1. how many years have you been a nurse? 24 2. how many nurses do you know personally that have been sued? one 3. how many of those nurses who were sued have had to testify in court? none 4. how many of those who testified were found guilty? n/a 5...
RockyCreek replied to GreentigerRN's topic in General Nursing
It doesn't happen often but I have seen my Nurse Manager work on the floor. She even did a shift as a night shift aide! She is the first one to admit that her skills are rusty and she wouldn't be the first one I call in on a code but she is awesome a...
Beyond the HIIPA issues, can I also throw in an observation or two of my own? The general public really doesn't need to see pictures of their nurse drunk, laying in vomit or passed out in cars. If you have a tatto in a private place - let's keep that...
If I understand the situation correctly, you have a patient with no history of aspiration that was ordered a regular diet. You witnessed the patient eating with no difficulty and swallowing pills with no s/s of respiratory distress. Another nurse at ...
As hard as it is for you, please remember that the problem is not unique to nursing. There are new accounting graduates that are not finding jobs, new physical therapy graduates that are not finding jobs and new law school graduates that are not find...
RockyCreek replied to Dixiecup's topic in NP Students
Oh, DixieCup, I am so sorry! You have been so kind and supportive of all of us with our goofy questions and school anxiety - I wish more than anything that this hadn't happened to you. Sit, slump, and sob if you need to but don't let this defeat you....
I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are reinstating sign-on bonuses for experienced nurses in all the ICU's and even in MedSurg! Last year, we hired quite a few new graduates in MayJune so we expect to hired a few again this year...
Our hospital bought the books, attended the seminars and really tried to get on board with it -- unfortunately, you can't do it unless you have the right staff and the right staffing ratios. As far as I can see, there is nothing really 'new' except t...
RockyCreek replied to RachelLeeRN's topic in General Nursing
I can ditto webmansx. I got my BSN with them and suffered very little except over the tuition. The curriculum was solid and the interface was secure. Financial aid office was super and all phone calls are answered quickly.
The best person to ask is the person that is requiring the experience. NICU is a very advanced unit and, while it may be excellent experience, it may be too high an acquity for a first/early clinical.
Gosh! It has been a long time since I had to think about this one! I used to sew a hair comb into the cap to hold the front and then I used two really really huge white bobby pins to hold the back [one on each side]. Because my hair has always been v...
RockyCreek replied to ThanksForAllTheFish!'s topic in General Nursing
As scary as it sounds, I have heard of this before. This is some 'great idea' to speed throughput and open the beds up faster. The idea is to have stable adult patients waiting for a ride placed in a 'discharge lobby' with at least one hospital emplo...
I finished my degree with Chamberlain and, as a rule, I really had no problem with the classes. There are a lot of papers and postings but that is to be expected in a distance learning environment. I agree about the ECON class, though - there was jus...
You could start getting your feet wet by voluntering to do QA data collection and then letting people know that you are interested in exploring opportunities in research at your facility. The most important qualifications are usually a strong work et...
First, take a deep breath and relax. Med-Surg is challenging but VERY managable once you have some experience under your belt. When you are hired for the unit, they will give you a preceptor to show you the best ways to get things done and the most e...
RockyCreek replied to joeyww12000's topic in General Nursing
I am not in favor of mandatory ratios because (1) not all patients are equal, (2) not all nurses are equal, and (3) hospitals shift responsibities to cover the financial cost. "Not all patients are equal" means that the acuity of the patients is not...
From time to time, I have felt that way but then, with the passage of time, things always get better. I would try to find something outside of the job that adds joy to your life and see if that will help you get past the rough patches. Best of luck!
The volume, choice of options and rate of infusion are varied according to the reason for the administration and the response of the individual patient. For example, a patient with hypovolemic shock in an ICU setting could get a lot of albumin in a s...
RockyCreek replied to helper T cell's topic in Med-Surg
I went for the CMSRN too. I looked at the study materials for each test and the CMSRN covered more real/relevant content in more patient areas. I am not going to lie to you -- the study guide and 2 day test seminars are intense but very good preparat...