AnnieNHRN

I am recovering from a herniated disc L5-S2 injury (not work related). Have been off of work for the last 2 weeks and got the OK from my neurosurgeon to go back to my Med/Surg job with a 30 lbs lifting restriction. I will be seeing employee health to...

From my experience, it is up to the Director of the camp to decide who returns and who is listed "DNR". Good communication between the nurse, counselors and the director would make it clear on who is not appropriate to return.. But it is still up to ...

I am wondering how your ER deals with contact precautions. On the floors we place all pts with any MRSA/VRE history on contact precautions. In the ER this is not even looked at! I often don't even find out a pt has a MRSA history until they are admi...

Did they check her for Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Hypersecretion (SIADH)? That can cause low sodium.

Pts with spinal cord injuries have a harder time regulating their temperature, especially when their fighting an infection. He might have a brain stem injury/stroke, which would cause temp control issues.

They did fire doctors. "All 16 have been fired and they range from doctors to supervisors to staff nurses, not only at Ben Taub, but across the entire hospital district." I should print this at work and see if this will stop all the people looking up...

That's the problem! How totally sad. What ever happened to just doing the job you're being paid to do?

Just wanted to update: My very kind manager has agreed to let me go back to work with the lifting restriction! I am very lucky. This of course will have to be temporary. Will see my neurosurgeon in a couple of weeks to hopefully get the restriction l...

Don't get discouraged. Yes, right now the job market is not rosy for nurses as well. But in a couple of years things will be better again. The good thing about getting your LNA is that you'll be able to work 7-3 and go to school in the evening, meanw...

I think for a hospital setting, between 6 and 12 weeks is a good period of time to get a good foundation. Depends on the nurse. Does she have previous hospital experience, etc? I know nursing homes often only provide 2 days - 2 weeks. Yikes, scary IM...

Doctor's office?

I think what happened here is that the family did not have a clear plan in place with the doctor when she was made a DNR. This is the time when a doctor should talk about what the family's/pt's wishes are. What can they expect during her last days/w...

:smackingf

To prevent bedsores we were told to rub all pressure areas with every repositioning... totally contradicted today! Didn't give much/if any IV pain meds. Demerol/Vistarel IM was the drug of choice. The average Pt took only about 1/3 of the meds a Pt t...

I understand your frustration. Since all your documentation is on paper, is there space on your vital signs/flow sheet to document pain meds and levels? That makes it easier for the next shift to see when meds were given and to assess pain levels ove...

We also have computerized documentation and note pain levels, description, intervention, and follow-up level. One thing I liked at my old hospital was it automatically asked you the pain level when documenting on pain meds in the computerized MARS. I...

Giving your notice before your shift today would be very frowned upon, even for agency. Will you be using them as a reference in the future? A 2 week notice is the most professional way to go. But if you are truly that miserable I would talk to them...

I agree with a lot of the previous posters. One thing I have noticed, especially with post-op ortho pts, is that Percocet ends up giving better pain relief than a Morphine PCA. I see a lot of nausea with Morphine too. Heavier guns don't always mean b...

Not sure I understand. You haven't taken your NCLEX since graduating in Dec 08? If you have graduated and are having a hard time finding a job as a nurse, I would say YES totally go for the peace corp position. What a great experience to get when you...

Our union hospital in MA only has 8 hr shifts and one of only a few hospitals in MA to have mandatory OT. During the month of June and July our census was very high and we were low staffed to start off with. This results in someone from the previous...

From my experience most hospitals will no longer allow shadowing since you haven't completed a hospital orientation (including Hippa). I know, it a bummer.

Go through the questions you got wrong carefully. Try to look at the reasoning behind the correct answer. Also make flash cards to help you study. Don't panic! Just keep studying and practicing. You can do it!

From my experience, most hospitals ONLY accept applications online. I started off hand delivering applications, but they told me to enter it online anyway... I think it is important to follow up with a phone call a week or so later. That's how I end...

OK, I love being a nurse! Been one for over 9 yrs. Yes, the job has MANY frustrating distractions that make my job very difficult to enjoy A LOT of the time... Paperwork, phone calls, difficult patients/family, finding IV pumps, working short staffe...

I did once. Was stuck in a traffic jam for 2+hrs during the night (accident). Didn't get to bed till about after 2 am and I felt like crap. So I called in. I hadn't called in in over 7wks so felt ok about doing it. I don't think straight when I am ...