sunflower918

ok so asking peds nurses...a friend of mine has an approx 22month old kid. Kidlet has had (to my knowledge) one febrile seizure to date. Recently had two seizures approx 30 min apart. One at daycare, a rescue was called and kidlet transferred to local children's hosp. ed and discharged. Second seizure occurred while parent was driving back from there and picking up kidlet #2 at daycare following d/c from 1st incident. Rescue called a 2nd time and kidlet #1 transferred again to local children's hosp. ed. Parents given choice of admission to stay the night or d/c; this was apparently with follow-up neurology consult. Parents chose to take kidlet home. As far as I am aware (based on parent's reporting) no hematology studies, csf cx, ua/ucx, etc were done at either visit. Parents were apparently told it must have been "some kind of virus thing".... Whadda ya think? What's best practice? *I'm a phleb with 20+ yrs in the field...not just lab. Also EMS etc....New/Old grad LPN or whatever they call it these days lol. I realize per TOS medical advice is prohibited but as a case study I'm interested.

Mclellan nailed it in my experience. When I was in lpn school there were numerous times that his/her advice would have served me well as an adult student with more "life experience" than I cared to have, and also choosing nursing as a second career. As I frequently told my children when they were growing up "don't drink the koolaid". Do what's right for you. I have not worked as a nurse yet; however I feel your pain as a student. Keep going. ((HUGS))...:) "

Another route is becoming a "Direct Entry Midwife"; check out Midwives Alliance of North America (sorry don't have link). Also you could check out MA Friends of Midwives site.... Good luck to you in whatever path you choose. It is a humbling experience to say the least to be the waiting hands that receive a new life into this world.

OUTSTANDING!!!! Good for you guys/girls....I've worked for a unionized hospital for many years now. It's the only thing I have ever seen work to get "manglement" to sit up and take notice. Workers have rights.

I only have my own experience with family members and palliative care/hospice to go on but know that you have prayers/positive thoughts coming your way. It's incredibly difficult to be a caregiver. Take care of yourself in whatever way that you can; I feel for you ((((hugs)))). Things will get better!

I've been a phleb for many years; in the hospital where I currently work we take care of both inpatients and outpatients. At our outpatient sites (which are at separate addresses than the main hospital), most of the time we're fine to draw w/out a doc there. However, an outpatient site that I frequently work at takes care of high-risk OB patients. Many of those practitioners prefer that we draw during office hours only. Seems that it's because if a patient reacts badly to a blood draw (seizure, vaso-vagal causing fainting, etc) our only option is to call EMS. Maybe it's the patient population in the doc's office? lol...in 20 yrs of phlebotomy have rarely needed a doc available for sticks...plus I work for a teaching institution. Can't imagine calling a 1st year for help with much:roflmao:

I have been a phleb for 20 yrs...(grad from lpn school 3 yrs ago). Have to say that I agree with beingcaitlin; can't really think of a reason why any reputable lab would 'ignore' even slight lysing of cells in a spec as it can cause inaccurate results to be reported. This could result in potential harm to a patient (via treatment plans changing based on labs, etc). The last thing lab staff want to do is have that happen, or be reported to any of our regulatory commisions for such an incident. (Talk about the PG scores going bad...lol). Maybe a more reasonable approach from the OP's mgmt may be to specify policy that prohibits line labs under certain patient conditions i.e., he's suspected or known to already have existing problems with K, serious anemias, etc. Don't know how "real world" that might work but just a thought. Sorry for lack of paragraphs-new to posting here and trying to navigate the ins and outs:)

Thanks! Looking to work as an lpn and continue to rn (by bridge if possible). By certifications I mean in addition to healthcare provider als/cpr/aed (infant and adult) which I have as required by my workplace. For example, i.v. cert. Forgive me for sounding somewhat vague; just beginning to articulate for myself how I'd like to continue on this journey.

Hi All, Graduated three years ago (LPN), took boards, got licensed. Have worked over 20 yrs in health care related job. As a midlife career changer, plan was to get work in nursing at current place of employment. (Been there with excellent record for almost ten yrs now). Shortly following being awarded my license by BON, DH suffered a grevious injury at work keeping him out of work for next several years. I had to stay in current position as I carry health ins. and have excellent benefits. He has recently had sucessful sx to allow him to return to work. So-what to do now? Have started to look into obtaining different certifications for healthcare providers (aside from what is required at work now), doing a lot of reading and studying of "the basics" from school, and looking into possible programs of study at schools nearby to refresh. Any other suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Words of encouragement won't hurt either as this has been a long haul for us :-) Thanks.

Have to say I completely agree with the fact that you ARE a paying customer...you are also an "adult learner" with different abilities/needs/experience as a student. I experienced the same situation when in nursing school...don't 'drink the kool-aid'-assert yourself as an experienced, intelligent adult student who is entitled as a paying customer to professionalism and respect from your instructors. It's their job!! Hang in there and good luck.

Wholeheartedly agree with RNperdiem-you sound like a perfect candidate for paramedic school-more advanced than EMT practice, with plenty of "making something out of nothing" in the field to keep people alive... Good luck!

Hi, I've been a phleb for 20 years now; just graduated from nursing school!! Almost everyone has a decent vein in their wrist-turn their hand so the thumb is on top and the pinkie finger is on the bottom (their hand will be "sideways"), and use a hot pack or wrap hand/wrist in a hot towel. These veins must be anchored properly or they will move away from the needle. Also, I don't know what your facility's policy is (some do not allow this), but in extreme cases I will draw from the inside wrist-palm side- after warming up the area with a hot pack. I use the smallest gauge needle I can get away with as this is a tender spot for the pt. Don't be afrain to check for surface veins on the upper arm or on the back of the upper arm; most elders have veins in some strange places you can access. Take your time whenever you can-better to take your time looking for decent access than to stick people numerous times. Good luck and remember-no one gets everyone-at times we all have a difficult day trying to get blood from these patients no matter how much experience we have! Hang in there

Amen to John20 for the reply re: DDay at Normandy....now THAT'S a bad day at work... Keep the faith!

Hi all-biggest pet peeve is trying to show :heartbeat to the co-worker who "...doesn't need training in that..." even though she's never stepped foot in a NICU before!! Gah!!! Am always happy to help anyone who asks for it, and don't hesitate to ask for myself if need be.....