cardiacnurse05

Latest Activity

1. night shift & sleep

   cardiacnurse05 replied to cardiacnurse05's topic in General Nursing

   Thanks for all your responses. At least I feel like I'm not alone in this!

2. night shift & sleep

   cardiacnurse05 posted a topic in General Nursing

   I have been working nights for almost 8 months now & feel like I sleep pretty well during the day for the most part. My problem is when the weekend comes around I am asleep more than I am awake. I will often take a "long nap" on Friday mornings s...

3. Aquapheresis

   cardiacnurse05 replied to cardiacnurse05's topic in Cardiac

   So here I am a couple years later to talk about aquapheresis. Myself, I have had 3 experiences with it & only 1 has really worked. What I mean by worked is the IV access. In 1, the extended length catheter worked, but failed in the other 2. We di...

4. Staff Communication

   cardiacnurse05 replied to darynash's topic in Educators

   This is an issue on our unit too. We have stuff posted in the bathroom, breakroom bulletin boards, break room door, at the nurses station in 2 different spots and in our dictation/work rooms. The big problem that I see is that same thing is being pos...

5. Intergrillin Gtts & activity levels

   cardiacnurse05 replied to NiteNursee's topic in Cardiac

   We do not limit activity for people on integrillin gtts. We do not have a specific protocol, but we have an integrillin order set that outlines the care. Only limitations are no iv sticks.

6. Rate your favorite Iowa hospitals

   cardiacnurse05 replied to S.N. Visit's topic in Iowa

   Have you had any experience in the larger hospitals such as in Des Moines?

7. nursing student/help/why still chest pain

   cardiacnurse05 replied to x-tremestudent's topic in Cardiac

   The risks of frequent PVC's is the increased likelihoood that the patient will develop V-tach. PVC's tend to become prevalent with ischemia. The lidocaine is given to stop the pvc's and is standard treatment. Nitroglycerin is a vasodilator which will...

8. Aquapheresis

   cardiacnurse05 posted a topic in Cardiac

   Our unit will soon be performing aquapheresis for treatment of Heart Failure. It was trialed in our CCU and will be coming to the floor. I was wondering if any other non-critical care units are doing this and how it is going.

9. Chest tubes

   cardiacnurse05 replied to Lisa CCU RN's topic in General Nursing

   The answer is D. A patient can go to x-ray as long as the chest tube is hooked to suctioning. You should never clamp the chest tube (unless changing the drainage container or when anticipating pulling it when the pneumo has essentially resolved) and ...

10. Natracor and low bp

    cardiacnurse05 replied to ark-two's topic in Cardiac

    I am surprised at the idea that many of the people that responded think the bnp in the 4000's is extremely high. We see patients all the time with bnp's that are in the 20,000+ range. I am also surprised to hear of natrecor being used in new chf. We ...

11. Bnp

    cardiacnurse05 replied to steelydanfan's topic in Cardiac

    I work on a cardiac floor that specializes in CHF. After attending a class on CHF taught by one of the cardiologists that is director of our heart failure clinic, I have learned that it tends to be more of a tool to measure heart failure over a lengt...

12. What De-Stress technique works for you?

    cardiacnurse05 replied to Thunderwolf's topic in Stress 101

    I have been trying to do things to pamper myself lately. Whether it be a massage, a manicure or pedicure, exercise or shopping. Even though sometimes it is a financial burden, I have learned that taking care of me is what is most important. I have fo...

13. Does your facility use PBDS testing?

    cardiacnurse05 replied to introspectiveRN's topic in General Nursing

    I work at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa and they use PBDS with all new hires.