit some of it was really hard to read. The use of restraints in psychiatric settings is waning, but still not completely eradicated. I don't know if I've blogged about this, but my very first day at ASH (Austin State Hospital) I saw two take-downs in the first 3 hours. The worst one was a physical restraint of a girl (she was only 18 years old) who was screaming that she was pregnant, so they couldn't put a strap around her stomach. Maybe the first one is always the hardest to watch, but she was bucking at the straps and bashing her head against the padded restraint chair as she was wheeled into the "reflection room". Times have changed since they locked people in padded rooms, so she was kept in the restraint chair in the room with an open door and a staff member sitting in the hallway. Another staff member made a flippant remark about the future of the baby that i found distasteful, and it contributed to my negative feelings about the whole thing. One of the PNAs (psychiatric nursing assistant) was really good with her, though. He was very calm in talking to her and kept repeating that this was a hospital, and that they were there to help her. He's really good, and in the weeks that followed, I saw him as a really positive force in the unit.

Anyways, i might do some more editing or additions later, but as for today, i am finished. finito. Oh, this morning, i helped humanity. yes, all of humanity. okay I'm being a little dramatic, but i did contribute to helping some of the less fortunate here in Austin. The UT School of Nursing helped staff the "Stand Down for the Homeless" event at a Rec center in East Austin. Basically they opened the doors and provided the homeless with showers, food, health checks, haircuts, and many more services that i didn't get a chance to check out. I was really looking forward to helping with some basic assessments, checking blood pressure and doing some patient education. But... instead i spent three hours checking for lice. I was stationed before the haircuts (next to the very funny Terrell who looked a lot like Jamie Foxx -and knew it- so he entertained us with some great Ray Charles impressions) and was responsible for making sure they had showered today and then checking their head for lice. Didn't find any, thank goodness, but i did see a lot of dandruff. But so many of the people were really grateful for the free haircut. As Jessica and I were walking to the car, a guy in army fatigues rode by on a bike with three bags on his back and said, "i know probably no one told you this, but we really appreciate you coming out." So that definitely made it all worth it- even if i was on lice duty. (btw- not going into elementary school nursing, thank you very much)