AlaskanRN

No one has mentioned my favorite. I use lotion to prevent as much of the problem as possible but once the crack is there, I use Krazy Glue. It comes in a small bottle with a brush like fingernail polish. You can be very precise in it's application and it will be sealed for the remainder of your shift.

When a very young girl signs in with 'Mite be pregnate' makes me think if you can't spell it, you shouldn't be it! Man with rag over R eye CC 'Pan in eye' Turns out to be conjunctivitis and merely a pain in the eye...lol

I can fully relate to your situation. My home hospital was great. First rate equipment, great doctors, helpful nurses, traveler friendly...really everything you could want in a hospital. Then I decided I wanted to go traveling. My first assignment (I do ER) was a level ll hospital where the ER saw over 300 pts a day. It was absolutely insane. We didn't get any fast track type pts, it was strictly high acuity. Like you, I was far from home with no friends and I was completely overwhelmed. The nurses weren't so much hostile as they were too busy to take time to answer my questions and believe me, I had many. The equipment, while old, was new to me. My experience with computer charting was minimal, theirs was total immersion, and not only were the docs too busy to know your name, they might not have even recognized your face. Like most ER's we had to hold ICU pts but unlike most ER's there were no ICU nurses to take care of the pts, they were part of our assignment. I had NEVER worked ICU a day in my career. I had no idea how to care for a pt on an ICU level. I barely knew an ART line from a chalk line. I would have been envious of your weeks orientation. I got 6 hours I was initially appalled at the care being given. What I was used to was much different. Care was fast and furious, even the most critical pts were dealt with in what I thought was a less than thorough manner, not to mention my having to learn a whole new array of meds. I left every day telling myself "it's only ten more weeks...it's only eight more weeks...Please God, let me keep my license...it's only three more weeks...". Needless to say, I got through it with my license intact, and I must add I learned a thing or two from those nurses and that experience. The least of which, when I stood back and looked much later, they had a very high success rate. Their save rate was phenomenal for the acuity of the pt population they received. Very impressive when I wasn't in the middle of it! LOL First and foremost I walked away thinking "If I survived that Hell Hole I am now qualified to work Anywhere" and I have to say, no job I've had since has been quite so bad (although there was one other that was a close runner up!) So unless you are seriously in jeopardy of losing your license (and try to look at it clearly, not just in panic mode from new situation) put your head down, barrel through and you will be a better nurse and a better traveler for the experience. Good Luck and let us know the outcome.

Does anyone have any info on the 4444 Westheimer Apartments (aka: Westcreek at Highland Village Apartments)? They are right inside the 610 Loop in Houston, Tx. My daughter will be moving in there soon and since I'm across the country in CA and can't get there to see them for myself I thought I would do the next best thing and post here. Who better to ask about housing than the people who travel the most and have seen (and been placed in) every kind of housing imaginable. You are the experts on the best and the worst. Obviously, I'm most concerned about the safety of the complex and surrounding area, but also about the cleanliness, management etc. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated, CJ

You can also negotiate a rental car in your contract.

Hello, I would like to go to Tulsa for a contract, but am having trouble finding a travel position there. As an alternative I'm considering Agency work. Can anyone suggest an agency that has placements in Tulsa? Thanks for any help you can offer CJ

I work ER and have never wanted to do anything else. Maybe because I got my start in EMS. I like never knowing what might come through the doors next, the range of patients-newborn to those beyond the century mark, the wide variety of illnesses (and sometimes creative accidents) and the opportunity to use so many different skills in one setting...And sometimes all of that varied knowledge can be called into service in only one shift.. So for me, it's ER all the way!

We are fortunate to have a fabulous NM also. We have staff meeting in our dept once a month. It is always a veritable food fest with contributions by most of the staff so we can munch while going over the month's business. As with jnette, our NM will go to the mat for us (I know this personally, because I have seen her do it on my behalf!) with administration, doctors and other departments. She very seldom has to come down on anyone in our dept, but if she does, it is most certainly deserved. On the other hand, once it has been dealt with, it is water under the bridge and we move along. She has the way she likes things done, but she is open to suggestion, and will freely admit when your ideas are an improvement over what is in place now. As you may have guessed, I also would rather throw myself on my own scissors than do anything that might disappoint her, and I believe it is the same for the majority of my co-workers. She seems more like the mother of a large unruly family, than a boss, and I feel most fortunate to work for this incredible woman.

I have worked with two different doctors that were nurses first. On one hand, it makes them more tolerant of what is involved with nursing care in the ED (eg. the time it takes to juggle all your pts, get everything they want done when they want it, etc...) On the other hand, they sometimes are more of a nuisance when they are trying to do your job as well as their own. More than once I've wanted to tell them..."You do your part and I'll do mine and it will go much faster for everyone!" They sometimes revert back to their nursing days and get so caught up in pt care that the nurse is left with nothing to do and the doc is tied up way too long with the tasks that normally would be taken care of by the nurse (getting warm blankets, another pillow, a commode etc). There are pros and cons to having a Former Nurse/Doctor. My only experience has been with female docs, so it may be different with male Nurse/Doctors.

How about the agressive, intoxicated, early 20 something male brought in by PD. Placed in four points. When asked to give urine, says yes if we undo his hands...obviously not, but I will assist you in directing yourself to the urinal. After digging through several layers of clothes, getting Mr. Happy in position, and telling him to go ahead, he looks up at me and asks me if I'll play with it?!? After another round of this...and 3 liters of fluid, he tells me he ain't giving a sample and there's nothing I can do about it! Well, much to his dismay, you should never say that to a cranky old ER nurse going into hour 13. He learned that if the base of the member is held in a tight enough grip, all bucking will cease so as not to rip said member off at the root. And BTW...urine sample WILL be be given...lol

Having done SART/SANE training, I have to say that yes, I would assist with the procedure. And yes, I have given the morning after pill on more than one occasion.

In my nursing school OB rotation we each had to do a post-partum assessment of a pt's fundus. One of the students in my class announced that she was ready to go do her "post-mortem assessment of the pt's fondue". Needless to say...she is NOT an RN today!

We used a Lido patch on a pt with Shingles around her left back/ribs. It seemed to make the pain more tolerable for the pt.

Nothing too creative here...

I've worked in the ER ever since day one, so I guess there is nothing I absolutely wouldn't do--since we seem to see it all/do it all--at one time or another. With one exception... My only real issue was in OB. I am fine with L&D...it's enough like trauma that I actually enjoyed myself there. My problem came after the baby was born. Made me nervous to take the hand-off of the newborn to dry them up and give them the shots and eye drops...was always scared I was gonna drop them. But even that was tolerable. The part I couldn't handle was teaching the new mother/father how to bathe the newborn. I would have a nervous breakdown by the end of the shift if that was my responsibility for any amount of time. I have had my babies, but they are grown now, and I have absolutely NO desire to handle the new ones again. I have no problem handling any patient regardless of their age, mental status, hygiene, secretions, medical status or disability... Psyche...bring it on... LTC...no problem... Peds...when I have to... Burns...not a favorite...but doable... As long as my patient doesn't weigh less than 10 pounds, isn't naked and slippery and I don't have to bathe them I'll do anything... Let the good times roll...lol... :roll