opossum

opossum

ICU/CCU, Med Surg

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About opossum

opossum specializes in ICU/CCU, Med Surg.


Latest Activity

  1. Original poster here....it's been 4 years since I wrote that post. And I can say with confidence that it DOES get better. It gets easier. I've learned to accept that I will never be perfect, nor should I be: if that were the case, I would never le...
  2. Should ICU get more pay than floor nursing?!?

    I've been a nurse for 4 yrs now and have both ICU and M/S experience. I've run across several nurses (almost all from M/S) who tend to downplay their knowledge and skills, as if they're not 'good enough' to work in critical care. What's up with tha...
  3. Things you'd LOVE to tell coworkers...and get away with it!

    You are quite possibly the Worst. Supervisor. Ever. And....your scrubs are hideous.
  4. For Fun... Courage Wolf for Nurses

  5. For Fun... Courage Wolf for Nurses

    Just stumbled upon this thread. I love courage wolf, too! My favorite is this: Not *exactly* courage wolf, but similar. Like his cousin.
  6. Are you married sweetie?"

    My stock answer is "I have a boyfriend and a cat". The other night, I had an elderly woman w/mild dementia who asked me the marriage question, to which I gave her my stock answer. She then said, "Well, what're you waitin' for, Christmas?" I think ...
  7. Shift change and visitation in ICU/stepdown

    That's true, there always will be "those" families that impede your workflow. Then again, I really would expect parents to hover around their children...it's the adult ICU patient's sister's boyfriend's cousin's dog's brother-in-law bombarding me wi...
  8. I Ask For "Nothing".

    Love this. Thank you, CheesePotato.
  9. I ignored my instincts...

    Sorry you have to work with these people...sounds like your coworkers need to 1) lighten the &*^% up and 2) get over themselves. It was good of you to get out there and try stuff! Don't let immature folks dictate how you feel.
  10. Shift change and visitation in ICU/stepdown

    Well, it looks like we've revised the policy to basically reflect what the AACN recommends: http://www.aacn.org/WD/practice/docs/practicealerts/family-visitation-adult-icu-practicealert.pdf We agreed that it should be flexible enough to allow nurses...
  11. Shift change and visitation in ICU/stepdown

    Thanks for all your replies; it's good to get a sense of what policies other ICUs have. Ours is pretty generous, as we let basically anyone in, however many want to come in as long as it doesn't interfere with patient care. We have a locked unit wi...
  12. Hi everyone, I'm currently looking at various policies re: visitation in the ICU and it got me thinking about issues with shift change. At our 10-bed ICU/stepdown, we restrict visitors from 0700-0730 and 1900-1930; my personal feeling is that we sho...
  13. What makes a "good patient"?

    Everything you've described sounds like a "good" patient to me; I'm glad you've recovered. It must be tough being in the hospital, feeling miserable and worrying about stressing out the nurses...but I think that empathy you have for others is what m...
  14. Seriously?!?!

    I think I know this guy...
  15. Seriously?!?!

    I work in ICU, but also oriented to the ED a few times...I thought I'd like it but I learned that indeed, I am simply not cut out for ED nursing. I lack the patience and wherewithal to deal with the nonsense described above AND drop everything to at...