Ohmygosh

I laughed so hard I think I fractured my funny bone... which caused the diet sunkist I was drinking to fly outta my nose...now I cant pee!!! Geez...next time give a girl some warning before posting such important medical information.:uhoh21:

I had a psych instructor who called cannabis - cannon balls, and hallucinogens --hal loose no jeans. Took me half an hour of lecture to figure out what the heck she was talking about. Me thinks she might have smoked a couple of "cannon balls" before coming to class.

Well...since this is a private forum and only us professionals read this stuff I'll share my interesting stool event. I recently started a low calorie diet that includes drinking lots of water. Water drinking is tough for me because plain ole' water makes me nauseated. So I decided to use those little Crystal Light singles. I really love the lemonade flavor -but decided to expand my horizons and try a few different flavors. I found a new flavor "fruit punch"... it tastes great...I drank lots and lots of water flavored with it. And lost a few pounds too. Anyway...I go to the bathroom one day and "OH MY GOSH" --- the entire toilet is blood RED!!--OH crap --I have a GI Bleed....What the heck...I feel fine...Actually never felt better. It took a few minutes before I realized what had happened....the Fruit Punch is very very RED. Yep--it has dyed my stool red ....Sheesh what a relief. :smackingf So....I have bared my soul to say perhaps your patient has found a new Crystal Light flavor I dont know about. BWT...I love oranges!!!:lol_hitti

Has he been tested for TB??

Perhaps......A scavenger hunt to find items in the pyxis or to located specific items in a crash cart. Your charge nurse idea is a good one. Have one or two be responsible for passing meds -or- maybe find and empty room where they can practice putting the beds in all the different positions. How about having them locate specific information in a patient's chart (labs,secondary diagnosis, errors -such as improper abbreviations. Do you think any of them will be looking for a job at your facility when they graduate...If so...maybe give a complete tour of where other departments are located in the hospital (places they will need to know how to get to...blood bank, pharmacy, MRI, CT, etc.) Because it is a peds unit, how about having them bring a book to read to the patients while mom or dad take a little break. How about giving them rhythm strips to identify -or- find out what thier next test in on and give them one or two questions each related to what they are currently studying.

This is truly a very sad situation...sorry that happened to you. We currently have a person in our unit who is from a middle eastern country and speaks no english. Thankfully the person does have family members who have provided us with a few translations for some basic questions. Even though I feel extremely uncomfortable trying to say these words in my "southern drawl", I feel its my duty to my patient to attempt to communicate with him/her. While I dont have a solution for your situation...I am sure that you have come to the right place for some excellent suggestions. Come ALLNURSES....this problem deserves some suggestions.

It's nice to know that I am not the actually the "Lone Ranger" disguised as a nurses!!-- just completed my 7th month in SICU. I had my first patient death about 2 weeks ago -- that was really hard. Our unit census has recently picked up and I frequently have 3 patients which is definitely a challenge. For the most part I find that when I have questions that I already know the answer -its just that I want to make sure my thinking/rationale is correct. My most recent challenge is that I have a new charge nurse on one of my shifts. She has been a nurse for 18 years and is very knowledgeable -- but I was told that she made a comment the other day that "she couldn't get her charting done because I had sooo many questions because I am an inexperienced nurse" Well there are 2 inexperienced nurses that work the shift she charges!! And not the only one who asks questions! And yes on that particular day I did have to ask her a few questions regarding 3 medications that a patient was prescribed. All of which would affect the patients HR --Yes, I knew to hold the digoxin because the patients HR was hanging out at 57-61 - however one of the other medications was Lopressor which though prescribed for hypertension- it will also lower the HR (BP at the time was 123/65). The other medication was Pacerone which I knew was prescribed because the patient has previously been in Afib. However the patient had converted to NSR -- but according to my drug book -a side effect of Pacerone is severe bradycardia. Anyway>>> I have decided that the next time I am assigned three patients on her shift, that I am going to ask her if she thinks it's a good idea to assign an inexperienced nurse 3 patients because that will mean 3 times the questions and I wouldn't want her to get behind on her charting.

The facility policy where I work says to leave in place until a new one is placed. I don't necessarily agree - but I try to play by the rules.

:yeahthat:

Thanks....I knew you guys would come through with the right info!!

I graduated on May 10th - took my NCLEX May 30th -- found out this morning that I Passed:balloons: ....I would really like to keep my newly earned license!!! My questions for all you experienced nurses out there are: 1. Is the liability/malpractice insurance your hospital/facility provides enough coverage? 2. Would you suggest purchasing your own policy as well? 3. Where would I find a legitimate company to provide said insurance? 4. How much is enough? 5. How expensive is it? 6. Since I am very new at this is there any other questions or info I would need concerning this topic? Thanks in advance!!

MissKitty and cindib: I felt the exact same way you guys did yesterday. Do not give up hope until you get your results!! MissKitty: did you apply for temp license?? Does your state board of nursing have your temp license listed as active? (In Alabama - once you take NCLEX and pass or fail - your temp license is listed as null and void) Yesterday I was sick to the point of vomiting-- I called one of my instructors and she made me feel a little better. This is what she told me and what I hung onto until my results were posted this morning. From Instructor: "I have been teaching over 13 years- never once in those 13 years have I had one student to have only 75 questions who failed!" I know I may be flamed for posting this about the number of questions "thing" --doesnt mean anything ...etc.. Anyway -just wanted to share with you guys --what made me feel a little better. Keep the faith!!!

:thankya: Thank you..... Thank you.... Thank you....No applause necessary!!! No...No... you're much too kind!!! Just can't wait to finally earn:monkeydance: a paycheck!!!!

Have you guys tried Suzanne's plan?? I did part one of her plan and passed. Go to the NCLEX forum and look for the sticky with her Nclex tips. Everyone just raves about it. Wont hurt to try it--right?

okay...so now that i have passed -i still stand by my opinion. i can say that i definitely believe kaplan was not at all useful for me personally. jmho- not that i think that it hurt me in anyway by taking it ---just that i didnt find their way to breaking down the questions to be useful for me.