bill4745

bill4745 RN

ICU, ER

Member
  • Content

    874
  • Visitors

    10,877
  • Followers

    0
  • Likes

    5

All Content by bill4745

  1. "Funny Codes"?

    You are not sick. It is a stress
  2. Humorous Introspection

    Several months after moving from ICU to ER, my wife says I went from someone who took forever to make a decision, into someone who figured out a solution to a problem (even non-medical) and made...
  3. Name hospital and salary--everywhere

    Philadelphia border, in Delaware County, PA. Maxed out at 12 years experience, $36/hour base. Diffs: 3-ll $3.00/hr, 11-7 $4.50/hr. With overtime, averaged $105k last 2
  4. questions about doing CPR

    No, everyone is coded, even if cold and stiff. (I work in a hospital.) It seems to me that if you fail to do CPR on a pt without a pulse then you are declaring death, which your nurse practice act...
  5. Cross-training to the ER

    After 10 years of ICU, I made the switch and love it. I still get some critical care here. But I love the variety and the need to think for yourself, instead of having an order for everything. It...
  6. looking for ideas on coordinating care

    I agree with MOMNRN - there is a purpose in having them repeat. The stories change: what starts as chest pain in triage ends up being drug-seeking in the ER, or what starts as nausea out front ends...
  7. How do you staff for surges?

    We just added and extra 11a-11P on Monday and Tuesday - our busy days. We also have on - call staff. They are paid a few dollars an hour if they guarantee to be called in for a specific 4 hour...
  8. Need some career advice

    If you are giving sick people 100% of yourself, it's all real
  9. This is what caller ID is
  10. ED admitting orders

    How do other ED's obtain admission orders for patients? In our ED, the ED doc discusses the patient with the admitting doc and then transfers the call to an RN to take admitting orders. This is a...
  11. buying a pulse ox of my own?

    You really face liability if your pulse-ox becomes innacurate and you harm a pt - these things need to be calibrated once in a while. As many people have said, it will eventually
  12. IS it ok to wear scrubs to an interview?

    No way. Very
  13. Acls

    ACLS and PALS are
  14. trouble triaging

    When in doubt, triage up, not down. Better to have an annoyed doc than a dead
  15. Internet in ER: Good or Bad??

    Yes, good information can be found. But at my ED, there are too many net addicts, who spend too much time on the computer and don't do their
  16. Christiana Wilmington vs. St. Francis

    Again, it's been many years since I worked at either. You need to get up-to-date info from the hospitals. They may have gone to 12 hour shifts since then. Where in DE county do you
  17. Philly area safety

    Don't even think of working there, especially nights or
  18. Christiana Wilmington vs. St. Francis

    It's been many years since I worked there, but D/E was 7am-3pm/3pm-11pm rotation. You would work 50%or more on 7-3. D/M was 7am-3pm/11pm-7am rotation. "M" stands for "Mornings" - a nice way to say...
  19. ICU to ED?

    All
  20. ICU to ED?

    After 10 years of ICU, I made the switch and love it. In many ways, it is the total opposite of the controlled, detailed ICU. Yes, you must multi-task, sometimes to an extreme. You can go from...
  21. Question about drug allergies?

    Not sure about giving the drug to see what happens, but you might be allergic to some of the fillers in the pill, chemicals that might not be in IV Toradol. Or you may have just developed an allergy...
  22. Pain shots are us, not this nurse!

    I get as frustrated as anyone with drug seekers, however, I learned a lesson when I had a kidney stone - one of the worst pains I've ever had, but vital signs 110/68, HR 76. Obviously, vital signs...
  23. how do i max my income as new grad

    Pay is rarely negotiable in hospital staffing, even with experience. You need to find the best combination of pay vs. living expenses in a particular area. Be careful - I've seen more than one new...
  24. Have you ever been a patient?

    I am much more gentle when starting IVs, having had about a dozen. I use Cetacaine and lidocaine jelly when inserting NG tubes (not the most pleasant experience I've had). I always get my pts a...
  25. You experienced ED nurses will get a kick out of this.....

    As I frequently remind my frustrated co-workers: If it wasn't for stupid people half us us would be