Nurse-please

I think you will hear before that. I heard within two weeks after their deadline of Oct 1st. I submitted back end of August. that does seem like it’s pretty close though, there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done prior to starting like up to date titers, physical exam, background check, drug screen, etc., it’s time consuming. If you’d like a list of everything we need for our profile in CastleBranch I could give it to you so you can start preparing once you are accepted.

The fact they keep moving the start date back is questionable. Makes me wonder if they haven’t received many applicants

What is GW? I just received notification end of last week that I’ve been accepted. Hopefully we will be classmates! ?

Hey guys, Wondering if any of you applied to the PMHNP program with University South Alabama for this upcoming Spring 2023 term? I submitted my application after the priority deadline in late August but before the extended deadline of Oct 1st. Wondering if anyone has heard about acceptance? They say 8 weeks from deadline and that seems SO long and brings us to the first week of December! Impatiently waiting and looking forward to working with some of you!

Were your classes at USA asynchronous?

I didn’t make the priority deadline but the extended. Initially it said Sept 1st, then I noticed it changed to October 1st. I submitted everything the last week of August. anyone else in my boat? Still haven’t heard. If I have to wait 8 weeks past October 1st, that seems SO close to start of the term

Brandy1017, Wow, what an incredibly hard thing to go through with your coworker! I am glad you were able to have a memory of her being happy with her family. I too, tend to feel emotional when I hear or read of a nurse dying, even if I had not known her personally. So it is reassuring to me that other nurses may feel this way at times too. In another scenario, I remember when RaDonda Vaught was in the media and going through court after she gave that fatal dose of vecuronium instead of versed. Although I agreed with her losing her license, I empathized with her as I imagined what it would be like to go through such a horrible event and the regret/guilt you would feel for the patient and the family. We work in such an emotionally demanding profession, and although some nurses may be better at “turning it off,” I really do believe that even those nurses harbor those feelings deep down. They may not surface immediately but I believe they will manifest in other areas of their life at some point. I also believe that those nurses who empathize with their patients and allow themselves to feel the emotions of the situation (professionally and possibly privately) tend to be more heartfelt nurses.

Yes, I think this hits the nail right on the head. It is incredibly sad to see someone who has an incredible wealth of knowledge and someone who is a great nurse, receive such a terrible diagnosis.

Thank you, and sorry for your loss. I appreciate the input of your personal experience. That was the intent of this post, to see how others cope with these difficult situations involving coworkers. I work at a small facility, everyone knows everyone so that may have some influence over the situation. My coworkers are like family to me and I know a lot of others who feel that way as well.

I didn’t mean I would go to therapy for this particular instance, I mean in general as a way to help cope with the ups and downs of the profession itself. I did not make that clear. I was not trying to make her situation about myself, and would never do that in any situation like this. I was just curious if others had trouble with these situations as well when you know the person through work. Clearly you do not, so good for you I guess? Thanks for your input, you definitely are a sour lemon LOL

Last night at work, I had a fellow coworker and fellow nurse seek care in our ED. She’s relatively young and the night ended with an admission and what’s going to be, more than likely, a terminal diagnosis. I won’t get into any details because she is a private person and I want to respect that. She ended up relaying the info to me herself because the doctor had updated her prior to me reading the CT. I felt like I had been smacked in the face. I kept it together at the bedside and then cried in the bathroom immediately after. The only thing I wanted was for my shift to be over and go cry in my car. And now I sit here tonight with the entire scenario creeping into my head. I knew her husband when I was younger, he used to be my manager when I first started out in healthcare, super nice guy which only made it harder. I kept telling myself in my head, “you can’t be emotional right now because you gotta keep it together for your patient,” which I did very well at the bedside but I found it hard to concentrate when I was with my other patients. Does anyone else feel so deeply when “one of our own” is on the other side? I have known a few older nurses that have passed on and I always feel it so deeply that’s it’s uncomfortable. I think it’s because I look up to them so much, it pains me to see someone who has given their whole life to this profession, succumb to it. It’s hard to explain, but I know other nurses will know what I mean. We are all human, it just feels as though we are invincible sometimes. How do people deal with watching “our own” on the other side of the bed? I think therapy may be in order.

Has anyone else experienced their patients get really hot (Subjective to the patient, not fever) or like a full body “heat rush” (as one patient explained to me) after giving calcium gluconate? It last for maybe 45 seconds and gets better. Patient at no point appears flushed or red. I have had this happen with the past 3 patients I’ve given it to prior to insulin and d50 for hyperkalemia. At first I though I was giving it too quickly so I looked in the MAR and Micromedex to see administration time but there wasn’t any listed. So the next time I gave it slower, approximately over 1 minutes and it still happened. I’m now reading a peer reviewed journal that states both calcium gluconate and calcium chloride should be administered over 5-10 minutes. Has anyone else had this happen? How fast do you yourself administer and any ideas what would cause the intense “hotness” the patient experiences? After reading the study I’m going to start administering over 5-10 mins.

Hey Guys...me again! Man, I love this group. So I picked up a casual ER position about 1 hour from my house in the middle of NOWHERE. It's a small facility...7 bed ER. I think 15 bed inpatient.. normal ER census is 14 a day. Two RNs staffed in the ER during the day, with 1 RN at night with med surge charge RN to call as your back up. Physician in house. No RT after 9pm. There lies my problem...Every facility I've worked in I've always had RT to rely on. I'm mostly hesitant for intubations and managing a vent. They will be training me in on this...but I'm still nervous to not have an RT to rely on! While I have been around plenty of intubations and vents.. I have not had to solely manage one or be second assist during intubation. My hope is that they have solid providers.. fingers crossed or I am out. But you know how that can go at these small-time hospitals. I have just about 2 years ER experience in busy ERs. I suppose a solid ICU nurse would maybe feel comfortable in this situation. I plan to travel nurse in the near future and one of the reasons I thought this would be good experience is if I land an assignment in some rinky dink ER, I'll have had that exposure as staff and see the ins and outs of working in small facility. I want to kind of push myself into feeling comfortable managing these patients solely on my own. Is this crazy thinking? Would you guys take a position like this? Thanks again!

Do you assess gag reflex by touching the pharynx with a tongue depressor? I would be so cautious to do that, especially in a patient that’s on a substance or has ETOH on board... I’d be afraid for them vomiting then aspirating and then for sure we would be intubating.

I guess I wasn’t thinking of assessing the gag reflex as putting in an OPA or NPA.. I was speaking more of tongue blade to the pharynx.. An NPA would have been very suitable for this patient thanks for the response!