hidesert

hidesert has 15 years experience and specializes in onc, critical care.

Latest Activity

1. Will my age keep me from a good nursing career?

   hidesert replied to Elizabeth 123's topic in Virginia

   PS - I also totally believe that life experiences make us better nurses: being a mom, having worked in the food industry and gaming industry, having worked in a doctor's office as an assistant and surgery scheduler and first assist for many years, et...

2. Will my age keep me from a good nursing career?

   hidesert replied to Elizabeth 123's topic in Virginia

   I graduated at 49, got my BSN at 55 and start my MSN at 57 (this fall) prob for an ANP degree, by then I will have 5 degrees. I love school, obviously, and I love being a nurse. What I do see is that my age-peers are burnt out, and I am not, since I'...

3. When do they get a return on investment?

   hidesert replied to hiddencatRN's topic in General Nursing

   Unless I was really impossibly miserable at a job, I would not leave after less than a year. Mostly because I think it looks really bad on a resume and I would have a hard time explaining that to a new employer. If there is a systems problem, perha...

4. How To Get A Patient To Take Pain Meds When Needed...

   hidesert replied to sharpeimom's topic in Pain

   toradol is great stuff, sort of a compromise betw tylenol and narcotics, in my mind, anyway. i worked in oncology and critical care for seven years and now at the va, and veterans for the most part hate to take pain meds. they are tough guys and at h...

5. Community College? You must be stupid.

   hidesert replied to TheMoonisMyLantern's topic in General Students

   It seems that a discussion about the quality of a CC nursing degree is difficult to separate from the ADN/BSN controversy. Otherwise how would we rate the ADN degree; to what would we compare it ?

6. Community College? You must be stupid.

   hidesert replied to TheMoonisMyLantern's topic in General Students

   "In being able to take into account the "big picture" instead of being task oriented, given the same patient and same resources, what exactly gets done by the BSN trained nurse that doesn't get done by the ADN trained nurse? Where in the course of c...

7. Community College? You must be stupid.

   hidesert replied to TheMoonisMyLantern's topic in General Students

   UM, that may be true of some ADNs, but not even half, in my experience. It prob relates to their previous work/life experience and their age. Most RNs I know are able to think globally and collegiately whether they have a 2 or 4yr degree. Just my ...

8. Community College? You must be stupid.

   hidesert replied to TheMoonisMyLantern's topic in General Students

   When I got my RN, I went to CC for time/cost and they also had a higher pass rate on NCLEX than the university, and they did for several years. (I have not looked recently.) I worked in a doctor's office and a hospital, and asked every nurse and MD ...

9. Will my age keep me from a good nursing career?

   hidesert replied to Elizabeth 123's topic in Virginia

   Here is my advice- keep at it. I was 50 when I got my RN. Most pts and families (and some doctors) just assume I have been a nurse forever. ALso all the pre nursing life experiences I've had made me a much better nurse. I don't freak out at stuff lik...

10. At what age did you decide on nursing?

    hidesert replied to Wan2BRN's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I wanted to go for most of my life, with a few side trips (one in the medical field) took 16 yrs to do prereqs and went to school at 46. KEEP going, if you want it you will get there. Cannot believe I haev been a nurse for six years now, and I am not...

11. IV tips and tricks

    hidesert replied to kloock's topic in Emergency

    PS if the patient cannot hang the arm off the bed, sometimes just elevating the head of the bad 20 or 30 degrees really helps too.

12. IV tips and tricks

    hidesert replied to kloock's topic in Emergency

    In oncology I learned to hang the arm off the side of the bed for a few minutes and even better is to wrap the arms in warm blankets 10-15 mins, while they are hanging it off the bed too is great. Also tying the tourniquet and then setting up my tape...

13. To the Experienced Nurse

    hidesert replied to Katie5's topic in General Nursing

    YES YES this is so good. Also included would be a video camera and the scenarios could be videotaped so we could see ourselves as others see us. I am guilty of coming across one way when I mean something to sound a certain way, and it puts people off...

14. To the Experienced Nurse

    hidesert replied to Katie5's topic in General Nursing

    WOW that is a great idea. Yes a lot of my fellow students were very young and really had not worked out in the world, much. They went right into nursing school from HS and this class would be so great. And yes and older person could also learn from i...

15. To the Experienced Nurse

    hidesert replied to Katie5's topic in General Nursing

    I agree with the post who said new grads should not go into ICU. I work in ICU and there are nurses around here who have never worked anywhere else and they have NO clue what a floor nurse contends with. They only know they did not like the floor in...