westieluv

westieluv

Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice

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All Content by westieluv

  1. Preventing Extracorporeal Clotting in the Acute Setting

    westieluv replied to westieluv's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    The main thing that I am getting from this thread, which actually helps me immensely, is that this happens to the best of dialysis nurses and fairly often. I have had the impression that having to...

  2. Acutes to Chronic?

    westieluv posted a topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    I've seen threads here addressing the question of if someone should switch from chronic to acutes, but I'm wondering just the opposite: has anyone ever switched from acutes to chronic, and if so, was...

  3. Experienced RN and Too Many Opportunities are Making Me a Job Hopper!

    westieluv posted a topic in Nursing Career

    I know, I know, the irony of having "too many" job opportunities on a forum where a lot of new grads come to lament the fact that they don't have any options. My post just goes to prove that once you...

  4. Acutes to Chronic?

    westieluv replied to westieluv's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Guttercat, maybe it's my lack of dialysis experience and consequent lack of confidence, but I really think that the autonomy is part of what I don't like. I was told that I would not have to work...

  5. Preventing Extracorporeal Clotting in the Acute Setting

    westieluv replied to westieluv's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Thanks for your reply. I have never heard of any of our nephrologists ordering citrasate in a patient's bath, and I know that we don't stock it. I wish we did, it sounds like a great idea that would...

  6. So depressed! Left hospital can't get back in.

    westieluv replied to %63theend's topic in Nursing Career

    Be very careful at this point. You are in a precarious position where you need every bit of experience that you have on a resume', but yet you are already beginning to look like a job hopper, which is...

  7. Acutes to Chronic?

    westieluv replied to westieluv's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    "One dies, get another"...lol. Yep, that's about how it's been lately in our department. Thanks for your reply, Chisca, it makes a lot of sense what you say about techs either making you or breaking...

  8. Too soon to leave new job?

    westieluv replied to jafferine's topic in Nursing Career

    I have to agree with Ruby, I think it would be a great benefit to you to have a full year of Med/Surg nursing under your belt before getting into home nursing. Even if you were the top student in your...

  9. Switching from Chronic to Acute Dialysis

    westieluv replied to Kturks06's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Three of our hospitals have dialysis rooms where we have the capability to run two patients at a time if they don't require 1:1. Our fourth hospital, however, is a LTAC and has no dialysis room, so...

  10. Switching from Chronic to Acute Dialysis

    westieluv replied to Kturks06's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    ETA: I misunderstood, you meant that you are on call for 14-15 hours but won't necessarily have to work. We are only on call for 12 hours unless it is the weekend. It's just that on regular days, if...

  11. Switching from Chronic to Acute Dialysis

    westieluv replied to Kturks06's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    I don't run the entire day. Once I get a patient on and if the treatment is going well, then I sit in a chair at their bedside and observe, troubleshoot if necessary, and document VS and machine...

  12. Switching from Chronic to Acute Dialysis

    westieluv replied to Kturks06's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    I've only been at it for a few months so I'm no expert, but I really like it a lot better than floor nursing. One thing you really need to be prepared for, however, is that you will have days with...

  13. Trying to get back into the hospital after staying home with the kids.

    westieluv replied to sarahaldean's topic in Retired Nurses

    When I was trying to re-enter the workforce after being at home with our kids for several years, I couldn't get any hospital to consider me, even though I had over eight years of hospital experience...

  14. Nominated for Daisy Award :)

    westieluv replied to julz68's topic in General Nursing

    Good for you! What a great confidence builder for a new nurse. :) I used to work in a small office within a hospital system and one of our awesome nurses who had gone above and beyond got nominated....

  15. Will Not Working in a Hospital As a New RN Damage Your Career Options?

    westieluv replied to nursestuffs's topic in Nursing Career

    On the other hand, since many new grads cannot find hospital jobs right now, jobs in sub-acute rehab, LTC, Dialysis, etc. are definitely better than gaining zero experience while waiting for that...

  16. Acute Dialysis patients arriving to unit with no orders

    westieluv replied to Dialysis101's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Wellll...I'm fairly new to acutes, so take that for what it's worth, but we get orders for each and every treatment. Some nephrologists prefer to give orders before we start the tx, and some prefer...

  17. Dialysis Interview

    westieluv replied to kathyshonk66's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    I meant to say you will have Sundays off in chronics. Advice: Give yourself a break if you aren't proficient right away. Dialysis is unlike any other type of nursing and it takes time, patience, and a...

  18. Patients were exposed to hepatitis B because nurses lacked access to electronic medic

    westieluv replied to Chisca's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Our machine logs stay with the machines at all times too, and we are vigilant about bleaching and heat disinfecting per our company's protocol. Not having access to the electronic record is a lousy...

  19. Dialysis Interview

    westieluv replied to kathyshonk66's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    Is your interview for chronics, or acutes? If it is for chronics you will be spending your days in a chronic dialysis center monitoring dialysis techs who run treatments, doing some treatments of...

  20. Staffing and patient abandonment

    westieluv replied to LightMyFire's topic in Nursing Career

    And all I keep thinking is that there are so many, many new grads who would jump at the chance for a hospital job and nursing units would not be left perpetually short staffed. Of course, we all know...

  21. Patients were exposed to hepatitis B because nurses lacked access to electronic medic

    westieluv replied to Chisca's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    The external blood tubing is disposable and intended to be used for only one treatment and then tossed, but the interior tubing of the machine that is not disposable but a part of the internal...

  22. Patients were exposed to hepatitis B because nurses lacked access to electronic medic

    westieluv replied to Chisca's topic in Dialysis, Renal, Urology

    That is horrible. I work for Fresenius and, at least in our area, we are vigilant about Hep B screening. If we don't have actual, printed results from the lab that drew them, we assume that a patient...

  23. What do you think of 12 hour shifts?

    westieluv replied to Joe V's topic in Nursing Humor

    I would only ever work twelves if I got back into floor nursing. Working three days or nights a week is great because with four days off it sometimes feels like part-time. Eight hour shifts would mean...

  24. Staffing and patient abandonment

    westieluv replied to LightMyFire's topic in Nursing Career

    I know what I would do. I would have to stay, because ultimately, it isn't the patients' fault that they are in such a poorly staffed facility. However, I would make it known that I will not be...

  25. Hospital Jobs

    westieluv replied to Cathy4836's topic in Nursing Career

    Yes. A few years ago, I decided to return to nursing after taking about seven years off to be home with our kids. Even though all of my previous experience had been hospital nursing, I was turned down...