MLMRN1120

Our unit is also locked. We are the only ICU in the hospital that has 22 hour visiting. I do believe in family centered care, but we have had many issues with our visiting policy. As we do bedside report, it sometimes becomes an issue that the visitors in the room are not immediate family members and we ask people to leave (politely) as many things said during report are sensitive/private. One of the biggest problems we have is people who refuse to leave during this report hour. Our unit is very large and by the time security assists the visitors out, it will be like 730. Our 'no visiting' time is 7-8 am and pm. In these cases, the visitors finally leave but are then chomping at the bit to be let back in at exactly 8pm, while the oncoming rn is trying to rush in and do their assessment! I don't mind this except when report is delayed by the visitors overstaying their welcome. The response we get from a lot of people when asked to leave is 'we can't stay for this hour? That's so stupid' yep. Gotta love it.

I'm having trouble believing that as well. I work in micu and our hospital policy does not allow narcotics/sedatives to be run without a pump under ANY circumstances! And palliative care definitely does not = murder. Whoever was involved in this supposed situation was dead wrong (no pun intended) and could be in for a ton of trouble

This was something that I really had to get over when I was a new grad. Now that I'm in icu I feel like the docs are a bit more receptive and respecting of the nurses, they value our input for the most part. On the floor was a completely different story, I work in a large teaching hospital where (some not all) of the residents present with a god complex of sorts and a 'how dare this lowly nurse try to advise me' attitude. The difference between me now and me 3 years ago is I do not tolerate being belittled by arrogant docs anymore. I can remember a time when I would call for something important and doc would basically speak to me like I was a child. That's something I will no longer accept, but it took a while before I was confident enough in my practice to tell them so. One incident I remember occurred on another nurses patient around change of shift about 630. All the docs were coming onto the floor...long story short, i was sharing the room with this other nurse and walked in to see my patient. His roommate seemed..off, wasn't making much sense. I poked my head into the hallway and asked the nurse 'is 30a ox3?' apparently he had been. I said we might need a rrt stroke alert, come see him. Resident walking down the hall says not to bother with rrt bc he's here to see patient. I didn't feel right about it so I called it anyway to get neuro on board. Rrt comes, neuro comes, resident throws me under bus saying that I overreacted and wasting time because patient was 'talking funny when he woke up' as he rolled his eyes like a teenager. So at this point patient had come wandering out of his room and was basically walking into a wall..(think windup toy that hits a wall) yep that's normal. So end result, yep patient went to stat head ct and this nurse learned to never let belittling docs make me question my best judgement! Sorry this was so long :)

Boy, that staffing office is getting pretty creative!

Omg these dreams make me crazy! I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in a cold sweat thinking I've been at work all night and haven't passed meds or assessed one patient! Needless to say, I was in my bed and not at work. I also used to have nightmares about the first code I saw. I was actually still a First semester nursing student, so not directly involved, but there in the room and it was messy to say the least.That was 3 years ago and I find that the nightmare returns when I've had a rough week or another code at work

I would think D5LR would be a combination of 5% Dextrose and Lactated Ringer's solution..

I was OBSESSED with 3x5 cards in nursing school! I have been out of school 3 years and still have been unable to part with the four shoeboxes of note cards divided by class then further divided by semester/ subject lol. I'll get over it eventually but right now it feels like I'd be trashing 3 years of my life! I've never failed a semester but I will say if you really want to be a nurse then you'll get back on the horse and conquer school!!! Good luck

I work on a med surg tele unit in pa. Most nights (I work 7p-7a), I can expect to get at least 2 admissions, Sometimes 3. Our max is 6:1, generally high acuity. usually the first one from the ED arrives as I am in report, which is a nice unsafe and stressful start to the shift, as the ED will often send up several patients between 1900-1920. Rarely have any dc's, they occur more on days on my unit. Edit to add: our usual amount as a whole can be up to 12-15 admits per night

i think the night vs. day shift debate has gone on long enough :) Nobody is perfect, nurses should all work together and not be at odds with each other. I am a night shifter, and I have worked days. I wouldn't say that either shift is easier per se, but I am definitely sticking to night shift because days seem a bit crowded to me with students, administrators, meals, etc... I agree the tardiness is something to bring up with a manager, I come to work super early so as not to begin my shift in a rush. It does drive me crazy when day shift comes in late, but I usually let it roll off my back, since I'm happy to be leaving! lol

I absolutely HATE this at my workplace! I have been here for 9 months, I came from another hospital where it was not done, and my 2nd prn job it doesn't happen either. Once I started night shift here, I was shocked to find out that just about everyone goes on "break", where they will go to the locker room with blankets and pillows and SLEEP! like for 2-3 hours! It is freaking unbelievable to me that people think that this is ok. Each nurse will find their partner for the night, and they agree to cover each other for "break". Everyone knows by this point NOT to ask me to cover them. I'm sorry but I provide good thorough care for my patients and I don't wish to be responsible for 6 patients in addition to my 6 for a few hours. Some of our patients are high acuity and my license is on the line! Now, I am not in any way judging people who do this at work, but for myself personally i think it is wrong. Everyone who does it on my floor has the same excuse, "oh i don't get enough sleep during the day"...Believe me, I completely understand: I have a full-time job, a part-time job, and I am a full-time RN-BSN student.. I just keep busy and stay awake, it is my job and i chose to work night shift. I just don't get it. Thanks for letting me rant lol.

I have been on night shift for over 2 yrs now and I am in the same boat! Exhausted all the time, and all I wanna do is sleep on my days off..this has led to me picking up massive amounts of overtime since I don't enjoy my days off anyway..I've started taking daily vitamins and b12 and also trying to eat healthier and increase my exercise in an effort to psych my body out, make it think it is more energetic than I actually feel.. it stinks, hang in there!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice! I put my bid in for the job, and am looking forward to moving to another level in my career...Can't wait :)

Hello everyone: I have been a Telemetry/Med-Surg RN for a little over two years. Recently, I received a glowing yearly evaluation and was offered the opportunity to bid on an open SICU position (7p-7a). The hospital where I work is large, urban Level I Trauma ED, etc..I've been told that the SICU there has a lot of post-trauma patients, which has piqued my interest, as I would like to advance my career. So here are my questions: *If you are a current SICU/former med-surg RN, how difficult was the transition? *What is the best advice you would give to someone who is just entering critical care? Any other info, suggestions would be helpful..thanks!

i crochet baby blankets...keeps my hands busy so I don't strangle anyone who dares to stress me out lol.. I also play with my border collie, yoga and kickboxing, and a few adult beverages don't hurt either!

wow sign me up!

I always feel bad admitting this, since it seems like such a superficial thing lol but i REALLLYY miss my fake nails sometimes...i don't feel girly, and my own nails are so thin and brittle that they flake and break and make me sad However, I wouldn't trade fake nails for my nursing career lol I'll go back to the nail salon when I retire...(In 40 years!)

I was just hired last month. I applied online and went to a huge interview event. I only have 14 months exp as an RN, but I do know that they hired a few new grads for the floor I am on. I was told by my nurse manager that after their strike, many people chose to switch from 8 to 12 hr shifts, and some people left, so positions opened up..that's just what I was told though. They may still be hiring, I would apply online and then DEFINITELY CALL HR AND FOLLOW UP! thats how i got in, i was offered an interview shortly after contacting HR, other friends of mine who applied and did not follow up were ignored. I have heard that it is a wonderful place to work, and that is how I am finding it so far :) Good Luck PS I'm not suggesting that you would apply somewhere for a job and then not call to follow up, just relaying my experience lol :)

Core Curriculum for Oncology Nursing, along with the companion study guide was very helpful for me as a new grad on an oncology unit. It is meant to be preparation for the Oncology Certification exam, but offers a great review whether you are taking the test or not...I bought them on Amazon, i think I paid $80 for both. Good Luck

Ugh I'm about to go through this as well. I have been laid off, only for 2 months but the job I was at was my first out of nursing school so I only worked 14 months as an RN. I'm really nervous because my new job is on a large step-down at a major city hospital while my old job was on a very small oncology unit at a very small hospital.. Let me just say though I am very grateful to have a job, they are tough to come by in my area. Good luck in your return to nursing I'm sure you'll be fine once you get back into the swing of things :)

I was recently at a job interview for a new hospital..they gave me their policy manual to look over while i waited, and it indeed was based around "customer service". Even though I see it all the time, it still seems funny to me. We are supposed to provide care to patients, not ring them up at a cash register. In my experience at my previous job, the customer service element was just something that was constantly held over our heads; if the patient's family was unhappy that their 16 relatives could not stay overnight, they would demand a manager and tell us that we were there to keep them happy. It's kinda frustrating.

I just had an interview on Tuesday, during which I had a peer interview with two of the RNs on the floor. It was very laid back, they did most of the talking, giving me more details on how it is to work on that floor, how the nurses function as a team, basically the stuff that HR and the nurse manager won't tell you. I thought it was a great way to get to know some of your prospective co-workers. Of course they answered my questions, but it was just a friendly chat, not a technical discussion. that was my experience, may be different at other places. GOOD LUCK!

The only advice I could really offer is to try and hold out a bit longer. Have you spoken to other students in your class? They may be struggling just as you are, it's always hard to tell. Sometimes people choose to suffer alone rather than admit they are having trouble. I found that studying in a group on a consistent basis was very helpful in my ADN program. A woman in my class who had worked 25 years as an LPN had a lot of trouble with the RN program at first. Our instructors were telling her to stop thinking like an LPN, which was difficult since she was still employed as one. It takes time, if you're close with any classmates I would really suggest approaching them. They might be glad to have a study buddy...Don't give up on your dream, give yourself a little credit, you can do it!

I just sold a bunch of mine on Ebay...it was very difficult to part with them, but I needed room on my bookshelves!

I don't know if this would be what you're looking for, but I am taking a 2day IV certification course offered by a local hospital ( I am in Philadelphia). Maybe there would be something similar in your area..I saw the ad for this class in Nursing2010, so I would suggest looking in there..Good Luck :)

Thanks for your response..it makes sense to look at it that way, will be less stressful on myself, I am confident that I gave each of those patients the best care that I could, so I will try to focus on that. Leaving Oncology is not an option, so changing my mindset may prove beneficial. Thanks again :)