code blog: tales of a nurse

...Over at Medscape Nurse Blogs!

They're blogging about Katrina and what they're doing in the shelters and the kinds of people they're helping. Very interesting. Here's an excerpt:

Sunday afternoon, September 4, 2005: I am blessed to be a nurse. I was tired and had been out of town most of the week on business, returning to numerous e-mails and phone calls literally begging with pleas to help. I felt compelled to assist. My first intention was to donate clothes, pillows, etc. So, my 8 year old daughter and I gathered things up and we headed to the Austin Convention Center to drop them off.

As we pulled in, the chaos was immediately evident. Too exhausted to cry, the masses of people stared blankly in confusion after the military aircraft dropped them off. They were ALL in shock and they ALL needed help. I debated whether or not to take my daughter back home but they were in such desperate need for medical personnel that we made the decision to stay. I borrowed a stethoscope from an EMT, dug out the nursing skills I hadn't used in years, and began to triage patients, choking back my tears after hearing horrific stories one after the other.

There's much more!