StarBrownRN

StarBrownRN

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About StarBrownRN

Former cubicle warrior, paper shuffler and Minesweeper aficionado now pursuing the dream. Computer charting and soap suds enemas are heaven compared to a cubicle life.

Latest Activity

  1. I wonder if we work in the same facility... I almost died of laughter when I saw a sign saying "Do Not Defecate" Like how do you even enforce something like that?? Poo-police??
  2. Ethics: "Every minute counts..." or not?

    The FA told you to push back, but didn't say they would address it?? That sounds suspicious. Have you spoken with the clinical coordinator? And I'm curious as to why the LPN and Charge RN are cutting patient times when the patient is in your pod??...
  3. CDC disinfection guidelines for hemodialysis machines?

    Many times you won't even know the patient's HIV status. Like TwinMom said the biggest concern is HepB. It's more virulent than HIV. As for internal disinfection, biomed usually handles that. You may want to consult with them.
  4. Acute vs. Chronic Dialysis

    I think everyone should experience both, but I find that nurses who are really nurses and into Evidence-Based practice and critical thinking like acutes.
  5. Salary

    You can make all the money you are willing to work for, but how long can you work 60+ hour weeks?
  6. Davita Star RN Program

    I'm not sure how things turned out for you, but please RUN AWAY from any FA position that requires you to work the floor. That's a red flag. That clinic likely has staffing, management and retention issues; and probably a lot of productivity and fis...
  7. fistula needle research

    May I ask why you are doing this research? Might I suggest you conduct a thorough literature review...because all of your questions have been answered and are almost common knowledge
  8. burning out in acute care

    I hated chronics with a passion and couldn't wait to get to acutes. Then the unpredictable long hours of acutes started to wear on me. So, I went back to chronics on a PRN basis and I find doing both helps me. It makes acutes less grinding and chron...
  9. Gross Things Patients Do

    We were out of urinals, so the patient peed in his reusable coffee mug--while on a hemodialysis machine. (He could have asked to pause the Tx and go to the restroom.) And that mug of cloudy pee sat chair side for the remaining 3 hours of tx. After Tx...
  10. Rookie mistakes in dialysis

    The effects of Epo on blood pressure is in the medication's prescribing info. Hypertension is one of the side effects in patients with CKD/ESRD. You can visit the manufacturer's website for a copy of the prescribing info. Epogen has many contraindic...
  11. Advice for family...

    I feel your family's anguish. My family faced a similar decision when my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer at 81 and already had CHF with frequent episodes of pulmonary edema. We had to ask ourselves was it worth putting him through radiation, c...
  12. Change in nursing role

    You may want to consider joining ANNA, if you have a local chapter that is active. They have some great educational and professional development resources. It's also a good networking tool. (And what's a medication nurse? I had to leave ICHD altoge...
  13. Dialysate Temperature and Sodium Modeling/Profile

    Where I am, sodium modeling has been discontinued and exact dialysate temperatures are not prescribed. There is a temperature range, but we can use nursing judgement to adjust within the allowable range. Truth be told, using temperature to manage BP ...
  14. Washing scrubs?

    I have had the same experience with scrubs and other clothing. In my dry clean only items, I use dress shields. In scrubs and other things, I spray the pit area with white vinegar right after I take them off. If you can, you may want to consider a ...
  15. Be diligent, but don't be scared. A patient prescribed a 3k and ends up on a 2k will most likely not go into cardiac arrest after one 3.5hr treatment. When I was in chronic, we switched to using only the most common concentration among our patients f...