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Howdy all, I'd like to get a consensus from you all about how quickly in to your ICU nursing career you were trained to perform "advanced" ICU nursing tasks, like managing post heart patients, CRRT (CVVH or SLED), or IABP. I've been working in an I...

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was pointing out. EMT-P is a license and legally allows you to perform tasks. CCRN just means you can take a test (a pretty hard one, though).

Thanks for all the responses. It's good to know that there are places out there where I could receive training. I had a meeting with my unit director and nurse educator. After listening to her for about an hour, I still didn't have a clearer picut...

My nurse educator took it and said that she thought it was way easier than CCRN. She has been a nurse for 15 years, and said that anyone who has been taking care of post op hearts for several years should be able to pass with minimal studying. She ...

Word up to everything CraigB-RN just said. I think the analogy of RNs switching specialties is an excellent one. Hey, just wondering, but FlyingSquirrel where did you learn to manage a-lines, swans and vents? I'll bet it was from an RN. I was ne...

It sounds to me like you're good to go. It sounds like you work in a supportive environment, and have a good amount of quality preceptor time, and then are paired with a partner when your preceptor time is done. As far as not knowing enough to 'se...

Viva Indy! I spent the first 18 years of my life there! I agree, go to any hospital that will take you in the ICU. I think the next best thing would be to work in a step down unit, PCU, or a cardiac/tele floor. Many hospitals offer internships for...

Wow, what a great idea, I wish I had thought of it. I think that next time I'm forced to take a triple that I feel is unsafe, I'm going to call the involved MDs and tell them that I think their patients are being staffed unsafely. I don't know abou...

Jeez, you guys sound busy! I'd say that about a third of my nights have me running for 12 hours straight, another third are steady but leave me with time for small breaks now and then, and another third give me a good 2-3 hours of nothing to do. Us...

Thanks for the encouragement, it's good to hear that my frustruation is not without reason. I think my lack of training is because of several factors. Mostly, I think it's because those in charge think that you have to have many years of experience...

Hmmm, If I understand your questions correctly, yes. If you compared two new RN graduates from the same program, and one was an EMT-P and one was not, I would expect a higher level of skill and knowledge from the one with EMT-P experience. I'm not ...

Squirrel, If you read my post more carefully, I think you'll notice that I never claimed that an RN fresh out of a 2 week medic course was "proficent". In fact, I think they would have a lot to learn. The point I was trying to make is that they're...

Exactally, the patient takes the hit. It sounds like more of an MD problem where you work. If they want urine monitored closely, they need to order a foley. Almost every patient I work with has a foley, and if I felt like a patient needed one, I w...

In our ICU, measuring hourly urine is our standard of practice. If anyone were to complain that it wasn't convienent for them to perform this measurement, they wouldn't find much sympathy among the people I work with, myself included. We have foley...

Where do you get the idea that ICU nursing is more prone to burnout than any other specialty? Most of the people I work with have worked ICU for between 10 and 20 years, and still love it. Besides, it's healthy to look for something new to do, to k...

Our RTs do the usual stuff, vent management, ABGs, suctioning. The thing that disspoints me is that they don't do oral care or change trach dressings on our rare trached patients. Frequently I see them sitting in their break room reading the paper ...

Can you copy and paste your research results here? That's very interesting. Does anyone know of any other nursing research that shows a correlation between staffing and outcome? Some people at work are of the opinion that taking 3 patients is no b...

It's really unfortunate that there are people out there whose lives are so miserable that they find it necessary to yell at others to make themselves feel better...although I think misery is one of the cornerstones of being an MD. Some of them just ...

The worst part of it all is that as a licenced provider, you are the one legally responsible for providing a specific standard of care. If something ever came to litigation, you would be responsible for your actions (or lack thereof), even if we all...

Remember that just because an employer will put you in a situation, does not mean that it's right or appropriate. It's your license on the line. If you really want/need to take this job, make sure you force them to agree to a certain period of orie...

Thrown to the wolves, as far as I can tell.

I work in Anchorage as an RN in an ICU. I have done considerable research in to CRNA jobs in the state. I've found out that there are are around 100 CRNAs practicing in the state, and that while this does not sound like very many, it's roughly 70% ...

Our CABG patients ALWAYS come back with a Swan and multiple pressors running, often 5 or more. Some of my co-workers have told me that this isn't necessary, and that in some places they take the Swan out before the pt even leaves the OR, and all gtt...

I'm a pretty big and burly guy too, but contrary to some of you, I often introduce myself as a "male nurse" just to break the ice. Something like "hi, my name's Ryan and I'll be your male nurse today". People usually get a good laugh out of it, and...

I think that's the biggest lesson to learn here. Just because someone will put you in a hospital doesn't mean you are qualified to be there. As a licensed practitioner, you are ultimately responsible for what you do. YOU will be the one who has to...