MereBuffNurse

It was not until I began my career as an ER nurse that I felt like I had enough practice to begin becoming "good" at IV starts. Prior to that, I worked on a med-surg floor. Most of the patients there already had an IV and if they came out or went bad, we could get away with a 22g. However, in the ER, most patients require and IV start and it needs to be an 18g or a 20g, and quickly. Practice, practice, practice made me better. I am still learning and still have on and off days. It also helps to review anatomy to know where veins are so you can look for them. Some people's veins are deeper than others. :)

That sounds like a great idea, but isn't petroleum jelly flammable with oxygen? Our hospital doesn't use it, we usually use KY jelly because it's water-based instead for everything. So, I will try that. Thanks for the tip!

What is going to decide if you lose weight and are healthy or not is your motivation. It has to be a LIFESTYLE change, not a diet that cuts any one nutrient totally....ESPECIALLY carbohydrates. Your brain runs off carbs. Yes, we do have food at every occasion, cake, cookies, burgers, etc. You have to decide if it's worth it. Is it worth it to have that big slice of cake hanging off your a** when you're looking at bathing suits and nothing looks good because you don't have enough self control to avoid it? As a nurse, it is really hard to eat every 3-4 hours, but this does 2 things: 1) keeps you satisfied so you don't over eat and 2) keeps your metabolism up and your body from going into starvation mode. Moderation is ok. Allow yourself a treat occasionally. Get to a gym or join a tennis team. MOVE, walk, run, cycle, swim, do something that burns calories. Find something that motivates you, maybe getting over an ex, looking good for summer, avoiding CHF and diabetes, maybe set an example for your children, look hot for your spouse...whatever it is that motivates you..... Make a list, tape it to your mirror. Don't buy junk food. If it grows on a farm, eat it, think twice if it does not. :)

With those symptoms,you give the medication and if the breakthrough Morphine still doesn't help, call the surgeon and possibly get her PCA or breakthrough switched to Dilaudid. Pain is subjective. It would be different if the pt had been half-asleep, groggy, had low respirations or low BP. The nurse before you, while experienced, was either on a power trip or too lazy to medicate the patient that often.

I have noticed most scrubs run big. The extra smalls are way too big for me, I have to cinch them big-time in the waist. However, Grey's scrubs fit a little better than Urbane or Landau as far as being smaller and more fitted. Hope this helps!

We have 6-7, with an aid. If we don't have an aid, we do 5 total care.

We usually have 6:1 RN or LPN, sometimes 7:1. I work night shift, so we are lucky IF we have an aid (it's 1 for 20 patients), we have no secretary, IV teams, admission person, etc. We do it all.

I feel your pain! I took it friday, tried the trick (wouldn't met me re-register), and will probably find out at work tomorrow too. Best of luck to you!!!!