TaoMedic

Hi everyone, I am a Paramedic/RN and I'm working on my capstone project. What I need to know from the experienced nurses is What is the CRITICAL information you need to manage a patient in the ED when the patient can't speak for themselves?? In cases when patients are unable to communicate due either to language barriers, developmental delays, dementia, pediatric patients, trauma patients, etc what are the key pieces of medical history, medications, family history etc that you need to know? What are the Zebras you need to know, like wolff parkinsons white?? I really appreciate your time and help in this!!

If you go to the Boston Herald's web page it was on there. I searched "Nursing" on their site. It was in the paper last week I think.

NP School is my next stop...... I jsut gotta get my Pre-req's squared away for NorthEastern. I'm honestly shocked that the new grad market is so tough. The Mass Nursing Assc says that the "open shift" ratio is going to hit 15% soon....

Actually I posted this exactly where I wanted it..... in the Introduction section. Thanks for moving it......

I just read the dismal New Grad thread, so I thought I'd pose a question: I am a long term paramedic and I am just about ready to take my NCLEX. I have my Critical Care Medic certification, 2 years of in-hospital ED experience, ACLS/PALS/CPR instructor and a boat-load of other certifications (ACLS-EP, ATLS, PHTLS, PALS, NALS, ACLS, blah blah blah). I have heard from a few reliabe sources (recruiters) that many of the big hospitals give preference to well-experienced medical professionals who are new to Nursing, and that they have a sliding scale for compensating Paramedics for their time in EMS when it comes to the RN pay-scale (most common seems to be 6mos for every year, though some are doing 1:1). Any advice on how to approach the job hunt?

This is the first nursing board I have participated in, and I actually found it while researching New Grad positions in Boston. I'll be taking my NCLEX sometime in the next few months. I am an EMS veteran with about 15 years on the ambu, I have my Critical Care Paramedic, PALS/ACLS/BLS Instructor and have participated in most of the high-end Con Ed I can find (ACLS-EP, Advanced Trauma Life Support, etc). I am going to be getting my resume together and applying to the Big 3 here in Boston (BI, the Brigham, Mass General), and I'm interested in any of the Critical Care and Emergency Medicine disciplines. I look forward to participating and taking any advice I can here.