ShannonFaas

i am an er nurse in michigan. i have worked at a couple of our local hospitals. we all have pretty much the same set up. at one hospital it is called code 333 and the location, at another they over head page ert and the location. if the location is on the same floor as the er or below, then the er team responds initially with the icu rapid response team following. if the ert is called on one the floors then the rapid response team responds. our hospitals are training hospitals so there is always about 50 interns, residents, students etc that show up. the pharmacy, icu team, respiratory and a designated attending respond also. the stretcher and staff come from the er to any code of a visitor down unless they are stable enough to move by wheel chair. the er float nurse is the code responder unless in my last instance when i delivered a patient to the cath lab last week, before i could get halfway down the hall back to the er they called and ert cathlab....i was the first responder and worked the crash cart. in that instance, the float nurse assumed my duties with my other patients until i could return. any code is a team effort.

I am up in the air on this one....what if this person was one of your best friends already...are they saying you would have to sever that relationship? If they are a previous friend, you could meet them anywhere after work, could have them over to spend the weekend. Developing friendships in our field (especially in long term patients) goes hand in hand. I would talk to your supervisor.....let them know that you are friends, have maintained contact, and ask if there is any consequences. I wouldn't hesitate to have a friend stay with me. And even though we have nursing licenses, if we help someone in need (find someone on the ground unresponsive and start CPR) we are protected by the good sumaritan law. Our licenses wouldn't be affected. Just because we are nurses doesn't mean we can't be friends.

I am also jumping through the hoops so to speak. I just took a writing class that was beyong rediculous as to how much work was asked of us to do in 12 weeks. Then the coward who said he would take no late papers EVER kept extending the due dates for the young 20 somethings who couldn't handle the work. I was dissappointed in my professor. I was working 2 jobs, had a kid in college, one in highschool, one in pre-school and one at home and I got the work done. I might have griped a lot...but none the less I had it done. I have a friend going through the same program just actually at the college...she had the same class and her professor took her class to a bar for the final exam and asked them what they learned....this on the opposite end...way too easy. A lot of hoops....very expensive....not anymore recognition or pay than what I get now..but I need it to get my MSN. And for the comment on the BSN in ICU....Associate degree nurses have more hands on experience...I have come acrossed some of these nurses myself....what a joke!!!!

There may be some classes that you can take that are pre-requisites to the BSN program that you don't actually have to be in the program to take...ie...English, humanities, math etc... I would start there. Good luck in your studies!!

Ouch that would burn!! And to answere the question of how much it would take, it depends on the patients cardiac threshold as to if they can handle a higher dose. Most renal patients can very easily handle it, but other patients can go into fatal arrhythmias on a 6.5 K+.

There are a lot of online programs, some better than others. Ferris State University has a great online program. Very tough, a lot of work, but you learn a lot. I am currently going through this program. Good luck and kudos for continuing your education.