msjellybean

I was in the ER several times as a kid. I was 3-4 and being stupid in day care and split my chin open, needed sutures. When I was 5, I fell off a slide and had a humeral neck fracture. In my teen years, I went a few times - after a car accident (par...

In my ED, we have two nurses stations. One larger, more central area that shows all the monitors and a smaller area that only shows the monitors in the rooms close to that station. It seems to be an unwritten rule that everyone is responsible for loo...

Access to our ED is badge controlled. Visitors get an ED visitor sticker, which allows them access through the locked doors. Mental health patients and combative patients are stripped only to a gown and their belongings secured in a staff only area. ...

As always, refer to your P&P. In my facility, if a patient has a port, it is expected that you will access it and use it. Unless the doc suspects it as an infection source. In which case, we generally will access it long enough to draw quantitat...

This is tPA for CVA. We do use it PEs and DVTs, but I'm not sure what the standards are because we don't do that in the ED. All of that is started in IR and then sent to the ICU. VS and neuro checks, q15 minutes during infusion and 1 hour post infusi...

We have an alcoholic frequent flyer, who typically presents drunk after a fall of some kind. She has had 8 brain CTs so far this year. I hate to think about how much radiation her brain has received over the last few years. Unfortunately my ED got a ...

Forgot to add we also give 325 ASA if no contraindication/allergy

We're supposed to initiate the CP order set with in 3 minutes of presentation to registration. From presentation to registration we have 7 minutes to get the EKG complete. Our standing orders include: place on monitor with q30 minute vitals, CXR, 12 ...

Depending on what scrubs I'm wearing, the location tends to vary a bit. But... in my left top pocket I have my phone, gum, and carmex. Top right pocket is a couple pens, dry erase marker, & a sharpie. My trauma shears go in one of the cargo pocke...

This is facility specific. My hospital allows our techs do d/c PIVs, provided they show us the catheter before disposing of it. Since that rarely ever happens, most RNs d/c their own lines.

Reminds me of an incident I had a few weeks ago while sending a patient upstairs. College age girl with SOB x5 days. Chest CT reveals multiple PEs... described by the radiologist as "significant" clot burden. As I'm waiting for her bed to be ready, I...

Pt came in via EMS for a fall. A&O x4, no SOB or cardiac complaints. BP stable. Lab calls with a critical hemoglobin of 2.4. A recollect is automatically ordered, based on that level. After the phlebotomist drew her, he showed us the tubes. Looke...

I don't mind taking holds, so long as they aren't ICU patients. And my reasoning is this: while they're held in our department, they are to receive the same care standards as if they were actually on the floor. Except I can still have up to 3-4 mor...

I'm an ED nurse now, but worked on the floor for 3.5 years, frequently with a 6:1 ratio and one tech. If the IV site became problematic, I'd would start a new line and move on with my day. I don't understand why it's such a big issue for so many peo...

Anecdote from when I was a floor nurse... had a rapid response code on a patient and by the time EKG got there, she was already to the ICU. They ended up performing the EKG on her roommate (oops!). But here's the kicker - found new ST elevation.

Anytime an EMS patient arrives and they are ambulatory to the room. If you weren't even in bad enough shape to come in on the cot, you should go to triage.

Had a college age girl come through the fast track part of our ED yesterday for jaw pain. R/t ahem, sexual activities from the night before.

This this this. When I used to work the floors, while I was looking information up before report started, I would always scroll back 24-36 hours and look at their vitals. I've managed to catch several patients starting to circle the drain, that no on...

I know this isn't the topic at hand, but I just had to reply because this struck a chord with me. I have a previous bachelors in a health field + a minor in chemistry. I went back and got an associates in Nursing. My hospital (and really the nursing ...

I think one of the most irritating things I deal with is when lab calls me to tell me that a specimen hemolyzed or something. And then they ask if I want a re-collect. Yes. Duh. Why are you even asking?

My worst shift ever. Worked a 12 bed in patient oncology unit. It was me + a newish RN, who had been off orientation probably 3 months. Plus one CNA. We had 11 patients. There were multiple total cares and at least two medical patients who were activ...

They're providing tours of our new building and set up a nursing documentary, in the cafeteria on the weekend. Perhaps they have no discretionary money left over for this year with the new construction - because the last two years, they've at least d...

About 9 months ago someone in our ICU found the tax records from my hospital online. Since we're a NFP organization, I guess with the freedom of information of act, they have to be available? Anyway. It listed the top 10 salaries in the company. Our ...

Used to be an onco nurse and I've seen several patients with plt counts Given the hypercoaguable state that exists with cancer, it's appropriate to give it.

No but you said that students do some of our work. I think the majority of people would assume that you are insinuating that since you are doing some of our work, that our load is somehow lighter.