jamato8

Life is short and if you can get a second offer then you are ahead of the game of life.

For what we do, it is not enough but up here in northern CA you will make about that your first year and more after that. Get holiday pay at 75 plus and hour and double time at 100 with great benefits. Some areas are half this, which is disgusting, a...

This is an old thread but interesting. Where I used to work we had the wound vac frequently. I had a sponge that I could tell had been looked over a few times. It was a bear to get out. Plenty of NS and care. I finally got everything cleaned up. I ca...

Do what you need to. It can and often is healthy to cry. I don't cry very much but did when years ago my son ran away from home. I do tear up when someone dies and I can see strong connections to the family or it someone I have taken care of for a wh...

It is out of our scope of practice. More grey area? I don't think so. If they want to give us more education, pay at least 3X as much and give a choice on who wants to do this, then maybe but the nurse scope of practice would have to be rewritten. We...

Yeah, I worked in ER for a very short time. I was told get them in and out, fast. I had a pt who was a frequent flier and he and his wife had never had his heart condition really explained to them. I took maybe 3 or 4 minutes to give them some import...

I scoop but most of the time we have some type of a capping device that doesn't require using the same cap. Otherwise years ago I watched in amusement and then, realizing how effective it was, to put the used needled syringe up in the air with my arm...

Normally you do not want to use the arm with the PICC line and this is a policy at anywhere I have worked. Hep can be given in the stomach area, just note where you give it. Since it was Lovenox there shouldn't be much concern. It can sting a little ...

Do you really have time to stop and read that? You have seconds that develop into minutes. You have to know what to do and act. It is a good idea to constantly review though.

That is for sure. Even some hospital sections are not up on the current methods and still go with 3 stacked etc of past ACLS. Staying current is our job as professionals.

If your charge nurse was informed she/he should have stepped in, that is part of their job. I never back off calling a doctor and put it squarely on them. Call until you get someone in the chain and if you have to, get the nurse supervisor. It is tou...

And what happens when it is a male doctor??

Well what happens if it happens to be a male doctor that needs to look in on a female pt? What determines that it is ok for a male doctor to do what is needed but not a male nurse? I worked in L/D for a while with no problems. I have done many foleys...

While you are ACLS certified if your hospital or unit operates safely they are not going to expect you to go beyond your ability and that translates into actual experience. With my first ACLS certification I watched a lot and then started to particip...

If I can't read it I call them. I had one that I asked a couple of other nurses if they could read the order and then my clerk, who can read anything and nobody could read it. I called the doctor who got mad. I told him no one could read his order. I...

Sure take the job, not. I was asked after being on the floor for one year and refused saying I felt I did not have the experience. Another nurse was also asked and took the job (same experience). I saw codes where the charge was supposed to take char...

I agree with the statement above. No, it was not right to treat the resident that way and it is a type of abuse. I could not work in the type of unit you are in though I get many pts like you describe do to our aging society. It is part of my job to ...

Yes, manny times men can be a bit baby like. I know that in some cases I am, with my own needs. When I was small and in school, I would pass out when they gave shots. When in the Navy I got used to that real fast and got over the needle thing, for a ...

What is your team approach? With a good CNA the pt load can be changed, without a doubt.

I can't remember that I actually have, though like most everyone here I have met some great people. I did have a patient, or I should say, I took care of a patient who was just a little "forward". She was in for a possible ischemic attack, that turne...

With as sick as patients are these days I do not think 5 or 6 pts is a gift at all. I worked in a cardiac pccu and 4 was too much though we used to have 5 and 6 and that was over the top. With all the paper work to do now, the added responsibilities ...

I have drawn a number of times myself when blood draws could not be done by the tech because she/he could not find a vein but my charge nurse, if she found out, always got upset with me. Flush well, draw easy and flush well and I don't see any proble...

In my unit, unless there was no choice, we were not supposed to draw blood from an peripheral IV, only central lines or art line. A peripheral will clot off easily if blood is being drawn from it. I have seen nurses use a 1cc syringe to clean out a l...

I have used TPA on picc lines with a doctors order. What is he/she doing to flush these lines? If lines are flushed twice a shift (12 hour) normally there isn't a problem. It sounds like a standard for flushing lines needs to be set up.

Never had to do it. I had a friend who did and she couldn't stand it. She quite working at the place because she could never relax on her days off. I won't accept the pressure but I haven't worked where it was a situation, thankfully.