traumamike

I have one word of advise...electrolytes! know them like the back of your hand because you will use them as a nurse and I agree totally with the other poster, get out of the habit of just memorizing things. You have to be able to critically think and apply what you have learned. Good Luck!

going into the medical field should be for helping patients and not just because we make a good living! if his is what you are called to do then do it, if this is about money only then go sell something or work in a office. please dont let sour people and their hate drive you from your dream! By the way i have been in trauma for a while and live in florida and make great money! the money will come with the experience...good luck to you...

I have 3.98 GPA

My advise is to check with your nursing board. In my state and hospital it is accepted. When i worked in the ICU, we would get T.O. and V.O. all the time. As long as it is properly documented I dont see an issue, but again check with your state to see if it is accepted. I work in trauma/er now, so it isn't an issue. I hope this helps. good luck!

Baptist College of Health Sciences in Memphis,Tn. BSN without a waitlist. You have to pass a entrance exam and have at least a 3.0 GPA.

I believe everything happens for a reason, everything and everyone you come across in this life you take something from. Sorry to hear about your mom and congrats on your son. If you are determined and want it bad enough you will have it. The only thing I would suggest you take from this, is not to be so hasty in making decisions next time.(withdrawing, before thinking it through) I know it was a knee jerk reaction from the pain you were feeling and despair, but maybe that was your lesson to be learned in all of this or maybe this wasn't the right time for you to enter nursing school. I agree with the other post above, take this time and sock some money away and spend time with your family, because with all the studying you will be doing, it will be tough on the family life. Good Luck, GOD Bless, and my prayers are with you. Keep Believing in your dreams!

As a former RT, I agree with leslie and Libbyjeanne, Yes that is most likely the cause and yes it can be taken care of by pre-oxygenating the patient. It happens even then sometimes, just one of those things, and yes it most likely dropped immediately, but not all pulse oximetry waveforms are good. Did the waveform look like an 80% desat. or was it all over the place? Of course the only true way to tell if the oximeter is correct is to corralate the pulse ox with an ABG, but only do this if the pt. has an ART-line. Due to not having to needlessly stick your pt. Good luck!

I agree with beachbumnrs, get a BSN, it will open more doors. Yes, you can go into peds and er with an ADN, but lets play devil's advocate for a minute, lets say you get a ADN and later on you are in a similar situation like you are in now. Board to tears or just hate being an RN, but you have a BSN and go right into a NP program, CRNA program, or you want to teach. Well with the BSN you have you can go right into that. On the other hand, with a ADN, you will first have to go back and get the BSN then go into those programs. I.E. more time, money , and frustration. Now to your questions, with a BSN some hospitals, mine included, pays more per hour for BSN -vs-ADN. I live in florida, and work in a major city at a large hospital, our pay starts at 32 an hour with a BSN. ADN's start at 30. The scheduling issue is dependant on your hospital, but in general, yes nursing is in general pretty flexible in scheduling. What shift you work is basically up to you, and what is avalible at the time, but night shift pays a pretty big diff. Good Luck with your decision!

I agree with newstart08, I am a trauma nurse and the best thing you can do is make the pharmacy your friend! What I tell my precepting nurses to the ED is create a cheat sheet or book to keep on them. I usually take them and introduce them to one of our ED pharmacist. Think of what can kill the pt. the contraindications, push/drip rates, what it can/can't be diluted, etc... Access your computer/library in the ED, if you can't find the info. you are looking for. The only thing I would say different is depending on your hospital, you can ask other nurses there, but only the ones that have some experience. It isn't gonna do you any good to ask someone who is in the same boat as you are in, or someone with 2 more weeks in the ED than you have... Good Luck!

I am not being mean really, but how has she lasted this long without killing someone! I mean good God, please for the patients sake get her out of the ICU. I really feel for you, I am also a preceptor. This is how I grade my nurses that I precept, would I let or want this nurse caring for me or my family! yes or no? If no then get that person out of the ICU. You tend to give more time for a GN or someone new to the unit, but a years experience! I am always patient with the nurses that I precept and take time in explaining things, because how they perform in their careers is a direct reflection of my teaching skills, but what you have said about some of the task she can't perform after a year in the ICU. Those poor patients, and you, the poor precepter. Well you know what my opinion is, Good Luck!

My dad is a retired surgeon, and i didn't know it until he told me that years ago before there were educational requirments, you could challange the medical boards! Is that not crazy! I mean first of all if you could pass the boards without going to medical school, then i guess why not, if you have that kind of knowledge. He told me of a well known orthopod, who's dead now, but he challenged the boards and got his M.D. I know of him and his clinic is world known, the doctors they train there are some of the best in the country. It amazes me that he had the knowledge to do that, but i am glad they have the educational requirments to sit for the boards now... God knows what kind of docs would be practicing now!LOL

I had a Hgb of 2.8 before on a GI bleed also. I had the lab recheck the results! the lowest pulse ox reading that correlated with abg was 12%. !! needless to say we didn't save the pt.

It is strange ,but you develope your coping mechanisms. I still remember every pt. I have lost over the years as a resp. therapist and a nurse. The only one that still gets to me, is a 6y.o. boy who was a victim of a house fire. It was christmas eve and they brought him in and as we were coding him, his mother was singing his favorite song to him.. silent night.. Needless to say there wasn't a dry eye in the trauma bay and not a christmas goes by that I don't think of him.. You will have pt's that get to you, but knowing you did everything possible for them gives you some comfort. Like i said you develope your coping skills. Everyone gets affected by their pt.'s if they don't then they nust not be human. Good luck, you will be fine.

In the respiratory field, its called "all better all" instead of albuterol, because all docs think that every pt. that has the ever so slightest wheeze or even stridor has to have "all better all".. you ask most docs why they prescribe it and 8 out of 10 will say it can't hurt! Well yes it can!! IMHO I think it may be the most over prescribed drug around. Gee doc the pt's in V-tach how about some "all better all" to make him better...lol it's crazy i tell you!

As a former respiratory therapist and current RN, Albuterol isnt a desired drug for chf. Now, COPD is a different story. COPD is made up of 2 or more components, one being asthma, the others can include chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchietasis. The patient must have at least 2 of these to be diagnosed with COPD. This puzzles me, I was an RRT for 6 years before going to nursing school, but we always had the doc start the pt. on lasix and we would nebulize ipatropium bromide(atrovent) because it does have a drying effect to it, but never albuterol due to the risk out weighing the reward. I would grab the RT next time they are up and ask one that is good and will take the time to explain their method behind the maddness of this and let us know what they say...good luck