sway

Latest Activity

1. RN to Paramedic Bridge Course

   sway replied to ironjohn929's topic in Flight

   Yeah, that's pretty much what I was pointing out. EMT-P is a license and legally allows you to perform tasks. CCRN just means you can take a test (a pretty hard one, though).

2. Cabg, Iabp, Crrt

   sway replied to sway's topic in MICU

   Thanks for all the responses. It's good to know that there are places out there where I could receive training. I had a meeting with my unit director and nurse educator. After listening to her for about an hour, I still didn't have a clearer picut...

3. Has anyone taken the new AACN Cardiac Surgery Cert.

   sway replied to big sweet life's topic in MICU

   My nurse educator took it and said that she thought it was way easier than CCRN. She has been a nurse for 15 years, and said that anyone who has been taking care of post op hearts for several years should be able to pass with minimal studying. She ...

4. RN to Paramedic Bridge Course

   sway replied to ironjohn929's topic in Flight

   Word up to everything CraigB-RN just said. I think the analogy of RNs switching specialties is an excellent one. Hey, just wondering, but FlyingSquirrel where did you learn to manage a-lines, swans and vents? I'll bet it was from an RN. I was ne...

5. (AGAIN)new grad to ICU

   sway replied to TypicalFish's topic in MICU

   It sounds to me like you're good to go. It sounds like you work in a supportive environment, and have a good amount of quality preceptor time, and then are paired with a partner when your preceptor time is done. As far as not knowing enough to 'se...

6. Looking for tips on landing an ICU job.

   sway replied to Roland's topic in MICU

   Viva Indy! I spent the first 18 years of my life there! I agree, go to any hospital that will take you in the ICU. I think the next best thing would be to work in a step down unit, PCU, or a cardiac/tele floor. Many hospitals offer internships for...

7. pt/nurse ratio?

   sway replied to emsboss's topic in MICU

   Wow, what a great idea, I wish I had thought of it. I think that next time I'm forced to take a triple that I feel is unsafe, I'm going to call the involved MDs and tell them that I think their patients are being staffed unsafely. I don't know abou...

8. Down time

   sway replied to Morguein's topic in MICU

   Jeez, you guys sound busy! I'd say that about a third of my nights have me running for 12 hours straight, another third are steady but leave me with time for small breaks now and then, and another third give me a good 2-3 hours of nothing to do. Us...

9. Cabg, Iabp, Crrt

   sway replied to sway's topic in MICU

   Thanks for the encouragement, it's good to hear that my frustruation is not without reason. I think my lack of training is because of several factors. Mostly, I think it's because those in charge think that you have to have many years of experience...

10. Cabg, Iabp, Crrt

    sway posted a topic in MICU

    Howdy all, I'd like to get a consensus from you all about how quickly in to your ICU nursing career you were trained to perform "advanced" ICU nursing tasks, like managing post heart patients, CRRT (CVVH or SLED), or IABP. I've been working in an I...

11. RN to Paramedic Bridge Course

    sway replied to ironjohn929's topic in Flight

    Hmmm, If I understand your questions correctly, yes. If you compared two new RN graduates from the same program, and one was an EMT-P and one was not, I would expect a higher level of skill and knowledge from the one with EMT-P experience. I'm not ...

12. RN to Paramedic Bridge Course

    sway replied to ironjohn929's topic in Flight

    Squirrel, If you read my post more carefully, I think you'll notice that I never claimed that an RN fresh out of a 2 week medic course was "proficent". In fact, I think they would have a lot to learn. The point I was trying to make is that they're...

13. Continuous Urine Monitoring

    sway replied to Ashman's topic in MICU

    Exactally, the patient takes the hit. It sounds like more of an MD problem where you work. If they want urine monitored closely, they need to order a foley. Almost every patient I work with has a foley, and if I felt like a patient needed one, I w...

14. Continuous Urine Monitoring

    sway replied to Ashman's topic in MICU

    In our ICU, measuring hourly urine is our standard of practice. If anyone were to complain that it wasn't convienent for them to perform this measurement, they wouldn't find much sympathy among the people I work with, myself included. We have foley...

15. Want to be an ICU nurse?

    sway replied to loconno2's topic in MICU

    Where do you get the idea that ICU nursing is more prone to burnout than any other specialty? Most of the people I work with have worked ICU for between 10 and 20 years, and still love it. Besides, it's healthy to look for something new to do, to k...