Darkfield

Darkfield

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All Content by Darkfield

  1. Death- your experiences

    Darkfield posted a topic in General Nursing

    I'm taking an informal survey here. I work in critical care and I see quite a lot of death. My attitude towards death has become quite callous - when someone is sick, they should be a DNR, and when...

  2. Ever seen a pt live after 5 chest tubes?

    Darkfield posted a topic in MICU, SICU

    Had a guy who aspirated his own vomit when he was drunk, ended up with empyema, loculated fluid collection, all out white out left lung. Five chest tubes. He was in the OR for a trach when I came on...

  3. Death and Dying in the ICU

    Darkfield replied to nikkicoliCCRN's topic in MICU, SICU

    I work in the northeast. I think our attendings are very good about addressing code status with the families when it starts looking bad or when the pt is very elderly or has a poor quality of life. If...

  4. Nurse burnout/Moral distress/Compassion fatigue

    Darkfield replied to Lee238's topic in General Nursing

    Not all places are that terrible! You might feel bad for leaving, but if it is for your own sanity, do it. Go somewhere else, and switch to days. Having no circadian rhythm is a killer. I know what...

  5. Ever seen a pt live after 5 chest tubes?

    Darkfield replied to Darkfield's topic in MICU, SICU

    He went for a trach and came back with a 6th pleuravac, draining the pericardium and two jp's, draining the puss around his treachea instead. Then I was off for a few days. There is a happy thank-you...

  6. Chlorhexidine Baths

    Darkfield replied to ckh23's topic in MICU, SICU

    We started using them after evidence showed that MRSA is found (not on those stupid yellow gowns) most often in the basins. My friend counters that by getting a new bath basin each time she bathes...

  7. "Stupid" questions and working as new RN

    Darkfield replied to lillystarrn's topic in General Nursing

    I've been a nurse for about four years and I find myself making a lot of little mistakes, but you learn. I do stupid things, but I never do stupid things more than once. If you break a rule, think...

  8. How do you measure temperatures?

    Darkfield replied to EMSnut45's topic in MICU, SICU

    monotherm foley caths. Unless you've got a freak ICU pt that doesn't need a foley (that happens) or someone with a 3way, it's the way to

  9. Name the nurse to patient ratio and the hospital in NY!

    Darkfield replied to JennyBSN's topic in General Nursing

    exact same at my place a little further upstate. 7 max at night on med surg and it only goes down. I worked days with a 5-6 max and it was unbelievably busy and sometimes unsafe. Would never take more...

  10. Is it possible to titrate paralytics?

    Darkfield replied to Diprivan/Vented's topic in Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, CRNA

    I'm guessing the original poster doesn't actually know what a paralytic is-it is completely inappropriate to suggest for a post-extubation pt. The fact that the nurse in question's response to...

  11. worst death you've seen

    Darkfield posted a topic in General Nursing

    I'm feeling morbid. What is the worst death you've seen? I work in a MICU, so we don't get babies or gunshots (or babies with gunshots; they do in our ER, true story.) but we see some pretty dramatic...

  12. Dopamine infused by infusion pumps

    Darkfield replied to laurentm38's topic in MICU, SICU

    Just have to reply to this as well; the pressor you use has a lot to do with why you are using the pressor. If the pt is septic, for example, you'll want levophed because it constricts the periphery...

  13. Dopamine infused by infusion pumps

    Darkfield replied to laurentm38's topic in MICU, SICU

    I can't imagine ever ever running a drip like this on my old med surg floor. I may have had insulin twice and a lasix drip; otherwise the only thing resembling a drip was a pca. And why would a line...

  14. feels like a real icu today

    Darkfield posted a topic in MICU, SICU

    I just want to say I had the ultimate patient last night. Sometimes I feel like a terrible person because I like it when people are really sick, but I don't actually want them to be sick, right? But...

  15. How about your favorite Old Wives Tales related to health?

    Darkfield replied to NurseyTonyaLPN's topic in Nursing Humor

    I know a lot of Europeans that wear scarves around their necks when they have colds...I saw a German girl do it in India, and it was about 85 degrees

  16. Sedation..Your thoughts?

    Darkfield replied to Da_Milk_of_Amnesia's topic in MICU, SICU

    That is not a ton of propofol. Are you sure you're not talking about mg instead of mcg? Most people I've met can stay awake on 15 mcg/kg/min. In answer to the original question, if the pt was...

  17. Traveling with intubated patients

    Darkfield replied to mcleanl's topic in MICU, SICU

    That's ridiculous. We have this old fashioned vents in CT and MRI that work on pts who are stable enough to transport. The RT sets them up and then bags while two people push the bed. How can you...

  18. I'm not taking those staples out

    Darkfield posted a topic in MICU, SICU

    I have a pt who has been in our ICU for over a month now. Uncontrolled diabetes, severe respiratory distress. On the vent for about a month, he's since been trached. Can't wean him down from 100%...

  19. I'm not taking those staples out

    Darkfield replied to Darkfield's topic in MICU, SICU

    We aren't allowed to do certain things because it is a teaching hospital, I think, and the residents need to learn to do everything and think of everything. With things like taking out staples, I...

  20. Would YOU recommend to a friend/family member, etc..

    Darkfield replied to digoe74's topic in Nursing Career

    I love it when other people become nurses. I am in ICU, and I love what I do. There are days that I hate it, but I'm in where the drama is. Life, death, blood all over, old family feuds boiling over,...

  21. My lie to patient's mom

    Darkfield replied to hiddencatRN's topic in General Nursing

    I would never lie to patient about their condition or prognosis, but about my own ability to do something? Definitely. Your patients need to have confidence in you, and if they think you can't do one...

  22. Dead body vs. Live patient

    Darkfield replied to LPNweezy's topic in General Nursing

    I always think they're going to sit back up again; I dreamed that it happened once. And I always leave their gown on when I bag them. They look different dead, though. Deflated. Their faces look like...

  23. Describe the Ugliest Scrubs You Have Seen!

    Darkfield replied to PacoUSA's topic in Nursing Humor

    A distribution person who wears a scrub top with high rise elastic waisted

  24. Nursing..a middle age career?

    Darkfield replied to ThePrincessBride's topic in General Nursing

    A lot of new nurses are in it as a second career, which contributes to the aging. I would say about half of the nurses I went to school with were over 35. And you have to be a little bit mature-I...

  25. What's your nursing kryptonite?

    Darkfield replied to ktliz's topic in General Nursing

    open