Heather, R.N.

We triage them. Like our pt who arrived by EMS the other day for burping.

Even though I am an ER nurse, I have no qualms with taking my kids in or other parents bringing their kids in. They are kids and due to the way diseases process in their little bodies, something seemingly minute could be serious. And besides, no good parent wants their child to be in pain. I DO have problems with the parent who has ignored the symptoms for several days or weeks and refused to see their PCP or treat fever/pain with Tylenol/Motrin, only to come to the ER and demand prompt, immediate, and exclusive treatment.

No freaking way! I'm married to someone who isn't in the medical field (he's a real estate developer) and thankyouverymuch, I love that. There is no way I would ever marry a doctor...

By the way, I'm not trying to be rude in my above post and I always treat techs with kindness and consideration. I definitely value them and their importance to the team.

Please forgive me for finding those statements incredibly offensive. There is much more to nursing than "passing out meds" and starting IV's and foleys. Do you know how a med works, why it works, why you need to give it, the side effects, administration techniques, and desired outcomes? Do you know how to accurately and completely assess a pt who comes into an ER c/o chest pain? Because believe me, it isn't always cardiac. What about a pt c/o GI pain? Because THAT COULD BE cardiac. Can you go into every possible route with your assessment and ask the right questions to determine the correct diagnosis? Considering how only nurses are legally allowed to assess a pt and taught how to correctly assess, I'm going to assume the answer is no. Can you anticipate meds, tests, and treatments for various illnesses? Do you know what to look for with dig toxicity? I never treat techs badly, but don't presume that working as a tech for 25 years trumps the knowledge of a nurse.

That's a sweet story. I know, as a nurse, I always appreciate receiving an extra thanks from a patient or family member (especially a deceased pt's family member- that's the ultimate compliment for me). I became a nurse because of my L&D nurse from 7 years ago. We now work at the same hospital (where I delivered) and they are talking about wanting to do a big story about it. The other thing is that a patient can impact a nurse's life just as much a nurse can impact a patient!

The cutest pregnant girl I have ever seen was just hired on at my hospital and she's 36 weeks... I say go for it. Some things are worth it.

I think there is in some areas... I'm an RN who was precepted by a certain LVN and I wouldn't have had it any other way. She was by far one of the best nurses, regardless of her certification, that I have EVER seen. I've seen some scary RN's and some scary LVN's... I think it's all relative.

Yes, yes, yes!!! Absolutely!!! I have never understood why injuring a police officer is a felony, but not a nurse, fireman, EMS worker, etc. We are out there on the front lines as well!!!

I've had two eipdurals. With my first son, I received it about an hour before he delivered and it worked wonderfully. I didn't feel a thing and actually laughed the whole time... With my second son, I asked for an epi long before he delivered, but the lab took their sweet time with my labs, so it took forever for me to get it. I was a 6 when the anesthesiologist came in and by the time he was finished inserting the epi- 5 minutes, I had dilated to a 10. It was very tumultuos and did not work AT ALL until about 2 hours after he delivered (they removed all parts of it and everything)... The pain actually got WAY worse. The anesthesiologist and my OB both told me it was because the baby crowned in the process and was blocking the effects... So, I don't know??!! I know it didn't work for me, but it ended up being *kinda* cool since I got to feel when I needed to push. One push, actually!!!

You win!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

When I was in school doing my ER clinical, I heard an exasperated mother come screaming into triage that her 2-year-old had a "rare acute tropical rash" (Q: "Have you been out of the country recently?" A: "No, but we did go to Dallas last week.") developing on his hands and spreading rapidly up his arms. Her words. Blue Crayola marker. Washed off under running water. No rubbing necessary. :lol_hitti Oh, I'm headed to the ER in a few weeks. I can't wait!!

I just started an ER internship, but I've been a nurse for a year and a half. My hospital only hired 2 interns out of 20 applicants. The other intern is a new grad. January/June are typical start dates for most internships. But, my med-surg internship in 2006 started in October for me. Orientation is usually 12 weeks, but can be longer if you need it. We need ACLS, but some facilities require PALS also. I think we're a level III center, but we are a "foremost" cardiac ER.

When I started out in med-surg, I oriented for 12 weeks. I just got a new job in the ER and my orientation will be 12 weeks after 2 weeks of classes.

I found 10mg Coumadin tabs in the 81mg ASA drawer. Oops...