I never would have thought of that...

[OhioCCRN]

Gah! too many threads beating dead horses on this forum right now.(cough...nety...cough)..

So, i am going to beat a FUN dead horse! Lets get started!

Tips/ Tricks/Hacks for getting through your nursing shift... (hint: I never would have thought of that...)

1. Shaving cream for stinky areas that refuse to be clean (works for PANNI as well)

2. Flush and irrigate your fms to get rid of the chunks in the tubing that impede the flow (some people only irrigate and the chunks stay constant in the tubing)

3. when switching over lines with pressors, INCREASE the rate for a couple of seconds so that you do not have bottomed out pressures while you wait for the pressor to prime the new catheter hub/line(do not forget to change it back to the right titrated dose)

4. pesky radial A-lines? have pt hold a folder up towel/abd pads and it helps to keep the waveform constant while you track down the fellow to either rewire or give you an order to titrate via Nibp.

[IVRUS, BSN, RN]

I recently received a tip from a coworker who is amazing at IV's. He is the type who could start a 16 gauge on the coding, 20 year IVDA HX, dialysis patient! Pick your spot, uncap the catheter, pull it out about 1/4 of the way, then push the catheter against the cap bending the needle just a tiny amount, like maybe 5-10 degrees, then uncap and proceed with the IV. I am not sure why this works but in the last 2 shifts I have managed to start 4 IV's using this method, which is amazing for me.

Please figure out another way that works.. as it is NOT appropriate to bend the catheter, in any way or in any fashion. Short term, less than three inch IV catheters do not return to their original shape once bent and that bend damages the inner lining of the blood vessel (Intima). Keep your confidence, but do not use this method!

[Sugarcoma, RN]

I came on to try to further explain the IV advice, but after reading IVRUS's post, I think I need to research this. Definitely do not want to be doing anything that causes any damage!

[caliotter3]

or a nice plate of homemade cookies...works like a charm! (though in my case it was homemade pies, apple, blueberry, peach, mmmmm.. now I've made myself hungry!)

A plate of pancit or several lumpia always did it for me!