nerdtonurse?

nerdtonurse? BSN, RN

ICU, Telemetry

Member

All Content by nerdtonurse?

  1. The Patient I Failed

    nerdtonurse? posted a topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    She knew what she wanted. She'd watched her husband of 52 years die on a vent, and followed his wishes to remain a full code. But she knew that was not what she wanted for herself. So, she wrote a...

  2. Bats close hospital

    nerdtonurse? posted a topic in General Nursing

    http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/bat-infestation-forces-hospital-evacuate-patients/nJJrK/?hpt=us_bn5 So, basically, bats invaded this hospital, and it was forced to close everything except the ER...

  3. I need help processing my first hospice patient experience.

    nerdtonurse? replied to pkateRN's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    What I'd suggest....scopalamine patch (wonderful for noxious secretions/"death rattle"), Ativan, and IV benadryl, along with the morphine. When I've had people with liver problems, they itch and...

  4. It shouldn't have happened this way....

    nerdtonurse? posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Okay, so I work part time with hospice. I like it. It's a nice break from feeling like I'm torturing souls their last days on earth up in ICU because their family of freeloaders are all living off...

  5. IV pain meds standards??????

    nerdtonurse? replied to jbluehorseh's topic in Patient Medications

    Just give the narcs. You're not going to change them, and they'll make your shift Hades if you don't. An addict will seek their drug/ETOH until they decide to stop, and nothing you do or don't do...

  6. INR increasing...without anticoagulation?

    nerdtonurse? replied to LetsChill's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    Also, if the patient has cancer, they usually have low albumin (either d/t the disease process or malnutrition); low albumin can affect protein binding, making more warfarin stay in the system longer....

  7. Nurses With Low Self-Esteem: Please Seek Help

    nerdtonurse? replied to TheCommuter's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I see this as a chicken and the egg situation. If you have depression, you tend to have feelings of inadequacy, poor self care, you feel like you're not worth looking after, you doubt your abilities,...

  8. Can you imagine having Spiderman as a patient?

    nerdtonurse? replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    I haven't had Spiderman, but I've had the incredible Hulk, Houdini (4 point restraints, and somehow got her feet lose and when we went in, she was sitting with her back to the foot of the bed, arms...

  9. A nurse's favorite song?

    nerdtonurse? replied to Joe V's topic in Nursing Humor

    Particularly for my hospice patients, "Because you loved me" by Celine Dion. In ICU, "Highway to Hell" or "Another one bites the dust" depending on how the shift's

  10. Death

    nerdtonurse? replied to ixchel's topic in General Nursing

    The ones that get me aren't the "end of a long life" people, or even the "had'm a long time as a patient" people. It's the ones that for some reason hit a cord. "Paratrooper," who was at Ft. Benning...

  11. Just when you think you've seen/heard it all.........

    nerdtonurse? replied to Ruas61's topic in General Nursing

    But.... We've had to discharge people from hospice for addiction. When you place narcotics in the home, that's still your license, the hospice facility's MD's license, etc. And we've had people who...

  12. Particular Patient Populations - Do You Struggle?

    nerdtonurse? replied to Nurse SMS's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    DKA. Not the diabetic who's had a nasty GI bug, infection or surgery, or something that could reasonably make their sugars go wild, the ones we get every 2 or 3 weeks, usually young, and the biggest...

  13. Infrequent Voiding Syndrome: Don't Fall Victim To This Common Problem In Nurses!

    nerdtonurse? replied to TheCommuter's topic in Health, Stress Management

    One thing I will tell you -- pee before a code, if you know it's coming. And yes, I've looked at telemetry, and said, "everybody who needs to pee -- now's the time." Compressions on a full bladder...

  14. Is being a nursing student actually fun?

    nerdtonurse? replied to Dezy's topic in General Students

    Fun? No. Interesting, challenging, and ultimately worthwhile? Sometimes. Infuriating, disappointing, and gut wrenching -- occasionally. There were times when we were all cracking up laughing, and...

  15. Low census. . .no work. . .

    nerdtonurse? replied to thesundowner's topic in General Nursing

    Same here, that's why I have a fulltime job and a PRN job...right now, the PRN is making my check. And Pennywise...you're just freaking me out. I read "IT" when it came out and have been scared...

  16. DNR versus AND

    nerdtonurse? replied to Double-Helix's topic in Pediatric

    The big thing I see is that people don't talk about death at all until someone's so sick they can't make their wishes known -- not a 20 year old that gets hit by a truck, but the 80 yo with end stage...

  17. Have you ever cried when a Pt died

    nerdtonurse? replied to Topaz7's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    I'm as tough as they come, but I've cried. When you're in a room with 12 people, and they are all quietly crying, while a child is in bed with their dead father begging them to come back (and you...

  18. If you could post your own...

    nerdtonurse? replied to Daisy_08's topic in General Nursing

    What I would love to post: Your ego stops at the doors to my unit. I am not your mom, your wife, your significant other, or your therapist. I don't care if Dr. Oz said something different. I am...

  19. What is the hardest subject in the nursing curriculum, in your opinion?

    nerdtonurse? replied to DichloroacetateAl's topic in General Students

    I loved A&P, loved Micro, was okay with chemistry. Worst class? Statistics. I mean, what the fecal obstruction do I need to know about statistics for nursing? Yes, if I was going into...

  20. Vent: Why I won't accompany my mother to the ER anymore

    nerdtonurse? replied to BelgianRN's topic in Emergency

    I think we're all related. When she was in the ER, I thought if my Mom said, "...and Nerd works in ICU" one more time, I was going to just go to the car and drive home. Finally, I said, "Mom, you...

  21. What do you think about TV nursing comedy/drama like Nurse Jackie?

    nerdtonurse? replied to Brian's topic in General Students

    While I don't usually watch shows about "work" like Grey's Anatomy, Jackie, etc., it hits me on other shows. On the 3rd episode of the Hatfields/McCoy's miniseries on the History Channel, one person...

  22. There's nothing worse than a FAT nurse!

    nerdtonurse? replied to Darkstar1485's topic in General Students

    And what did HE weigh? Does he smoke, not take his BP meds, blow off checking his blood sugar? What secrets are in his healthcare closet? See, my mouth fires before my brain engages, sometimes, and...

  23. Has anyone coded a co-worker? Dealing with the grief...

    nerdtonurse? replied to Zookeeper3's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    We all grieve different ways, and we've all seen families blame themselves when something happens -- "If I'd just called Ruth to see how she felt..." or "He said he had a headache, I didn't think it...

  24. Nursing listed as 4th on a list of fun jobs.

    nerdtonurse? replied to DizzyLizzyNurse's topic in General Nursing

    *As you're coding your patient* "Hey, Mr. Smith, did ya hear the one about the -- 1 amp bicarb -- chicken and the duck who -- epi, please --- who went in and bought a time share together? Well, --...

  25. No more piggybacking zosyn?

    nerdtonurse? replied to RENEfromLA's topic in Patient Medications

    Interesting. Like a 80mg protonix drip as opposed to 40 mg ivp BID. Wonder if they'll end up creating special "drip" protocols where I