ScrappyED BSN, RN

Thank you for this series of articles. As an RN interested in this profession and yet wary of going into even more debt taking one of the big certification classes, I welcome all the advice I can get ahead of time! I am very interested in the work an...

Chart from a critical care pt for my ER pt, all written at the same time with other admit orders in between--not after pt reactions: ---- "Dilaudid 2mg IV stat" ---- "stop dilaudid" ---- "Dilaudid 1mg stat" ---- "change Dilaudid to 1mg prn" ---- ...

He was able to answer our questions for the first few minutes and it looked like it was going to be a "routine" trauma where we stop the arterial bleed, set the fracture then scan the pt from head to toe to make sure there are no hidden internal trau...

Thank you!

You are so welcome Corey. I come back to that article myself occasionally after a really bad trauma to reflect and remember all the wonderful people who feel the way I do. Glad my words touched you! Kellie By the way, I'm a nerdy RN too!!

You know I can't decide if this is hilarious or sad! Right now hilarious is winning.

Have you tried talking to management or HR about how you feel? Large corporations like hospitals have to have guidelines in place to protect their business but sometimes exceptions can be made for good reasons. If I were your manager I would try ev...

In TN you can work as a "nurse tech" after one semester of nursing school (where you learn how to take VS, do bed baths and other fundamentals). I would talk with HR at your local hospital(s) and get their opinion. Actually, you may be better worki...

Thanks so much!!

I wanted to start something very similar to this in our ER and am in the process of gathering info. Would you be willing to share your protocol and any other info you have? We see so many miscarriages and occasional pediatric losses in our dept an...

I just started as an RN last year at the same time my husband got back from Iraq. I have an awesome ER job that I worked my tail off to get at the only Level 1 Trauma center around but... we just got word that my dh is probably going to get deploye...

I was a compulsive nail biter until age 14 then moved on to food so I feel your pain. The underlying problem is not a fake nail or real nail issue--it is the chewing desire and the anxiety. Maybe the gum idea would work--I constantly keep a pack of...

Wow! I have seen attendings sit back and let resident MD's jump in and help us control a combative pt but never seen it in that kind of situation! I would be writing a letter of complaint to someone higher up on the nursing and medical sides for su...

I have a problem with allowing pt's to act like this without saying anything. It is not acceptable to be rude just because you don't feel well--and I have taught my children that too. Yes, this child could be very sick and scared and the talk shoul...

Wow, you should be very proud of yourself! Look at all that you have overcome and are now doing something as awesome and fulfilling as nursing (and sometimes nerve-wracking! LOL). I am impressed with your drive and your passion. By the way, there a...

All ER nurses are just fantastic Wow Jennyw, what a night. That definitely tops my worst so far! :bowingpur

After several days of working regular ER zones and one of doing triage I worked as one of the trauma response nurses yesterday. My first patient was from a head-on MVA. He came in with a serious facial laceration that had hit an artery and with a lef...

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and your advice. I have never had to deal with a miscarriage and have had four wonderful children. So I have always felt very awkward and inadequate when dealing with pt's who are miscarrying. Thank goo...

What an awesome recap of our "normal" workday! I love it!!! And to the question about do we love it....it really is a love/hate relationship. I can't imagine being anywhere else more than for the occasional float--but when my shift is over (or an h...

Do you WORK in an ER?? I find it hard to believe that you do. We all have infinite compassion for those who truly need to be there--otherwise we wouldn't do it! It is the ones who come in via ambulance for knee pain that they've had for literally ...

#51 The number of times you come out of the room and up to the desk to ask when your loved one is going to go upstairs is exponentially related to the time it will take to get you there. #52 Please eat before you come to the ER so tha...

We have a nursing progam in TN that will not admit anyone who is overweight. It also said in my nursing school handbook that you must be able to function within the tight spaces common in hospital rooms in order to fulfill graduation requirements. ...

Wow, I am humbled by all of your kind comments. I almost didn't post this story because I never have started a thread before and am relatively new to the field. Boy am I glad that I did--thank you so much for making me feel welcome and understood! ...

If the wait is really long out in triage and we have lots of open rooms our ER does bring them back but each nurse brings back only one pt at a time as they can handle it. If the wait is very long and we don't have several open rooms we send a second...

The wireless telemetry pads and wireless BP and pulse ox monitors are something I've been wanting desperately ever since starting in the ER! I tell all my patients as I'm hooking them up that if they could invent ones that were cheap enough for hosp...