Fancypants09

You will look for other signs&symptoms both with dehydration and hypoglycemia, in order to rule those out. Dehydration may be a stretch because remember, pt West has been getting fluids for 6hrs now, 100mL/hr of NS. Consider the current pain management (what else is infusing via IV?) + Mrs. West's age together.

I am now so excited to try this, working on a surg onc unit, those post-op pts gotta be ambulated with Foleys in situ! Here I was, criss-crossing tongue depressors on IV pole and taping them like a sucker! Awesome hack, thanks for sharing!!

For the rare times when we have a COPD pt on our surgical floor, there are physician orders to titrate oxygen sats. to between 88%-92%

Hi all, I was interviewed recently for a surgical unit. One of the interview questions went something like: "Mrs. X reports pain, you go to dispense pain medication, but the other nurses on the floor are worried that said patient is addicted to pain killers, how do you proceed?" This question kind of stumped me, so my answer was a bit hackneyed, but I tried to answer as best I could. I said something along the lines of researching pt's previous med history, talking to pt's physician, and looking at trend of medication administration for the duration of time that pt has been on the unit. I know that, statistically, chances of opiate addiction in post-op pts are very low (less than 10% I believe), although pt may fear becoming addicted - so this would require pt teaching regarding dependence, tolerance, and addiction as being separate entities. What are your thoughts on this? I don't know how else I could have answered this q differently, it's been bugging me! Thanks so much!

Woohoo!!! Congratulations on the ED position!

Lol this thread is hilarious! I work on a surgical onc unit. Some of my dreams involve being at the hospital, thinking about my to-do work list, etc. Today I woke up thinking "I have a patient on CBI, gotta go check on him, maybe irrigation bag needs changing". While I was a student, I consolidated on a rehab mental health unit for pts with schizophrenia who were being rehabilitated into society, having committed a crime (let your imagination run free here, you won't be far off). I had a nightmare that the heavy metal door of the nursing station became inadvertently unlocked, and the pts walked like zombies out of their rooms and into the nursing station to get me.

I'm sorry this happened. Sending virtual ((HUGS)). I cried. Thank you for the updates, I hope that little tyke keeps getting better and better. My heart aches for that poor husband. We have EAP at my hospital, I've never used it (yet - new grad).

Hi all, I work on a surgical unit, am fresh new grad. I have a question about IV medication piggybacking by gravity (sometimes I have a pump, other times not). When this secondary infusion completes and primary takes over, there is leftover remaining fluid in the secondary line and in drip chamber, meaning my pt isn't getting the full dose of med prescribed in IV fluid. How can I remedy the situation? Is this a silly q?? Thanks all!

I've discovered that Subq ports hurt. Pt required hydromorphone SC injections every so often for moderate-severe pain, subq port was installed, more pain just giving the injection thru port. And the tubing on the port is quite lengthy albeit very small diameter, I started wondering if my pt is even getting the full dose of what is being injected?? Can someone share their thoughts on this? I'm a new grad, still so much to learn.

Yes that's the app i used!

"Providing family-centered care" is a very broad and sweeping statement. HOW did you provide such care? How does providing such care look like in your practice? Maybe you sit down with the patient and their family and go over discharge instructions with them, and you advocate for an interpreter if needed? Maybe you take time to talk with the patient who is anxious before a procedure? If you've experienced a patient dying, how do you care for the family in the aftermath? Just some suggestions. You have a lot of clinical skills listed, I would say make your list 50/50 - that is, 50% dry clinical information, 50% patient/family-focused and interprofessional-focused. It would make for a more interesting read.

It sounds like you're from Ontario. I applied to 80+ positions through the New Grad initiative on the HFO website, did not get a single call for interview. But this is to be expected. A lot of times, the vacant positions are advertised with a new graduate already in mind, so they are put up as a technicality, if you want to look at it that way, the job's already in the bag for that new nurse. HOWEVER, there are exceptions to the rule, and some hospitals' HR departments DO comb through the applicants to see who is a good fit or not. I applied externally to dozens of positions as well in different hospitals, and was successful in getting hired! So moral of the story: Don't rely on NGG too much, apply externally. Certifications are good in that they show initiative, but it's not going to be your golden ticket to a job. Good luck! It may take upwards of a full year to get hired.

Have some patience, you'll know your results soon! I wrote in Canada, we don't have the "pay for your quick results" option and my friend had to wait a whole WEEK for her results from our regulatory body to mail it to her, she was afraid she failed, alas she passed. You can wait a few days.

You know, I didn't even consider seniority status. Thank you for your advice!

Hi all, New grad here. I was recently hired onto a surgical floor, the position was originally advertised as "Regular, Part Time" hours. The hospital offered me Full-Time, Temporary status for 4 months only, so I would be filling in until a nurse comes back from her maternity leave. Even if it's 4 months, I'm very happy to have secured a job in such a tight RN market in my city. I live in Ontario, Canada. My question is, does this happen often, new grads being hired for such a short amount of time? I feel like I don't have job security for the future, I'm wondering what my chances are of securing a job with regular hours after this one. Does anyone have any experience with situations like mine? Thank you!