goldRN

i had a type II diabetic who stopped taking her diabetes medication because she read that cinnamon i repeat cinnamon would "cure" her diabetes. So she went to the health food store and bought cinnamon supplements, which I had never seen before, but they exist I saw the bottle with my own two eyes. Needless to say after 4 liters of IV NS and 3 hours on an insulin drip in the ER she returned to being slightly oriented to person and place, but not time, or situation. DKA is not fun

to obtain an arterial blood gas (ABG) to determine how well, or how poorly in some instances a pt is oxygenating.

Hello...I'm new here and don't want to make anyone mad, but I have been reading post for the past couple of days and this is the second time I've heard reference to Droperidol. I have given this drug before, and I'm not saying anything negative about anyone else that gives it. However, Droperidol was black boxed almost ten years ago. The reasoning behind the black box as irreversible cardiac arrythmias and death. Here's my question: If a physician orders Droperidol and you give it with negative consequences (death). Are you responsible? You gave the right drug, right dose, right route, right patient, right time, but you gave a black boxed drug. If anyone knows the answer to this question I would be grateful for the education.

I've done this before too...it's not a big deal. I just explained to the patient that the line was "not in the right place" and removed it held pressure, but only after I got my blood :) I've had a doctor put a central line in the femoral artery too! The pt's BP was only 70's over palp so he missed the pulsating, but fortunately I noticed it when I was cleaning up the site and changing out the hubs. I went and told him and he was like "nuh huh" until he came and looked and then promptly removed the line. It happens, especially in the ER, not really a huge deal though.

ok i have two that i didn't see listed yet....50 year old female came in by EMS stating that she was on the phone with her daughter and mentioned that her lips had been chapped and her daughter stated that she needed to be seen by an MD IMMEDIATELY for dehydration (mother and daughter's cummulative IQ approximately 50). Pt denies any N/V/D...Pt promptly given a glass of water. About 15 minutes after the pt's arrival via EMS this frantic 20 year old shows up in the lobby wanting to know if her mom was "stable" and when could she see her. I was barely able to contain the laughter. However, my all time favorite was a frequent flyer that we had. NURSE: "What seems to be the problem today Anthony?" PATIENT: "Everytime I smoke crack I has seizures." I actually laughed out loud in front of the patient, sorry, I couldn't help it.

Dear atheist in the bible belt. I was born and raised in South Carolina, and I'm agnostic. I have only been an ER nurse for 3 years, but my advice to you is this... If you're in a room and the family/patient decides that they want to pray then you bow your head, close your eyes, and listen. It's their moment, not ours. It's for their benefit, and it sets their mind(s) at ease. I assure you that if you're not used to prayer (which I wasn't) you will feel like a fool the first couple of times this happens, but I truly feel like it's disrespectful to do anything else. I have taken care of patients with all different religious preferences. I have been present when mothers found out that their teenagers were dead, and I have been present when a husband is telling his wife of 50+ years goodbye, and that moment will always be etched in their memory, and we as nurses should do whatever they need at that time. I am the first to call the chaplain during these times. Probably more quickly than my religious co-workers. I feel like it's as nurses we should be as comforting as possible to our patients whether we believe in God or not.