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awalker1015

awalker1015

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awalker1015's Latest Activity

  1. awalker1015

    The coveted Monday thru Friday job

    awalker1015 replied to LTCNS's topic in Nurses

    I work mon- fri and love it. I especially love no holidays. With two school age children the predictable schedule helps us spend more quality time together. But I have many nurse friends who hate the idea and thrive on shift work. That is the beauty of nursing- something for everyone. :)
  2. awalker1015

    Blood draws

    awalker1015 replied to jcarl12's topic in First Year

    My job now requires me to draw blood frequently. Here are some suggestions; Go by what you feel over what you see. Lots of good veins are not visible. I always try the AC first. Most pts find drawing from the hand more painful. A good vein will feel springy. If it isn't springy it's likely a tendon. I always use a butterfly because I treat renal patients. As soon as I see flash I insert my tube into the vacutainer. This was the hard part for me because coming from the hospital I was used to inserting IVs and my instinct was to advance upon seeing blood return. Sometimes you may have to manipulate the needle around to get blood to flow. Sometimes you may have to pull back on the needle. Or raise the angle. With my elderly pts I use my finger to anchor the vein to keep it from rolling. Lastly, if you have trouble finding anything to stick try using a a BP cuff instead of a tourniquet. Pump it up to about 70 and you should get a vein. Good luck!
  3. awalker1015

    Successful transition from noc shift to day?

    awalker1015 replied to dirtyhippiegirl's topic in Nurses

    When I switched from 12h noc shift to a 9-5 clinic job, I worked my last night shift on Thursday night and started my new job Monday. I was lucky to seamlessly move into the new schedule with the three day break. But my body and mind had never acclimated to nights. I was depressed, exhausted and gained a lot of weight during that time. Within weeks of starting my new job I was no longer depressed, had tremendous energy and lost the gained weight. I hope all goes well with your schedule transition.
  4. awalker1015

    SQ technique help

    awalker1015 replied to confused06's topic in Ambulatory

    I give SQ injections all the time in my anemia clinics and the key is pinch and placement. Make sure you are going in the side or underside of the upper arm. Also make sure you are using the right gauge/length needle. I use a 25g 5/8 inch.
  5. awalker1015

    Fed up of Nursing and only a year in

    awalker1015 replied to StaffNurseMcS's topic in Stress 101

    OP I could have written your post three years ago while at my first job in the hospital out of nursing school. So I left my facility and joined a private specialty practice. I love my job now. And the pay is better. I didn't dislike bedside nursing, but rather hated the dangerous conditions the facility had nurses working under. Every time I went to work I felt I was at risk for losing my license due to unsafe conditions such as high nurse:patient ratio in a high acuity unit, lack of management, and lack of support in general. See what else is out there. That is the beauty of nursing. It has many options!!!!
  6. awalker1015

    How do you parents do it?

    awalker1015 replied to KNB3715's topic in Nurses

    I am one who couldn't hack it. My DH works nights and that was the shift I got. Made it a year having sitters stay late or overnight then left the hospital and got a clinic job working M-F 8:30-4:30. I know many make it work but we could never achieve the right balance for our family with me doing 12h days.
  7. awalker1015

    What's the BEST nursing shoes?

    awalker1015 replied to BigCSN's topic in Uniform/Gear

    Danskos!!!!
  8. awalker1015

    "You've never said you liked nursing." A vent.

    awalker1015 replied to dudette10's topic in Nurses

    Though I loved my patients, I hated nursing the whole time I worked at the hospital. It was exhausting being treated so poorly. Then I left for a specialty practice and I love it.
  9. awalker1015

    What are you good at?

    awalker1015 replied to proudnurseRN's topic in Nurses

    I think I am good at therapeutic communication, starting IVs, drawing blood, and assessments. I'm also decent at emergency intervention , though it isn't often necessary at the clinic I work at.
  10. awalker1015

    what did you get for Christmas from your employer?

    awalker1015 replied to AlphaPig's topic in Nurses

    We used to get paid holiday pay the entire shift. I worked nights so if I worked Christmas night I was paid holiday pay from 7p-7a. Two weeks before Christmas last year they changed it to only paying holiday pay 12a-12p th actual holiday, thus those of us on night shift were only paid holiday pay from 7p-11:59p. I guess it's fair, but when that wasn't the policy in the past, and considering the numerous staff cuts we endured (1:6 nurse to patient ratio on a cardiac step down) it seemed like a slap in the face. It was one of many, many reasons I left.
  11. awalker1015

    what did you get for Christmas from your employer?

    awalker1015 replied to AlphaPig's topic in Nurses

    All the nurses received a $850 bonus, which was awesome!! Drug reps brought lunch Thursday and Friday last week. We also had a really nice Christmas party with catered food and bar. And on Friday they let us leave at 3, but paid us until 5p. I love my job :) Last year I worked at the hospital and for Christmas we got an umbrella and a restructured holiday pay system that eliminated holiday pay for over half the shift heard this year they eliminated holiday meals for employees and closed meal service all together.
  12. awalker1015

    Assessments every shift?

    awalker1015 replied to Ntheboat2's topic in Nurses

    Exactly! I did half of mine when I introduced myself to the pt and the other half with 8pm meds (worked nights) It is unbelievable to me how many nurses aren't assessing their patients. I did skin checks on all pts and it really doesn't take long if you multitask with other parts of the assessment. All it takes is one decubitus to trace back to your assessment, or lack thereof.
  13. awalker1015

    Patient assignments - Are nurses assigned to empty beds

    awalker1015 replied to LearningAboutNursing's topic in Nurses

    On the med surg tele I worked we were evenly assigned patients and empty beds. We always got admissions and those were heavier than existing patients. I always hoped for an all patient assignment. Having more than one empty usually didn't bode well for my shift.
  14. awalker1015

    Renal nurse

    awalker1015 replied to cdelacruz's topic in Nurses

    Do you mean a dialysis nurse? Or work in a kidney specialty practice?
  15. awalker1015

    Who loves their job?

    awalker1015 replied to solneeshka's topic in Nurses

    Love mine. Work at a kidney practice. I handle two doctors that I respect tremendously, as well as two EPO clinics. We do a lot of clinical trials in our practice and most of our patients are very complex. I also love that I work 5 min from my home and kids school, have great benefits, work mon-fri, no weekends or holidays. I took this job after working on a tele unit at the hospital (night shift) and it has changed my life. I was so unhappy at my last job, especially with the schedule and the hospital's lack of respect for their employees. And as a cherry on top, I take home about 30% more in pay each month. :)
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