xigris79

just the other day i took my pt for a ct of the head bc she became unresponsive (already vented). i got the ct results very shortly after the scan and it showed she had multiple new infarcts in her brain. the family was in the room with her when we got back and they kept pressing me for the results. No doctors were around of course (non-teaching hospital at night) and i felt like this is something the doc should be telling them. i told the family the results were pending till the doc finally called me back and i could put him on the phone with them. they had many many other questions for the doc that i could not have answered for them. On the other hand, if the scan was negative I would have told them just that.

difficult and unappreciative families and pts come with our territory. i hit a point in my career where i started sticking up for myself in these situations and have told pts to please not speak to me like that or treat me like a human being bc i am only trying to help them. some apologize and some tell you to "go fly a kite". either way i feel better than when i used to just shut my mouth and smile. in my opinion the customer is not always right. we are all people who deserve to be treated with respect.

Why was his gas so bad? Would paralyzing him have helped? I usually shut propofol off completely in a hypotensive pt. Different hospitals have different theories about Levo, which I find strange. The last unit I worked on maxed Levo out at 25 mcg/min. The hosptial I am at now has no cap. I usually request another alpha agonist, vaso and neo especially if the HR is high you don't want to be running dopa.

Do any units out there swab the nurses for mrsa? The units I have worked on swab all pts on admission and most go on isolation. As many know we take care of the pts before we know they have it. So why haven't I seen nurses swabbed and treated with bactroban? I am convinced we are all colonized.

kgard7777 is someone trying to convince you to be a nurse or have you been trying to convince yourself?

Likes - medical complexity of the pts seeing a pt improve- even if just a little teaching the families challenge autonomy focus of having 1-2pts during a shift. Dislikes - difficult families seeing sad sad cases docs who aren't aggresive

pay in RI is much lower than in MA. not sure exactly what you will start at bc there are a few diff unions in RI but it will be below $25/h. Also, they mandate you to stay past your shift if they are short, meaning if you work nights 7p-7a and they are short on days you will have to stay for 1st shift. The only hospital I have heard good things about in RI is Meriam. I graduated a few years ago from nursing school in mass and couldn't find a job. Myself along with others moved out of state. Its not you! Good luck

I started in ICU as a new grad. Had a great 5 mth training program and did very well. Some sink and some swim. My nurse manager told me she loves new grads bc she finds it easier to train them than floor or tele nurses. I think it just depends on the person, experience or not. I say go for it.

I work with favorite healthcare staffing. So far they have been great. Pay is high compared to other companies, health insurance is good, 401K, dental. Recruiters have been very helpful and supportive.

I've been doing a local contract with a travel company since this past Jan and have extended until end of June. I really want to travel travel as a nurse but don't have anyone to go with. ARe there any places that would be really good to travel to solo. I am currently doing a local assignment in Boston, which is where I am from. It is great but I want to see the country. My specialty is Adult ICU and some places I am intersted in are Chicago, Seattle, Denver.... Can anyone suggest any really great places to travel to solo. I am an outdoorsy person but don't want to be in the middle of nowhere.