brillohead ADN, RN

Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty

Member

  • Content

    1,781

  • Visitors

    24,858

  • Followers

    0

  • Likes

    85

All Content by brillohead

  1. brillohead

    So where IS the nursing shortage?

    brillohead replied to milliesmom88's topic in General Nursing

    SW Michigan, about halfway between Chicago and Detroit. Starting pay is around $30 for night shift. Health insurance for the family is about $60/week at my organization. You can purchase a decent...
  2. brillohead

    WILTW 10/29: Trauma for breakfast

    brillohead replied to LadyFree28's topic in General Nursing

    I learned that I'm starting to develop my "nursey Spidey sense": caught a GI bleed and a bleeding chest tube with air leak (two different patients, thank goodness!). I also think I'd like to be a...
  3. brillohead

    they say nurses are the worst patients....

    brillohead replied to mmc51264's topic in General Nursing

    Yep, it's a guy thing. Years ago, before I was a nurse (and before I even had an inkling that I would become a nurse someday), I used to keep track of my husband's meds, reorder/refill them when...
  4. brillohead

    Only Crusty Old Bats will remember..

    brillohead replied to Pepper The Cat's topic in General Nursing

    My facility doesn't have a way to keep track of which patients use what. I'm sure it's built in to the daily room charge, but there isn't a separate line item for each product. Some patients don't...
  5. brillohead

    Only Crusty Old Bats will remember..

    brillohead replied to Pepper The Cat's topic in General Nursing

    Just did a quick search -- even NOT purchasing in bulk, they can be obtained for less than $1.00 each. Definitely not cost-effective to wash and reuse
  6. brillohead

    Only Crusty Old Bats will remember..

    brillohead replied to Pepper The Cat's topic in General Nursing

    Plastic bedpans and basins are reusable but "single patient only" -- they get tossed (or sent home) when the patient discharges, never used for a different patient. When I was in clinicals during...
  7. brillohead

    Made mistakes

    brillohead replied to Sith_Nurse's topic in General Nursing

    We have bedside report at my facility, too, but our daytime supervisor is WAY too anal about it, IMO. There are some things you just don't want to say in front of the patient/family. I have no...
  8. brillohead

    throat irritation & hand sanitizer

    brillohead replied to jasimon88's topic in General Nursing

    Does Purell bother you when you're not in a hospital? Hospital air is intentionally kept dry... you may just be reacting to
  9. brillohead

    Hurricane Questions

    brillohead replied to nurseburst's topic in Disaster Preparation

    If your facility DOESN'T have a plan for loss of power/EHR access, I would print out the MAR for each of your patients when you arrive. You likely have a way to print out the past several weeks'...
  10. brillohead

    What's your night shift routine?

    brillohead replied to blah_blah_blah's topic in General Nursing

    I also stay up all night even when not working. Ask your manager if you can work three nights in a row at your request on a regular basis. I actually like to work the last three nights of one week and...
  11. brillohead

    Conflict of interest

    brillohead replied to gingah828's topic in General Nursing

    If you're not going to be working through an agency, I recommend you tread VERY carefully. You'll be responsible for liability insurance and employment taxes, among other
  12. brillohead

    Popping off top from lab tube when drawing labs

    brillohead replied to pattykolo888's topic in General Nursing

    We can only draw off a *fresh* IV for labs (as in, standing there while it was inserted and nothing has been put into it yet). We can draw off a PICC -- we flush, waste 10mL, then draw up whatever the...
  13. brillohead

    Conflict of interest

    brillohead replied to gingah828's topic in General Nursing

    Are you talking about doing business "on the side" or through another agency? If your current agency is okay with it, that's your answer. I went to a new client one night for Agency B that I...
  14. brillohead

    IVPB

    brillohead replied to mdiada's topic in General Nursing

    Similarly, if you're giving 100mL over four hours (I'm thinking of the 4-hour Zosyn IVPBs that are all the rage these days at my facility), it would be 25mL/hour. How many mL total divided by how...
  15. brillohead

    Why do hospitals promote Flu shots so bad?

    brillohead replied to Life22feb's topic in General Nursing

    Not to mention, if someone comes in for a knee replacement or other unrelated issue and ends up staying longer for flu complications because they caught it from an unvaccinated employee who was...
  16. brillohead

    Why do hospitals promote Flu shots so bad?

    brillohead replied to Life22feb's topic in General Nursing

    My unit has seen TONS of pneumonia all summer long, and not just in the elderly or chronically ill population. I am honestly terrified of what is going to happen this winter, when flu season hits and...
  17. brillohead

    She doesn't say much...

    brillohead replied to BabyFood26's topic in General Nursing

    Can you imagine what would happen if you let out a huge
  18. brillohead

    Unreliable coworker asks for reference?

    brillohead replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    While I agree that honesty is always good, there are gentler ways to go about it, too. You could tell her that the "politics" or "vibe" at Hospital B is way different than Hospital A, such that you...
  19. brillohead

    A question about the use of drawing-up needles

    brillohead replied to 5alazar's topic in Patient Medications

    They are 30ml according to the website. They are also FOR EXTERNAL USE according to the website. Check out this picture at the top of their website: If a facility is using these for IV flushing,...
  20. brillohead

    Condom Catheter?

    brillohead replied to johndough's topic in General Nursing

    I'm assuming you're referring to my post with the Reliafit? I personally like them. They form a nice seal only around the glans, so the size of the whole "unit" (or the "grow-er versus show-er"...
  21. brillohead

    Condom Catheter?

    brillohead replied to johndough's topic in General Nursing

    Our hospital recently started using Reliafit external catheters instead of Texas/condom catheters. The out-of-hospital version is the Men's Liberty -- maybe check to see if your client's insurance...
  22. brillohead

    Transporting Patients from ER to Floor. Your Process?

    brillohead replied to melmacrn's topic in Emergency

    I work nights on a cardio-pulmonary telemetry unit that also does "intermediate care" (critical drips, continuous bipap, etc.) and chest pain patients. Patients that are on a monitor have to come up...
  23. brillohead

    New MI psych RN- all hospitals have mandatory OT?

    brillohead replied to babblingbrook's topic in Michigan Nursing

    There is a psych facility at Borgess in Kalamazoo. They do 8-hour shifts there, and they have separate units for pediatrics, mood disorder, thought disorder, and geriatric. (I did clinicals there.)...
  24. brillohead

    I survived the Board of Nursing

    brillohead replied to KCMnurse's topic in Nursing Professionalism

    My community college carried student malpractice insurance for nursing students as part of our "lab fees". It wasn't spelled out as an extra charge, it was just rolled into the tuition/fees that we...
  25. brillohead

    How to react nicely if a patient asks for your social media acct?

    brillohead replied to hedzinkwly's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I think this thread jinxed me! I got floated to another unit this week, and had a patient who was very chatty/flirty. Five hours into the shift, my unit called me back down, so I went in and told the...