night_owl_504

I have a question... I am normally a cardiac nurse but I had the lovely pleasure of getting a pt with an EVD. I'm not really sure which type it was but it is made by medtronic and is by gravity. My question is... If the tubing(not sure correct terminology) proxomial to the pt has blood in it (which was a small amt. And it was a fresh drain) how do you get rid of it? If you turn the stop cock off to the pt and drain and then flush would that do it??? I followed this nurse who said she flushed the line bc it had some blood in the line. I'm just not understanding how in the world she got that blood that was in the tubing right by the insertion site into the drainage bag by "flushing it". Call me stupid... I don't know... I'm just hoping he didn't do what I think he did? I'm hoping to be wrong... Any help would be appreciated.

I have no idea, but good luck. I have ahd the opportunity to work with plenty being that I work in one of the critical care units at WJ. I would say out of 10 students maybe 1.5 might have a clue, and that is because they had medical backfield. Im not trying to discourage, but apply your self and learn all you can. Most of the students I dealt with had no ambition to learn.

well... I thought I would never work on a LTAC unit, but here I am. Do I love it...? No. Do I like the money? YE$$ Never say Never

First of all, I seriously doubt that the govt. and/or the hospital would not provide the necessary PPE. What if all nurses had the same attitude as all those who said no... what if your loved one or kid was terribly sick from this pandemic... who would care for them if we all said no??? Before you say that you would care for them yourself, lets assume that you wasn't a nurse. I am married and have kids, and my parents are still living, but they all know that what my occupation entails. Lets take Hurricane Katrina for instance (this is not a sob story), I along with many others stayed back through a terrible storm with NO RESOURCES. How about bagging a patient that should be on a ventilator for hours, because there is no power... Each and every hurricane season myself and plenty of others who rode out that hurricane still sign up for activation team. Once again im not asking for pity, or reward, but who would care for those less fortunate if we all had the same attitude as those who said NO? I am simply saying I knew before going into this field that I am a first responder, and I think it is shocking and disappointing at the number of NO's in the poll. That is just my opinion, and im not trying to offend anyone. Definition's of First responder borrowed from Wikipedia: First responder is a term used to describe the first medically-trained responder to arrive on scene of an emergency, accident, natural or human ... Local police, fire, and emergency medical personnel who arrive first on the scene of an incident and take action to save lives, protect property ...

Sorry if i seem harsh, but... I cant believe that there are so many nurses here saying that they wouldn't work or undecided!! Thats comparable to a firefighter or police officer saying "nah... I don't think I will put that fire out today, or go into that house with the criminal". I think if you said no, then you need to reevaluate why you are in the medical field! If you are not willing then, why did you become a nurse???

It all depends really. some it means Critical Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit and God knows what else. in some hospitals a CCU is just like a step down, but in most that i worked at it is a Critical unit ie.. ICU or what have you.

The CCU i work in deals with pt's in MODS, with baloon pumps, swanz, chest sumps and even the occasional ventric. drain. So to say that the ICU deals with "more complex pt's" I would have to respectfully disagree. In our facility CCU takes care of mainly heart pt's, and ICU cares for Neuro pt's. It's all up to you if you like the heart or not. FYI: if you are planning on going to anesthesia school... they rather CCU or heart experience....go figure

any idea how much the pay is for 2 years ICU experience??? i love Lafayette and would love to move back, but i hear the pay isnt great???

actually i beg to differ. Of course the responsibility is MUCH greater. but i use the whole time managment thing that i learned in waiting tables and apply it to nx

im not sure what the law is, but... I always felt and thought we as NURSES have to be here for the community... i know at the hospital i work we have an activation and recovery team. i myself stay for hurricanes. I would like to know if that would fall somewhere under abandoment

do you like hearts? neuro? and/or surgical pt's? you will figure that part out as you advance in school. once you figure that out it will be an easy decision

I would love it, if we had a union here! im game!

thanks for all the input. I can now make a better decision on which school to apply.

how about when on the first day of orientaion your director asks you if you want to be on Activation or Recovery team for the Hurricane season...

well thats encouraging. Anyone know whats the deal with the 24 and 32 month program????