royreba

Space!!! You need rooms big enough that you can fit your vent, IABP,swan cart and a stat cart in at one time. I get so annoyed when you can barely get around your equipment to defib someone. I like the idea of having stocked cupboards in the room with enough linen for a clean up, syringes, extra suction supplies,IV tubing etc on hand. Also a drawer with a universal lock that has basic resusc drugs in easy reach so you can start pushing drugs while someone else gets the cart.The CCU I work in doesn't have the space for these but MICU/SICU was recently remodeled and when I work up there it is so nice. So organized. They have a dirty room between each room with a hopper with a chest high splash shield, too. Good luck with your new unit!!! It is awesome that they are letting the nurses have input!!! Reba

We recently had this discussion at work. A new grad described my coworkers as unprofessional during a code. Apparently she felt we should never laugh, even when something really funny happens. She came to me for support since I was in charge and was really mad that I didn't support her. My response was that hopefully one day she would also be so competant at her job that she can code a person and be so relaxed about it. HHMM, if I code do I want the staff that knows their job so well that they aren't freaked out or the staff that is so overfocused that they can't actually think. Noone made any hurtful comments or anything it was just one of those long codes where the patient tries out every rhythm and you just think "what the hell". I am on the code team and I think a little joke goes a long way to decrease the stress of the situation.

I think that management needs to take a look at the abuse of families as a major issue in nurse retainment. I have seen many nurses leave the bedside because of the constant abuse of family, patients and physicians. The unit I work on now is really great about sticking up for the nurses. I have made it very clear to family members that visiting the patient is not a right. Anyone that is preventing care of the patient will not be allowed in the room. The worst experience I had was when I had to pull the overly emotional wife off a patient so that I could shock him. I swear I wanted to slap her in the face just to get her to snap out of it. Wailing "he's dying" while clutching her vented, unstable husband is not helpful at all. She was removed and was not allowed back in until she could gain her composure. I thought "he sure as heck will be dead if I don't get you out of here." I have worked with other managers that reward crazy inappropriate behavior. Where I work now, our director is so awesome. I think she should teach classes on how to treat your staff and how to keep them.

Hello! Where I work we give 10MeQ/hr to nontele pts, 20MEQ/hr to floor pts on tele and 40MEQ/hr to unit pts with central lines. We ususally replace po and IV at the same time if the patient is very low. The lowest K I have treated was around 1.8, I gave 80 PO and 40 IV and he still was in the low 3's. So, he got another 40 po and 40 IV and was around 4.