NobleD'Amour

During covid I worked ICU at stone Oak as a traveler. I fell in love with the facility, the staff nurses, and the area. I even considered going full time. However, I must say from my experience, it's not Methodist that's the problem, it's HCA! Do yourself a favor and research them. Good luck with your endeavors!

Thank you. My college writing is more proficient. :)

I'm a nurse, not an English major.... Not to mention I'm from deep south Louisiana... It runs in my veins lol

Time management is the biggest challenge for EVERY new nurse. I used to feel so overwhelmed if i was 3 hours into my shift and hadn't charted a thing.... The biggest thing I can say, at least for me, nursing school put WAY too much emphasis on chart chart chart chart chart.... I had a very tough first 5 months of orientation because my priority was based around the damn computer... First and foremost....take care of the patient! Jot notes if need be... I can promise you that it DOES get easier!

What is the recommended experience time before preparing for the CCRN? How many years experience did yall have before taking it?

I'm an ICU nurse that recently had a pt in COPD Exacerbation. Ms "X" was rapid responded from a med/surg floor the day before. She was on BiPAP: FiO2 40%, IPAP-18, EPAP-8. O2 sats maintaining 88-93% all night.... Pt drowsy but able to follow simple commands. Her ABG showed CO2 at 98 twelve hours prior to my shift. She also was a DNI. About 10 hours into my shift she was really starting to poop out...(becoming lethargic, accessory muscles being used, tachypneic, etc...). I had a stat ABG drawn and the highest CO2 level our machine reads is 110... Her CO2 was beyond that bc it wouldn't register. I called the MD and long story short.... Without intubation, the DR told us to manually bag her to try to blow off excess CO2..... I call the RT and another RN to come assist while I gave the unfortunate news to the one family member staying with her. I explained that she was very critical and on the verge of coding and the rest of the family should get here asap. Her sat's were now in the 70s, she was guppy breathing and her HR was beginning to drop. We had to do something stat. Me and my charge nurse bagged this woman for over 45 minutes just to keep her alive long enough for her kids to arrive.... Even through the arms, hands and back were cramping- it was worth giving her family the extra time to grieve and say goodbye. This is just one reason why this is not just a job, its MY PASSION!