theantichick

theantichick

LTAC, ICU, ER, Informatics

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About theantichick

theantichick has 3 years experience and specializes in LTAC, ICU, ER, Informatics.


40-something computer geek and RN entering the field of Healthcare Informatics. Now have Master's in Health Informatics (MSHI) and am working in a technology think tank department of a large hospital network.

Latest Activity

  1. Patient waking up during CPR

    Yep. First time I started CPR on a patient (I'd taken over several times with other patients, but this was my first time to decide to start it)... broke ribs, whole 9 yards... (geriatric patient) Anyway, after about 6-7 compressions, she moans and m...
  2. Midlife Career Change to Nursing - Advice, please

    I thought I'd offer an update, and emphasize the importance of having backup plans with a midlife career switch. I worked a little over a year in the ICU at the LTAC I mentioned in my previous post. Started my BSN online, and then got an offer for m...
  3. Are you a new informatics nurse?

    A little off topic, but wanted to ask you something about UIC. I started that same program this summer, and have been very put off by the way they deliver some of their courses. I've now had two courses out of four where the days in which I had to ...
  4. Firearms

    I have a concealed carry permit. I would never consider carrying while on duty at a hospital. The responsibility of keeping track of my firearm would distract from doing my job as a nurse. Also, while on duty, I don't feel a particular need. Shou...
  5. Keep your license?

    Good points, thanks! This particular position doesn't require me to retain my RN, but future ones might.
  6. Keep your license?

    For those of you in informatics jobs, have you kept your license up? How do you address the CE requirements? Does your employer want you to keep it up, and will they help by either paying you to take CE classes or paying for the classes themselves?...
  7. The Controversy: Mandatory Flu Vaccines

    1)__ Do you take the flu vaccine yearly? If you do not, what is the reason you do not participate (if you don't mind answering this question)? Yes, always. 2)__ Does your employer have a mandatory influenza vaccination policy as a condition of ...
  8. What is your ER policy for lunch breaks?

    I am incredibly lucky with my current ER. We have a ratio of 4:1 to start with. They staff for someone to cover lunches. We also have the ability to go pee when needed, or go get something to drink. On rare occasions if too many people call in, o...
  9. What did you do before nursing?

    Worked as an executive secretary/ administrative assistant in a number of industries. Became a Paramedic, after about a year on the streets blew out my knee. Got into computers, did a number of things in that arena including report writing and data...
  10. Am I remotely qualified?

    I'm in the same boat... 15 years' data warehouse/integration then became an RN. Now a RA diagnosis is pushing me back to the tech side of the healthcare world. Feel free to PM me if you want to keep in touch, share tips, critique each others resume...
  11. Bedpan? Why not a Poise pad?

    That's really great. I would imagine that if you needed two extra people to keep your patient positioned to ensure a sterile insertion, that happens too. Places I've worked didn't make it possible to get extra help for placement, and we couldn't en...
  12. Bedpan? Why not a Poise pad?

    Probably TMI, but I had to have a cardiac cath for an ablation, and during my 6 hours flat, I could not make myself pee in the bedpan to save my life. I don't know if I could have made myself go in a pad of some sort or not, but nothing we tried cou...
  13. Bedpan? Why not a Poise pad?

    I find bedpans to be more mess than they catch. The patient's bottom is almost always wet, and if we're using a bedpan then usually they don't have the strength to stay "lifted up" for both the pan removal and drying/cleaning. And that's *IF* all o...
  14. Transition from the Trenches back into IT

    Thanks for the encouragement. Health issues are pushing me back into the I.T. world. Wish I could move to Illinois, I'd jump at it, but alas my husband is in love with Texas. :)
  15. Making the jump back

    Yeah, I ended up talking to a couple of people in passing who work in Healthcare IT, and they both had one burning question: could I write SQL. I only ate, drank, and breathed SQL for 15+ years, so I had to laugh. They were both convinced I'd do ve...