LuvbabiesRN

I dont know anything about canadian hospitals either.... but if i were you I woudn't worry about it ... everything seems scary and impossible in school... but its different when you get out in the real world... some people are great at taking care of several patients.. some aren't.. if you aren't then look into areas of nursing that keep you with 1 or 2 .. like the OR or ICU or something like that.. the opportunities are endless...

On my unit... cv surg.. its 3/1 days.. 4/1 3-11 and 5/1 for nights...sounds good compared to alot of places... and sometimes thats crazy... assessments and vitals q 4 hrs.. all done by RN

This is an interesting post.... I think that anyone can start in any area if they are cut out for it and if they have the proper orientation and training . I got the same old speach 6 months ago when i graduated... "do med surg..." I cant stand med surg... caring for 5-6 non critical patients with a million different diagnosis and a million different docs... If i had been on med surg i would have left nursing long ago. Anyone can be an awsome nurse if they love what they do.. everyone has a knack somewhere.... you just gotta find it.. and orientation it a huge part of new grads becoming what they are... If you properly train a new grad from the start they can be a good nurse in any area.. no matter how specialized or critical... as far as those mistakes go (with gtts).. of course human error is always a factor... but i think anyone should know that when you are hanging gtts like cardizem, amio, or giving a cardiac med or a anything IV you always have someone check yoiur calculations and your rate no matter how experienced you are ....just my opinion

Hello fellow nurses, I need some advice I am a new nurse.. graduated in may.. i work full time a cv surgical floor... its crazy but i like it.. the cardiac part anyway.. I always thought i had wanted to do pedi and lately pedi cardiac.. i have found out that i love cardiac stuff... so eventually i want to work at some hospital that does lots of caridac procedures for kids... anyway so i got a per diem job at the other hospital in the city where i work just to get some pedi experience.. i figured that with pedi experience and cardiac experience that i could put them together in a few years. ( previously worked in this pedi unit as an LNA/US Well the nurse manager is extremely budget conscious and is giving me the worst orientation experience ever..... my orientation at my full time job was 12 weeks long.. i dont expect that again becuase i am no longer a new grad... the problem is though she thinks that i am an extra body on the unit therefor she can cut staffing...... and i end up running around acting as an LNA to help the nurses who are overburdened.... my preceptor is sooooo busy that she does not have time to say one word to me the entire 8 hr shift.. never mind teach me how to use any of the stuff like syringe pumps... ect.. i thought maybe it was just a bad day but i have spent 3 days there and there is no change what so ever.. i have learned nothing.... and they want to set me on my own in 3 weeks... i really want to quit because i feel it isnt fair to myself or to my patients... and i know that i will be very frustated with the staffing issues and the lack of training... What should i do???????????????? i am meeting with them but i know it will not change ,. since i wokred there previously i know that i manager only thinks of money and not safety of her patients and the stress level of ther staff.. and know that i am a nurse i dont want to work in this enviroment.. HELP

In regards to not having taken ACLS.. let me explain.. I am going to take ACLS... i have a year from date of hire to take it... my place is similiar to whoever else wrote and said they were told to wait a few months and they would understand it better... That is also what i was told... its not that we arent prepared with knowledge... i was in a 12 week new grad intership class.. 8 hrs a week of everything u need to know about cardiac and respiratory and icu stuff.... it was awesome course... learned tons.. but all that informtion that was sort of confusing and definately overwhelming is now starting to make sense now that i have been a floor nurse for about 5 months... i guess the same can be said for ACLS..... the more experience u have the better it will make sense... also... its good to have a break between 4years of nursing school ,start to a new job and 12 weeks of more classes... its exhausting and frightening to be a new grad and have so much info and responsibilty thrown at u... u already feel inferior enough... anyways what i am trying to say is that i think i will understand ACLS more now that i have been on the unit for a while and there is some space in my brain for some new information..

In regards to not having taken ACLS.. let me explain.. I am going to take ACLS... i have a year from date of hire to take it... my place is similiar to whoever else wrote and said they were told to wait a few months and they would understand it better... That is also what i was told... its not that we arent prepared with knowledge... i was in a 12 week new grad intership class.. 8 hrs a week of everything u need to know about cardiac and respiratory and icu stuff.... it was awesome course... learned tons.. but all that informtion that was sort of confusing and definately overwhelming is now starting to make sense now that i have been a floor nurse for about 5 months... i guess the same can be said for ACLS..... the more experience u have the better it will make sense... also... its good to have a break between 4years of nursing school ,start to a new job and 12 weeks of more classes... its exhausting and frightening to be a new grad and have so much info and responsibilty thrown at u... u already feel inferior enough... anyways what i am trying to say is that i think i will understand ACLS more now that i have been on the unit for a while and there is some space in my brain for some new information..

Hi, i was wondering if anyone has bought a Litman cardiology stethascope recently? I want to buy one online... for a good price.. sorry for the spelling mistakes.. im in a rush..

On my unit (CV surg) RN"S can pull chest tubes... there has to be order of course .. The nurse has to be competent.. only the nurses who have been on the unit for years usually do it.. (and thats pretty much only the nurses on day shift) I think they have to take a course or prove competency... They can only pull mediastinal chest tubes though.. the PA's pull the pleural tubes. The RN's can also pull epicardial pacing wires... the PA's have to be on the unit though..

1. Be a LNA or CNA... its incredible experience.. especially in the hospital.. sure its a lot of work.. and a lot of dirty work.. but you will learn alot and when u are a nurse... your LNA experience will come in very very handy... 2. Don't get discouraged... its hard being a student nurse... its a ton of work,. stress, and pressure, and in a profession where sometimes.. "nurses eat their young" its hard not to want to give up... but just keep plogging along and when you are a nurse you will remember how hard it was to be a SN and you will forever be nice to students... GOOD LUCK!!!:) :roll :roll

I think think of lots of areas i will (hopefully ) never do.. MED/Surg.. 6 patients??? no way.. plus i hate ortho stuff.. Ltc...give me acutely ill pts.. hate ltc OR... i personally like to see my patients awake... at some point during the shift... plus i hate the cold twighlight zoneness of it too and i defintely cant stand up and stand still for 8 hrs... although u see some cool stuff... esp heart surgeries. PSYCH... no way.. i need tubes drains and IVs.. dont like all the PTSD stuff Dialysis (sp?)...boring... Management..... paperwork?? no thanks... pt care is what makes nursing interesting.. Im not much for respiratory either.. and trachs scare me to death .. i cringe every time i have a trach pt...

YEs u are right.. he was on dopamine and not in the ICU.. my unit is almost an ICU minus the vents and the 1-2 pt assignments... Its a CV surgical floor ... we have patients on every kind of gtt u can think of.. except neo... if they are on neo they have to be in the unit... And they are continuously monitered... u usually dont have more than 1 pt on dopamine.. so u obviously moniter your patient more than you normally would... i take vitals on my patients an average of 3-4 times a shift.. but usually of they are on dopamine we hook them up to an automatic bp cuff and take their bp's q 30 min.... And just as a side note... that patient came back to visit us.. yesterday... looking great... he bought himself a pace maker but it was great to see my code pt.. out of the hospital and walking around ..

Before i say anything else.. congrats on passing boards... As far as charge nurse goes..... I can't belive they want you to be charge nurse already. I would refuse.. Where i work no one is charge nurse unless they have at least several years of experience... are a Clinical nurse 2 or 3. The charge nurse serves as a resource for all the other nurses and needs to have lots of experience under his/her belt. I have only been a nurse for 4 months but i could not even imagine being charge nurse for at least 2 years or so... I would at least make sure I took ACLS... or PALS.... sounds scary to me!!!!!!

Alrighty... I dont know how many of you newbies have seen a code yet... or have one happen to your patient... If anyone has i would appreciate your input... it happened last night i am still freaked out...:imbar I work 3-11.. I had three patients last night and i decided to assess this one first... right at 1500..This guy was a 59 year old... he had had a CABG x4 on the 14th so he was pod #7 he was a 1 pack a day smoker and a drinker.. he had been on ativan protocol and had been halluciating.... but all that had ended the day before.. he was awake and alert and oriented but a little vague.. no hallucinations... He had also been in UCAF 2-3 days ago and they had him on po amiodarone... so he has been NSR for a few days.. nothing else significant except he had been started on dopamine for renal issues.. 3 mcg/kg.. so he had dopamine and 1/2 ns running through a h/L . He was on 6 liter NC.. and sat 91, 92% lungs were junkie of course.. insp ans exp wheezes and scattered rhonchi T/O... anyways so i did his assessment and I put him back to bed... vitals were stabel.. NSR, 70's bp 150's....afebrile..... I went to see my other 2 patients... at 4 i checked wiht our moniter tech to see what he was doing... still NSR in the 70s.... about 4:45 i went into his room to give him his coumadin... he was sitting up eating dinner.. he was acting a little vague... it took me 5 min to get him to swallow his pill.... he was trying to chew soup without his dentures in... anyways i took his pressure again just cuz i hate dopmamine it freaks me out... i always am neurotic about chekcing bp and hr when pts are on it... anyways he was 100/30... (lower of course than earlier but earlier he had just been started on dopamine... so i expected his pressure to rise a little ealier) hr was 76... i walked out to the nurses station and our moniter tech tells me that .. he had a 2 sec pause and is bradying down the the 30 and 40s but comes right back up... my former preceptor was sitting right there... and i asked her if dopamine can cause pauses... we both walked right into his room and he was slumped over in his chair.... face blue gray.... i freaked.... of course we called a code.. and 30 people showed up.. there was a RT already on the floor as well as 2 docs so there were there immediately... he never went asystole... i guess he had a faint femoral pulse... i didnt really do anything.. i havent taken ACLS yet..... and he didnt have to be vented ... they gave him 1 mg of atropine... and put him on a 100% nrb and he came back.... (although he was still confused when we got him to the ICU) he was stable enough to be transfered to the ICU... Anyways i was shaking i was so freaked.. i cant get his face out of my head...... he was so blue/gray... i couldn't sleep last night and I am still thinking about it... anyone else had their patient code?? i have never even seen one before nevermind happen to my patient.... of course i work on a cardiac surgical floor so it happens ... anyways... i need some feedback... Sorry this is soooo long!!!!! :imbar

OOPs that was supposed to say input..

Hey thanks for your imput JIll-Pa.. that website was helpful!!!