Runningnurse

Exactly. Don't know anything about Duke's other signing bonuses or lack thereof. I only know that as an ABSN grad I will receive $33K (minus the huge taxes) in three installments if I work for Duke for three full years.

What on earth? That is really bizarre. Seriously go for the infection control side, not to mention the needless pain. Ports are there for many reasons, one of which is to REDUCE needle sticks. Would he have you placing a brand-new IV every day? ...

Just remember that just because someone appears to be sleeping soundly (even if they're snoring like a chainsaw) doesn't mean they're pain-free. I work with cancer pts and often they're so used to the pain that they will sleep through it, so if they...

Our floor generally has a decent number of offservice patients on it, and those are always the docs that act like idiots. Maybe we're just biased, but "our" docs always call back right away, and if we say "Could you come over here?" they come quickl...

Not from a patient, but we have a CNA who...bless her...isn't very swift. She does her job and is sweet as can be, but...you get the idea. One of our patients had cervical cancer, with quite a lot of pain in that general area. On the flowsheet wher...

The fast answer would be "yes, in most circumstances". But I think the better question is...why are your orders unclear enough that you need to ask? The MD or ordering provider should provide clear guidelines as to how much pain medication you shou...

I work at a big teaching hospital on the oncology floor, and I'm a new grad. I did my final big preceptorship in school on the same floor I work on now. It's the same as any other...you learn as you go! I love my floor, my patients, colleagues, the...

Our floor is similar...we're oncology, so if these folks don't have a port, chances are their veins have been torn up. (As an aside...I love ports. Love love love. Makes the patient's life SO much easier.) I'm pretty new, so if I look and don't se...

We've got a neuro ICU as well, but it's always called the neuro ICU (I think the NeonatalICU came first). In addition, we have a totally separate ICN...generally for the older tiny babies. Plus the PICU. But I don't work in any of them...:) Just...

We say nick-u, along with mick-u, sick-u, etc. We've got lots of intensive care, lol.

Another Dansko fanatic here. I have the black mary-jane style and I love them. I had some Nursemates for school and really hated them, actually. The Danskos feel fantastic for all 12+ hours, and I agree that when worn with support hose you really ...

The hose just keep my legs from feeling tired. That little bit of pressure really does wonders. Give them a try for a day...see if you like them. They can hurt your toes though, so what I do is put them on and then yank on the toes to give myself a...

No clogs? Well, there goes my vote. Danskos are by far the best things I have ever discovered. Period. They're pricey, but they hold up forever and they're amazing. My feet haven't hurt one bit since I started wearing them...as opposed to sneaker...

I draw the line if they become abusive towards me personally. If they're insulting me as a person ie "You stupid ^$(@#!, why don't you just shut up?" or threatening me, I'll ask for a change. If they're angry because they had to wait forever in the...

In my experience, family members can either be a nurse's biggest help or biggest hindrance. I had one patient who would continually soil the bed...10-12 times per shift. The urges were simply too quick for her to have time to get on a bedpan or be...

I think it also depends on whether the patient is a first-time recipient or not. I do run first-timers blood a bit more slowly than our folks who come in and are getting their fifth unit in two days. I know each unit of blood is different, but in my...

I guess it's a bit different for us...we're a pretty big teaching hospital, so there's always an intern on call overnight. During the day, the interns are always your first call. Our problem is who to call if we have off-service patients. I'm on an o...

I think the clinical hours are a really important factor...I can't imagine going into my first job with only half of the hours I had. I needed every last one of those clinicals! Especially when you consider that lots of those hours are taken up wi...

Our rule is check BP/HR 2 minutes after the position change. A 'normal' person will have compensated by this point. Our folks are considered orthostatic with a drop in SBP of 10 or more and an increase in HR of 10 or more.

I work in oncology, with many elderly patients. That said, we normally run our blood over 2 hours. We run all PRBCs on a pump, same with plasma. Sometimes platelets are run straight in, but usually on a pump just for good measure. We stay with the...

Very true...it's four years of -nursing- coursework. Minus some little stuff. :) I did do loan repayment. Figured I had no pressing need to go elsewhere...might as well stay at Duke and let them pay me back a little.

I think the most important thing to remember here is that every Pyxis machine is probably programmed a bit differently. So to the original poster, don't look here for exact answers on your Pyxis...ask one of your instructors or a nurse on the floor....

I was also taught to always give Lovenox in the abdomen, at least 2 inches away from the belly button. My patients have told me that it does indeed hurt like the dickens, but that the pinching trick seems to help a little.

Hi all, I'm pretty new to the forums and to nursing. I went through Duke's accelerated BSN program and now I'm working at Big Duke. Glad to join the rest of y'all in the land of allnurses.com...

Hi Nancy, congrats on getting into UNC! I've lived here in Durham for two years now, and I'm enjoying it. To answer some of your questions...since you'll be commuting to Chapel Hill, I'd recommend southwest Durham. It's got a lot of new stuff going...