mednurse

I've been taking grad classes at UIC and I looooove it there, good luck.

As a L&D nurse, I am very supportive of home birth. Many patients think we are doing them such a service by tying them to a bed and pumping them full of pitocin so they will deliver on the day shift. Honestly, the most serious complications I have seen were DOCTOR INDUCED!!!! IE pit to distress, rupturing the membranes when the pt is -3 and whoops a cord prolapse, how did that happen??? Also the main methods we use in the hospital for shoulder dystocia are not always the best, suprapubic pressure and Mc Robert's manuever, most suprapubic pressure I have seen has been done incorrectly anyway. Hands and knees actually opens the pelvic diameter, and most well trained home birth midwives would know this. Yes, the hospital can do a great service to high risk women, but it is the preffered method of all women. Of course you should not deliver at home unless you are completly comfortable with it and educated about the pros and cons. Maybe I have just seen too many doctors taking advantage of patients, but this is the way I feel. I suggest all professionals in OB to read "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin, you can find this book in any larger store and it is written by a CPM that is internationlly known. I could not put this book down once I got it, and have shared it with my co-workers.

You always must watch the heart rate during the test dose. I once had a patient where the heart rate shot up to the 150's from the 80's during the test dose. The epidural was pulled and replaced, this is very important to confirm proper placement.

I have suffered with migranes for 15 years. I have tried every script med there is and nothing has worked as well as Excedrin Migraine. I swear just try it, I always keep it in my bag at work!! Just make sure you eat some crackers with it so it dosen't make you sick. Yes, you can be a great nurse and have migranes. Even before I had them under control I was able to work, the schedule of 3 12's a week is very helpful, chances are you'll be off the days you have migranes. Also don't work on days in your cycle that you'll most likely get 'em. Best Wishes!!

I wanted to know if there are nurses out there that have been blamed for precipitous labor by the MD for not "following the pt closely". I had an MD leave a pt that was a multip when she was 7, and tried to blame me for not checking her! She was a nurse assisted delivery 15 min later!

First of all, congrats on continuing your education! When you apply to grad school (esp. the more competive ones) it depends on WHERE your degree comes from, not just your grades. This is in all academic areas. If I have a BSN from a great large teaching university with great rep, it looks better to them than a small college which does not have as big of a name. And yes, I understand the work can be difficult anywhere you go to school. With that said, I still think it is valuable to cont your education, it just opens more doors for you.

My perkins loan gets cancelled for each year I work full time for up to five years. I worked at a suburaban community hospital and they did not care that it was not an underserved population, my supervisor just had to sign that I worked there full time. Good Luck with school.

Honestly, I really wanted to know what other nurses thought of the situation. My Dad died at a hospital that shares medical staff and nurses with ours, so I do not want to bring up this topic with my coworkers. If I need legal advice, I will contact an attorney. Of course, I have my own opinions about my Dad's death, I am not looking for them here. I needed to see some thoughts of RN's because sometimes I feel my non-medical family does not understand.

Thank you for your responses. The same nurse he reported chest pain to, was the one that was assigned to him when he died. He was never transferred to the tele floor. Thank you for your condolances.

My Dad had thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery as an emergency case at age 50. He recovered a few days in the ICU, and then got orders to transfer to the tele floor. I was with him, and he told the ICU nurse that he was in chest pain. She gave him sublingual nitro and asked if this relieved his pain, and he said no. She did not follow up after that. My Dad died of the rupture from his graft 4 hours later. I know we are all busy on our units, but as a nurse I have a hard time accepting that the doctor was not called about my Dad's chest pain. Do you think this nurse commited malpractice?

I'm here in Chicago, I've also heard great things about Rush. ALSO, if you work 20 hours a week you get the bonus of free tuition there-it's a great school.

I have had a few patients write down everything I do.

We have that pyxis also. It can be a real pain because you can stand at the machine for a while for it to pick up your fingerprint. Actually you will have a numeric code that will back up your fingerprint, and after so many failed attempts, you will switch to this numeric code. With agency you just log them in as you did before, except they use their fingerprint for access. As for the online drug guide, other nurses don't take too kindly to someone standing there hoging the pyxis, I use a book instead. Good Luck

MMMMMMM...like a cool summer rain.

It's just interesting to me that all these odors can get in the vent system and end up on our units, isn't it? I am part time on the night shift, so I really didn't ask or knew what was going on when I smelled skunk! Very infromative discussion. Can't say I like the smell though.