see2mee

I work in outpatient surgery. One day I overheard a patient telling his family members that the "anaHOOLiologist" had just been in to talk to him ...(it was about his anesthesia, of course). :)

I just had to give 0.625 mg of droperidol on Friday. I was happy to learn I got the math right but unhappy with having to draw up 0.25 ml. What a headache! I think we need to talk to pharmacy where I work too. As far as morphine goes, we do have the 2 mg, 4 mg, and 10 mg cartrigages, so that's not a problem.

I tried to pick an area that was completely different from any of my other clinical experiences throughout school. I thought it would be a good idea to branch out to something different while I had the opportunity. I did my "Role Transition" in outpatient surgery, and I LOVED IT! I was not able to find a job in that area right out of school, but it became my goal to get there someday. After a year on a unit where I was not happy, I took a position as relief staff in outpatient surgery as a way in the door. As soon as there was an opening, I was poised to take it. I couldn't be happier with my job now. Good luck to you in finding an area you will enjoy.

I think it was Gwenyth Paltrow.

I'm so sorry you were treated so badly. That's horrible, and it's completely irresponsible for them to send you off without instructions. Not knowing what to expect during your recovery just makes your anxiety worse, which is not good for the healing process. I had a TAH in July, and I HIGHLY recommend a web site called Hystersisters at http://www.hystersisters.com/ There are many message boards, including pre-op and post-op from which you can learn what others have experienced as well as receive encouragement and support. It's a wonderful site. The site is also filled with lots of information and other resources. It helped me tremendously to know what was going on as I healed. Take care of yourself so you will heal properly. Catherine

I've never liked putting a pill on my tongue to swallow it. I take a mouthful of water FIRST and then put the pill in my mouth and swallow. That way, it gets washed down without my ever noticing it. Good luck finding something that works. My daughter learned by practicing with a Tic Tac. Catherine

I'm not a regular poster here (although I read the boards almost every day), but I thought I'd add my thoughts on this. Is there such a thing as a cost-benefit analysis nurse? I have a great medical abbreviations book from my former days as a medical transcriptionist, and "cost-benefit analysis" is listed as one definition for the abbreviation CBA. Just a thought. :) Catherine

My hospital won't even let us use the old style heel protectors/egg-crate foam boots anymore. We usually use pillows to "float" the heels, but we can also use what we call a "cheese boot". It's a big rectangular piece of faom with a hole (like swiss cheese) where the heel lands, so it does a pretty good job of suspending the heel. Most patients don't like them, though, so we usually use pillows. Catherine

Thanks for your response, Betsy. I would love to have that much orientation. I hope that's the case if I end up getting a job in L&D. At my current job, and I was fresh out of school, I got only 7 weeks of part-time orientation, and I had to request that last week. Even on a subacute unit, that was not enough. It was supposed to be full-time orientation, which would at least have been a lot better, but it did not turn out that way as most weeks I had some classroom time and was not on the floor. The classroom time was mostly orientation to the hospital system and not that closely related to my actual job. If I eventually apply for a L&D job, I will be asking a lot of questions about what orientation is like. Catherine

That helps a lot, Deb. Thank you very much. That sounds pretty similar to what I remember them telling me at the interview for the job I had to turn down back in December. Catherine

Thanks, Deb. I SO wish I could pursue this now as I am so unhappy at my current job. I really enjoy my patients (mostly elderly), but they staff the unit on numbers, not acuity, and our manager routinely takes patients who are too sick for a subacute unit, however, the staffing doesn't change. I'm so frustrated at having so many patients (up to 9, although I was once left as the only RN on the unit with 10) and only time to do the bare essentials most of the time. Apparently, our hospital service doctors are rewarded for getting patients off the regular units and onto our subacute unit as fast as possible. It's no wonder the acuity of the patients just keeps getting higher. We also get a lot of confused patients who are serious fall risks, but we don't get extra staff to monitor them. Could someone tell me, how are the nurse/patient ratios in OB? I assume it depends on whether you are doing L&D or postpartum/newborn care on a given shift. How does that work? Thanks. Catherine

Thank you all for you advice and encouragement. Just to clarify, enough nervousness to keep me on my toes I consider a good thing. And, yes, I ALWAYS ask questions when I'm not sure about something. I guess I'm just especially nervous with L&D because it is so specialized, and I had so little experience with it in school. It just seems like SO much to learn about something that is SO important to people. I would hope for a situation where the other nurses are supportive and willing to help when I need it, which is really true no matter where I work. I think it's also true that almost anything seems a lot scarier from a distance. I probably need to just jump in with both feet and start learning. :) I won't be in a position to start something new for a few months, until my daughter is settled, but you have all helped me start to think through this decision. Thanks again. Catherine

Thanks so much for your response, Jan. One to two years seems like such a long time to be so nervous. Being a new RN at my age, 41, it is so tempting to find something less nerve-wracking and just not put myself through all that, but I just can't quite let go of the idea. I appreciate your input. Catherine

Hi. I mostly lurk on these boards, but I think they're great. I'm hoping I can gain some insight from you experienced L&D nurses. I felt a strong pull toward L&D nursing all through nursing school. I just graduated in Dec. of 2003. I was offered a job in L&D before I graduated and really wanted to take it, but I couldn't work with the rotating shifts at that point. To make a long story short, I have a daughter who is disabled and needs skilled care at home. I was not able to arrange care for her with a rotating schedule, so I turned the job down. I took a job in a subacute care unit because the schedule was always PMs, and my days were predictable. I have worked there about 7 months, but I don't intend to stay forever. My daughter just turned 18, and our county is in the process of buying a house to create an "Adult Family Home" for her and two other disabled women. She will be very near us, so we can see her every day, but I will no longer be responsible for arranging or providing her care. She will probably move by the end of the year. So, I will be free to find a job I really want. I find myself still very interested in L&D, but I'm terrified of it as well. It seems very overwhelming because it is so foreign to me. I was a straight-A student in school, and I am a fast learner, but I'm still scared. It just seems like there is so much to know in order to provide safe care. Can anyone give me any insight as to how long it takes to become competant, and do hospitals usually provide enough orientation so that one feels reasonably comfortable before being on their own? Thanks so much. Catherine

Well, I definitely would not be taking this subacute position if I weren't in a bind with my schedule. I was thrilled to be offered the labor and delivery positions, and I was looking forward to 12 weeks of full-time orientation before going to my part-time schedule. I just can't handle a constantly-changing schedule of that position along with my daughter's needs, so that's that. This was the only position I could find with a schedule I could work with right now, so I'll at least give it my best shot. I'm finding myself dreaming (not nightmares...not yet anyway) about how I'm going to organize my day. It's obviously on my mind a lot. Catherine