1993RNGrad

I work three nights in a row - usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Although sometimes I dread that third night, I love having Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday's off........ We sometimes get the same assignments, but more often than not, we have a different assignment each night to acuity changes......however, it's not always a bad thing to move on to a new assignment....LOL... Good luck deciding....

Is there more to this story? It seems as if the jump from administering epi (I assume you had a proper order) to termination is quite the jump.....

Afib with RVR (rapid ventricular response) - Ventricular rate of greater than 100 bpm (doesn't make a difference if it is a new onset of Afib or Chronic Afib - it's based on the ventricular rate) Controlled Afib - Ventricular rate under 100

Sending hugs and prayers to both of you!!!! I had my first mammogram after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer many years ago - they called the next day to say they "saw something that they needed to get a closer look at," and wanted me to take another appt that was 2 weeks in the future. Needless to say, I started bawling on the phone, explaining why I had the mammogram done and they found an appointment the next day. Thankfully, it turned out to be a benign issue, but I still had followups every 6 months for 2 years........ Lots of hugs!!!

What are visiting hours??????? 24/7 here, with couches that turn into bed for families members to move in. Nevermind that grandma just came back from OHS 3 hours ago.....go ahead, take a nap in the bed, you are tired. Stay all night and talk to grandma every 15 minutes......"Grandma needs to sleep, she just had OHS," says the nurse repeatedly. But of course, it's all about keeping the customer happy!!!!! Hello, hospital, sick people, jerry springer families from hell who move into the room, waiting room, with some who just don't want to tell their families to leave them the heck alone, leaving the nurse to be the "b****." I really think visiting hours should be brought back - it would be to the patient's benefit to actually get a bit of rest instead of having to entertain their families....

what the heck???? how crazy is that?

Thanks all for the support!!!! Wouldn't the job be perfect without the paperwork and some families??? :)

I love my job, I really do. I enjoy being a nurse, I enjoy a challenge, I enjoy learning new things every day. But somedays, I swear it's not worth even trying to chew through those restraints..... Last night, while I was attempting to walk a patient who was slightly unsteady (post op day 1 OHS) with another staff member, a member of another family walked right in front of us stopped, came way to close into my personal space to announce his mother's emergency........The emergency, she was hot and needed the heat turned down. I politely asked him to excuse us for a moment and I would tend his mother's needs in a moment. Of course that was not good enough, and he continued blocking our path, despite being told (and could see) that I was busy with another patient. He continued to state his emergent needs and continued to block our path even though we were now helping hold up my patient. So, I stated more firmly this time, "Please get out of our way immediately, I will help your mother when I am done." Well, I guess the poor soul took offense and complained about the "rude" nurse. Thankfully, our supervisor saw the inappropriateness of his actions and explained that to him...... Give me strength....

I never took the computer test, just the ole 2 day paper and pencil thing, but from what I have heard, if the computer shuts down at 75, odds are you passed....... Good luck keeping calm until Thursday!!!! Oh and be thankful you don't have to wait 3 MONTHS for those results....LOL.

As for tips: 1. Definitely black out shades - they make a world of difference getting your body to relax and actually get effective sleep. 2. A fan runs constanly in my room to help block out noise. 3. Stop drinking coffee by no later than 3am. 4. Try to work consecutive nights so you can establish a sleeping pattern. 5. Do not turn on the tv when you get home. I normally work Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday nights. My sleep pattern is I get home, kiss the kids and walk them to the bus stop and head right to bed. I am normally sleeping by 8:30am and get up at 2:45pm, so I can be showered and dressed before the kids get off of the bus. I know it's only 6 hours of sleep, but it's important for me to be with the kids when they get home. Good Luck, I love working nights!!!!

Yes, I have worked nights for 14 out of 15 years of Nursing. My two youngest are in elementary school - I turn off my home phone, but my cell phone, which is also my alarm clock, is on and available for emergency calls. I don't give my cell phone out to anyone other than family/friends and they know I work nights and calling me during the day on the cell is a no no, UNLESS it's a true emergency. Works for me.....

We have been using a similiar system at our hospital for at least 3 years and I love it!!!! At first we were all very resistant - how dare you take away my pencil and paper med lists, I NEED those!!! How quickly we got used to the electronic system...... The difficulty with frequently missing meds on the lists have long since passed, with only the occasional issue here and there. We are not supposed to override anything and most people are pretty good with that. We do have issues with bar code scanners not working, but they are being replaced with better models. Each room (all private rooms) are equipped with a computer that can be used for charting as well as having the medication administration program on it. Each room has an individual scanner. Honestly, I never want to go back to a paper and pencil system again - I love the extra check beyond our rights of med administration.... You will get used to it, the pharmacy will become more efficient at it and everyone will wonder how you did without it to begin with.

Wish that were the case here - we have no visiting hours - family can stay 24/7 and they even have a couch that turns into a bed so that they can be comfortable. We have family walking around in pj's, without shoes and yes, we have seen them barefoot. We have had infants stay overnight withe family members while the patient is trying to recover from OHS surgery or an MI........

Thanks Maisy, Not the first time, but it's getting more frustrating. I try and be patient as I can, but I am human and some days I wish for patients that have no family, are intubated and have propofol infusing........

Thanks! I really appreciated my coworker taking a stand there as well. There were four of us on the unit and two other nurses were standing there during that conversation. The other nurse also told the house supervisor that there was nothing wrong with the conversation.