Bermuda

Sternal drsg: Aquacel transparent.

Absolutely hang in there... it IS work.. but you will be glad you did. You wanted to do this and if you stay focused you can follow through. Once you start with the BSN I believe your end result should be that. Your handsome man will be waiting for you and so will your horse. Time out for you! Hang in there! Good luck in your decision ...bottom line is " do what you think is best for you..." :wink2:

I work in a 46 bed tele unit in a large hospital. We have 5-6 patients 7a-7p no monitor techs... the RN's are responisible to check their strips q2h and document also run their own strips prn and we have PCT's ...minimal usually 2-3 for 46 patients. We have drips Nitro; Heparin; Amiodarone; Integrilin;Dopamine; Cardizem ;picc lines; central lines and the nurses start their own peripheral lines; do all their own assessments; give all their own meds; and when a monitored patient leaves the floor then the RN must go with the patient nurse & monitor. Your buddy( nurse working next to you) then watches your other patients while you are off the floor doing a procedure or whatever. Besides that it's GREAT... actually I love it but many a day I am frustrated. The team of nurses make it what it is and they are GREAT. So things get busy and I believe all tele floors are busy post cardiac caths on and on lots going on. You know that many a times the patients are high acuity and should be in the unit but no room so we sit on them. Anyway, so be it! Have a Great day!!! PS Forgot to tell you of course we all have phones in our pockets and beepers with our patients monitoring on them so if something does go on we see it and can respond ASAP...Forgot about the technology!!!

There was a time when our policy was a bit laxed....then we had 2 deaths 6 mos apart and that is when the big guys started enforcing it..if MD has ordered the tele unit it is a monitored unit and if monitored then monitored...and that does not mean to remove to leave the floor nurse goes with...end of story...if MD does not want monitor then go to the med-surg floor...because the whole game changes...we do vitals q2-4 hours constant monitoring..stips q2hours...(no monitor tech) nurses do their own (6pts too) and the med-surg q8 vitals so if MD says tele...then the protocol is just that..and by the way if they are stable enough to leave the floor without a nurse for a period of time then they don't need monitoring...let the MD order aholter monitor ..I guess it is different at each facility...ours is standard...and when the accident happened off the floor in nuclear med with the pt off monitor and NO nurse with the patient...guess who got the boot...nurse was 'let go" so see ...that is how some things work...watch your back...

Touche....and with all the teaching that you have to do these days to have your informed patient...and with the insurance co. saying out out in 2-3 days no matter what the dx....just a smile and touch of the hand as he goes to the cath lab or to the holding area ready for open heartafter you have prepared him from the admission to 1 hour to get him to the cutting board...it all means so much...and yes... when you go home a night.. you HAVE made a difference...for sure you have and in your heart you know that...and my friend that is what it is all about...even though we ALL have days that we say " It isn't worth this...I am not coming back...." yet we do; most all of us..because we do care..but at times we aren't the ones in control and that is when it isn't fair...anyway... you go girl...and when it is time for a change you will know it...again..welcome to your calling.....it is a GIFT you know... :) :)

Yes; most tele/stepdown units are crazy and standard very fast-paced...we do cardioversions;tee's;temporary pacing;post cardiac caths;48 hr post cabg pts;and of course you will have the usual chf;sss;and yes; when you have a very sick medical patient and no where to go then tele gets it...insulin drips and the such....but you are absolutely right... the experience is great and once you have that as your baseline you will be able to work anywhere and your assessment skills will be the best for most all dx...because you see a bit of everything...keep it up and funny but the challenge is what is the turn on for me and I find it rewarding to go home each day and know I learned something new and did the best I could...but also on the other side of the coin burn out....does exist and you either love tele or you don't....some nurses come for a day and we never see them again and sometimes a week and they never come back...but as you say great experience....welcome to nursing..... :)

Chest pain....etc, etc... Yes we accept patients with positive cardiac enzynes.. yes we do nitro drips..our max dose is 50mcg/min in our unit...also titled 'stepdown" ...we do dopamine;dobutamine;cardizem;amiodarone;lidocaine;heparin...and take any kind of patient that the Doc orders to be monitored... most in multi-organ failure...isn't that the usual step-down zoo..but I love it.. you hit the floor running everyday...

I work on a tele unit and all patients monitored go with nurse/monitor all our nurses are ACLS certified and all RN's... we go with the patients and stay with the patients...it is our policy..of course...you just hope that while you were off the floor that your buddy watched your other 5 patients while you were off the floor..and if you have 2 patients to go at once then you have a recall until you can take them..how about that? All in a days work... :rotfl:

No thank-you... I have enough to do without expanding my job description anymore...with 5-6 tele patients on our super busy and super sick floor of 53 patients with all going for cardiac caths..stress tests and post cabg patients of 24 hours...I don't need to add that task..we do prepare; assist and dress the site and of course continue with the respiratory aspect of it...pulse ox/incentive spiro etc... enough already....