How lame is this

This is not the last time you will encounter someone like this- I'd just let it go & take any "advice" she gives you with a HUGE grain of salt....

Just remember her when it comes to your encounters with new nurses and others in your shoes :-) I've had multiple experiences like this and it has only made me a better nurse and more aware of some of the stereotypes and need to continue learning after being away from the classroom and at the bedside. Best of luck to you in your nursing career.

5 ml's of heparin?

You mean units, right? Not trying to nitpick, just clarifying things for the newbies.

The heparin should've been ON the line, as you said.

But I agree, you don't want to make waves. You're new, it was a miniscule amount, someone else checked it with her and you have to assume the correction was made. As far as the other gossip goes about the patient,(and it is gossip unless you personally heard it), it would be wiser for you to refrain from repeating hearsay, because someone might just have heard wrong.

5 ml's of heparin?

You mean units, right? Not trying to nitpick, just clarifying things for the newbies.

It could have been 5ml's, like if it was a heparin flush, because 5 units would be a VERY small dose of heparin :)

Uh.....5mL of heparin is a rather large dose. The large amount is the important detail here. I'd at least double check that one....

Darlin', I'd pick my battles if I were you. Some things are worth fighting about. But others, such as a miniscule difference in the volume of a syringe, are really not worth getting your knickers in a knot over. It is totally within your right not to sign off on it if you are uncomfortable doing so, as it is your license, and I don't fault you for that.

However, from one newbie to another, remember that you are the new kid on the block and the nurses have A LOT to teach you that you did not learn in school.

It could have been 5ml's, like if it was a heparin flush, because 5 units would be a VERY small dose of heparin :)

True. Perhaps it was a flush. :)

Uh.....5mL of heparin is a rather large dose. The large amount is the important detail here. I'd at least double check that one....

As I said in the post immediately before this one.... Maybe it was a heparin flush- then 5ml would be fine.

I started a heparin gtt yesterday and the initial bolus dose was 4,000 units (4 ml). And of course, if the PTT is not therapeutic, we bolus and increase the rate, and often with more than 5 ml. It depends on how you're using it (heparin flush, subq, IV, etc) and the concentration.

Is it possible that she was--in a very back-handed way--admitting her mistake, as in saying, "I don't want you to change what you're doing ["learn the wrong way"] based on what I just told you that proved to be wrong,"?

Might want to give her the benefit of the doubt here. If she were only interested in doing things her way or in covering her error, she wouldn't have had to seek you out at all. If her attitude seemed bent out of joint, it might be because it was difficult to have to admit being wrong to someone just starting out.

Is it possible that she was--in a very back-handed way--admitting her mistake, as in saying, "I don't want you to change what you're doing ["learn the wrong way"] based on what I just told you that proved to be wrong,"?

Might want to give her the benefit of the doubt here. If she were only interested in doing things her way or in covering her error, she wouldn't have had to seek you out at all. If her attitude seemed bent out of joint, it might be because it was difficult to have to admit being wrong to someone just starting out.

that was my thought as well,......

It is always units--concentration will be different and it is never measured in mls. I am also not trying to be nit-picky, I just know that I can have 10unit flushes in 1ml and 5,000unit sq injections in 0.5ml. BTW--we have 10unit flushes because my pregnant patients are hypercoaguable (sp?). But, the bigger thing is that, yes, it is always the line however you are measuring.

I have been on both sides of the being new thing :-). I had a new grad with me the other day who got all bent out of shape because I was recapping the needle after drawing up meds in the med room. I was using an 18gauge needle to draw up a med I was going to give IVP. I recapped the needle to keep the tip of the syringe as sterile as possible as I walked down the hall and into the pt's room to then take the needle off and give the med. She had a hard time seeing past the "never recap a needle" adage to see what I was doing in the big picture. I am not applying this scenario to how to measure meds, I am just saying that there is some adjustment between ideals and reality. Safety and accuracy are key--they are many ways to get there. But, I remember being truly appalled at some of the things I saw right out of school (still am at times, I guess! :-)).