SNtil11

why not just order it now? you can always take it somewhere else to have it engraved after you pass your boards. :) be careful it doesnt get stolen. nice stethos tend to get picked up by other people and mysteriously disappear on different units...

Hey! Congrats to you all! I am a student at CSULA - and you'll probably see me at your orientation! :) good luck!

ABCs come before Maslow's needs because without ABCs intact, you're dead, and if you're dead, safety isn't an issue. Also if he's got CKD, it's likely that the activity intolerance is more "impaired gas exchange r/t fluid overload" although "fluid overload" is likely it's own nanda (obviously if he has s/s). but open airway first, then breathing, then circulation (because circulation is no good unless the breathing is providing blood with oxygen). Hope that helps - good luck!

Thanks guys. I spoke with my instructor, and yes, the resistance is one sign. Another is that if you were in the esophagus you probably wouldn't be suctioning any secretions. And lastly, if you were entering the trachea, there is an initial cough reflex. If you were entering the esophagus, a gag reflex would be elicited instead. :) Thanks for the help!

I have a random question that came to me after I got home from clinical on Saturday. I helped my nurse perform suctioning on my peds patient (15 months). first question: the suction cath was inserted in the nose and down to the trachea: what kind of suctioning is this called? I never really thought about it when we were there since the order was just for 12 French deep suction. I would assume its called naso-tracheal? second question: if the tube is inserted in the nose and then down ... what's to say that we are suctioning the trachea and not the esophagus? i mean, NG tubes are inserted in the same manner, so how would we know?? any answers/ideas are much appreciated. thanks!

i'm a second year student and what I do is, on the top of my resume I put "Second year (6th quarter) nursing student with clinical experience in med-surg (3 quarters), labor and delivery, post partum, women's health, and currently in pediatrics. you don't need to list what skills you know, but stating it like this lets them know what you completed in school. hospitals are familiar with what schools teach in each quarter, so you only need to let them know what quarters you completed. :) hope that helps!

WHAT?!?!?! i'm bothered by that.

right - babies do lose heat because of heat loss secondary to immature thermoregulation... therefore the thermoregulation is the primary cause.

I am going to say B. Immature Thermoregulation, although the too answers are so similar. But it seems to me that heat loss wouldnt drop basal temperature so dramatically because the "thermostat" is set at it's normal range. if the thermoregulation mechanism is immature, then it's not regulating the temperature at normal. What's the answer?

yes, ranking will help you figure it out... but you also can't join, you have to be invited by your school's chapter. but as far as other HONORS SOCIETIES, your school may have a non-specific one (phi kappa phi) or there are other nursing organizations such as ATD - Alpha Tau Delta, and the National Student Nurses Association - NSNA. Good luck!

i'm a student nurse and this is what I take: ALWAYS - my stethoscope... and i hate having it around my neck, but it fits in the leg pocket of my scrubs.... in case you're looking for another place to keep it. i always have my pen light, a pen (i like the 4 color kind...less to carry around), highlighter (for my notes), ALCOHOL PADS, and a small pad of paper. on the medsurge floor, if passing meds, i would also always grab a 10ml saline syringe for IV flushes - just to have so i wouldnt have to run back and forth to the med room, also maybe (if needed) a spike (used in a needle-less method for med draws). Also, bandage scissors and clamps, as well as paper tape. Basically when passing meds with our instructor, she would stuff our pockets with supplies so we would always be prepared. just remember to empty supplies you didn't use back out! for peds i always carry a simple calculator with me b/c of med calcs... but at least for our hospital, there isn't a need for the rest of the stuff right now. :)

thanks for your help! I will check out the link right now. and yes, his GCS was 15 when coming in... so no probs there. :) Thanks for the explanation, it's making a lot more sense now :)

hey there - i have a question about my pt from last week, and thought you would be able to help. Pt. is 7 years old and was hit in an auto vs. pedestrian accident. let me start off by saying is is in very stable condition and probably at home and back at school - so no worries. I am just working on paper work... and patho write up. His H&P stated that the CT scan found subarachnoid hemorrhages that collected in the sulci and no fractures. It doesn't say hematoma, it says hemorrhages. Do these just stop and clear up on their own? he was fine with neuro checks, and his orders stated ok to ambulate... so... is this something that is not worrisome? I mean, it sounds scary, but from the report, and my shift with him, it seems as though its not a big deal and is something that will clear up on his own - am i right? he is on no other meds/treatments/or restrictions, just an abrasion on his back and the obvious scrapes and bruising. Any words from the wise on this? thanks!

hey there - i have a question about my pt from last week, and thought you would be able to help. Pt. is 7 years old and was hit in an auto vs. pedestrian accident. let me start off by saying is is in very stable condition and probably at home and back at school - so no worries. :) I am just working on paper work... and patho write up. His H&P stated that the CT scan found subarachnoid hemorrhages that collected in the sulci and no fractures. It doesn't say hematoma, it says hemorrhages. Do these just stop and clear up on their own? he was fine with neuro checks, and his orders stated ok to ambulate... so... is this something that is not worrisome? I mean, it sounds scary, but from the report, and my shift with him, it seems as though its not a big deal and is something that will clear up on his own - am i right? he is on no other meds/treatments/or restrictions, just an abrasion on his back and the obvious scrapes and bruising. Any words from the wise on this? thanks!

when your room looks like a war zone because you can only clean when you're on break, and once you're on break, cleaning is the last think you want to do. and you wait to do laundry until you run out of clean underwear! (please say i am not the only one.... come on.... admit it!)

Thanks! :) we collect all things pomegranate in my house... so im the baby :) (and i good luck with all the reading!

I took intro to chem in summer at Pasadena City College - it's a commute, but they've got it! they've also got a good AD nursing program.

It's nerve-wracking, we've all been there. Just take a deep breath, bring only what you think you might need (really, probably only your stethoscope and some paper...) you'll be busy with just the one patient, because as DoOver said, there is a lot to do, and you wont know where to find things (so half your day will probably be a scavenger hunt) this is all normal, so don't worry. :) if you do have some down time, ask the nurse who is assigned to your patient if you can follow her and observe, or, go into your patients room and just ask to listen to his heart and lungs, bowel sounds, etc. even if you haven't gone over that yet, there is really no harm in it as long as your patient is fine. my first day was crazy, we were paired up with classmate for one patient (so 2 students, a nurse, and a sitter) for 1 patient, and we were still running around all day. :) trust your instincts and clear your head when you get overwhelmed - you can do it! :)

Hey - i had this problem at one of the hospitals i was out, and it turns out they WERE getting their baths... just at 4 in the morning (yes, they were being woken up for that) so... needless to say, the 4 am bath wasn't a very good one, but they didn't want to deal again because the experience wasn't a good one. On the other hand... i've had this problem, and partly, i think it's because when it comes to patients, i am not the most assertive person (because i often feel very intimidated, i mean, hey, i'm a nursing student!) lol. so anyway. my advise would be to get in there and not ask if they would like a bath, but say, "it's time for your bath now, I'll make it quick." you're the one in charge of their care. YES, they can refuse a bath, but realistically, if they are able bodied as you say, tell them to do the bath themselves... promote their "self care" . good luck!

oh my god! sooo true! I don't know HOW everyone remembers the question - down to the word! I would tell my classmates: just because YOU got it wrong, doesn't mean you have to fight it. Just admit you got it wrong and MOVE ON!

OH no! I'm glad to hear you got through it ok! Thanks for the heads up...you said you forgot how to load a syringe pump... i've never even touched a syringe pump.... so you've got the one up on me there! I hope it all goes well!!!!

Hey! YES! our peds clinical is the SAME! Actually, reading your msg makes me think we're in the same class - lol. I swear it's like they gave us a break with Maternity, and now they're putting us on the chopping block. I have an exam this week on the first 17 chapters of the book! ridiculous!! and yes, it takes forever. you're lucky... 10 pages takes me about an hour and a half... and i'm the type that continuously does other things in the middle of my assignment to get through it all... so good luck to you, but you're not alone!

MappyMouse - thanks, I do eat breakfast! :) Will - i guess I should have been a bit more specific about my clinicals. In med-surg we always went the day before to pick patients, and that was great since it allowed us to prepare. Once we got to Maternity, we were assigned pts in the morning since birth is so unpredictable, but the rotation was so mellow that there wasnt much to worry about. Now I am in pediatrics, and we get assigned our patient the morning of clinical. I had my first day...but it was an observation in the PICU, so no need to prep there. Tomorrow is my first pt care day, and I'm anxious. I'll be getting there early to make sure I get get my info down and talk to my nurse, etc. But I guess my issue is more of a mental prep. I know people each have their own prep-rituals, just curious as to what others do to get ready for the day's tasks. :) Thanks for the response!

hey - I feel ya, med-surg is SOOO not my thing! Lecture was difficult, but at least I was used to that...I could read the book and listen in lecture and figure it out, but clinical was a frantic mess some times. Really, the best advice I can give you is just keep at it. When you get to clinical, put it in your head that you CAN do it. Believing in yourself is going to help convince you. And once you get started, it will start to work out. Med-surg floors are crazy. There is too much hussle and bussle for my taste. But you have to get through it before you get to the exciting things - maternity, peds, psych, ICU, etc. AND - if you feel like you're just getting through day-to-day, and you don't QUITE understand it, it's ok. You will get the hang of it. It may not be during med-surg, but you will get to another clinical and say, "hey, I remember seeing this," or something you do will trigger a memory, and it will all start to click. hang in there. You made it this far - you can do it!

Hey there - I am new here. I'm a 2nd year nursing student in So. California, just getting started in my peds clinical. Despite that I have been in clinicals for over a year now, i still get this panicky feeling before every clinical. I get everything prepared, get there early to prep, and say my prayers... it works and I get into the swing of things, but I am always curious about everyone else. Am I the only one that gets this nervous? What do you do to kick the clinical morning nerves? And if you don't get nervous... what do you do to prep for your day? thanks!