Enthused RN BSN, RN

I'm still a nursing student and I haven't had any experience with critical situations where blood products are urgently needed (I've transfused blood but it wasn't where the patient was actively bleeding out, hemoglobin dropped low enough to warrant ...

I work in a mixed ICU. Occasionally we get patients who need a cardene gtt for various reasons. I have always been told that patients can only be on that gtt for a very short time (i.e. 24 hours). Why is that?

Has anyone completed an externship at UC San Diego? If so, what unit did you work and how was your experience? How supportive was the staff on your unit? Lastly, what system did you use (CERNER)?

It's not the specific bag I was asking about. What I meant is how long can the patient received the actual medicine? In my facility, they don't want the patient to be on the drip longer than 24 hours. What happens when the patient is on it for more t...

I commissioned in February 2014 and I finally received an email that I am going to BOLC this August. I think they are giving priority to providers over nurses.

I worked in a SNF as a new grad. It was unbelievably difficult. You should be able to find another SNF job at a safer facility. Check out non-profits and stay away from corporate chains. If you have some savings and not a lot of expenses, consider qu...

Don't forget he's going into the reserve side and not active duty. With the drawdown, the reserves will probably not be tapped as much for missions.

BOLC phase II for reserve (Army) nurses is 3 weeks and 4 days at Fort Sam Houston. You will need to complete phase I online before you apply for a seat in phase II. The online portion is super tedious. I'm not sure how the AF does their training for ...

1) What do you folks that are med surg typically do on your drill weekends exactly? Just curious as to what is considered boring....paper work? Meetings? Etc, By boring, I mean I do a lot of sitting around doing mandatory online training (i.e. sexual...

It sounds like it might come down to what specialty you would like to practice on the military side - med/surg or flight nursing? Also, if possible, I would ask each respective unit what your drill weekend would look like. As a med/surg nurse in the ...

Have you thought about switching to the Guard? In my state, I was direct commissioned as a new grad without much problem (I was also an E4 previously). Might be worth looking into especially if the Reserves are still looking for a certain amount of e...

Recently there was a case where a man in his early 40s with no history of cardiac issues died of a MI. He was seen in the ER of hospital A and released. Later that day, he suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital B. His ...

Thanks for the response. Your case sounds very different from the case I posted. I think a lot of people would miss that because the complaints were so vague and it was going on for a while. Also, I'm not an articulate person and I don't know how to ...

Wow, I wasn't looking for the absolute right or wrong answer for this specific case. Obviously we can't know that and will never know that. I'm asking about missed cases in your personal experience so I can learn from any mistakes before they happen ...

I'm familiar with the cardiac enzymes taking some time to show up on a test so in this case I'm guessing the first hospital didn't wait long enough. I mean, the guy coded mere hours after being released from the hospital.

Happens all the time and it's illegal for them to discriminate against you. My facility recently had a pregnant new grad and she's currently out on maternity. It's not a problem. My original preceptor/mentor for this same job started there pregnant a...

Not entirely true. I volunteered during nursing school through a hospital's internship program (program did not require any medical experience). I rotated through a tele floor, stepdown, and finally a trauma/critical care unit. Obviously I didn't pro...

I am beyond thrilled that I received a call for an interview with a PACU department. I am still pretty new to nursing. I've only been working for 5 months in LTC since obtaining my license. In school, my dream specialities were ICU and PACU but I und...

I'm in the Guard and I'm pretty sure the prerequisites are the same. We need to pass a PT test and complete the online portion of BOLC before we can ask to go to BOLC. From what I remember, I believe there are courses starting in August and September...

Congrats to the both of you!

LOL, in high school recruiters were a bit aggressive with me too but that's because it was only a couple years into both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and they needed as many warm bodies at they could get. These days it's hard to get their attention ...

The Guard and Reserves are both Army. The training is one and the same as active-duty soldiers. You wear the same uniform and you follow the sames rules and customs. You are considered an American soldier once you complete training regardless of the ...

I'm NG, never been part of the active component. That's good you stay fit and healthy. I know my fitness level was a big (positive) talking point when I went before the board for my commission. It sounds like ROTC is probably not an option at this po...

It was a non-nursing degree. I obtained my first bachelor's about 5 years ago and then recently got my BSN so I hold 2 bachelor's degrees. No, I think you misread. I enlisted 6 months prior to graduation from my BSN program. During that time, I dri...

The requirements are always changing. I know right now both the active duty and reserve components want experienced nurses but next year, they may accept new grads. Just contact a healthcare recruiter when you are a couple of semesters away. Or, ROTC...