BrynnLeann

Where I am at, the policy & procedure manual lets nurses put 2L np on no problem. In case of an emergency (imminent code blue/code 25), we put oxygen on as high as it goes. In other cases, the doctor usually writes an order such as "Keep O2 sats >92%", meaning that we use the oxygen delivery method and rate at what is necessary to keep the patient satting at an appropriate level. We also titrate oxygen down without doctors orders when necessary. For example, if they are put on 2 L np in emerg for chest pain, and their chest pain is resolved and stable, we'll remove the O2 and just keep an eye on their sats. I think it really depends on what unit you work on, and what type of hospital. I'm at a community, not tertiary, hospital so we don't have 24/7 access to doctors. 84% is quite low and I think I would have reacted to the situation exactly as you had.

Metoprolol, Nexium, ASA, Atorvastatin, Ventolin.

No one gets fired for pronouncing a word wrong, that's ridiculous. I always have to think the word "tachypnea" over and over before I say it - I always get tripped up! The worst thing that could happen is someone will look at you funny and correct you. If they fired people for saying words funny, a lot of fantastic ESL nurses would be pretty annoyed. I agree with whoever said dictionary.com! I have it on my Blackberry and it teaches me how to pronounce regular words (as well as medical terms). My biggest advice is - don't be scared to be wrong and just learn as you go. I've never met a nursing student who never looks like an idiot once in a while - me included

There isn't a lot of information here. If you are near the end of your education (4th year here) and you can't get a blood pressure on the first try - unless they are other confounding factors - the prof might be right in giving you a strike. However, I remember being in second year and struggling to figure out blood pressure machines after being taught manually. Sometimes profs have a hard time remembering what it was like before they knew how to do these skills. Just try your best, don't be too nervous, and ask for help when you're unsure. That's really all you can do. Best of luck!

I'm not sure about the United States, but I know in Canada that not hiring someone because they are pregnant is discrimination and definitely not allowed.

If you just nurse without questioning the rules and why they are there, you will end up being a terrible nurse and patient advocate.

If a person wants to do drugs on their own time, it's none of my business and I could care less. If they were high at clinicals, I would tell the instructor because I think it's a dangerous position for the patient. However, if they want to be stoned the other 156 hours of the week, I could care less. That's their choice. And I don't agree that every law should be followed BECAUSE it's a law and that's the end-all be-all. Use your mind and reason a bit. I don't understand why marijuana is illegal in the first place, unless they are caring for someone or driving or something, who really cares what they want to do with their own body? They might as well make alcohol and smoking illegal too. In Canada (or at least where I am), I'm 99% sure you can't get debarred for smoking a J on your own time. You can if you go to school with one though.

I find that a lot of nursing students, in my class any way, are very anxious and overly perfectionist (including me!). Learn to breathe, relax, and don't work past your own threshold. Not everything has to be perfect. Remember that your own health does matter too, and you should take out time every single day for a relaxing activity that you enjoy. That could be TV time, a bath, eating a nice meal in peace, whatever. As long as you aren't spending that time fretting about nursing homework, I promise it'll be helpful. And sleep! I'm not sure if our program is the same, but I'm in the Bachelor of Nursing RN program, and I work as well and I've yet to find a situation where I needed to lose sleep EVERY night for it!

Okay, I'm thinking that our classes are more than likely quite different, but I've taken human physiology and I've taken intro to microbiology, and I'm taking pharmacology right now. Micro and Pharm were pretty easy, human physiology was quite a bit of work though. But everybody is different, and some people like different workloads, it's hard to say whether those classes would be a lot of work for you. I've always taken 4 or 5 while working, but I'm always also overly stressed lol. When I took A&P II, I was also taking Intro to Microbiology, Intro to Nursing, Nutrition, and Native Studies, and I found it a really easy semester actually.

I completely agree with this rant about Nursing Care Plans, I found them absolutely ridiculous. While in our maternity rotation, we had to do a "wellness diagnosis" for a lady who states she is ready to breastfeed. We had to do a whole write up for this, to decide that our action at the end is to teach her to breastfeed. Well, d'uh. Did I really need to write a whole report for that? And every nurse I've asked about this has said they thought the care plans were useless as well. However, I can't really complain. I'm from Winnipeg in Canada, and our nursing instructor said that in some parts of the USA you have to write 20 page reports for nursing care plans! GEEZ! Ours are usually one page in length lol, and even then they are a pain in the butt!