SaltyNurse

In a nutshell, waveforms above the isoelectric line indicate that the net flow of electricity is coming toward the point of reference (the electrode) while waveforms below the isoelectric waveform indicate the net flow of electricity is heading away ...

as do advanced practice nurses when they complete med school and a residency. one would hope the education amounts to something. hopefully your point here isn't to condescend to those pitifully ignorant non-crna nurses.

Once upon a time, I was that girl that had a fist full of piggy backs like a bunch of birthday balloons hanging from my IV pole. And then I was reformed by how quick and easy Micromedex is. Other important considerations are that we should do our bes...

You will not be able to rigidly apply "nursing theory" to practical situations. Different theorists can give some insight into various aspects of practical situations. And even without knowing a thing about "nursing theory" different nurses have diff...

www.nurseweek.com offers some free CEUs. Also some hospitals have an agreement with Nurseweek and you can get many more CEU courses for free if that is the case. If you are a member of AACN, then their CEUs are free as well. Your hospital may also ho...

I realize my level of knowledge, as you say, pales in comparison to a CRNA. In fact, that's why I asked for clarification on the cerebral vasculature 2-minute delay that was previously referred to. From Clinical Anesthesiology: "If normal oxygen te...

Larry, obviously I'm in no position to comment on the general state of affairs in your hospital. Speaking in generalities for all hospitals, of course, blocking and/or delaying admissions is a problem- and when it is an ongoing problem, of course it ...

I'm all for quality control and standards. However, a lot of it has become a debilitating monster. How can we teach new RNs not to be task-oriented automatons, when it has become all about dotting the "i"s and crossing the "t"s? And I soooo disagree ...

That sucks! I think the fairest first step is to talk privately with each of them about how their leaving left you in a big pickle. Hopefully, their response is to appologize and assure you it won't happen again. That's the best start (in my opinion)...

I don't know if this specifically has been argued in court before, but just because the resident(s) are present, I don't think that absolves the RNs legal (or ethical) responsibility to the patient. Particularly if the patient suffers anoxic brain in...

Dude, why're you so territorial? Like other posters have said, this thread was on the AN home page. And so far, you're the only one all in a bunch about ICU nurses replying to this thread, so I guess it is okay to cross-pollinate. And no wonder you h...

Let that physician stick with advising on topics relevent to his/her specific area of knowledge. Clearly, it doesn't include practicing law.

i guess that depends on what you consider "skills". time management, prioritization, interpersonal (with patients and other staff) are actually higher level than other skills such as sticking something artificial in any given orifice.

I don't like getting a poopy patient, but it's not my top pet peeve. IV access is a must. I have never heard of the ED sending a patient to ICU without IV access. Who does that? And if you have a septic patient the patient better be pan cultured, fir...

As a CRNA, your input is definitely super helpful. Definitely agree that the more often you have to go fishing, the more inflammation will occur, not to mention the gastric distension from bagging. I'm curious to know more about what you mean regardi...

2 minute monitor delay? What is the source of that information? And even if there is a 2 minute delay, then the patient has been severely hypoxic for 2 minutes before the SpO2 even registered in the 40's on the monitor. I think you were appropriately...

Logically everybody knows that we all die someday. Logically we all know that over time our body's function declines. Logically we know there is a limit to medical intervention. Logically we all know that every medical intervention has risks and adve...

ER and ICU are two different ways of operating with different mindsets. In ER you triage, treat and admit or street. In ICU, it's detail, detail, detail. So it's natural to have some annoyances once in awhile. The ER nurse can end up feeling like s/h...

I can't contribute anything useful here. I just want to say it p*sses me off that RNs are put in such a crappy situation that pressures them into unsafe workarounds. And then to top it all off, there is little if any thought or energy put into improv...

That's better than nothing, but that still doesn't properly alleviate a short shift. It is high time that hospitals stop relying on inappropriate floats. Better safeguards for adequate staffing are maintaining a strong float pool that are cross-train...

Absolutely. I hope I didn't come across as recommending that you put your license on the line in order to keep a job. Rather, in these times, you need to be more careful and diplomatic rather than being able to say something along the lines of "Take...

If I were at work right now and had access to some search engines, I'd look for some studies published that link inappropriate floats to bad outcomes. And I'm certain you can contact a nursing practice insurance or medical malpractice agency that can...

I don't think that this patient's insulin management regimen is safe. And that's not your fault at all. Rapid drops in blood sugar (i.e. 100 mg/dL/h) can result in seizures even if the blood sugar is "normal" or even higher than normal. At my hospit...

That's a nice thought, but if you're floated to a unit and are only able to help out doing tasks that are within the scope of an aide, then the RNs on that unit are still shorted. And in that scenario, it would be much more cost-effective to bring on...

Hogwash. There is a reason that nurses have to demonstrate unit specific competencies after undergoing an orientation period. It's called patient safety. We don't grab the nearest general urologist when we're short on pediatricians. The same logic ap...