Dragonnurse1

Dragonnurse1 ASN, RN

ER - trauma/cardiac/burns. IV start spec

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All Content by Dragonnurse1

  1. What Kind of Experiences before ER

    Dragonnurse1 replied to xSoCaLRNx's topic in Emergency

    I graduated from nursing school on a Friday and was in the ER of our busiest hospital on Monday. I had the required one week of classroom for the hospital and then spent one week on orientation on...

  2. Advice for a New Grad in the ER!

    Dragonnurse1 replied to KaylaMarie27's topic in Emergency

    I too went straight to the ER from school. I had 1 week of "class room" orientation then went to the ER. My orientation lasted less than 1 week once I was there. I was taught by a very interesting...

  3. The Emergency Department: Where pain isn't what the patient says it is.

    Dragonnurse1 replied to CaptCrzy's topic in Emergency

    Treat the patient 1st, in everything including pain. Zmansc was right. The pain scale is a guide not a rule. I must say I have seen better pain scales than the 1 - 10 but most cannot be used for the...

  4. Subservience to the docs

    Dragonnurse1 replied to amarilla's topic in Emergency

    Hope you have moved on to better and greener pastures. I have not had the kind of experiences you have described with Doctors except once in 9+years and he was on the phone. Good

  5. ::vent::

    Dragonnurse1 replied to LJ85's topic in Emergency

    Nice save. Never give any med drawn by another person unless you have verified their calculations and seen the vial yourself. I have refused to push meds drawn by another nurse and once I refused to...

  6. Everybody's input please

    Dragonnurse1 replied to Rickycen35's topic in Emergency

    My first reaction was Cat Scratch Fever. Swollen glands after a scratch/bite can an indicator. The quick cultures were negative but this is a bacterial infection. Cultures were taken of the arm...

  7. triage process

    Dragonnurse1 replied to turnforthenurse's topic in Emergency

    Unless the RN is with a patient she sits at the front desk and observes the patient when they come into the ER (walk in's). The patient gives registration their information and the RN gets the...

  8. New Grad in the ER

    Dragonnurse1 replied to Kalnizz's topic in Emergency

    I graduated Nov. 23, 1993 and began working in the ER Nov 24, 1993. I was "on my own" on nights after 3 shifts. I worked a level 3 but the ER Doc's liked to pretend we were a level 2. We had 19 beds...

  9. I think I committed career suicide

    Dragonnurse1 replied to Ernurse2012's topic in Emergency

    Ernurse2012, Please do not let this shake you up too much. The ER is a unique unit to work in and in own humble opinion a very hard place to work, oscillating between being insanely busy and...

  10. I think I committed career suicide

    Dragonnurse1 replied to Ernurse2012's topic in Emergency

    The ER is a unique work experience. If you do not feel comfortable there do not try to force yourself to stay as you will never be happy. Not everyone can work in the ER and not everyone can work in...

  11. What area of nursing works well for a mom?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to emptyboxcars's topic in General Nursing

    I worked 11P to 7A 80 hours in 2 weeks (off days varied) and for me it was perfect. I would get home in time to get the 4 kids off to school and be there when they got home. Dinner and homework and...

  12. Comparing A Nurses' Salary

    Dragonnurse1 replied to Joe V's topic in Nurses Rock

    I started nursing here in the deep south in 1993 my starting pay was 12.50/hr with 2.00/hr shift diff and .50/hr for ACLS and .50/hr for PALS. So I started at 15.00/hr - 9 years later I was making...

  13. 2nd degree nurses

    Dragonnurse1 replied to grantchatt's topic in General Nursing

    I started nursing school in 1991, graduated in 1993 and began working in the ER. I had to leave nursing in 2005 due to a latex allergy. I had been in computers before I started nursing. I had...

  14. Narcotics administration

    Dragonnurse1 replied to schoolmack's topic in Patient Medications

    With narcotics it is so easy to lose sight of the original question. As you can tell from the responses the use of pain meds certainly breaks nurses into 2 different camps. I have been on both sides...

  15. Is this common? The new face of the ED

    Dragonnurse1 replied to mariposa311's topic in Emergency

    As with many units there are problem nurses but that is no reason to generalize. I assure you that I have been on both ends in my own ER, both as RN and patient, and it can be difficult. I do not...

  16. Is this common? The new face of the ED

    Dragonnurse1 replied to mariposa311's topic in Emergency

    I spent 9+ years in one of the three ER's in my city. When I started we rotated "ER of the day" so that no one hospital bore the brunt of non-paying patients but that got to be a joke. No one liked...

  17. Psychiatric nursing... do you really lose all your nursing skills?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to lilmoongoddess's topic in Psychiatric

    In my 9+ years in the one of the three local ER's here only once did a nurse from our psych unit try to transfer to the ER - she stayed for 1 hour and requested to go home, she stated to us that the...

  18. How do you handle the drug seekers?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to itsnowornever's topic in Emergency

    My first question is how did the mother and her child arrive? Did the mother drive? Obviously from your description the child was too young to have driven her mother so that brings me to my next...

  19. What do you do with motorcycle helmets after a motorcycle accident?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to LegzRN's topic in Emergency

    In my facility it depended on the severity of the accident. If the helmet is cracked it went to the police, if the helmet was bloody it went into bio-hazard but if the helmet was intact and the...

  20. The Patient I Failed

    Dragonnurse1 replied to nerdtonurse?'s topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    Living Wills vary by state so the following relates to Alabama - here the living will can be over-ridden by family. Whether there is 1 or 100 family members it only take one to undo a living will....

  21. What is your WORST ER story?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to NurseMaybeBaby's topic in Emergency

    I a SIDS baby that started to mottle before the MD would quit, a 16yo pregnant female shot in a drive-by and we took the babies in the ER; the list goes on. Of the adults non affected me like the...

  22. Can student administer medication without RN supervision?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to AnneN's topic in General Students

    I normally just read these threads as I am a disabled RN and post to the latex threads but this caught my eye. In our state students cannot pass any medications until they have completed specific...

  23. Drug seeking or real pain? How do you tell?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to JudyPRN's topic in Pain Management

    I am sorry about the way you were teated by your own peers. I have had the misfortune to be treated the same way since I became disabled. I, too, have fusions in my neck now supported by plates and...

  24. Drug seeking or real pain? How do you tell?

    Dragonnurse1 replied to JudyPRN's topic in Pain Management

    Too many nurses (and patients) do not understand pain control. I was a nurse in the ER and I suffered with migraines and since I was intimately familiar with migraines I was often called to exam...

  25. Latex Allergy

    Dragonnurse1 replied to orange-rn's topic in Emergency

    Often when someone become latex-sensitive they also start having chemical allergies. If you have changed to nitrile or other non-latex gloves then there is a strong possibility it is other chemicals....