stellina615

So, it's Saturday night and my date for the evening is my ACLS book. I'm going for initial certification, and I'm a new nurse with relatively little experience in the types of situations that ACLS covers (I'm starting on a med surg floor and fortuna...

Hi guys, Today I had a pt come up from the PACU who was s/p VP shunt revision. Apparently his previous VP shunt had had a crack in it, and was leaking CSF fluid. For the pt, this manifested as increasingly painful headaches. He came to me, VSS, ne...

Hi guys! Thanks for all the replies. Reviewed the sloshing again today with the neurosurgeon, who directed the day nurse to the CT scan of the pt's brain. I took a peek at it myself. About 40% of the space in his head is abnormal fluid collection....

To clarify, I heard the sloshing as the pt was quickly putting his head back onto the pillow from an upright sitting position, not when he was sitting still. Thanks for any input!

I apologize for asking such a strange question, but I'm wondering what different facilities use for body bags or other post-mortem shrouding supplies. I recently had to pronounce time of death for the first time. My patient was very sick before she...

I find that I'm more invested in my nursing care when I'm doing a good job of taking care of myself. When I work hard to make sure I have enough time to sleep enough, eat properly, spend time with people I love, and have alone time to relax, that's ...

Hi everyone! Just got the good news this week that I was accepted into the MSN program I've been hoping for. The university I was accepted into offers 3 tracks within the Masters of Science in Nursing Program: NP, clinical nurse leader, and evidence...

Thanks to everyone for their responses! I'd love to hear more stories of what people are doing with their MSNs. I've attached the description of the program of study. I also emailed my advisor to ask for some specific examples of what students hav...

Hi guys! I realize that this post was last updated about a year ago, but I'm wondering if either of you (or anyone else) have further thoughts or opinions on the graduate nursing program at UNH. I'm thinking about starting there in 2011. Thanks a b...

Hi all! I'm looking for some help understanding the QTC or corrected QT interval. A friend of mine has started working on a tele unit and on that unit they are starting to look to the QTC as a really important indicator of how the pt is faring. I'm...

Hi all, I am curious as to whether anyone out there has any suggestions on where to find sewing patterns for scrubs. One of my hobbies is quilting so I have a giant stash of fabric, and would love to make some scrub tops. I usually wear scrub tops ...

If you're trying a make some kind of valid point, then perhaps you should cut the snarkiness and use a little more respect when addressing other nurses, especially nurses who are going out of their way to learn about how to treat their patients well....

Michigangirl, Thanks for this post. You make a really good point. I do see what other posters mean about not being too hard on yourself, but recently I've had a couple incidences where family members and friends have been on the patient side of the...

I don't want to get the discussion off track too much, but I live in New England and I'm not familiar with the border towns in Texas that some of the posters have described. I'm sorry if this is an ignorant question, but what exactly makes these are...

From what I can tell, things haven't improved much. We haven't had layoffs at our hospitals since the summer, but there's nothing in the way of increased job availability, either. Hospitals definitely aren't creating new positions, and it seems to ...

One of the important lessons I've learned from more seasoned nurses is to go with my gut feelings. It seems like you're already leaning towards trying to get yourself out of this negative environment. If you're feeling a bad vibe and you've only ju...

Where I work, taking care of someone you know isn't really an option...if administration finds out that you've been in the medical record of someone you know outside of the hospital context, then that's the end of your job. Being someone's friend or...

Last week, we had a patient on my unit (a locked psych facility), who began to appear sedated to a degree that wasn't consistent with her prescribed meds. We suspected that one of her visitors had snuck in some additional meds to her, and we obtaine...

This is a really interesting thread. I suppose the one question I'd like to add to the mix is, if a patient isn't fully aware of his or her diagnosis/prognosis, how can he or she make informed decisions about selecting a course of treatment or lack ...

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but just a reminder that if your facility has a pastoral care department or chaplaincy department, they're a great resource for your patients' prayer and other spiritual needs. I try to offer as much emot...

I have NSO as well. I've only used them for a year and haven't had to actually use any of their services. It would be nice to hear from folks who do have experience with this company and/or companies that offer comparable legal services for nurses.

While the original interview question that was suggested to you definitely was hinting at generational differences in the workforce, I think that another important component of managing is finding out what strategies work for individuals. Just becau...

I'm a relatively new nurse who recently got a position on a med/surg oncology floor. I'm trying to understand germ cell tumors and how they come about. I know that germ cells are either eggs or sperm, depending on the sex of the patient. The quest...

tfleuter, thank you for the response. Glad to know that your family member recovered well. Any idea how the germ cell would make its way from the gonadal region to the thoracic cavity? Thanks again for writing back!

CIWA for ETOH withdrawal, and CINA for opiate withdrawal. PO Librium is typically what we use to detox ETOH patients, and it's pretty successful. I work on a second unit, where IV Ativan is the drug of choice for ETOH detoxers. It doesn't seem to ...