HillaryC

HillaryC RN, CRNA

Adult SICU; open heart recovery

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All Content by HillaryC

  1. pt/nurse ratio?

    HillaryC replied to emsboss's topic in MICU, SICU

    Same in my SICU. I recently transferred from Surgical IMC, where they tried to have us just have two patients on days because they were so heavy -- but we always got short-staffed. Three was a...

  2. Finishing School at NYU undergrad. Really want to be a nurse. NEED ADVICE PLEASE

    HillaryC replied to littlenurse21's topic in Nursing Career

    Hi, I can sort of relate, because several years ago I found myself in a similar position. I was about halfway through a BA in psychology at a private university and realized I hated psych. I was so...

  3. Can you have sleep apnea and not be aware of it

    HillaryC replied to warrior woman's topic in General Nursing

    I don't wake up after an apneic episode, but occasionally I 'startle' or jump -- maybe that's related? I think part of the problem is that people don't usually remember waking up to gasp for breath,...

  4. Can you have sleep apnea and not be aware of it

    HillaryC replied to warrior woman's topic in General Nursing

    As others have already mentioned, yes -- it's possible to have sleep apnea and not know it. I've had excessive daytime sleepiness since I was a teenager -- I've even been prescribed stimulants for it...

  5. Tell me why BSN now?

    HillaryC replied to Curious1alwys's topic in General Nursing

    In my hospital (and many others that I've heard of), BSN-prepared RNs don't get a penny more than other

  6. Xray tech~ more $$$ than RN???

    HillaryC replied to SoulShine75's topic in Nursing Career

    I'm curious; in your job, what "liability and accountability" do BSN-prepared RNs take on that Associate- or diploma-prepared RNs don't? (assuming you're talking about staff RNs doing the same

  7. mouth care/intubated patient

    HillaryC replied to classicaldreams's topic in MICU, SICU

    We use a chlorhexidine rinse from the pharmacy. It's ordered as Peridex -- I think that's the brand name. We use it with those green sponge swabs -- it's ordered

  8. jr in high school: Associates VS BSN?

    HillaryC replied to kelleyhvk's topic in General Nursing

    I tend to agree with this advice, if student loans are a big concern. I got a BA fresh out of high school and wasted $100K+ from my college fund on a degree I didn't appreciate or use (Psychology)....

  9. Swan questions

    HillaryC replied to kesmith2314's topic in MICU, SICU

    You can blow the

  10. National RN Salary Trends ADN or Diploma vs BSN

    HillaryC replied to Darcifly's topic in General Nursing

    I graduated last spring, and during my job search, I found that one hospital paid baccalaureate-prepared nurses $1.00 more per hour -- but the Bachelor's could be in any area, not just

  11. Swan questions

    HillaryC replied to kesmith2314's topic in MICU, SICU

    At my hospital, we use NS for pressure lines. Like someone mentioned, NS seems to work just as well as heparinized saline. We only wedge with an order.

  12. Diffuse axonal injury

    HillaryC posted a topic in Neuro Intensive Care, ICU

    Hi everyone, I recently transferred from SIMC to a SICU that frequently gets neuro patients. I had a 30 yo male pt. this week s/p MVC with a diagnosed "diffuse axonal injury". I'm new to SICU and...

  13. Diffuse axonal injury

    HillaryC replied to HillaryC's topic in Neuro Intensive Care, ICU

    Roxanne, Thanks so much for the information. It helps a lot!

  14. Question re: Tubex syringes

    HillaryC replied to Marshmallow's topic in General Nursing

    I'm a new nurse, so I don't know anything about the old metal tubex holders. Does it look similar to the new blue plastic ones? Have you asked pharmacy how to use the metal holder? Have you asked...

  15. Grey's Anatomy Premier!!! + How to Contact Show Creators

    HillaryC replied to miya's topic in General Nursing

    I really wish I'd never seen that website! I'm so disappointed by what I read. Fortunately, the medical students, residents and attendings I've worked with in the first 9 months of my career have...

  16. Grey's Anatomy Premier!!! + How to Contact Show Creators

    HillaryC replied to miya's topic in General Nursing

    Oh my gosh -- you're serious? I thought your first post was a joke! You have some serious work to do if you plan on getting into medical school. You may want to consider taking a basic English...

  17. How do you deal with the stress of the job (too busy to take a break, etc.)?

    HillaryC replied to HillaryC's topic in MICU, SICU

    Hi Cherish, Yes, I got the Surgical ICU job and started 3 weeks ago. So far, it's been much better than my old unit :) I think part of the problem was the old unit was Intermediate Care and pretty...

  18. Anyone taken the GRE test?

    HillaryC replied to BChapp3182's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Interesting; I hadn't heard that. I just thought the old GRE had three 800-point sections, so the total was out of 2400, and the new GRE score was out of 1600 (like the SAT-I) with the analytical...

  19. Are You Gonna Go ALL The Way?

    HillaryC replied to NoDayButToday's topic in General Nursing

    http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/faq/nf/you_could_be.html "You could be a doctor!" Well-meaning persons sometimes suggest that a nurse they find to be skilled or knowledgeable could or should be a...

  20. Are You Gonna Go ALL The Way?

    HillaryC replied to NoDayButToday's topic in General Nursing

    unfortunately, you may want to get used to this comment it's very popular. i just graduated 7 months ago, and i've noticed i don't really get the comment much now that i'm done with school, but i...

  21. Embarassing Q's that I don't want to ask my instructors...

    HillaryC replied to raindrop's topic in General Nursing

    Just a little note on this -- isn't the pressure exerted the same in the newer 2/3/5 cc flushes that have the same barrel diameter as traditional 10cc flushes? I believe that's the case.

  22. How do you deal with the stress of the job (too busy to take a break, etc.)?

    HillaryC replied to HillaryC's topic in MICU, SICU

    our ratio on my simc unit is 2-3 pts per nurse. it's a 9-bed unit, and on days we're usually supposed to have 5 nurses and usually one pct. on nights, we often end up with 3 nurses for 9 pts and...

  23. Nurses wearing white

    HillaryC replied to rnmaven's topic in General Nursing

    Angie, you're awesome :rotfl: What kind of nursing do you do? So please, by all means, wear what you like to your job. But don't try to impose your idealistic notions of what constitutes...

  24. need help for severe depression

    HillaryC replied to needs help's topic in General Nursing

    I just wanted to add that some people need higher doses of antidepressants than are commonly used. Back when I was on Prozac, I was up to 100mg/day (I think they claim there's no added benefit after...

  25. need help for severe depression

    HillaryC replied to needs help's topic in General Nursing

    I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. Any one of those stressors could be enough to precipipate clinical depression, let alone all of those together. I agree with those that recommended...