BlueShoes12 BSN, RN

I have only been filmed once (at least that I am aware of). I was discharging a patient home with a Foley catheter. As I was beginning to review the discharge instructions and catheter care/management, the patient and their spouse asked if they could...

In the PACU where I work, we recover ICU patients unless they are going to stay vented. If the patient is not vented or they want to try to extubate the patient post op, then they come to us in PACU. We will also board ICU patients after a procedure...

My healthcare facility requires two draws when there is no previous T&S on file and one draw if there is a previous T&S on file and has for a couple of years.

I'm in Michigan and my facility still mandates masking in all patient care areas. I hope they drop the mandate soon, though! Frankly, both staff and patients are getting increasingly lax about wearing them, and I'm beyond ready to ditch the masks. I ...

Those are all great suggestions! I've just gotten back into freelance writing after a few years away (I have a previous bachelor's degree in English) and have written study materials, practice test questions, recruiting copy for staffing agencies, la...

I've left once to go to the ER with chest pain and tachycardia (after my charge nurse assumed care of my patients).

With six years of experience in so many different areas, you'll be in high demand no matter where you apply. I moved from bedside nursing into PACU nursing (pre-op and post-op). It's located at a hospital with a Level 2 trauma center, so we get some ...

When I discharge an outpatient from PACU post op, we always give discharge instructions to the patient's caretaker. I'll go over it with the patient as well if they are alert but don't expect them to retain any of it. We always help the patient to d...

You present a couple of very interesting scenarios! In the first case, I wouldn't get too excited if that patient remained that way for 30 or 40 minutes post-op. If it persisted after that, I would follow up with the anesthesiologist like you did. I'...

Here's another perspective. I work in PACU and pre-op and always ask about IV access when getting report from the floor. But that's because the requirements for the gauge, number of IVs and placement of IVs vary wildly depending on the surgical proce...

Since you already have an offer for a new job, give your two weeks notice (some hospital systems require 30 days, so keep this in mind if you want to possibly be rehired later on) and walk away without any guilt. It sounds like a wonderful opportunit...

I work in PACU/pre-op and it offers the best work/life balance that I've found — much better than bedside nursing. There are a huge variety of shifts and start times available: 8, 10 and 12 hours, and start times from 5 am to 1:00 pm (plus night shif...

Nope. Staffing is not my problem as a bedside nurse. I do pick up a partial extra shift on occasion if they're willing to pay time and a half, but that's maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I do my part by showing up to work on time, doing my best, help...

Honestly, I think hospitals have so many different names for similar units that your best bet is to be up front with what your previous experiences have been and look at the requirements for each particular position. A quick Google search shows lots ...

CCU is most commonly a coronary care unit - a unit that offers critical-care level cardiac-specific care. Progressive care unit generally refers to a step down unit—a high level of care but not ICU-level. The delineation between step down and ...

My hospital is offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus for newly hired nurses as of a few months ago. The hospital offers $2500 annually in tuition reimbursement for a BSN (which it requires) and $5000 for an MSN. The tuition reimbursement existed prior to ...

I owe $2800 from my BSN. I think I ended up with around 10K in loans between my ADN and BSN; all the loans for the ADN have been paid off. I 'm not pursuing any additional education at this time since I have no interest in management or being an adva...

Really interesting perspectives! It has never honestly dawned on me to dress up if I need to go into the hospital one of my days off to pick up something. And I came from an office setting where I wore business casual every day prior to working in he...

We had issues with toilet paper availability but it's been fine for the last few weeks... Scotts was actually one of the first brands to be available at our local stores, believe it or not!

When I worked on the floor, flushes were scanned, typically as a q12 hour order. There was the option to scan a PRN flush whenever an IV was given, but only a couple people actually used it. Now, I work in a PACU with paper charting, and we do not do...

Age 30 with 3 years of nursing thus far. One year of working as a nurse assistant prior to becoming an RN.

Exactly this! It's so rewarding if the patient has a longer stay and you see the progress from one week to the next.

Are you following the five medication rights? And are you verifying your patient's identity prior to giving meds?

I think you might have better luck going through a travel nursing agency if you're willing to temporarily relocate. I'm not looking for work, but I have a LinkedIn profile and I keep getting messages from recruiters looking for RNs to start immediate...

My hospital is apparently having staff in the ED rewear SURGICAL masks from shift to shift, to be stored in a brown paper bag with no mention of sterilization. They are to be worn until the mask is contaminated (isn't it if somebody coughs on it?), t...