working4aBSN

I did the weekend things for about a year after my third child was born. I loved it and wish I could find another position like that. It helped me to be there during the week for my other kids and homework. I worked Sat-Sun so that if my husband and I wanted to do anything we still could go out on a Friday night..that was my thought then but we never did end up doing anything especially not with a brand new baby...lol It did stink not being able to do any family outings or such but I had 5 free weekends a year but last year was not fun with the holidays..Christmas and Christmas Eve fell on the weekend so we had to work it....yuck... But I would highly recommend the weekender position because it works so well for nurses that have children.

I was going to go a similiar route with you Cleveland...if the patient was respiratory issues then I would have adjusted the parameters to see if that changed the wave form and ended the alarms otherwise if is was not needed then I would have d/c'd it also..but if it was needed I would have then called the physician to place another one. It sounds as though this patient was more stable then the picture painted for you. I try never to shut any alarms off but I will sometimes adjust parameters based on what the patient has continously been running and comparing and I just try to tweek them very little..

I can understand the frustration being asked to make a decision just 24 hours after the event. It is hard to be nonjudgemental being the field we work in on a daily basis and we see how some of these patients do suffer. I have been on the other side of the fence also and it is a very hard decision to make. You really need factor the of what would the patient want.. would they want to be on life support and have their chest beat on from CPR repeatedly and all these medications being adminstered just to keep them alive? That is why I firmly believe in a living will and advance directives for patients. I also believe talking to family members before anything happens about my wishes. I want them to know that I do not want my end of life sustained through artifical means. I want to be made comfortable and let go peacefully. I think communication is the key factor.

I can completely understand your frustration. I have been a nurse for only little over three years and I have done ICU two of those years...critical care is a challenge and it will not always be easy..that is why some nurses do not like ICU. I learn new things every day and will continue to learn for the rest of my career. No one nurses knows all the answers..you just need to quit beating yourself up because it will take a good year before you feel comfortable with the ICU..you just need to prioritize your tasks and if you need to make cheat sheets to help organize your time so you do not forget things. Trust me it will get better just ask all the questions you can while you are in orientation and then scope out the nurses on the shift that you work that you can go to when orientation is over for support. Just hang in there you have alot going on in your personal life along with the frustration of starting a new job..it will work out in the end.

I did PRN on the cardiothoracic surgical floor and absolutely hated it. I do not think the patient ratio is safe for nurses. On the night shift we had 9 patients and those included are those that are new CABG patients and the patients are all scattered around the unit. I think CCF has a very good reputation but they do not treat their nurses very well. I have worked in the satelite hospitals that are part of the Cleveland Clinic and sometimes the staffing is bad due to the nursing shortage but nothing compares to the main campus. I know this response is late and you probably have made your decision but this is just my experience with the CCF.

That dark room thing is soooo true..I cannot tell you how many patients say "you can turn a light on if you need it" I just laugh because I have been on nights for about six years and can do just about anything in the dark. You get use to it over the years and if I do not have to turn on the lights believe me I do not...lol

The easiest way I was taught to remember these two test was that the lower case letters in Ptt make an H for heparin and then you know that the Pt is for coumadin. I just have always kept that in my mind and it has helped me keep them straight.

I think it is just a preference but I graduated in 2003 with a diploma and had not had any issues with finding a job.

I agree with everyone and I think some of these DNRs are also so broad and are not explained to the family in depth. I mean we have patients that the family does not want them intubated but please ponder on their chest and shock them over and over again but they still will not live. Or they do not want CPR, defibrillation, intubation but please push meds. I know that the family does not understand without CPR those meds will not do very much. I think sometimes it is for a comfort measure for the family to say that at least they did something to save their family member but when it "enough-enough?" I also find this very frustrating as a nurse and I do not have any issues with discussing this with families because I feel it is their right to know what we are going to do to their loved one.

I am glad I found a question about this because I have an interview tomorrow at a NICU that is very close to my house. I have been in the adult ICU for the past 2 1/2 years and have always wanted to work NICU but the NICU I wanted to work out has not has any job posting for awhile and I just realized that this facility has two night position posted so I am hoping and praying that I get the position tomorrow.. I also plan on staying PRN at the hospital that I work at now just so that I can keep up with my adult skills also but honestly I think I will love NICU. I think having ICU experience helps and the transition of learning the smaller doses of medications and the parameters of vital signs will come with orientation and learning the process of the unit. I am very excited to have this opportunity arise so everyone keep their fingers crossed...

I agree floor nursing is a special nack that some nurses possess. I rather have two patients and one crashing and bout to code with fifteen drips going then deal with the assignment on a med-surg floor. I agree with everyone else..ICU nursing and med-surg nursing are two different types of busy. I know the ICU that I work in the acuity is usually pretty high and those patients are really sick and anything could change at any moment and you could be in a life or death situation. I understand that could happen anywhere... I do not think that an ICU nurse is any better than a med-surg nurse. I think we are all there for the common wealth of the patient and we are there to help the patient progress through their illness and hopefully, eventually return home to their loved ones. Every nurse has their love and to each nurse their own whether it be ER, ICU, Med-Surg or OB...there is a reason we went into nursing and if you have found your nitch then congrats and pursue your nitch and perfect it with pride.

I am also a lefty..I do everything left handed the only thing I did not do left handed is play softball as a kid. I batted right handed and threw right handed. It actually felt akward to catch with my left hand but everything else is strictly left handed. I do not see any thing in the nursing field that makes being left handed a problem or issue. Everything seems as though it can be accomodated to left handed nurses.

I have such a hard time with my feet because I am flat footed and I need support of my feet will kill me so I have three types of shoes that I have found that I can wear: 1. Klogs- these are my favorite and my feet never hurt 2. Quarks- these are comfortable but if I have had a really busy night my feet do hurt in the morning. 3. When all else fails I love my new balance.

I work in a 250 bed hospital in a rather big community. I work in the ICU and the ration is 1:2 unless we are short staff and the ratio will increase 1:3. We have 14 beds and usually the acuity of the patients is pretty high. We call for 7 seven nurses when we are full but if we had a bypass come back late then that nurse is 1:1 and we call for eight nurses. I am happy with the 1:2 ratio and sometimes the ratio of 1:3 is manageable. On the regular nursing floor their ration can range from 1:5 to 1:7 depending on the staffing. The floors have more access to aides then the units. We have two aides that work the unit but they are not always there so it is hard to count them.

Hello everyone... I am raised in Cleveland, Ohio all my life. I have been a nurse for 3 1/2 years and I did one year of step-down unit and then have been doing critical care ever since. I am actually interviewing this week for a night position in a NICU. I think it is time for a change and I have been watching for a night position in a certain local NICU since I graduated and it finally has become available so I am hoping that I get the position..