bill4745

bill4745 RN

ICU, ER

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All Content by bill4745

  1. Any Of You 58 Or Older When You Finished?

    Left nursing (ICU) for 8 years, returned at 51. Had 4 job offers for ICU from 4 hospitals in a few days, all willing to give me several weeks of 1:1 precepting. Our maturity and work ethic is...
  2. ER or ICU

    My first 10 years was ICU. I finally realized I was bored to death-turn q2h, write all vital signs and I/O every hour, hang a dozen IVs each shift, draw bloods from any patient with a central line at...
  3. Mandatory On Call???

    We have no mandatory
  4. most controversial medications

    Acetaminophen -- has become the leading cause of liver
  5. The next shift nurse

    . Have said this dozens of times. If a patient arrives five minutes before shift change, you do what you can do in the five
  6. Personality Traits common in the ED

    Attached-sick ER humor.
  7. Help!

    I graduated from nursing school at 33, and am now working in a busy ER at 55 and loving it. I agree with lucky1RN - life is too short to do something you don't love. I have a job I love, a job that...
  8. hall patients

    We sometimes admit, treat, and discharge from hallway beds. We use portable monitors. You are not likely to convince management to stop using the hallway
  9. From Med/Surg to ED

    I've worked in M/S, ICU, tele, home health, and now ER. ER is the most stressful thing I've ever done, and the most rewarding. In my hospital, the floors and ICU have the luxury of having no...
  10. how does sign on bonus work?

    Ditto - a sign-on bonus is a bad sign. ALso, read the contact very
  11. Take the bad one out
  12. Do you hate your job as a Registered Nurse? Why?

    I love my job and look forward to going to work. You see so many complaints because unhappy people tend to verbalize
  13. Personality Traits common in the ED

    It helps to have ADD and mild psychosis. Also, staying calm under stress, being able to 'think on your feet', able to reset you priorities on a moment's notice, an ability to occaisionally engage in...
  14. When do you think it will end?

    This shortage will be many, many
  15. In over my head (long)

    I've been doing this for 14 years, and I still ask other nurses to look at rythym strips, and I certainly would have called for help in your situation. You did the right thing, you will be a great...
  16. Sick to death about poor staffing level.

    20 ER beds, 5 fast track. 100 patients/day, just outside Philadelphia. From 7am-11pm 6 RNs-1 in Fast Track with 5, 5 in the ER with 20 for a 4:1 ratio. A charge RN with no patients, and almost...
  17. Has ACLS been 'dumbed down'?

    People will learn and retain more in a relaxed, positive atmosphere. The goal is to save patient's lives, not scare the people taking the course. I am glad it has
  18. Considering Switching careers to Nursing

    Started RN school at 33. Best decision I ever
  19. Bad to be concerned with money?

    I love my job. I work hard to give the best possible care. I also have a wife and three children. I choose my employer based on all the above. I have turned down higher pay at hospitals that were...
  20. Start in ER in 1 month

    Trauma shears, hemostats, calculator until you get a PDA. Eat-on-the-run food - fruit bars, peanuts,etc. I like aviator.com scrubs - many pockets, well-made and worth the price. Good luck with making...
  21. Sobering first day on the job.....

    Three weeks into my ER job, a 9 month suffocation came in, blue, tubed, and flat line. We worked on her for 45 minutes. For the rest of the day, they were a lot of otherwise strong docs, techs,...
  22. Talk to his neurologist and see what she/he thinks. Personally, I've never heard of this type of behavior in a CVA, but it's worth asking
  23. Who here works overtime for the extra cash?

    My basic position is three 11am-11pm per week (ER). My yearly total for this is about $72,000. If I do one extra 11a-11p each week, my gross jumps to $112,000. I can work all the OT I can handle, OT...
  24. returning to work

    Ditto. Don't give any info that is not asked for by licensing or the employer. If an issue is raised by the employer, point out that there are a lot of staff members on psych meds that they don't...
  25. U.S. Nursing Salary CHANGES?!

    By providing insurance to more people, the amount of care provided might increase, increasing the demand for nurses, therby posssibly increasing pay