Bubbles_RN

Well, I've been ICU nursing now for 12 years. I still remember my first year. I remember thinking I was insane for doing this, that the hospital was insane for hiring me. I cried.....a lot!!! I worried, stressed and somehow got through it. You ...

Well, I've been nursing for 14 years, and I still pretty much suck at IV starts. As others have said, it is a skill, and one that takes practice. In my clinical setting, we don't have a lot of peripheral IV's. Speak up for yourself, let your educat...

Hi Fiona, I work in Ontario, in the GTA. A full time weekend worker is allowed under our union contract. Also, I've been fortunate to work for some amazing managers, who will let nurses swap to work either full time days or full time nig...

I know a lot of nurses where I have worked have a shift buddy, so they are able to only work the type of shift they want (ie all nights or all days). Not sure if that may be something that would help. I have been a full time weekend worker for the ...

To begin with, figure out which ones are most commonly used at your facility. Then figure out what they do, how they work, and major side effects. Your facility IV manual should help with it as well. Ours is awesome, lets ya know how to mix it, wh...

Ok, yeah you made a mistake. I would go to my instructor with a plan around remedial action. For example, you could tell her you plan on reviewing allowed procedures, and perhaps a reflective journal entry on the situation. Be proactive in admitti...

Go for it - I've gotten coffee for family members, scrounged up sandwiches and done emergency McD's runs when it seems needed. It may seem small but I bet to him it will be huge.....bless you for being a nurse through and through :redpinkhe

Ummm I convinced a friends signifigant other that his cramps were really ovarian pains......which he promptly reported to my friend (also a nurse).......oh dear we laughed until we cried over that one........

Well we have a scale usually 2 - 10 mg/hr with the option for the docs to write higher end points as required. Although if we can't maintain a RASS of -1/-2 with high dose versed/fentanyl we usually look at adding something else.

Yep I've had a couple o docs do that....the best was just last night give a beta-blocker and hung up......uhhh news flash a) I don't get to pick which one, nor do I get to guess how much and b) the SBP was already 70....so no beta blocker there :bug...

Our hospital is talking about it, and quite honestly I'd love it. Having been on the other side of the bed as both a pt, and a family member, it is quite annoying to ask every single person coming in your room who they are and what they do. I worked...

As a general rule we use valium not ativan for our ETOH'ers......and I had one guy that we gave something like 50 mg IV to in a 12 hour period. Most lorazepam I can recall giving was a guy we had on a gtt at 10 mg/hr + at least 2 mg IV push q1H.

I will give narcs within a 1/2 window on either side for prns. However if I find they are needing a fair bit of prn medication......or if the timing isn't working for them I usually re-assess thier medications. Maybe they need a change in narc or do...

What a lovely story - your compassion for this man and his wife comes through in volumes:yeah:!! You are going to be such an a amazing nurse:redbeathe. I to have special pts that live in my heart and memories and I take them out from time to time.

Wow - after reading everyones responsed I must say I feel blessed to have had such fabulous preceptee expriences. However I have been witness to some terrible precepting, and your letter Ivanka reminds me to actually see the person I am precepting, n...

My most heartfelt condolences for your loss. I am so sorry that you were treated so terribly in your time of need. If you are in need of something to return home I agree with others, go to the local ER and hopefully the nurses there will advocate on...

Yep an all too common issue in ICU. If you are new to ICU I would have suggested speaking to either your preceptor/nurse manager. They could have provided you with guidance as to what your next steps could be. If a situation doesn't feel right list...

I've had shifts like that as well, usually after I've been essentially coding a pt all day and my standard response is hey the pts alive - hope you do as well. Mean....well yes, but honestly who gives a flying rump if caps were changed. As a previo...

No personal experience with using a line - we use a traditional cooling blanket to cool our post arrest pts......but here is my experiences with complications: Cooling - I've had a couple of pts who ended up being too cold, and developed symptomatic ...

That is an awesome answer!!! We are just starting to use SVV in our ICU and I've been a bit lost with it, as our educator got me going round in circles with what all the numbers mean.

I hear you - sounds like an incredibly tough spot right now. I've found that when I'm having a hard time letting something go that writing it down and then getting rid of it, either flushing it or burning it helps. I hope the blahs pass quickly, and ...

Gotta agree with the full moon. When you get to work a full 20 minutes before shift change and your co-worker gives you such a look of deperate relief When you get out of your car and hear 2 codes called in your unit, on 2 different pages When you ge...

Also a possibility is that he was in benz withdrawl - we see this quite a bit when docs turn off versed gtts that have been running at like 5 mg/hr for days. I don't think 7 mg is anywhere a huge dose, but I've given acute DT'ers somewhere in the nei...

That MD's make the worst pt's That telling the nurses taing care of you that your friend who works in the kitchen at another facility is a nurse doesn't get you better care When your fresh huge anterior MI pt says I need to go to the bathroom, get th...

With both my pregnancies I worked until 39 weeks. I had the cankles as well, and yep crocs were the only thing I could wear at the end. I work a med-surg ICU I had no restrictions (in fact I remember doing compressions at 8 months) but I work with ...