rachel h BSN, RN

Latest Activity

1. bring in the clowns!, er i mean residents!

   rachel h replied to charissa's topic in General Nursing

   How about an order for Lantus 5mg IM? Or "Make sure patient gets regular insulin and record" You don't say...

2. Volunteering for future RN?

   rachel h replied to FutureRNMichael's topic in General Nursing

   You will learn so much more as a CNA than a volunteer. As a CNA, you get hands-on experience with patients. If you work with cool nurses (like I did as an aide) they will take the time to show you certain skills and explain things to you. You even...

3. Scariest thing you have found

   rachel h replied to moonshadeau's topic in General Nursing

   I have stumbled upon incorrect IVF, piggybacked antibiotics and pain meds that the clamp was never opened on so they never infused... and this was on patients who had serious bacterial infections... MRSA, PCP, etc. Scariest part is that is documente...

4. Gosh, I felt so dumb!!!

   rachel h replied to stella123 rn's topic in General Nursing

   I usually am intimidated when taking care of other health care professionals- just feel as though I'm being 'judged' on my techniques, knowledge, etc. However, the other night I took care of one of the nicest patients I have ever had... he complimen...

5. 3 - 11 shift

   rachel h replied to Jolly's topic in General Nursing

   I don't have any kids either, so that makes my schedule a little more flexible. I usually go to bed around 1am- I need to unwind for a bit after I get home from work. Sometimes I'll sleep in but if I need to run errands I'll just set my alarm to ge...

6. Mic-key problems......

   rachel h replied to CraftyLPN's topic in General Nursing

   I always use a 60cc syringe filled with water and 'swirl' the syringe while I'm pushing the medication into the G-tube. Then I just flush with another 60cc of H2O- seems to work well. Also, if you can give those 'beady' meds right before the patien...

7. Aids

   rachel h replied to ekgqueen's topic in General Nursing

   Do you mean pneumocystis carinii (or PCP) pneumonia? We get a lot of HIV+ patients with this dx. Length of stay varies from 4-5 days to a few weeks depending on various factors, such as their CD4 count, age, general health, etc. We use pentamidine...

8. Med/Surg to ICU

   rachel h posted a topic in General Nursing

   What is the transition from Med/Surg to ICU like? I am very interested in critical care nursing and I have a year of med/surg experience now. I was just wondering if it is very intimidating/ overwhelming? Do you feel like you are brand new all ove...

9. Nurse is a nurse is a nurse

   rachel h replied to Dayray's topic in General Nursing

   The hospital I used to work for changed the name badges so that your title was in bold letters and HUGE- I swear you could see it across the room, whether it was MD, RN or LPN- the letters were about an inch high. That really seemed to clear it up f...

10. Pain scale

    rachel h replied to webbiedebbie's topic in Pain

    Oh I hate the pain scale due to the fact that an overwhelming number of patients seem to get annoyed with it and many of them don't quite understand it. I would much rather just be able to document that I gave a patient a pain med because they were ...

11. Just Curious...

    rachel h replied to VickyRN's topic in General Nursing

    I just jot down things on my worksheet that I need to include in my note, which I almost always write at the end of my shift, there is NEVER time to chart as events occur, unfortunately. I don't enter my notes as a 'late entry'- I've never seen any ...

12. Analgesic?

    rachel h replied to panda_181's topic in General Nursing

    I'm no expert regarding oncology, but what I see used most frequently for comfort is morphine hooked up to a continuous pump and the nurse can increase the amount to provide for the patient's comfort until they pass away. I'm not aware of any drug t...

13. Strep throat antibiotics??

    rachel h replied to CraftyLPN's topic in General Nursing

    I'm allergic to amoxicillin and have used erythromycin many times for strep throat...

14. Nurse is a nurse is a nurse

    rachel h replied to Dayray's topic in General Nursing

    The opinion of nursing has got to change. I think that is the most frustrating part of being a nurse. From family members hanging out of a patient's doorway staring at you like you are doing nothing when in fact you are charting, preparing meds or ...

15. Summertime Employment

    rachel h replied to HollieRN's topic in General Nursing

    I don't know why the only job you'd be able to get is in a nursing home? My first nurse's aide job was in Post Anesthesia Recovery (aka the recovery room) and I had no prior hospital experience nor had I even enrolled in nursing school. It wouldn'...