One Lesson

[futurenurse913]

What is the one great lesson that you have learned or are still learning as a nurse/student?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Treat the patient not the number. (as in if your patient looks like they are going to crash but has normal vitals, go with your instincts. Same if you have an alert and oriented patient with good color and no acute distress, and the pulse ox reads 83%. It's more likely that your pulse ox needs new batteries than your patient is going to crash. I've replaced a lot of batteries in clinicals!)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

always know why you are doing everything. if it's scientifically defensible, it's fine. if you find yourself saying, "i dunno" about anything-- a med or iv fluid you're being asked to give, a test result, a lab finding, a diagnosis, an explanation given to a family member or patient, a procedure, a material used in care-- make sure you look it up soon, because you are, in fact, responsible for knowing.

hint:"because that's what we do here," or, "that's what dr. x always wants for his cases" are not answers.