bpf1987

RN-cardiac thanks so much for that post! I've been in my ED for almost 6 years (first 5 as a tech now as a RN). I am just now feeling more confident in my assessments. I wish I had heard that earlier. Thanks.

First Monday night after a major holiday. 7-11p... you won't want to leave. : ) or if you work in an area with an active night life like me gotta go for the Friday/Saturday night. Or Monday morning... you'll catch some good AMIs.

Do you have patient advocates? I think I am spoiled at my really massive ED but we have 24 hour pt. reps that are amazing at calming situations like this. Obviously, we don't just dump our problems on them but if I was working with a another sick kid they could try to redirect and calm the angry mother. Sometimes you just have to put your business face on and tell her she is going to have to wait. It is really hard to quickly explain our theories and evidence based priorities to someone who 1. has no idea about the nursing/medical field and 2. also has a sick kid. She is not thinking about anything else. That's a tough call but since I'm not sure how many resources you have at your ER its hard to say. We also have an annual class about decreasing workplace violence/belligerence. It helps a bit.

I had my Avelox shears for 2 YEARS! Amazing. I still think about them when I see leather jackets. I think a surgery resident waddled off with them.

Once I had a mom and daughter brought by in by EMS after a very mild MVC. EMS handed us a cardboard box and told us the daughter's ferret had also survived the accident. Apparently he had epistaxis at the scene which was now resolved. The ferret had to be babysat in the charge office until dad could come retrieve him. They were all discharged. That might have been the day I decided I could not work anywhere else.

tip I learned after 5 years.... upright LPs are a lot easier than laterals for infants.... i found it easier to keep an eye on their respiratory status, baby's heavy (5 weeker) little head on my thumbs and pinky/ring fingers supporting the hips.... really beats the fetal position and the resident got it right away... and apparently... if they need to restick there is less chance of false RBCs in the CSF when they stick the next up vertebral space bc the blood from the first stick will fall down and not contaminate the following stick... as opposed to lateral the blood can spread to all adjacent spaces.... if someone would like to verify this... it would be helpful... seemed to make sense to me though...

Hi. I'll be done with my BSN in December. I've been in the ER at a level 1 for 5 years and am hoping to get into SICU. I've been eyeing the WSU critical care NP for a while. Do they have a part time program? What do you do as a ccnp? I really only get to work with the neuro NPs and they seem to do A LOT of paperwork. But I love critical care and I think I have a bit more schooling in me. I am really interested. How are they utilized at a large teaching hosital?

Ahhh I missed the ivda part. I shouldn't post after a night shift. Boo

I personally love ODs in the ER. So complicated. Psych, physio, pure nursing creativiy. I've seen RSI for that but depending on what type of information we had on what she took and how long ago I think we would have charcoaled her, ngt maybe, she sounds like she needed more than saline. She must not have been too legthargic in the ER bc I think they would have narcaned her.

Yes this is perfect thanks a lot

I'm a nosy girl that was a little tired of reading all the sentimental stories about how an angels and teddy bears. I would not survive the nursing field without my male co-workers. I so expected a thread like this... and yes go with the long undershirt. PS never go sans undershirt with a hairy chest and a gold cross chain necklace. just don't. brittany

I'll start my preceptorship (last big clinical one-on-one with RN) in September on a Trauma/Neuro SICU. I want to pre-game a bit. If you guys could throw me some essentials to learn before-hand I would appreciate it. I've been an ER tech at a level one for 5 years so I know the ICU will be a whole new world and I would like to be prepared as possible. So meds, lab values, procedures whatever. Thanks Brittany