Zinnia

I am having trouble visualizing all these cables. Does this impact patient mobility at all? Is it anymore problematic than the usual ICU lines? I work in a small rural ICCU, nine beds, where docs are not putting in Swans like they used too. You have a link or something I could learn more about this?

We do not use the iced injectate either, but still stock the equipment for it. I have only used it as a trouble shooting method, when things are not working. Usually just getting a cool IV bag off the shelf is all it takes. I have heard of the continuous CO machines, is it hooked up with pressurized lines like the art/CVP lines are now?

I heard a nurse with a master's in forensics speak at a workshop. She was the county coroner.

"I don't get to leave the floor when I need a break from the floor." Take your break.

Because the woman said she did not want to be cut from breastbone to pelvic bone, it makes me wonder what teaching she had. The scars for C-section are actually very small aren't they? And because the woman presented herself to the health care system when she did not feel her babies move shows some responsibility and concern. There is much more to this story.

My son sustained a basilar fracture, frontal subdural hematoma and a fractured left tib/fib. He is getting along well with crutches and so far, with my other son home from college, my husband and I can both still work and have someone watch him. Thanks for the suggestion of the Daycare though. My son was in St. Francis Neuro intensive care in Peoria, I haven't met you already have I? His biggest problem is the loss of hearing in his left ear. The doc says no messing with that until he is seen in one month. My biggest problem, I guess, is that he doesn't realize his brain is hurt, and will go on and on, stuck on the subject of going back to work and driving his truck. As if it is only the leg he is waiting for to heal. We have hidden his keys and all the hunting rifles. My question is other than computer games, what can we do to keep him stimulated and encourage cognition?

My son is coming home after an accident with head trauma. He has deficits with verbal memory and insight/judgement. I need internet resouces for things I can do at home to help him. I am an ICU nurse and this is a bit out of my league.

Trendelenberg position puts pressure on the carotid sinus and you get a false improvement. Yes, the numbers 'look' better. http://www.jems.com/jems/e0302k.html

The best "when a patient is in trouble or crashing" nurse is chronically late, if fact, we call her ten minute mary. But the fact is at least once a month she oversleeps and is a good HOUR late. She was employee of the year for 2001. She knows everyone ,and eveyone loves her. She works the 3am to 3pm shift and doesn't go to bed so has trouble getting up. I was raised so differently. I think her chronic lateness is very disrespectful, but everyone just laughs.."that's Mary!" The problem is she is a damned good nurse, I would be the first to say so, but her lateness is chronically overlooked.

My hospital has the ,if you get sick on a weekend you have to sign up for extra weekend hours, policy. We had to do this because managers couldn't make their chronic 'call-ins' behave. Also ,we have a sick time policy that states you can't use sick time for only one day off unless you are maxed out on sick time. The chronic abusers,of course are not maxed out on sick time! If you call in for two days you can use sick time for both days and it is only one occurance against your record. so this encourages everyone to call in for at least two days in a row. Is this stupid or what?

The nurses get the consent signed with a doctor's order at my hospital. It says right on the consent 'the physician"____" has exlpained the procedure to me.' We fill in the surgeon's name. On that same form is the consent to anesthesia. We get that signed too. The preop checklist requires Pre-op to check that everything is signed ,that there is a blue ink X on the affected part,(the patient actually makes the X,if they can),and that they are all again signed by the doctor. We are pretty lucky here that the anesthesia doctor makes rounds to talk to the patients before surgery.

You get out of nursing school what you put into it. Study groups excellent,tutoring a slower student is the best way to get it all into your head. And when you get to the floors..volunteer to see everything! Ask what is going on, how can you help? Can I observe you put in the catheter? etc.

The other day at work at 0710,right when we were giving report to the day shift,I answered the phone. It was a nurse recruiter from a nearby bigger city hospital wanting to know if any of our nurses in our 9 bed ICCU wanted to 'go over'. Now, I find this all pretty intriguing....for one thing anyone should know that this is a bad time to call. Don' t most iccus work 7 to 7? and give report at this time? Or maybe, that was the point to catch two shifts. The recruiter insisted on leaving his name and number. I don't know,I thought this was a bit cheeky calling the unit directly. We have a pretty good crew right now and I as a staff nurse and part of this crew wanted to go ballistic on him.

We give a verbal report in the ICCU,using our bedside charting as a guideline so we don't forget anything. don't know how this will work when we go to computer charting...We keep worklists on paper..all of us. Takes 15 to 30 minutes depending on if the nurse is familiar with the patient.