Chaya ASN, RN

Our sitters are all CNA's who do the pt's vital signs, ambulate them, take them to the bathroom and often do at least dome of their personal care. I am always relieved if there is a sitter available for one of my "jumpers". I've had to relieve sitter...

So at both of the places I have worked (Med-Surg settings) the most common dose prescribed for IV morphine is 2 mg. However, it is dispensed in 5 mg vials. This means we need to do a witnessed waste for 80-90% of the patients who receive morphine eac...

Comes with experience. I don't think there's anything mystical about it, you are just picking up on s/s that are too subtle to put your finger on at the time, but it alerts you to be extra watchful until something specific does jump out at you. Good...

Well I'm no sweet young thing and I feel like I've seen the same stale stuff trotted out every few years. Been there, done that. A lot. The hype/ insincere part is what makes it fall flat with me now and I felt the same when I was a SYT. If it looks,...

Thank you all for the feedback. I couldn't believe that no-one makes a 2 mg dose if there is as high a demand for it as I thought there was. According to our pharmacy (and the one at my last job also) it doesn't seem to be available to us. I don't kn...

It's all well and good on paper; it would be fine if TPTB would put their money where their mouth was. There's a lot to recommend a more mindful approach to what we're doing but the right approach would be to work smarter, not harder, as the saying g...

The paperwork we have to fill out kind of sets the basic framework for me. We have to fill out a flowsheet Q shift that includes a general head-to-toe assessment, skin and vital signs. You at least have to check off that you have assessed each system...

Who was it that fired you? Sounded like the Owner/ Admin was backing you up?

Talk about teachable moments. I think I would address a letter to all the clinical staff there and request that it be posted in the break room or shared w. all. I would just state that I had heard the comments and found them very hurtful. I would add...

Speaking from experience w. MY family the ONLY time I get to see that look of dawning realization on their faces is after they've had extended personal experience either with their own hospitalization or a close relative. After about 3 days I get "OM...

I was a direct-entry master and I do feel that basic skills were neglected. We were force-fed nursing theory and other pure academic "stuff" but no hands-on phlebotomy, IV starts, or how to place a catheter or NG tube. We were told it was b/c of liab...

I would guess they are perceiving the painting as some kind of a portal to another world....

Two comments; First, there are a fair number of times when the nurse's evaluation/ assessment does involve bodily fluids. You might not have to clean up the vomit each time but you may well have to assess if all of the patient's pills came back up, ...

Deceased is cleaned and a pad placed beneath buttocks. Ankles are secured together , wrists crossed and secured together in front. The body is wrapped in a disposable shroud, then placed in the body bag.

Can't help you with most of the B* you are having to put up with in school-but patient contact time is your opportunity to start thinking like a nurse without any of the scary responsibility. The most valuable tool I gained from my clinicals was the ...

That little girl's mom will find comfort in the special care you gave her daughter for the rest of her life.

Better to cut loose from a truly horrendous, no-win situation than to lose your license forever. Although I think I would have immediately checked in with my malpractice ins co. to see if there was anything that needed to be done at that time to be p...

Yes; would have done it earlier and not as a second career.

Not in your situation-yet -but am very aware how easily any of us could be. In this part of the country, I would say about 40% of the people I know who are over 50 (DH among them) are out of work and have been so long-term. They just aren't getting h...

Going thru the ED was fundamentally the wrong approach unless he called the surgeon or on-call coverage and was specifically told to report to the ED- in which case the family should make it known on check-in that they had been told to come in by a s...

Being all things to all people. First and foremost we are the front line and overall coordinater of care for our patients. Yes, I know- the MD orders it- but we see that it gets done. ALL of it from the meds to the labs to the Social Worker, the past...

That is great news and gives hope to those out there who are still looking. Go get 'em, Viva!

Our Med/ Surg Tele floor has the capacity to monitor all beds although in general not all patients need monitoring at any one time. RN's are responsible fot printing a strip every 12 hr, interpreting it and posting it in the chart. The charge nurse w...

Sorry, don't have any concrete suggestions, just wanted to say hang in there. Two of the best floor nurses I ever knew failed their NCLEX the first time thru. Thank goodness they both picked themselves up for another try b/c both of them excelled whe...

I don't take "trading" lightly. Our charges are pretty good about ensuring that the acuity of everyone's assignment is about the same and that the most difficult pts are rotated so that everyone gets a break. That being said, there have been those th...