opossum

opossum

ICU/CCU, Med Surg

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All Content by opossum

  1. Administering pain meds to a sleeping pt

    opossum posted a topic in General Nursing

    I'm a new nurse and recently received my first "negative" comment on a patient survey. Pt was a young woman s/p lap appendectomy; she complained that I "must have forgotten" about her pain meds and...

  2. Administering pain meds to a sleeping pt

    opossum replied to opossum's topic in General Nursing

    Thanks for the responses, everyone! It's clear to me that PRN pain management needs to be tailored to each patient, and will undoubtedly involve some trial and error. From now on, I plan to ask my...

  3. Administering pain meds to a sleeping pt

    opossum replied to opossum's topic in General Nursing

    Absolutely - if they're terminal or on a vent, I would definitely keep those pain meds going...but this girl was young, athletic, and just had an appendectomy. She even walked herself around the...

  4. Administering pain meds to a sleeping pt

    opossum replied to opossum's topic in General Nursing

    Flo, I really like that idea of asking the pt beforehand if it's OK to wake them up. Also, I just found my report sheet for that night - looks like I gave Dilaudid at 0215 and Vicodin at 0400. So I...

  5. Ever had a patient or family members fire you?

    opossum replied to KeepItRealRN's topic in General Nursing

    ...That is

  6. How Far Do You Travel For Work?

    opossum replied to sweetsleep28's topic in General Nursing

    36 mi one way, about an hour drive. I usually work NOC shift, so the drive home can be rough. 12-hr shifts are good then, because I'm really only commuting 3-4 days out of the

  7. Student nurse gets the boot...veteran nurse fired

    opossum replied to C287's topic in General Nursing

    For some reason, this post seems fake. How is it that students who are "observing" suddenly have access to "removed body tissue" and then have a "veteran" nurse gladly snap a photo of it all?...

  8. for the love of money...

    opossum replied to BABYJADE06's topic in General Nursing

    Seems like money used to be more of a motivator back when signing bonuses were in existence...in this economy, maybe we're seeing more of a passion for doing the work? As a new grad, I can safely say...

  9. Family members that follow you

    opossum replied to prettyinblu's topic in General Nursing

    I think that's a reasonable thing to say...but I can just imagine the repercussions of saying it - i.e., having the family member get all huffy and insist upon speaking to a manager, and mentioning my...

  10. Family members that follow you

    opossum replied to prettyinblu's topic in General Nursing

    Oh! I almost forgot. A few nights ago, I was on the phone taking report, writing notes down during shift chg when I see this guy slowly walk up to the nurses station. He says: "Workin' hard? Hardly...

  11. Family members that follow you

    opossum replied to prettyinblu's topic in General Nursing

    This sounds like my day shift yesterday...only it wasn't even my patients or their families doing it - family members of other nurses' patients were hounding me down in the hallway or calling me...

  12. No burn out....enough is enough!

    opossum replied to joanna73's topic in General Nursing

    For me, it's difficult because I graduated a year ago and it took me 9 months to find my current job. NO ONE wants to hire new grads; 2 years of experience is what most employers want. Travel...

  13. No burn out....enough is enough!

    opossum replied to joanna73's topic in General Nursing

    Oh man, am I glad to hear this being discussed... I too am a new nurse, second career...and I've been working per diem at a small hospital for almost 4 mo now and I'm exhausted. Orientation was OK...

  14. Anyone just wear a plain shirt with their scrub pants?

    opossum posted a topic in Scrubs, Uniforms, Gear

    I apologize if this has already been answered in a previous thread...anyway, I was wondering if any of you wear scrub pants, but not a scrub top and if so, what works best for you? I love wearing...

  15. Anyone just wear a plain shirt with their scrub pants?

    opossum replied to opossum's topic in Scrubs, Uniforms, Gear

    True, I rely on pockets too much as well... eracindym, those tshirts are cute

  16. Tattoos and nursing

    opossum replied to ryanna112's topic in General Nursing

    I have one on my left forearm/wrist that it difficult to hide. On interviews, I always cover it up with long sleeves; not because I'm ashamed of it, but because I do realize it's bad form to show...

  17. Absolutely incompetent...not so sure "it gets better".

    opossum replied to opossum's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Thanks for the words of encouragement; I'm pretty good at shaking off a bad day but this one just really got to me. suanna, you're right about the nurse asking about why the patient was still there;...

  18. Do I need TED hose/support hose for long shifts?

    opossum replied to cogath's topic in Scrubs, Uniforms, Gear

    I just bought a couple of pairs of knee high compression socks from runningskirts.com. Apparently, runners like to wear them for the benefit of venous return. They're super cute (they have hearts on...

  19. Night Shift 1 hr commute: tips to arrive home alive

    opossum replied to babblingbrook's topic in General Nursing

    I'm glad you posted this because I too drive an hour to work and will be doing night shift more often in the upcoming weeks. I worked night shift once so far (I'm per diem) and found myself swerving...

  20. The "dirty" side of nursing...

    opossum replied to jordanl's topic in General Nursing

    Whoa.

  21. Are some people just not cut out for ICU?

    opossum replied to TigerGalLE's topic in MICU, SICU

    I'm a new nurse and just got off a two-month long orientation in ICU; when I started to read your original post I thought you were being a little too harsh and impatient with her but by the end of...

  22. Feeling stupid.. :(

    opossum replied to sarahg88's topic in First Year After Licensure

    One shift of orientation is hardly enough to even feel ORIENTED to a unit. I'm a new nurse and have been at my job 2 months in critical care...I'm JUST getting to the point where I know where the...

  23. Things you'd LOVE to be able to tell patients, and get away with it.

    opossum replied to AngelfireRN's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    that makes total sense...i guess i just never thought of it :doh: (i should note that i am a new nurse.) but i digress...here's my rant for today: to patients' families: i know you are concerned about...

  24. Things you'd LOVE to be able to tell patients, and get away with it.

    opossum replied to AngelfireRN's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    i know a humidifier can be used on nasal cannula - but i've never seen it used for

  25. Things you'd LOVE to be able to tell patients, and get away with it.

    opossum replied to AngelfireRN's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    Stop taking the ^$*(^&@ bipap mask off! And leave your O2 sensor alone, people! Jeez! Why do you think you're here?! Disclaimer: I realize bipaps are no fun and leave you parched and...