diane227 LPN, RN

Dubin is the gold standard. I also have an Ipod ap that helps me a lot.

When I was an instructor I was never paid. And even if I had been, the prep work is not worth it.

I use mine daily for medical reference, drugs, calculations etc. But look around and research before you spend a lot of money on applications to download. Make sure they are giving you the information that you really need. Some of the ones that I ...

Your action was appropriate and if the DON does not understand this, then she needs to review the emergency care for patients with hypoglycemia. I would have done the same thing. "Thanks for the feedback,,, I will keep it in mind next time I have s...

Yes, if you are not able to get your med pass done on time because you have too many patients, the FACILITY, not the nurse, can be issued a federal (and sometimes a state) citation as well. It is the responsibility of the facility to assure that the...

In addition, if someone makes a complaint against you with the BNE, you will know it because they will investigate and this starts with your getting a letter from them. Your license cannot be "tagged" (what ever that means). The facility set you up...

As a surveyor, I can tell you that any time you lie to a surveyor, they have other ways of checking data. When the surveyor noted the change of staff at the med pass, this gave her a clue that something was amiss. You must know that we are lied to ...

I love psychiatry when I worked there. And perhaps it might be difficult for you in the future but you can do some things to make you more marketable. You can, for example, get your ACLS. You can obtain speciality certifications in a number of are...

My ideal job would be to be a writer.

I have had a good deal of experience with transgendered patients. I deal with the matter in a direct, polite manner. During my assessment I ask them directly where they are in their sexual reassignment process. If they regard themselves as female,...

It is up to the charge nurse to control this type of behavior. When this occurred on my floor I would approach those persons and ask them what their business was and tell them that "whoever" needed to get back to work. A memo will not help control ...

I believe that this practice is very poor and it will do nothing but anger the staff. The Swedish Hospital system here in Seattle has an excellent program for promoting handwashing and it is very effective. Stations are available everywhere for sta...

In every hospital where I have worked, the definition was the same. Staffing on an "as needed" basis.

What you do to prepare each patient for any procedure depends on the procedure, patient condition and hospital policy. You need to ask radiology or the manager for specific guidelines on this issue. I would hope that your hospital would have a poli...

I would not use lidocaine 2% for an IM injection, and I don't believe it is approved. Rocephen should be mixed with 1% lidocaine without epi for an IM injection.

I take medications that show up in a drug screen. In the past when I have had to take a drug screen I bring my pill bottles in with me so they can verify that I have a prescription from a doctor. In my case, as in yours, these are chronic ongoing ...

If I were with a big group and there was a single person waiting I would let them go ahead of me no matter who they were, especially if they were on duty and needed to get back to work.

As us old farts die off, more changes will be accepted. But you have to remember that one day you will be and old fart also. And at that time there will something that people do to themselves that you will consider "unprofessional" in the work plac...

Yesterday. My manager wants to clone me.

I am old school. I will NEVER refer to someone getting medical care as a "customer" or a "client". They are patients. That is what I expect when I am in the hospital and that is what I refer to as a nurse. It is getting more and more difficult in...

As a general rule hospitals do not pay extra because you have a degree. However, there are a lot of hospitals that will hire only BSN prepared nurses. The advantages to the BSN program is that you are more prepared for the management side of the wo...

I have a very hard time relaxing. Petting my dog helps. Target practice at the range is good sometimes and I have started an every Saturday movie with a friend of mine who is a nurse but who does not work with me. The best thing I did to control m...

Being a nurse for 32 years and having spent most of it in the ED, I have seen lots of death. Patients coming in on one stretcher with their body parts on another. Woman shot in the chest at close range with a shotgun. She was alive on arrival but ...

First of all, you don't need to be a nurse in order to be a PA. That is a different tract from nursing. To be a CRNA you have to have either emergency or critical care experience so those who what to do this can't skip bedside nursing. I know some p...

It takes practice. When you do trach suctioning you should make sure that you use an ambu bag with high flow oxygen to pre-oxygenate your patient first. Make sure that if you use those small pink saline containers that you pop the top off away from...