JoyfulRN14 BSN, RN

Newer L+D nurse here... Had an experience yesterday and looking for tips. Primip, young teen, term, Cytotec induction with early on epidural, Pitocin, AROM, etc. I come in to her being complete for 3 hours and laboring down. She's 0 station, we lab...

Anyone have a policy they would be able to share? Would like to bring this up to our educator and they sure love policies on my unit. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

We don't do a vaginal prep (as in anything internal) but most of our MD's do a sponge wiping of outer areas with betadine mixed with warm water. Our midwives do not. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

I found it difficult after a time. I did night for three years, first two were great and by the third it was wearing on me. Would work three to six in a row from 6pm to 630 am. Sleep all day, be up in the evenings with my husband, and try to go to be...

A couple fun books- Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent, a memoir set in Berkeley, fascinating to see the way midwifery and childbirth practices have changed. Also follow her page on fb, great inspiring stuff. And she's just coming out with her next book M...

Did mom have an epidural with narcotics? There's been research done about use of morphine in an epidural (or spinal during Csection) causing hypothermia. The opioids affect the hypothalamus, which normally does temperature regulation. My educator jus...

I left a MSICU job recently and just finished my 5th week on a busy L+D floor. My orientation is 12 weeks total, working one on one with a preceptor. Then a couple weeks working the same shifts as her but we'll each take our own assignments and she'l...

I just got a job transfer to L+D from working 5 years in a busy med-surg ICU. I'm doing some self study before starting, and currently working on a FHR monitoring module. My question is about determining baseline. For example, in this strip, I feel l...

Hi everyone! Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that was offered a position in Kaweah Delta's Critical Care Nursing Internship program in Visalia, CA. Since we're starting in a few weeks, I wanted to see if I could connect with anyone ...

We use CPOT: Critical Care Pain Observation Tool. It looks at facial expression, body movements, compliance with ventilator (if intubated), and muscle tension. 0-2 points for each category with a result out of 8. It basically puts into words the ...

The whole point of a sitter is so that you don't have to chemically or physically restrain a patient to maintain their safety. If you're being "advised" by her to throw a patient in a Posey and knock him out with meds, that completely eliminates the ...

As far as in California, the main thing I've really noticed is that ratios are strictly enforced. I've been there in a MSICU here for 1.5 years and have never seen anyone in a more than 1:2 ratio. Our 1:1's are CRRT, rotoprone, induced hypothermia s/...

My hospital is a little smaller that a big city hospital, we're a Level III trauma center (not higher mainly due to not being a teaching hospital, and not having 24 hour neuro coverage). We have a 21 bed M/S ICU and a separate CVICU (post CABG and va...

Wow I'm feeling lucky that my unit has some GREAT secretaries, along with great coworkers... I think the majority of us view the secretary as just another part of the team, another coworker in the battle to keep our patients alive. :) For example, if...

Oh, the post above mine, posted one minute before mine, answered my question :) So you put them in a cover and the whole thing goes in the waste disposal unit, yes?

I have a few questions for those out there using this system. So the used bedpans and other products go in a waste disposal thing (evidently called a "macerator" on the website). Are these small where there's one in each patient room, or is there one...

Wound care isn't my personal cup of tea, but I don't mind doing it. I could see how you'd find satisfaction in it. Our charge nurse (in the ICU - believe me we got some of the biggest/nastiest wounds) recently got her Wound Nurse certification (seve...

At my hospital it's strongly suggested, but not required. You just have to fill out a declination form saying you did not want to get a flu shot for whatever reason. No one hassles you either way, but you have to do one option or the other d/t state ...

We have a GI doctor at our hospital named Dr. Brown. Makes me giggle every time!

Some of the softest, most comfortable scrubs: -Grey's Anatomy brand, LOVE their tops, they're basically all I wear (Mock Wrap top) -Jersey brand tops and pants -Koi, has some great cargo style pants ("Lindsey") that are very popular in my hospital in...

I think you would be a very valuable asset in the ICU. I work in a med/surg ICU and we have a nurse up here who did L+D for 10 years before coming here within the last year. She has adapted great, and is SUCH a valuable resource to us when we get pre...

You mentioned you were a L+D nurse years ago, what about some sort of educator involving that? I'm thinking more patient education than educating other nurses, but for instance a IBCLC (a certified lactation consultant).

Another good resource: RichACLS.com

If I was in your shoes, I would pick the cardiac step-down in the big teaching hospital. If you show your worth in that unit, it won't be too hard to transfer to their ICU. Internal transfers are easier than starting all over again at a new hospital....

Our ICU + CVICU have a Sedation/Analgesia protocol that includes Precedex if the physician signs that section of it. We start at 0.2 mcg/kg/hr, able to titrate to a max of 1.2 mcg/kg/hr. The level of sedation we aim for is for the pt to be pretty mu...