I never would have thought of that...

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in SICU.

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.

I like this thread :-)

First one that pops into my head:

To make a nice warm pack: wet a towel, wring it out, wrap it in a "chux" (blue pad), tape closed and microwave until desired temp. is reached. Re-microwave prn. My patients love them and are a great adjunct to pain meds especially if pain meds aren't helping enough and you can't increase the dose. At a minimum, it makes the patients feel pampered a little a lets them know you care :-).

Microwave popcorn on night shift at 2am. Do not burn.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
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.

With the exception of number 1, all of these tips read like Chinese to me. I guess you can tell I am not a critical care nurse. :)
Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Make sure your female patient is going to be able to hold knees up and apart well enough for a Foley placement, before.... getting the sterile gloves on.

Specializes in Gerontology.

Dissolve crush meds in warm water when giving via g-tube. They will dissolve better.

Specializes in Emergency room, Neurosurgery ICU.

Antiperspirant/Deodorant on the soles of the feet keeps away patient stinky foot smells

Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

I'm with you, commuter.

I read with sinking stomach from not understanding a single thing, but when I got to #3....... I murmured "oooooh, hellthat sounds scary...."​

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

To make a nice warm pack: wet a towel, wring it out, wrap it in a "chux" (blue pad), tape closed and microwave until desired temp. is reached. Re-microwave prn. My patients love them and are a great adjunct to pain meds especially if pain meds aren't helping enough and you can't increase the dose. At a minimum, it makes the patients feel pampered a little a lets them know you care :-).

We used to do this in L&D for back labor. Unfortunately, it was highly frowned upon because the temperature cannot be controlled/monitored and it must have caused burns on someone, once. So instead we would have to order a K-pad, wait for it to be brought up, and then wait for it to heat up to its tepid warmth that wasn't particularly effective.

Specializes in OR/PACU/med surg/LTC.

We put expired IV bags in our blanket warmer and then put them in a pillow case to keep them clean. Or in LTC we have a hydrocollator. Only problem with that is that they get really warm so we need to make sure that we use thick towels.

Specializes in Oncology.

When I change pressor tubing I prime with the pressor, get an alcohol wipe ready, pause the pump, and have it all switched out in

Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.

I only work with adults but when I was a CNA I discovered a coveted trick used on postpartum...if you have someone with a rectal abscess or something else painful in their Netherlands then call and get some newborn diapers sent to you, open up one end and use the ice machine fill it with ice, best ice pack for that area ever!!!

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