KayceeCA

I don't know the best way to get into the heart rooms, but I can tell you how I did it. From the first time I stepped into a heart room, I knew that was what I wanted to do. And I made that loud and clear. I let anyone, and everyone, know how much I ...

I think the time outs at my facility are a happy medium. We cover some pertinent info (pt. name, surgeon, procedure, side if applicable, allergies, antibiotics received) but not too much. We also state that the consent, schedule, H&P, orders and ...

I've had a couple of different experiences at hospitals where I've worked. Experience #1: 20 minute callback time, and we were expected to be there and ready to go in 20 minutes. It was a level 1 Trauma center in a rural area, meaning we got everythi...

I'm a nurse, but I'm also the mother of a stillborn baby. Your compassion touched me deeply. Please don't ever lose that.

Exactly. I went to nursing school later in life (graduated at the age of 36) so I had a lot of jobs before that in a variety of fields - waitressing, retail sales, secretarial work (in banks, real estate, hospitals, small business, large corporation...

I agree with everyone else...I listen to the sat level beep, but I don't do anything without direction from the anesthesia provider. I stand by ready to apply cricoid pressure, hand the ET tube, and lend a hand in any other way I can. But I leave the...

I ask on all GYN cases...and usually the answer is yes.

ShariDCST, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to put together such a helpful post. There's some great info there.

I could've written this...10 years ago! It seems so long ago in some ways, but in others it seems like yesterday. Congrats on passing!

I've been on the heart team for almost 10 years, working at 3 different hospitals, and when I circulate I never open cannulas until the scrub is ready for me to had them to him/her. I have scrubbed on occasion, and when I scrub I will ask the circula...

I absolutely, positively, beyond any doubt prefer adults. Peds are scary because they can go bad so fast, and when they go bad they really, really go bad. The two babies who died on the OR table when I used to do peds hearts were the main reason I le...

I totally agree with fracturenurse. I've pointed out breaks in sterile technique to others (surgeons, scrub techs, circulators) many times and the response has always been something like, "thanks for having my back." I've also had others point out my...

I agree with everyone else - forget this experience and move on as though it never happened. There are obviously other issues going on behind the scenes that have nothing to do with you. No reputable employer will tell you you're doing a "great job" ...

A facility I am familiar with recently went through a lengthy legal battle and had to settle a class action lawsuit because someone said they were not being given the breaks they were legally entitled to, and the facility had no records to back thems...

We are still filling ours in the OR. I guess word that pharmacy has to fill anything over 100mL hasn't spread here yet. It's definitely a "pain" (sorry, couldn't resist) having to open all those bottles, although we do have 50mL bottles so we only ha...

Amen to that!

It makes me so sad to read about how some ORs are run, and so thankful that the OR where I work doesn't do these things. We have a regular call team which is utilized only for traumas, plus a heart team which can also be called in for traumas if the ...

We have a couple of surgeons that do this. It used to make me nervous, but not anymore. I just go about the business of getting my patient ready for surgery. If the surgeon wants to sit back and watch, that's fine by me. I'm not going to cut any corn...

I do the same thing, and I totally agree that there isn't any harm in stopping by to check on a previous patient.

I knew when I started nursing school that I wanted to work in the OR. Rather than wait until I graduated from nursing school, I checked area hospitals to see if there were any opportunities for nursing students to work in the OR while still in school...

We have 11 rooms in our major OR, then 4 more in outpatient surgery. Our typical room breakdown is 3 ortho rooms, 1 trauma room, 1 cardiac room, 1 cysto room, 2 neuro rooms, and 2 general rooms. We have one room that is not currently being utilized a...

We do a "retained laps" documentation when the laps were left in intentionally by the surgeon, in a trauma where he/she knows the retained laps will be removed at a later date. Are you sure that's not what you're seeing? I have not noticed any break ...

Same thing here, although this is the first hospital where I've worked that did this. It's nice to know what may or may not be coming our way. The times I've been sent, I just made sure I stayed out of the way of the ER nurses and waited for the trau...

I'm left handed, and I agree with the other responses. You will pass with both hands, depending on the situation and the best angle to get the instrument to the surgeon. Passing under versus over will become more natural with time. The thing I strugg...

We never did at the other facilities where I worked, but we do where I work now. I agree that it's an excellent practice, because it's amazing how many times we find holes. It's especially important in total joint cases, and that's where it's really ...