ChemoRN

This exact thing happened to me, except it was Demerol IV. I wasted a lot of "demerol" with a certain nurse - only it was saline! You can't tell the difference! Nothing happened to me because of it, just a lot of data collection stuff. It made me nervous as heck though! :stone don't worry - if you didn't do anything wrong you have nothing to worry about.

27 patients gives us 9 nurses, 4 techs and 1 MR. That's what we are allowed to have. If you don't have 9 nurses, you just suck it up. We do have some variance with acuity. I have worked with 8 and been bored and I have had days where I would have sold my soul for nurse #10! that averages out to 3-4 patients per RN. Not a bad ratio!

I have attended a few patient funerals - the one's who were really special to me. I admit I did it for myself, to get closure, etc. But I think it benefitted the families also. At one particular funeral, I was invited to sit with the family and was expected to follow first behind the family car. It just shows how much we can become a part of our patient's lives. I have heard some criticism of nurses who attend funerals. Some people believe that it shows a level of unprofessionalism. It's not in the job description to form a relationship. Personally, after taking care of cancer patients for months, I don't know how you don't form a relationship. I think that everyone has the right to decide what is best for them. Occasionally, I need my families to know how special their loved one was to me. That's my decision. One of my doc's was asked by his patient to give her eulogy. I don't know if he did it or not, but I think that speaks volumes about what a caring person he is.

Congratulations!! First babies are so exciting! I worked my full nine months (Or 8 1/2 as the case may be ) IMHO - you're already through the hard part. Nothing like working in your first trimester when the meal trays come around. Make way for the puking pregnant chick!! I puked in trash cans, in bathrooms, heck... I even puked in a patient's room once. (He threw up first!! ) Work as long as you are comfortable working. If you have a limited amount of time off for FMLA or whatever, I would suggest keeping as much of it available for after the baby is born. Sometimes that's not possible, but it's nice if you can. They are only that small once. Enjoy it! The most important thing is not to set your expectations too high. Each pregnancy is different and you can't compare yourself with anyone. You may have a different experience next time.

I had a doctor introduce me to one of his colleagues as "the best nurse I've ever known". It was pretty special because this particular doctor was also my patient :) :) :) :)

I really liked the core curriculum study guide. It had sample questions and such in it that helped me think along the right lines. So much of what I do has become second nature that I need rationales to jump start my brain. also, get a good review course! Your local ONS might have some info on one. Several of us who took the exam recruited a well-known speaker and organized one. The drug reps paid the bill and we charged a fair fee. Proceeds went to our nursing staff for morale booster events. (We all passed, too!!) Good luck!

You can use a vacutainer on ports, and most permacaths. You are not supposed to use them on PICC lines because of the pressure. I agree with Sleepyhead. A lot of the port a caths I've used have been positional. I use the same method to draw up blood and flush.

Hooray for you nanablue2!! I really liked the practice tests too. The core curriculum was hard for me. My unit is on mandatory overtime, between that and two kids and a husband and a life - well, nothing like black and white print to put me to sleep!! It had a lot of good information in it though and is definately worth the $$ the practice tests were wonderful. Somehow they kept my attention better. Helped to get me in the test mind set again, too. Definately follow nanablue2's example and study early! let us know how you do!

I PASSED!! Got the results today. Very excited!! Good luck with your studying. Are you taking the new computerized version or the pencil and paper one?

Misty_z As a hem-onc and BMT nurse - I am an expert on neutropenia;) You are absolutely correct - ALL neutropenic patients should be on neutropenic precautions which is exactly the same thing as reverse isolation. It's simply protecting the patient. Things are getting looser though. We are actually starting to let some of our leukemia inductions go home after treatment. (White counts stay My theory has always been that I do not want to wonder if I caused harm. I am catholic and have enough guilt:D good job in looking out for the patients interests!!

We are on a quiet system also, so you almost never hear the overhead, except for an emergency. For codes, our operators call "STAT" and either medical or pediatric. They sometimes call for specific teams, like "STAT, medical, anesthesia" you know someone is getting tubed. But if they need the whole gang it's just "Stat, medial" and the floor number. We're a teaching hospital too, so the residents run our codes. Whoevers in the MICU that month. We also have a code team that does nothing but run codes and teach us how to do codes. They are AWESOME. We have run really nasty long codes and the director never breaks a sweat, and always has something positive to say. One of the few things we do well at my institution!!

Good luck to you! I will also take the exam next Saturday. Unfortunately, I have no good advice. It's my first time. Been so busy - haven't studied like I should have. I've heard that Core Curriculum is the way to go. There was a review course offered at my hospital that seemed helpful. Supposedly, there is a 98% success rate. Would really hate to be one of the 2%!!!

I love to teach - in fact I teach several classes for my hospital. I really enjoying fostering learning in new grads or nurses unfamiliar with my area. I have to agree with you though, I am not enjoying precepting. I am precepting my first new grad and it is so hard for me. I don't do well "letting go" It's easier for me to show her how, rather than let her do it herself. Like another post said, it's unfair to have the same assignment with a new nurse. the first week, we had to do everything twice. Once outside the room, and once inside the room. That takes up a lot of time and of course we had a full assignment load. The next week was even worse - we got more patients than anyone else. After all I had a helping hand! It's really unfair to treat our new nurses this way. They don't get the training and development that they need, and as soon as they make a mistake, they get eaten alive for it. Lucky for my new RN, she's amazing. I can't believe she's doing as well as she is. To be honest, I'm still surprised when she shows up in the morning! I think that being honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses is important in nursing. So precepting isn't your strength!?! Big deal. Maybe you should talk to your manager about how you can shine in other areas.