beckster_01 BSN, RN

beckster_01 has 12 years experience as a BSN, RN and specializes in MICU.

beckster_01's Latest Activity

1. 

   Doctors Say the Darnedest Things - WIN $250! Nurses Week Contest 2018

   beckster_01 replied to Brian S.'s topic in Nursing

   Scene: Patient is comfortably sleeping while on a trach collar, the ventilator next to him reads "STANDBY" in big, bold letters. Resident walks in and stares intently at the ventilator for a few minutes, then looks at me and asks "so what are his ven...
2. 

   Monster, RN

   beckster_01 replied to molly.hershman's topic in Nursing

   It is important to see and respond to someone's pain (compassion) but I like to think that it is not my pain to bear. No family member wants to see their nurse falling apart while they care for their loved one. When dealing with death and dying the f...
3. 

   The "How was your day" question

   beckster_01 replied to dma13's topic in Nursing

   I talk to my husband about work if I need to. When I first started in the ICU I had a lot of things to talk about. But now I usually give simple indicators of how my day was (good, fine, busy). "Crappy" (or @&!#ty) means that I need to talk. It r...
4. 

   8's vs 12's

   beckster_01 replied to MrsJt's topic in Nursing

   8- hour nights sounds like a dream. 8-hour days can be tough since there is generally more going on. If you have a busy day there are generally a lot of loose ends for evenings to tie up. When I work 11p-7a it falls into a nice rhythm. Most of the ti...
5. 

   Don't arrive early, don't leave late

   beckster_01 replied to iRNman's topic in Nursing

   I am curious what your "average" is. I time my work drive so I arrive between 6:50 and 7 (or 7:05). It varies according to traffic and the line for coffee. But I also get out early more often than not. It balances out so that the occasional swipe out...
6. 

   omg...fish oil!

   beckster_01 replied to beckster_01's topic in Medications

   I totally can embrace C-diff for what it is. Truly most smells don't bother me, my nose is actually a little broken! Good call on your MIL- I can't imagine willingly spreading this stuff on my face of all things! Unfortunately capsules are not an opt...
7. 

   Don't arrive early, don't leave late

   beckster_01 replied to iRNman's topic in Nursing

   I'm not in a good state to give advice for levels of snark- I'm feeling a little snarky myself today. But you should definitely clearly communicate that this is a patient safety issue. They are nitpicking. Very annoying!
8. 

   omg...fish oil!

   beckster_01 replied to beckster_01's topic in Medications

   A little bit yes. There is only one case study that I know of, but it isn't an unheard of recommendation. The idea is that Omega3's are essential for neuro growth and recovery, so lets give huge doses to saturate this person in fish oil. But there ha...
9. 

   omg...fish oil!

   beckster_01 replied to beckster_01's topic in Medications

   This is how I imagine handling this stuff in the near future:
10. 

    High dose insulin for Beta blocker OD

    beckster_01 replied to beckster_01's topic in Critical

    Sorry it has been so long to reply, I haven't logged in for awhile. I think he ended up being 1:1 for the next two shifts so about 24 hours. He was on D30 and still needing amps of bicarb, and I think he was still hemodynamically unstable as well. It...
11. 

    omg...fish oil!

    beckster_01 replied to beckster_01's topic in Medications

    We did just break out the essential oils. So now it smells like a minty fish. Or a fishy mint. I'm not quite sure but it is preferable. We also tried getting a hold of activated charcoal but the pharmacy told us they don't carry it (?!?) and ED told ...
12. 

    omg...fish oil!

    beckster_01 posted a topic in Medications

    So we have been treating our anoxic brain injury patients with high doses of Omega 3's- the back story is that we had a patient whose mother found research that it helps with long term recovery. She advocated for the treatment for her son (he was in ...
13. 

    High dose insulin for Beta blocker OD

    beckster_01 posted a topic in Critical

    Hello all :) Today I initiated high dose insulin to treat a beta blocker overdose for the first time. We have done it before on our unit but it is quite rare (1-2 times in the 4 years I've been there). Our toxicologist gave me great literature so I d...
14. 

    New nurse: I get no respect

    beckster_01 replied to Nurse326's topic in Emergency

    Goodness, give the OP a break. It is HARD to talk about new job issues without tipping the scales between sounding whiny vs. know-it-all. I can relate with feeling like you've covered the same ground over and over and still being met with the same as...
15. 

    Lifestyle of a Nurse

    beckster_01 replied to contemplations's topic in Nursing

    Stress: The first year is very stressful. You will second guess yourself, make mistakes, make people mad. But its all worth it when you get to the point where people are asking you questions and you realize that you are actually competent. After that...