carriebc

Yea, I'd probably put separate equipment, or cohort equipment maybe (like you could share one BP cuff for two patients in the same room with RSV). Real world....ha, just think about the ER :rofl:. I worked in a pedi ER and we had our BP cuff and thermometer on a rolly thing and it went from room...to room...to room, regardless. Same as in the triage room, all patients shared the same equipment regardless of if it was a newbie coming in with fever for a sepsis work-up, or a 5 year old with chicken-pox... *shudder*

Just wanted to add to try and set up a few days to shadow a PICU nurse. I did my senior praticum in the the PICU b/c I "knew" I would love it. And I did love the medical/nursing science side and it caters to my strenghts of assessment and critical thinking ability, BUT, I could not handle the emotional drain. I knew I just wouldn't be able to remain a happy, healthy, person working in that environment for psychological reasons. I hope to later in life (perhaps when I don't have small children), but I am going to wait for now. It is hard. Now, there are many wonderful nurses that can do it, and the best let themselves cry and feel as they need to. The unit I was working on was spectacular, everyone supported everyone, especially if you had a kid who had passed, or was passing. A very close, family-like environment. I hope this small novel helps you somehow, LOL.

You have to have something to compare the daily weight to, and you aren't going to have that at admission, unless the patient knows a recent weight, and even then scales are calibrated differently, etc. You would have to weigh him on the same scale at least twice, 24 hours apart to be able to deduce anything from a daily weight. Skin turgor wouldn't be as accurate as a daily weight, but in the ER that's all you have. The question should be thrown out, IMO, because yes, daily weights are more accurate, but it is not feasible in the scenario you were given.

I got the NCLEX one, too. It was just published, I believe.