rachel h BSN, RN

rachel h's Latest Activity

1. 

   bring in the clowns!, er i mean residents!

   rachel h replied to charissa's topic in Nursing

   How about an order for Lantus 5mg IM? Or "Make sure patient gets regular insulin and record" You don't say...
2. 

   Volunteering for future RN?

   rachel h replied to FutureRNMichael's topic in Nursing

   You will learn so much more as a CNA than a volunteer. As a CNA, you get hands-on experience with patients. If you work with cool nurses (like I did as an aide) they will take the time to show you certain skills and explain things to you. You even get familiar with some meds, procedures, etc. I would recommend CNA (or EMT if that's something you're interested in) over volunteering if you're looking to gain knowledge and experience in the nursing field.
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3. 

   Scariest thing you have found

   rachel h replied to moonshadeau's topic in Nursing

   I have stumbled upon incorrect IVF, piggybacked antibiotics and pain meds that the clamp was never opened on so they never infused... and this was on patients who had serious bacterial infections... MRSA, PCP, etc. Scariest part is that is documented as given, or correct fluids infusing...
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4. 

   Gosh, I felt so dumb!!!

   rachel h replied to stella123 rn's topic in Nursing

   I usually am intimidated when taking care of other health care professionals- just feel as though I'm being 'judged' on my techniques, knowledge, etc. However, the other night I took care of one of the nicest patients I have ever had... he complimented me on how nice I was and even told me I was a "very good nurse." I found out later in the evening he was an MD although currently not practicing due to some health problems. I think that experience will change how I view taking care of other healthcare professionals from now on. Not having that information right at the beginning of the shift was better, I think, as I went in there and treated him like any other patient, which is really what he needed at that point.
5. 

   3 - 11 shift

   rachel h replied to Jolly's topic in Nursing

   I don't have any kids either, so that makes my schedule a little more flexible. I usually go to bed around 1am- I need to unwind for a bit after I get home from work. Sometimes I'll sleep in but if I need to run errands I'll just set my alarm to get up around 8 or 9... gives me plenty of time to run errands, go to the gym and then it's off to work. It just takes a little bit more prioritizing to get everything done when you work straight pm's.
6. 

   Mic-key problems......

   rachel h replied to CraftyLPN's topic in Nursing

   I always use a 60cc syringe filled with water and 'swirl' the syringe while I'm pushing the medication into the G-tube. Then I just flush with another 60cc of H2O- seems to work well. Also, if you can give those 'beady' meds right before the patient's scheduled H2O flush (if they have one), that works well to make sure the tube is flushed well.
7. 

   Aids

   rachel h replied to ekgqueen's topic in Nursing

   Do you mean pneumocystis carinii (or PCP) pneumonia? We get a lot of HIV+ patients with this dx. Length of stay varies from 4-5 days to a few weeks depending on various factors, such as their CD4 count, age, general health, etc. We use pentamidine quite a bit for treatment. A lot of these patients are also started on Bactrim DS for treatment and/or PCP prophylaxis as well. I can't recall if we've discharged anyone with a PICC for home antibiotic therapy, although there have been patients who need a PICC placed while in the hospital because they need a few weeks of IV therapy and peripheral IV's just can't cut it. Haven't seen any patients who have come to the hospital die from it or had to go to hospice (but I've also only been a nurse for a year)- sometimes it's stubborn to treat but we keep a close eye on it. Hope this helps. :)
8. 

   Med/Surg to ICU

   rachel h posted a topic in Nursing

   What is the transition from Med/Surg to ICU like? I am very interested in critical care nursing and I have a year of med/surg experience now. I was just wondering if it is very intimidating/ overwhelming? Do you feel like you are brand new all over again or does it help to have that med/surg experience? Thanks!
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9. 

   Nurse is a nurse is a nurse

   rachel h replied to Dayray's topic in Nursing

   The hospital I used to work for changed the name badges so that your title was in bold letters and HUGE- I swear you could see it across the room, whether it was MD, RN or LPN- the letters were about an inch high. That really seemed to clear it up for the patients. However, it did look a little kindergarten-ish...
10. 

    Pain scale

    rachel h replied to webbiedebbie's topic in Pain

    Oh I hate the pain scale due to the fact that an overwhelming number of patients seem to get annoyed with it and many of them don't quite understand it. I would much rather just be able to document that I gave a patient a pain med because they were in pain. In our facility it's a huge deal to do a pain score on every single patient at least once a shift. I find it more annoying than anything else.
11. 

    Just Curious...

    rachel h replied to VickyRN's topic in Nursing

    I just jot down things on my worksheet that I need to include in my note, which I almost always write at the end of my shift, there is NEVER time to chart as events occur, unfortunately. I don't enter my notes as a 'late entry'- I've never seen any nurse's notes labeled as such in any of my patient's charts either. Even if there were time to chart as events happened, I think I would end up with about 30 notes on each patient by the end of the night. Much more convenient just to write one.
12. 

    Analgesic?

    rachel h replied to panda_181's topic in Nursing

    I'm no expert regarding oncology, but what I see used most frequently for comfort is morphine hooked up to a continuous pump and the nurse can increase the amount to provide for the patient's comfort until they pass away. I'm not aware of any drug that they can give you to make you go to sleep until you pass away... maybe an oncology nurse can help.
13. 

    Strep throat antibiotics??

    rachel h replied to CraftyLPN's topic in Nursing

    I'm allergic to amoxicillin and have used erythromycin many times for strep throat...