JustMe

I was divorced, no kids, when I graduated from nursing school. I went out with my girlfriends & dated a few guys but nothing seemed to come along. So I decided I would be comfortable living alone. Also I was open to the possibility that the guy I...

Nurses have a lobbyist in Washington, DC. The American Nurses Association is NOT a union. It is the professional association that represents ALL nurses.

I hear what you're saying, but unfortunately it is not nurses who manage the purse strings. Even nurses who sympathize with our plight are stuck in positions that do not allow for improvements because if they try to improve the situation--hiring more...

My heartfelt prayers to those who will miss Brian. I've been on allnurses almost from the beginning and he did a remarkable job! RIP.

How hard can it be to stand quietly with your patient and/or family while prayers are being offered? Regardless of religion we need to empathize with our patients (read: not sympathize). Nursing is an altruistic profession. That means we do for our p...

Looks like the MD never learned that the chart is a LEGAL document! Nurses need to document EVERYTHING but always objectively. That guy's going to end up in court one day and you don't want to go along for the ride!

I'm wondering why you need to do an EKG competency. Aren't you all ACLS certified? Doesn't that qualify as your competency? I wonder what would happen if you'd written on the test strips "unreadable." The point of being able to read a strip is that--...

Just attended a pain management conference with speaker Chris Pasero. It was wonderful!! I learned so much! Chris is published in numberous journals. Pain relief is not as complicated as it sounds. Ask if your Education Dept can get her to come and s...

Honestly--I don't think the neuro check that you didn't chart will be on a priority list if your pt isn't BREATHING! We all have to prioritize our work. But the best laid plans will go to s**t when your pt circles the drain. No one should fault you f...

I like your insight that after 3 years you still don't know everything. After nearly 30 years in critical care I still don't know everything!!!

In our hospital we don't pay extra for specialties (ER, ICU, etc). We pay extra for degrees (BSN) and national certifications (CCRN). Makes more sense since I think we all work hard and paying extra for the specialties drives a wedge between groups. ...

The reason I teach clinicals is because I had awesome nursing instructors--and I want to be just like them! Even though it's been over 30 years since graduating from nursing school, that part of my training is still very vivid in my mind. I want my s...

We're just starting with MediTech and I agree with the previous poster--it is certainly NOT user-friendly. I've used another system at another facility and it was great! MediTech is very cumbersome--when vitals, labs, etc need to be charted for meds ...

During VietNam (I know--that was a looooong time ago) corpmen and medics were allowed to take the NCLEX (at that time they were the State Boards). BUT--their license did not have reciprocity with other states. Meaning, they could only practice as RNs...

When I started my MSN program the only theorist I'd been exposed to was Orem. But I learned about Virginia Henderson's theory: "What is the unique function of the nurse?" I had to think about that one--a lot! And it is now my favorite theory. I think...

I used to take my shoes off before going into the house--but then realized that whatever my shoes were walking on out in the parking lot couldn't be any worse than what's inside the hospital!! So unless you ALWAYS take your shoes off before going int...

I got my MSN from Walden and--yes, I had to find my own mentor for my project. I got the specialty in Nursing Education and asked one of the faculty for the ADN program to mentor me. She was happy to. Go to your local nursing education program for a ...

This happened a few years ago. One of our doctors wanted his office nurse to make rounds for him and write orders. This nurse was not even a BSN let alone an NP!! Most of us refused to take orders from this nurse--and rightly so as our state BON does...

I had an interesting thing happen at a critical care CE class. One of the speakers was a pharmacist and the first thing he asked was "Who doesn't understand their Insulin Protocal?" Every hand in the auditorium went up!! :rotfl:

When my husband was a patient in the cardiac ICU he received a get-well card from his co-workers--addressed to him in the "Cardiac Arrest Unit." OMG I hope not!!

Maybe that's why he's an "ex"............

As a clinical instructor I look for learning opportunities for my students--that includes doing compressions during a code. The nurses are more than willing to let the students "jump in" and learn-by-doing. They ALL admit that it's a lot different do...

Our CCU cares for sick hearts--no post-op surgical hearts in our unit. I like having pts with sick hearts because they talk back to me. They have severe CHF, poor EFs, gawd-awful rhythms, and crappy valves, but they're usually not on the vent (yet) a...

Kelly clamp.

So far everyone is posting about maternity, L&D. I've been an ICU nurse for almost 30 yrs and there are many things that keep me coming back to my job. I enjoy the challenge that critical care offers. My patients are usually so sick that they nee...