ava'smomRN

thanks everyone!

i am freaking out and thinking of rescheduling. I am a new nurse in the PACU and thought that I would be able to borrow the units book for the class. our ACLS study books are MIA. I am planning on buying a book today and studying, i have the ACLS 2 day course next week. my coworkers all say that i will be fine, but i dont think i have enough time to study... what do you all think?

odd ball here.... i am a little biased as i am a new nurse working in a very busy PACU. it is tough and i second guess my choice sometimes... but i work with an amazing group of experienced and helpful supportive nurses. i also had a very intense orientation with a lot of class time. no, i do not have the critical care experience or time managment, but i am learning so much everyday. idont think i would be successful as a new grad in the pacu without my coworkers. oh yeah, i like the pacu because like someone has said the forward moving is nice. i like when patients come out of surgery scared and in pain, but when they leave PACU they are comfertable and with either no pain or tolerable pain. most of our patients leave happy and stable and thats very rewarding:)

this is probably gonna be long but I am stressed and need to vent. I am a new nurse working in recovery room of a level 1 trauma center. its vry busy and where I work we get really sick patients. this isn't even about really sick pts but just some background. anyway a few weeks ago I had a pt who had a liver ablation done, he was fine for me but the next day I came to work and was told that he had been burnt and was asked did I see it. I don't remember seeing a burn so I documented accordingly. this was a big issue as u can imagine and had to be investigated. the pt was ok though. today was awful. I had young pt who had just been shot. he had an atreigram done, usually a surgical resident comes out along with anesthesia and describes what they did in the or but this time it was just anesthesia. well the pt was yelling. cursing, and asking us to leave him alone. I quickly peeked at a drsg of his R knee and L thigh and palpated pulses and let him sleep. about an hour or so later he asked for the urinal, I give it to him and lets him go. he calls me and tells me he is bleeding! I looked at his R groin and the drsg is saturated and the sheet under him, I turned him to see if ther was more blood pooling, put a new pad under him, checked his vitals and called the resident. the resident says if he's stable I will be there in a half hr. about five min later I check my pt and the new pad has new blood. I initially thought the blood was old, I called he residen again and asked him to come now. it took the resident about half hour or so to finall get to see the patient. when they arrived I was getting my next pt who came out confused and agiatated. that's another story. anyway the gunshot patient ended up having to go back to the or, he turend out to be fine, they had to repair a small bleed that he developed. while all of the chaos is going on, someone drew labs for me and I assumed it was a cbc and coaggs so I completed the lab sheet and sent the labs, not knowing I sent a tube used for a panel instead of coaggs. I was supposed to send all 3 but wasn't paying close attention. the lab calls me and tells me what I did with attitude of course and tells me they can only do the cbc cuz that's the only thing that was sent correctly. sorry this is so long and sloppy. I really needed to vent. I am actaully typing with my pda cellphone. lol any advice/words of wisdom? I am terrified that I am gonna go into work firday and be in so much trouble and may even be fired. so much stress

good job. sorry to hear about the patient outcome, it was not your doing

thanks everyone. it was supposed to be a lap ablation but they converted to an open. the nurse manager from the or was concerned about someone not grounding the pt properly or something wet under him which would have broke the grounding.

i say who says i WANT to be a doctor?

and i somehow missed it. my guy had a liver ablation done. i am a new grad in the recovery room, i usually turn all of my pts to check their skin quickly. this guy had an epidural so i am almost certain i seen his back, he was a little red, but most pts are after lying on their backs in the or. this pt was with me for a few hours and was discharged by another nurse on my unit. when he arrived tot he floor the nurse noticed a fluid filled bubble from a burn. the next day the or nurse manager was hunting me down because she thought i was the one who noticed the burn. so of course, the hospital has to investigate this. i am worried that i am ina whole bunch of trouble. i am praying that i documented that my pt's skin was intact. my theory is that he could have been burned and the skin was just red and blistered over time. i have had minor burns before and i dont remember the skin blistering right away. either way i look at it i am in the wrong because i only assessed his skin once. he was in the recovery room for at least 2 or 3 hours. my coworker who discharged him didnt see his skin becasue she just sent him to the floor. i honestly dont even remember his back or if i even looked at it. but, i know i routinely look at everyone, but nothing about him is standing out in my mind. i guess i am posting to kind of vent, and seek advice. whats the worst that can happen to me? i am terrified that i will be pulled into court. i never thought i would be in this situation so soon..... thanks for listening everyone

i still do it. not all the time, but every now and then especially if i had a really sick patient. i am learning to accpet that i know what i am doing and that i provide the best care for my patients. that makes it a little easier, when i leave work knowing that i did everything for my patinets that i was suppossed to do

this will be short and sweet. i like nursing even with all the crap that comes along with it. i work at a pretty good hospital with excellent pay, benefits, and respect. we are treated fairly well... most of the time. there is one thing i want to point out.....many nurses are constantly complaining about our profession to each other (which is usually ok, we have to vent) and to the other disciplines across the board. we often show little our no respect for the other nurse. we complain about "how much of an idiot that nurse must be" others see that and they act accordingly. i cant think of any case where i seen social work, respiratory, doctors, etc speaking of their colleagues or profession this way. one more thing, i would like to go on to further my education but i would never state it such a way. it seems your implying that nursing isn't a profession to begin with. i dont think the key to being treated like a professional will be to get an advanced degree, i think it starts with taking pride in your profession and respecting your profession and colleagues. and lastly, if you don't like your current job, i'd look elsewhere. i know i didn't go to school all these years to be unhappy with my profession. best wishes

lol? i dont think i will truly ever stop bringing work home. i find that its just me.... i worry a lot and genuinely care about my patients. i dont stress the whole time i am off from work, but usuallly on the drive home and maybe for a few hours my whole day keeps playing through my head.

i too was taught not to overchart or double chart. most of our flowsheet is charting by exception ( check boxes) i check whats applicable to my patient and only write a note on whats not coverd in the check boxes. your notes look similar to what i'd write

how about if it was given sq? would protamine still work?

i started my new position in Feb 08 and occasionally still get a little nauseous on my way to work. its notthing extreme, just nerves. i tend to calm down if i ask questions and speak up if i am uncomfertable doing something. its very exciting, but stressful at the same time. if you ask questions and have confidence in yourself and what you have learned you will make it:)

i have to start posting here more often! i like the idea of a journal too....

hello, I started my first rn position in feb of this year. i have had a lot of class time as part of my orientation, but now its over and i am mainly on my unit. every night i leave, i worry about my patients, i worry if i did everything right, if they are still alive, if someone;s gonna write me up or something, etc, etc. my preceptor and coworkers say i am doing very well and not to worry, but i cant help it. i constantly worry, especially after i send my patients to the floor that i forgot to do something or that i did something wrong and that i will get in trouble. on the brighter side, i have pretty much been carrying for my patients on my own with only my preceptor functioning as my nursing assisstant. i havent gotten in trouble yet, but i would like to stop worrying so much! when does it stop????

i can understand. i love my job and coworkers, but sometimes things happen and you leave work seroiusly not wanting to come back. just try and learn from whatever happened and let it roll off of your back.

i have ACLS in july. we have to take it within 6months of hire at my institution. ive had so far since fedbuary, basic dysrhtymia, critical care course, and will take a truama nurse course at the end of the month. i hope after all of that i will be ok for acls. i cant lie though, i am a little nervous now hearing about this mock code. congrats on passing! and you shouldnt feel like a phoney. you are new to practice and on the unit you will not be running a code on your own.

hi. i am a new grad in the PACU! i did an externship and was offered the position. i dont think its typical for new grads to start in pacu however. as far as not being critical care.... i have no idea. but i think its because in fairytale land, critical unstable patients go directly to the units. so the assumption, i think is that your typical stable surgical patient comes to the pacu (ie, appendectomy) but in real life, all kinds of critical patients come to the pacu, where i work we even board unit patients. best of luck to you

congrats to all new nurses!!!!!!

if you prefer medical over surgical, i would stick with medical. if you decide you want ot explore the surgical side you can always change. congrats and good luck

hello i am a new grad in a pacu at a level1 trauma center. i was offered the positon after doing an externship there. i wouldnt discourage a new nurse from starting in the PACU, i think its a great place to learn assessment and monitoring skills. depending on what kind of hospital you are in, you will learn to care for all kinds of patients and learn about all kinds of surgical procedures. my hospital has also offered my 3week critical care course, basic dyshrhymia, and 6 month orientation. best of luck to you! go with your gut feeling:)

i would say practice questions, know your labs, never call the doctor or anyone else first! there is always something the nurse can do before calling someone. always "stay with the patient" assess before implenmenting where appopriate. and most importantly, pray and have a positive "i will pass attitude"

hey guys! sorry i havent been around. i have been a lot busier with work than i thought i would be. i started my new job on 2/11 and its been going well. i have a lot of class time which makes it tough, because i end up working 5days/ week. is there anything i can do for anyone here? i still have some fresh nclex knowledge. i dont have many notes or anything, but i wish i was around more. you all have been so supportive of me and i feel like i abandoned you all. i am sorry........

thanks for the inspiring post! its always nice to hear from someone who loves their job in nursing. i started my position in feb. i worked as an aide/extern in the PACU before starting as a nurse. i am not hardly as excited as you are, becasue i know all the negatives about my unit and hospital. but, i am grateful and happy with where i am. my coworkers are so knowledgeable, helpful, and very supportive. i work in a level 1 trauma hosp and we are always very busy. people come fro all over the world for treatment at my hospital, so its a very very demanding job. i hope you continue to love what you do and spread your positive energy to others!