telenurse2009

So in other words, what you are saying, is notify the doctor but tell them he/she has to come and read the strip themselves? In other words, if I tell the doctor the patient has converted and he gives me an order to stop the drip and something goes wrong, I am liable because the doctor did not read the strip and took my word for it?

Just wondering what the protocol is concerning amiodarone drips once the patient converts as I haven't noticed consistency on how this is handled by nurses. The amio is to infuse at 33 ml/hr x 6 hrs then 16.7ml/hr for 18 hours. If the patient converts from Afib to NSR while on the drip, which of the following do you do? 1. Notify the doctor that the patient has converted and ask if he wants the drip to continue and/or change the amio to tablet form. 2. Don't notify the doctor, keep the amio infusing for the full course. I ask because I've seen nurses do either of these.

Yes, I just did so. This is what I posted in another thread; "I worked on a stepdown unit and up until a few days ago worked with covid patients that were placed in a negative pressure room. I didn't have a problem with this, however the other day I was informed I was to expect to admit a covid positive patient on 6 liters High Flow Nasal Cannula into a regular room on enhanced droplet precautions. In other words, they were being placed in a regular room and not in a negative pressure room. Managements rationale was that the patient "was not coughing" so my exposure should be minimal. I did not want to accept the patient because I felt that due to the room not being negative pressure, I would be exposed to a high viral load and I am no Spring chicken, making me more susceptible to serious symptoms if I contracted the virus. Not only that, every time the door of the room would be opened, the air with the virus in it would go out into the hallway were staff are not wearing N95 masks/PAPR's. Whereas at least with a negative pressure room, when the door is opened, the air wouldn't automatically/immediately go out into the hallway. I found this article https://bit.ly/2KyREAp which concluded that "a growing body of evidence that droplet precautions are not appropriate for SARS-CoV-2." I was told by my manager that I was expected to take the patient. I declined and a younger nurse in her 20's reluctantly offered to take the patient and I took one of her patients, after I said I would resign there and then and go home. The next morning I tendered my resignation as I was advised I was expected to take these patients in these rooms. What also bothers me is that management didn't bother to tell us that we were going to start getting these patients in regular rooms on enhanced droplet precautions, we were given no chance to have input into the situation....it was just dropped on us....it felt sneaky. I called my union rep who advised we "had no choice" in the matter and that the med surg units were already doing it. Meanwhile the other week management had no problem converting half the step down unit to negative pressure rooms, so why didn't they just do it to the entire stepdown unit? Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts/feedback on this issue. "

I worked on a stepdown unit and up until a few days ago worked with covid patients that were placed in a negative pressure room. I didn't have a problem with this, however the other day I was informed I was to expect to admit a covid positive patient on 6 liters High Flow Nasal Cannula into a regular room on enhanced droplet precautions. In other words, they were being placed in a regular room and not in a negative pressure room. Managements rationale was that the patient "was not coughing" so my exposure should be minimal. I did not want to accept the patient because I felt that due to the room not being negative pressure, I would be exposed to a high viral load and I am no Spring chicken, making me more susceptible to serious symptoms if I contracted the virus. Not only that, every time the door of the room would be opened, the air with the virus in it would go out into the hallway were staff are not wearing N95 masks/PAPR's. Whereas at least with a negative pressure room, when the door is opened, the air wouldn't automatically/immediately go out into the hallway. I found this article https://bit.ly/2KyREAp which concluded that "a growing body of evidence that droplet precautions are not appropriate for SARS-CoV-2." I was told by my manager that I was expected to take the patient. I declined and a younger nurse in her 20's reluctantly offered to take the patient and I took one of her patients, after I said I would resign there and then and go home. The next morning I tendered my resignation as I was advised I was expected to take these patients in these rooms. What also bothers me is that management didn't bother to tell us that we were going to start getting these patients in regular rooms on enhanced droplet precautions, we were given no chance to have input into the situation....it was just dropped on us....it felt sneaky. I called my union rep who advised we "had no choice" in the matter and that the med surg units were already doing it. Meanwhile the other week management had no problem converting half the step down unit to negative pressure rooms, so why didn't they just do it to the entire stepdown unit? Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts/feedback on this issue.

It's why I went out and got my own KN95 masks to protect myself and not rely on management and their decisions. I always believed this was airborne and that the blue surgical masks would not be enough. A while back, a friend sold me some N95 masks for $5 a mask....her husband got them from China and unfortunately they did not pass the fit test for me....plus those ones were big and clumsy, they weren't from 3M. The KN95 masks I found at www.cleansense.us fit me better, are FDA approved, and they are at least one step up from the blue surgical masks, as far as protection goes, and they fit well underneath the blue surgical masks (as one of the hospitals I work at has a policy about having to wear the masks they provide, so I wear the KN95 underneath the blue surgical mask).

You're welcome!

I am an RN who works at 2 hospitals. Patients are being admitted for medical conditions such as elective surgeries, MI's, trauma's etc. They are being tested for Covid 19 upon admission and then are sent up to the various floors pending the test results (Med Surg, ICU, PCU). Unfortunately, some of these patients test results come back positive. This means that the nurses on these floors have been working with covid positive patients for multiple shifts without the proper PPE (just a blue surgical mask)....as sometimes it has taken days before the test results come back. One of the hospitals I work at does not allow us to bring in our own masks. My work around this is I bought some KN95 masks. I wear one of those KN95 masks and put a blue surgical mask over it. Management hasn't had an issue with this because I'm still complying with their requirement to wear one of their blue surgical masks. Some versions of the KN95 mask are being sold online that are not FDA approved. Anyway, I found a website that does not price gouge and their masks are FDA approved. In addition, they also sell the face shields and blue surgical masks. I am hoping this info will help my fellow nurses/healthcare workers and give them some piece of mind. The website is www.cleansense.us

The website (www.cleansense.us) I get my masks from also sells faceshields. The masks sell for $14.95 for 10 KN95 masks and I use one mask per shift.

This is a post concerning Covid 19. I work in two hospitals. As we all know patients are now coming to the hospital for non-covid related medical conditions and elective surgeries. Both hospitals I work at are testing admitted patients for Covid 19 and are then sending the patients up to the units (Med Surg, PCU, ICU) pending the test results. The nurses on these units are wearing only the blue surgical masks, as due to the shortage of N95 masks, those are only being provided to nurse working the Covid/rule out Covid units. A few days later some of these patients test results come back as Covid positive. This means that nurses have been exposed to these covid positive patients for multiple shifts. One of the hospitals I work at will not allow us to bring in our own masks. My work around this is I've purchased KN95 masks. I wear a blue surgical mask over the KN95 mask. Management does not have an issue with this because I am complying with their policy to wear their blue surgical mask. Just wanting to help out other nurses as until all nurses working any floor are provided with N95 masks, this is going to be an ongoing issue. I obtain my KN95 masks from this website which is FDA approved and the prices are reasonable and they are not price gouging: www.cleansense.us

Thank-you very much for your reply. We ended up buying a house in Murrieta which is within walking distance of Loma Linda University Medical Center. I appreciate the advise!

Thank-you very much for your reply. We ended up buying a house in Murrieta which is within walking distance of Loma Linda University Medical Center.

I am an RN and am thinking about purchasing a property in Lake Elsinore with 5 bedrooms to rent out to travel nurses. The only issue with this location is that the hospitals are between 22 minutes to 42 minutes away with an average of a 30 minute drive (about 16 miles). Is this drive too far away? Or would the fact that the house has beautiful views of the lake and mountains make up for the drive. In addition, the property has a private courtyard swimming pool to lounge beside. Each room has floor to ceiling windows with great views. I haven't bought the property yet, but am thinking whether it is something travel nurses would rent a room with 4 other nurses and share the house (fully furnished, TV, internet, move in ready). Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks for your response. I've signed up for an online job fair for Florida...am thinking about trying to get a job there.

I am in my 40's and have been a nurse for 24 years. I recently completed all courses for my Critical Care Nursing Certificate except for the clinical component which is ten 12 hr shifts. I am starting to think that I won't have a hope in hell of obtaining a job in critical care because ICU's only want to hire new grads. I would like an internship but again am suspecting I am wasting my time. Any thoughts?

Nobody's posted any feedback for me. For those that are reading...I spoke with Core Medical Group and I strongly do not recommend them. Dodge a bullet there.