obliviousRN

What size chest tubes do you stock in your ED for peds cases? I feel like we are overloaded with multiple sizes that we don't need. What are your PAR levels?

I haven't found that. I moved to Eastern Oregon from Portland and haven't seen any evidence of racism here. Our community is very accepting of any background.

Wow. Talk about nurses eating their young. Now I'm a seasoned ER nurse who gets irritated by many things - even someone interrupting a vent. BUT - she explained herself and what she was really meaning wtih her post - did you guys not read that? Sh...

There are a couple of programs where you can get a forensic certificate without a bachelor's degree.

I started as a SANE at our hospital and furthered my education from there. I had to do a lot of self starting to get the experience needed to round out my education. Luckily, I hooked up with some pretty great forensic nurses who could guide me and...

I've found that using lidocaine increases my rate of missed IV's. Without it, I can get in virtually the first time every time (except for those "everyone has a bad day" type of days). If I use lidocaine, it's almost a guarantee I'll have to stick ...

I talk to my patients about test results all the time. Potassium levels, INR's, Dig levels, etc. It's giving data - not a diagnosis. I am not diagnosing someone by saying "your pregnancy test came back positive." Just like I am not diagnosing som...

Infants are notoriously hard to get because it's so darn easy to pop on through. If your hand is not steady and you are not ready for that initial pop into the marrow then it is almost a guarantee you'll go through. IO's are awesome on older kids/...

I actually make more here than I did working at a trauma center in Portland

Eastern Oregon - completely "outdoorsy" area. Union hospitals - wages good. I love love love it!

Oh my gosh! I love those. Off to go shopping.

I work in a rural/frontier ER. We have 4 beds, 2 of which are critical care. We have one nurse to staff the ER and we get back up from the med/surg floor when needed. The nurses in our facility cover ALL areas - ER, OB, Med/Surg, ICU, Peds. I move...

In the state of Oregon we are required by state law to report any DRIVER of an MVC who is under the influence. Or if the MVC is used as an assault (i.e. trying to kill someone with their car). Otherwise MVC are not reportable. We live in a small to...

I just laughed so hard I snorted. This is the best thing I've heard in ages.

It's none of your bosses business until you decide to tell them. Definitely give them enough time to plan for your maternity leave though.

Alphabetical diagnosis - who can write out the most diagnosis in alphabetical order (appy, broken arm, cardiac arrest, dementia, etc) Who can make a 100 link paperclip chain the fastest Good ole' hangman (the paper game, not a noose around each other...

21 y/o male ejected during rollover MVC. Nasty head injury, facial fractures, lost one eye. Expected to be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Happened on Thanksgiving day. Woke up on Christmas day asking for his wife. Released from ...

Number one - check your state regs on this. I'd ask your local DA to be sure you are in compliance with these. Maybe they can consult on your policy as you develop it. That's what we did. Number two - implied consent as stated above, covers this. ...

What makes a good ER nurse? The realization that "some dude" will never be caught because he does not exist. For example: "I was just sitting there minding my own business when some dude walked up and shot me." Ok seriously - I like the one that som...

We also have 1 nurse to staff our ER at night. They usually waste with the med/surg nurses since our hospital is small enough to run and get them (i.e. 100 feet down the hall to med/surg type of arrangement). I've been known to make the pharmacist ...

The radiologist reads the Xray. We wait for the dictated report. Doesn't take long at our facility as it is not a huge ER.

I'm in Oregon and we do MSE's at our facility. First and foremost we determine emergent vs. non emergent (MSE) - this may include some labs and/or Xrays. We then triage them into the order to be seen. It is 2 separate procedures, but you basically ...

We routinely do follow up calls on our pts we transfer out. We use it as a QI process. By obtaining the info we find out many things: 1. could we have changed the outcome by our initial treatment? 2. was there something we could have done better/...

OH! One more thing. Stress the value of an emotionally stable work environment. "Studies show.....blahblahblah". Stress the fact that Patients (of whom are the most important piece of the puzzle) are adversely effected by her actions.

I'd suggest a written complaint with copies to your DON, CEO, hospital board, State Board of Nursing, and union (if you are union). Give factual information, not emotional. Such as: Ms. Smith's actions effect her patient care in this way: blah bl...