dwoodruff

Certification is a personal and professional accomplishment. According to a research study by the ANA, certified nurses reported: -More confidence -Better collaborative relationships with physicians and peers -Fewer errors and adverse patient effects Do it for you. Don't worry about who else will recognize it. You might find, as I did, that certification can be the beginning of a more rewarding career. Best wishes in your career pursuits, David W. Woodruff, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN

Ether, SpO2: what you read off the pulse oximetry machine (pulse oximetry oxygen saturation). Normal is 95-100%. SvO2: oxygen saturation in central venous blood (it's like the SaO2 of venous blood). Normal is 75%. If you subtract the SvO2 from the SaO2, you can identify how much oxygen is being used by the patient. For example: SaO2 = 100%, and SvO2 = 75%, oxygen consumption is 25%. PaO2: amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood, measured as a partial-pressure of oxygen. This oxygen is not attached to hemoglobin, rather it is free and floating around in the blood. Tissues cannot use PaO2 effectively and only about 3% of tissue oxygenation comes from the PaO2. Normal is 80-100 torr. SaO2: amount of hemoglobin that has oxygen bound to it. 100% means that all hemoglobin binding sites have oxygen bound to them. This is measured on a blood gas. 97% of tissue oxygenation comes from the SaO2. Normal is 95-100%. I hope this helps, David Woodruff. MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN President, Ed4Nurses, Inc.

I taught students that ranged from 18 to 65 years-old. "Too old" is an excuse for not pursuing your goals. Some of my best students were over 40. If this has been a dream of yours, do it no matter what the obstacles. There are plenty of great career choices as a nurse and many of them don't involve working in understaffed institutions. If you need assistance or reassurance along the way, come back to the discussion boards. There is a tremendous amount of support from your peers here! Best wishes, David Woodruff, MSN, RN

The only advantage I can think of is to be able to care for the patient who drives up to the ER with injuries requiring spinal stabilization. Nurses are not taught to extricate patients from vehicles, so there might be an advantage there. However, this skill would be easy to learn from the local fire department. Otherwise, EMT training will be pretty redundant with what you already know. David Woodruff

Frankly, I'm surprised. I've heard of flight nurses needing EMT training. That makes sense, since they do scene runs. But ER nurses needing EMT training??? Get your resume together and focus on your rapid assessment skills (that you may have learned elsewhere). If you have ACLS and PALS, you should be able to find a job without the EMT training. And don't worry about being "out-of-the-loop" for 3 years, you'll pick it up again in no time. Good Luck! David Woodruff

I have been asked to put together some educational materials about how to handle common emergencies in long-term care. However, my current practice is hospital-based. Can any of you folks help me out here? I would like to know "What are the 5 most common emergencies in long-term care?" Please post, or e-mail me directly at [email protected]. Thanks! David Woodruff, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN Ed4Nurses, Inc. Nursing Continuing Education

What type of patients do you care for? Med Surg is the title given to general hospital nurses. Really, this is no longer valid. Most Med Surg floors have some sort of specialty (vascular, urology, plastic surgery, etc.) Nurses who work in hospitals are the largest group of nurses and Med-Surg nurses make up the largest number of hospital nurses. What type of care do you provide? Med-Surg care is very generalized. You get a wide variety of different patient populations. Care includes assessment of a wide variety of patient problems, treatments such as dressing changes, respiratory treatments, administering medications to multiple patients, and evaluation of those treatments. Med-Surg nurses interact with doctors, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, and other professionals. How long are patients in your unit? Typically patients are on the Med-Surg floor for about 2-3 days, depending on the type of unit. Longer stays are typical of Medical floors, shorter stays on surgical floors. What kind of hours do you work? You will probably be hired for 40 hours a week. Due to the nursing shortage, nurses are working more overtime than ever, though. What kind of experience do you need and or get in med surg? You can be hired into Med-Surg as a new grad. The experience you get is invaluable. In order to move into specialty areas like critical care or surgery you will need Med-Surg experience. I hope this helps, David Woodruff, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN Ed4Nurses, Inc. Nursing Continuing Education