SusanKathleen, RN

Hi Everyone, I have waited for this day for a long time. I passed my NCLEX on Saturday, saw the results this morning, and am now an RN. I changed my username! Check it out. I have a new job in a trauma/burn ICU, which I really love. Still in ICU tra...

I worked for a time at the Detroit Medical Center. We wore scrubs, of course, but the RNs all had a big ole hard plastic badge with RN on it, that hung below our ID badge, and the RN was very visible from a good distance.

VivaRN has a good point. Some units are more helpful and less political than others. I'm new and in an ICU, and I decided to keep my head down, do a lot of listening, and only contribute with light-hearted, neutral comments. The biggest problem for m...

I was in this exact situation 2 weeks ago. I'm a new nurse, and working for the past 6 months in an ICU - love it. I had an interview at my 'dream' hospital upcoming, and after some thought, decided that it was unfair of me to 'blind-side' my nurse m...

to oncrnpa: i loved your post for just this reason. i am a new nurse in an icu, and did not have preceptors who were able to communicate as you do - that's why i come to this message board. please remember that hundreds or more nurses are reading th...

This is why I like the Modified Ramsay Sedation Scale. Specific enough to describe the behaviors well. Obtunded to me means 'comatose', but I discovered that vague terms, like 'comatose' or 'obtunded' don't relay accurate information.

I was participating in a code a few weeks ago (my first one - I'm a new nurse, but an old lady:lol2:) and the dear woman I was doing compressions on had been in MODS for most of the day. As I was compressing her, I looked at her face, and she was alr...

Try 99% aloe. It's fairly inexpensive. Lots of different companies make it. It helps to really slather it on after I get home, and on my days off. I also avoid (as much as possible) the alcohol-based stuff in the pumps in every pt's room, and just wa...

Holy Crap! I don't think there's a way out of this, other than restricting daughter's time in room, and designating one person only to discuss all matters with. Good luck.

I think you completely missed Ruby's point.

wow - great idea! i had a few clinical instructors who did this, and they were, of course, my best instructors. i'm thinking that in order to agree on anything, all parties need to understand the reality of the conditions in the first place.

Do not take away my nursing station - phone calls to docs - to other units - to ED - etc - grouped tele monitors- greeting/communicating with people entering the unit, including RT, OT, PT, etc. It's an important place for communication. Just a quic...

Count me in, too! I started here as a pre-nursing student, and am now an ICU nurse (just what I wanted), and you helped me repeatedly over the past few years. Love you, man!

Hi, I read your entire post, and am staggered by the idiocy of your managers and HR. I am so glad that it worked out well for you. I also disagree with a few posters who implied that your tone was inappropriate. Since when does sweet, kind and carin...

I too, love my job. I wanted ICU, and got it......BUT it's a trauma/burn unit. I NEVER previously thought I could handle something like this, but took a chance. Love, love, love it! I love the dressings, I like the one-on-one, and the total care of t...

This is a little late.....but congratulations! I am very happy for you. Enjoy your career.

Wow. That is really nasty. I would have second thoughts about working there, but because of the poor job market....you may not find another job soon. I wonder what other nasty tricks they'll come up with. I hope this works out well for you, and that ...

i am employed by the dmc, and i know that they are not hiring too many people right now, like everywhere else. but each hospital has a few openings. receiving posted 3 positions for the neuro trauma, and by thursday of this week, they received 95 app...

Hey..... a happy ending! I'm happy for you.

Wow. Holy Crap. All the above advice is great. I just wanted to say that, in my mind, you were doing a LOT of good work each day, with a big patient load. You are going to be just fine. I am preceptign right now in my new ICU job, and I couldn't be h...

Wow, that is really great news. You will likely be first in line for any full-time openings. Congratulations on being the top pick!!

I agree with previous posts - good advice. But, my concern is that your boss mentioned that no one would know that you "told" on your friend, yet your boss told YOU who told on YOU. Best wishes to you. Hope you get through okay.

Congrats! Yay!

Had the shot 8 days ago. No pain going in, no sore arm, no side effects. I feel fine. I had the regular flu shot 10 days prior to that.

I know you're trying to improve your resume and your chances......but I wanted to do that same thing before I had a job, and was advised by several of my clinical instructors not to. They advised on-the-job experience before getting ACLS in particula...