mattcastens replied to rebelwaclause's topic in General Nursing
I used to have that problem until I said, "you're an intellegent nurse -- read it yourself." I also broke the habit by simply not using the flowsheet to give report -- I do it all off the top of my head. If I'm not reading, they're not reading. Of...
mattcastens replied to mario_ragucci's topic in General Nursing
Actually, the only notes I take have to do with small tasks I need to remember. I've always just take mental "notes" when I'm listening to report. Of course, working in ICU I only have to remember stuff for one or two patients...
I had a patient today that expressed the wish to leave AMA. I told him that he was well within his right to leave if he wanted to and that I would be willing to call his doc and get the paperwork ready. I also gave him the standard spiel about insu...
Dobutamine would be a better agent to use, possibly in conjunction with dopamine if needed. The only reason I could see to use nitro would be to keep the coronaries patent (spasm prevention) post-procedure, especially since you need a very high dose...
Does anyone out there work in a hospital that has a "closed" critical care float policy, that is, a policy where CC nurses only float to CC areas? I am currently on a committee that will be submitting a proposal to our hospital's Staffing Advisory Co...
mattcastens replied to mattcastens's topic in General Nursing
I know! What happened to AllNurses? Has everyone gotten civil? It must be just to impress Santa.
Actually, I've been really enjoying what people have written. Since I started the whole thing, I should probably clarify that I don't belive the pre...
Usually the neighborhood of 30mcg is the upper limit. If you get that high, watch for tissue necrosis in the extremeites -- you can be they aren't being perfused!
mattcastens replied to Kansas_RN's topic in Safety
At our hospital there is no mandatory on call for us (unless a nurse works in OR, the cath lab, or other possible emergent areas). If the census drops we are asked if we would like to take call -- if everyone says no, then so be it. If we are on ca...
Does health care in general do any good for our species? By saving people from horrible illness and poor lifestyle choices, are we encouraging a weaker human species by going against natural selection processes?
Discuss at will.
mattcastens replied to mattcastens's topic in General Nursing
Here's another example: I was watching "Scrubs" last night and noticed that the Pyxis machines in the background had a huge "Pyxis" emblazoned on them. Honestly, who's this going to influence? It's not like I'm going to go out and buy my own medic...
Not really any specialized training. Most hospitals have a very focused orientation once you've been hired into ICU, but if you're working on the floor and wanting to study before getting into critical care, I would recommend buying some self-study ...
mattcastens replied to mario_ragucci's topic in General Nursing
Ah yes ... I remember that trickiness. Just wait until you get into the "real world" and your orientation tests expect you to correctly anticipate medical orders and procedures. That's when you'll point out that the "correct" answer is medically...
mattcastens replied to gambroRN's topic in Cardiac
I think what Gambro was wondering was if other hospitals had a protocol for the response team to follow in order that all responding personel had and knew specific tasks. Certainly every nurse should be at least BLS certified and all critical care p...
mattcastens replied to gambroRN's topic in Cardiac
We don't have any sort of code "protocol" for our cardiac/respiratory arrests ... the nurses and docs that respond are usually experienced enough to fall into place (except every summer when the new residents appear, then it's a mess for a while). We...