JemJ

Thank you for the link! Would you be able to break it down for me, when you would or wouldn't give different blood products?Thanks!

Hi! On our trauma line, over the past couple of months, our docs are ordering TEGs right, left and center. Can anyone help me out with them? I have tried looking things up, but it's all mishmash to me. Also, can anyone explain to me when you would give FFP, cryo, etc. based on what the results of the TEG are? Thank you very much in advance!!!

OMG so what happened????? Please!!!

So you needed a coffee bolus?

Hi! I've just finished reading this thread with great interest. I will start my MSN in education this fall and finish in 2.5 yrs (part time program). I'm now feeling scared, bc it seems as though it will not only be hard to get hired full time (as opposed to adjunt) with only a Masters (and nearly 10 years at the bedside) but also that the pay will be poor. I love teaching and I know I don't want to do full time bedside care for the rest of my life. Can anyone give me actual salaries/approximate guesses as to what to expect for a wage as (I suppose) an adjunct nursing professor? Thank you!! J

Hi! I have just been accepted for a MSN Education and I would really like to teach in the classroom as a full time gig when I am done. However, the above stories are making me nervous . . . are you all saying you are having a hard time finding jobs, even with an MSN? I honestly have no desire to get a doctorate, I just love teaching. I have 6 years experience in a multi-acuity setting and I am a CCRN, which I thought would make me more marketable when things are done. Any and all advice is VERY welcome! J

Does anyone have anything else to add to this? I really enjoy getting up in front of a class and teaching and have just bee accepted to a Masters in Nursing Education program (part time). it's mostly on-line and over 2.5 years, so I think I'll still be able to work full time (I work nights) while I finish up. Does anyone have any good places to compare salaries and what to expect? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I was recently told that you should never give adenosine to a COPDer. We had one in SVT while I was off work, and I'm trying to understand why not. Can anyone clear this up for me? Thanks!

Thank you so much aCRNAhopeful! That's much better than anything the docs like to say I get how you can get an idea of preload from your SVV on the flotrac/Vigileo. And you can use your SVR to tell you if you need to relax the vessels if it's too high or give pressors if it's too low, right? Could you please explain to me how you can determine Contractility from your CO/CI? I would like to do an educational poster for my unit, but I want to be sure I can explain things in an understandable way (and that I fully understand them, too!) Also, it seems to me like the Vigileo only gives a "general" picture, where the Swan can give you a more specific picture, with your PA and wedge pressures - I feel like you can tell more easily where the problems are with the heart. I get that the Vigileo is more non-invasive, but does it truly help tell you the problem the way a Swan does? You guys are awesome!

Hi! We have only recently begun to use the Vigileo and NEVER see swans. Do your docs actually use the numbers from the Vigileo? I swear, it feels like ours just have us record them and do nothing with them (no changes). That having been said, can anyone please explain to me what numbers your docs use, other than possibly the SVV? And how this correlates with your Swam numbers? I'm studying for the CCRN and trying to understand what I am studying and putting it together with what I am actually seeing in the unit. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!!

Hi! We have only recently started to see the Vigileos/Vigilance machines (can anyone tell me the difference?). I work in a Burn Unit, so we don't see them as often as other ICUs, and we NEVER have swans. So I feel a little behind, but I am studying for my CCRN and trying to use what I am learning and put it together with what I am seeing. Other than SVV, (the higher, the drier, right?), it doesn't seem our docs pay much attention to anything else. And to be honest - they don't seem to pay much attention to that! (which gets really annoying as we have to document everything SV, SVV, CI/CO and a couple other numbers I can't remember.) So I guess other than the SVV, what is the Vigileo telling us that a Swan wouldn't? And other than there being no wedging, why do people like these so much? It just seems like everything I am learning for the CCRN is saying you need to know the numbers from the Swan. HELP!!!!!

Hello all! So 2 weeks ago I tore my acl and caused a 3mm hairline fracture in my tibia when I jumped up to catch a ball and I felt it tear. So I have now been off of work for 2 weeks and 2 days. The first week, I got 3/4 of my shifts covered, so I didn't feel so guilty. But now the doc I want to do my surgery can't do it until Dec 4th due to my insurance. That's 3 weeks from now and I'm going crazy - mostly from guilt about missing so much work as my icu is already short staffed. From what I've read, the best thing to do is do as much rehab as you can before the surgery so your leg doesn't continue to lose muscle. I can walk with a limp pretty well, although they've told me to continue to use the crutches and a brace for stability. So, I originally thought I would be out about 6 weeks, but now, with the surgery being so much later, it looks like it will be a lot longer. Has anyone had this injury/surgery? How long are you out for? Could I go back 3 weeks after surgery if I work really hard? How do I feel with the incredible guilt i am feeling about missing work as we are so close to the holidays? I am on short term disability right now, but I am desperate to get back to work, but my husband says I need to just rehab for the next 3 weeks and concentrate on getting better, but I keep feeling like if I can walk/sort of limp decently I should be on the unit . . . my director mentioned that if it took longer than expected they could make me a discharge nurse on one of the trauma floors, but that's a little daunting as I don't know those patients. My unit is a LONG walk from the parking lot . . . I feel like I could work the unit, but that walk is painful to even think about, right now, although I am currently not having much pain. I just feel like I'm cheating or something, by not being at work, but being able to drive and do chores around the house and stuff - at least for short bursts. Please advise and thank you in advance!!

Lisa, I am so sorry this happened to you! I can't tell you what will happen, but the fact that you are young and yes "healthy" (no other complications prior to this) usually helps a whole lot with outcomes. I will be praying for you. Hang in there!

Sorry -whats ROSC? thanks!

Just a thought, but I think it also depends on WHERE you are . . . the major cities with major medical centers don't seem to need nurses so badly - but out in podunk, USA? That may not be the case . . . it may come down to whether or not you want to/can move. Just a possibility