JustEnuff2BDangerous BSN, RN

What are your nursing superstitions? Here are a few of mine... - I become paranoid if, during report, someone explicitly states a pt is a "full code" (we don't normally note code status unless a pt is a DNR) OR if there is a leaf magnet in one of our...

While I was still in preceptorship on my floor, we had a man who was being discharged, all papers signed, IV had been taken out, street clothes on, stood up to get into the wheelchair to be taken out to his car and collapsed, immediately unresponsive...

I don't mind fulfilling simple, politely-worded-and-toned requests. Start treating me like I'm paid to take your order (and receive tips while doing it), or start acting like you automatically expect me to do such things for you, and that's where the...

You can make a huge mistake anywhere, not just med-surg. The good news is, there are not a whole lot of mistakes you will make that can't be reversed or mitigated - there's not a whole lot of mistakes that are going to outright kill someone. You beco...

My "opening note" only consists of "Received report from ______, RN." But if your preceptor wants you to paint a brief picture of the patient, I'd stick with objective things. "Patient awake, alert, resting supine watching TV. No S/S of distress, den...

We require all patients on telemetry to have IV access, saline locked or otherwise. Most of our other patients do have IV access, but if the patient is stable, has no IV medications on their medication profile that they are receiving, does not have c...

Only issues here with showering are the IV site getting wet and the potential for the patient to fall (you could be in a world of hurt if the patient on heparin falls and hits their head!). As long as you safeguard against these two things (wrap the ...

Never worked in an OR but I've worked on a Med-Surg/Oncology unit for as long as I've been a nurse (a measly 2 years ), and I feel I have learned more in these 2 years than some of my peers (who went into "specialized" areas) have in 5 years. I have ...

Eventually, going into ANY profession (especially one as physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding as nursing) solely or mostly for money will only cause you to burnout. There have been many studies done on what motivates a person and what keep...

There's absolutely no reason why you can't perform Heimlich on a patient who is choking, after all at that point it's all about clearing the airway so a choking situation doesn't turn into a code situation. Also, in the hospital setting we have the a...

I had a 5-day regimen of inpatient IV chemotherapy delayed by a day because there is apparently a shortage of Taxol as well (patient's Day 1 was Taxol only; Days 2-5 were Ifex and Cisplatin). So it's not only potentially affecting outcomes, it's leng...

I typically have 12 patients assigned to me, and an LPN (to give meds to the 12 patients) and sometimes a CNA (to do patient care on the 12 patients). Not only do I trust my LPN -and- my CNA to "watch" my patients for me, I usually depend on them to ...

These are probably just surly people who need something to be surly about - its nothing against you personally. :) I am always thankful for my sitters, especially if them being there means that my staff will not be pulled to sit, thus making us short...

I complain about this too, but (much to my annoyance), someone in the non-medical field always has some version of a comparison to "regular" work clothes and it really comes out to be about the same (if not cheaper) than every other profession. I us...

One of the first posts I ever read here, I remember a quote from it, as plain as day: "Do I love my job? What day is it?" I love nursing. Some days I love my specific job on my specific floor, and some days I don't. Some days things go mostly as plan...

Its been a very trying two weeks at work. For some backstory: I work on a 36-bed medical-surgical/oncology floor that dabbles in a little bit of everything (telemetry and such). We do team nursing. On a typical day we will have 3 RNs, 3 LPNs, and 3 ...

It depends, really, on how long the IV has just been sitting there with nothing running through it. Most hospitals have a "flush IVs not in use every ____ hours" but nobody really abides by it. If the IV has only been sitting a few hours and has a "c...

That's why we have Google. :)

I don't think you can sit for a med-surg certification exam (like the ANCC - if that is what you mean) without having worked so many hours on a medical-surgical floor over the past year or two. I would focus instead on obtaining other certifications ...

Some hospitals/organizations will only hire BSN RNs for positions, especially if it is a "leadership" role (charge nurse, supervisor, etc). It could be argued that BSN RNs have more upward mobility because of this, and this is the only time there wou...

As a nurse, my small talk has a dual purpose... It helps me bond with my patients, and it also helps me uncover any underlying issues/frustrations/ailments that I might not have known about. If I ask the patient, "How did you sleep last night?" and t...

Nurses have a unique perspective on end of life matters because we get the full picture, thanks to our access to information about the patient that the family may or may not have and we have the knowledge and experience of how to apply that informati...

- Visitors shall abide by the usage of the call light ONLY for summoning nursing staff; visitors shall not come out of the room and interrupt an occupied nurse for the purpose of fulfilling needs for a patient, nor shall a visitor stand in the doorwa...

I'm also an introvert, and do not feel that it has hindered me at all in my profession; in fact I think being a nurse has actually helped me be more outgoing and "openly" friendly, because you deal with strangers on a daily basis. It has forced me ou...