KaitRN

I transferred into RIC from Umass where I took prereq's. Almost all were accepted and I still graduated in 4 yrs. RIC is an AMAZING nursing school. I highly recommend it!!!

Hey everyone! Just curious, maybe this is completely coincidental, but.. In the past few months, I've taken care of about 4 patients after receiving IV Avelox. 3 of them received the IV dose in the ER. According to ER documentation and per the pts ac...

I agree BluegrassRN, Just a little too strange/ coincidental for me!

I'm not sure if the other pt's were on corticosteroids, but I wouldn't be surprised since they're mostly all respiratory patients! I'm glad that other people have noticed this.. I guess I'll just slow the infusion next time.. Very interesting though!...

Hi all. Okay so I worked last night and had a pt with 2 posterior chest tubes pigtailed to the pleurevac with the small catheters that have the stopcock mechanism. I was told in report that we "flush the chest tube and then aspirate slowly for output...

Hello! Just started my unit orientation on a very busy cardiac telemetry/ critical care floor. Coming from LTC, I felt very underprepared lol! I'm going to go out and get a new penlight, scissors, tape, clipboard with calculator attached, etc. to mak...

In the chart it said "flush ct with 10 cc sterile ns. don't remove fluid too quickly" (poorly written md order). and yes, the pleuravac was to suction -20 cm.... I have since been to work and no reprocussions occurred on my end. the pt was transferre...

It's so funny that I'm reading this post- I just finished my 3rd 12 in a row, which always is really 13+ hours, and recently our hospital has been understaffing us (cutting costs? I have no idea...) so that on night shift, we end up getting 6 patient...

I would just like to add, like the others, that most of the time death is imminent in the LTC facility. the pt has been put on hospice care, families have been talked to about changing pt's status to DNR, etc. Once pt's passed I would call the family...

I work on a cardiac unit where BP's are all over the place. And it's true, especially in the geriatric population it can be very difficult to hear diastolic. We never have an issue when alerting the MD to a low or irregular BP and stating just the sy...

In the hospital I work for in Massachusetts, CNA's are able to insert foleys and straight catheterize, but I believe they need to be trained first. I think it just depends on the facility. I worked as a student nurse intern in R.I. during nursing sch...

Hello all! So I just finished my orientation on a busy cardiac critical care floor yesterday at 7:30 am I got a great review from my supervisor and the director of nursing so I am very excited, just had to put that out there! YAY! haha. Anyways- I d...

I worked in LTC for a year and did a few night shifts there. Now working at a hospital and am doing exclusively nights. I really enjoy nights. It can be crazy at times and there's not as many people there, but that can be a benefit as well. I find th...

I am a newer nurse as well so don't take my advice to heart, but I think you have the right idea to possibly get OR certified. This would enable you to expand your credentials in the OR nursing world.. If you want you could move out to the northeast!...

Sounds exactly like my unit! I'm still very new, just off orientation and I find that this is quite a hassle and most nurses on my floor will agree. The nurses are always held responsible, the MD's are not. It's a rather unfair standard...

I took the Kaplan course and thought it was well worth the money! The questions teach you HOW to THINK.. It's all about reading into the question and finding the best answer, which is the same strategy that the NCLEX uses. Kaplan taught me an entirel...

Hi all. So I started in August on a very busy cardiac step down/tele/critical care unit at a community hospital in an inner city. I had been working for the past year in a long term care/ rehab facility. Needless to say, it's been a big transition!! ...

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. I completely agree- I'm excited that I will have the time to read the Dr's charting and have a more in depth look into my patients' tx and care. Having a different perspective with a new preceptor will also show...

That is an excellent opportunity as a first job!!!!! I would have loved to do that! It will teach you excellent sterile technique, OR, how to work with the surgeon and techs... And I'm not positive but I think you could go anywhere from there (If you...

Hey guys! have been working as an RN for a year now, but in LTC. Just switched to a Cardiac Critical Care/ Tele/ IMC unit in a community based hospital. I had a month of orientation classes and now it's my third day on the floor. My preceptor is grea...

Thanks so much for ll the words of encouragement. I do think everyday will get better and I do feel like I'm learning more and more each day. It's just nice to know that this is a normal feeling that other people have to! Nursing is not easy so I kn...

Hi all.. So I just started last week getting precepted on an IMC/ Cardiac Tele Critical Care Unit.. My preceptor says I'm doing well, asking good questions, and have great motivation but she did give me some things to work on.. I started working afte...

WOW! How inspiring!!!! That hard work pays off when you least expect it! Kudos to you!

thank you so much! that was an excellent article. i appreciate it !

Not a dumb question at all! I had no idea what it was until I starting working LTC too! (btw: ask as many questions to your preceptor as you can, regardless if you think its dumb! It's probably not as dumb as you think!!:) ) Anyways- you will most li...