Things I have learned since living in Australia

First of all, when I say my name, people think that I am saying "Barbie", not "Bobbi". Annoying, I know. The Aussie's don't seem to pronounce their r's, so the way that they say Barbie, is that same way that we say Bobbi. I have learned that the way to pronounce my name so that they understand that it is NOT Barbie, is to say the "o" sound the same way you do with the word "bowl". Now that you all have pronounced my name the correct Aussie way, I am proud of you. When Sarah and I try to call each other at work, we get labeled as the "American friend with the weird accent". Little do they know, they are the ones with the weird accents. Working in the hospital here has proved to be quite different that working back in the states. One thing is that nurses on the floor don't wear stethoscopes, and don't routinely listen to breath/bowel sounds unless there is an ongoing issue. Not only do they not do that part of the physical assessment, there is not even a charted assessment. The only thing that gets charted on is flow sheets, consisting of obs (vital signs), neuro/neurovascualr checks, i/o's and the med sheet. I guess health care workers here don't have the same scares as we do in the states of lawsuits. Tylenol is Panadol or Paracetamol here, nurses have to reconstitute their own antibiotics and every med has to be double checked from the time you reconstitute it and draw it up, to the time you give it to the patient, even if it is panadol or even prune juice. Also, meds that are "controlled" in the states such as valium, ativan, chloral, codeine, and various seizure meds are just out in the med room, unlocked, with no way of keeping tabs on them. Sketchy, or "dodgey" as they would say here. One last thing...nurses are not allowed to, nor do most even know how to, start PIV's here. Doctors have to do it. Nurses can't even poke for blood, it has to be the phlebotomist or MD. I hope I don't lose my skills when I go back home. All this to say, I really do like working here. It is good experience and everyone is so nice and helpful. I guess you have to learn to accept differences when you are in a new country.