vivasmom

ICU pts nurse must stay with pt during MRI/IR. We don't really do critical ER pt. They get a CT and then MRI once they are an ICU pt as needed, see previous.

Nurses start Iv's/acces central lines and administer contrast for all awake outpatients.

Hi, I work at CHLA. The pay is not great, but my friends who work PICU love it. The acuity is VERY HIGH. It would not be hard to be hired there with PICU experience. CHOC is not LA, it's in Orange County, a completely different animal. People who don't live in LA don't realize how far apart and how different they are. See above post, re: traffic. Mattel Children's @ UCLA, not really a children's hospital. The Westside of LA is VERY expensive, but they will pay more than CHLA, would probably be harder to get a job there as there are fewer beds etc. You could also try county-usc, they have peds, also white memorial, or Miller's Long beach. But until you become familiar with LA geography, do not decide anything until you have all the pieces of the commute/pay/rental prices/acuity/ work environment puzzle. Good luck PS. CHLA is THE place for heme-onc so if you want to move into Heme-Onc we see a bazillion pts with every type of disorder you can think of

I just transferred from PEDS ED to Peds Rad. I do lots of iv insertions, caths, port a caths access, drop ngs for contrast. We basically preop the kids prior to GA for the MRI's, then we recover them in a little mini PACU. We also scrub in for IR procedures, inject contrast etc. It's a nice change of pace while still being short stay with your patients

i would look for versantrn residency program. they have a well structured orientation. i completed it and started in the ed. please note, the ed is an extremely difficult place to start out as a new grad. do not take that statement lightly. extremely difficult.

We use it. pm me

Ok, now that is sounding more like my job. I forgot to add, we do the EKG's too:D We are supposed to "walk" our patients everywhere. From triage to the ED, to radiology, CT to checkout on the way out. Not just the sick ones, the ambulatory ones too.

Wow, I must be getting hosed!!! I do all of that and I work at a big level 1 Trauma Center. No wonder I'm so tired and stressed:confused:

A thread about rural nursing got me thinking......are you doing this at your work? Giving nebs Drawing own labs Starting your own iv's Running own blood gasses Cleaning own rooms Walking pt to radiology, CT etc Testing urine Mixing meds All caths, ng insertions, trach suctioning ???

ummm, no. no magical wonderland..! We see over 50,0000 pt.s a year:eek:

When you triage, do you do it for a full shift? And if not for how long? Also how many pt's do you average per triage stint? I am brand new to triage after having spent 1 1/2 years in the ED. Most of my fellow nurses do it for a full 12 hours. I was fried after 8 hours. I saw about 60 patients. We are expected to triage a pt. start to finish in about 6-7 minutes. Full set of vitals, major medical problems and assessment. By the way this is peds and it can be a real hassle to get vitals on an uncooperative kid!

It may be an adjustment for you re: how long things can take. When you have a uncooperative/irrational child you cannot restrain them the same way you can with adults. IV starts can take 20 minutes or more. Our policy is 2 tries and you are done, someone else needs to step in. Add the factor that they might be a chronic kid with horrible veins, contractures and is doesn't really stop moving because they are MRCP. Also, most peds ER's are teaching facilities. So you have the resident, who then needs to present to the attending, who may ask for a consult. We see tons of seizure, asthma, vp shunt problems, neutropenic and septic pts. PALS will help. Hope this helps

I have an ADN and BA in a non-nursing field. My magnet hospital accepts ADN with BA or BS in another area.

Los Angeles 4:1, Level 1 high acuity, 60,000 pts a year. Satisfaction is so-so. I'm totally stressed about the acuity of my assignments on a regular basis

My co-worker got a job as a nurse at Universal studios