canesdukegirl BSN, RN

Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management

Member

All Content by canesdukegirl

  1. canesdukegirl

    OR to "regular" floor, is it possible?

    OP, While it is true that SOME surgeons yell, and SOME staff cry, it isn't an everyday occurrence. The days of surgeons yelling just because they feel like it are by and large gone due to policies...
  2. canesdukegirl

    OR to "regular" floor, is it possible?

    A friend of mine started out directly from nursing school into the OR. She went through the first 5 months of orientation and decided that she would rather get experience on the floor for a couple of...
  3. I use the smooth edge of a surface, like a counter or a bedside table. Using a bit of pressure, run the long edge of the packaging down the edge of a surface. It will usually tear clean off. I do this...
  4. canesdukegirl

    Operating room procedures/meds?

    OP, I seriously doubt they would ask you questions regarding medications. They would like to know how well you learn, if you work well with a team, what kind of experience you have in the surgery, how...
  5. canesdukegirl

    Positioning question

    We use egg crate foam with the face up. At the end of a lengthy procedure, I have seen where the egg crate foam left marks on the pt. To help combat this, I usually place egg crate foam in a pillow...
  6. canesdukegirl

    Questions about Orthopedic OR nursing

    Hi Yohan- In the US, surgical nurses typically don't recover their pts-recovery room nurses do this. Sometimes if a nurse works in a surgical center (apart from a major hospital, such as a university...
  7. canesdukegirl

    Wrong side/omitted procedure

    it is typical to have 1-2 mg of versed prior to being rolled back to the or. since versed has a retroamnesic effect, you probably felt that you were knocked out, but in reality, you were likely...
  8. canesdukegirl

    Skills you don't miss from floor nursing to OR

    I miss using my steth, reading x-rays for post op line placement verification, interpreting EKGs, drawing up and administering meds, creating a bond with pts, discharge teaching, starting IVs, running...
  9. canesdukegirl

    OR Pet peeves

    Oh, I have a good one. You set up your room for a complicated case that is blocked for 8 hours. You get the microscope in the room, get the special chairs, call the rep, make sure implants are ready...
  10. canesdukegirl

    Hiring spouses? illegal?

    I agree with Sweet. In general, as long as neither the wife or the husband holds a supervisory position over the other, it's fine. I have worked with several husband/wife teams over the years in the...
  11. canesdukegirl

    They aren't 'real' charge nurses..vent

    Oh girl, you are SINGIN' MY SONG!!! I work alongside the unit secretary all day as charge nurse. She has been the unit secretary for about 20 years, and she still thinks that charge nurses have it...
  12. canesdukegirl

    Is it me? What happened to nursing?

    Here's a scenario that is thought provoking: Last year, I fell and injured my knee. Two consults and an MRI later, my bill was $5,00 AFTER insurance. My husband and I had to cut corners for this...
  13. Our surgeons just call it "Dewy". They also call the umbilicus
  14. canesdukegirl

    Please Help me decide

    Take the ER job! You will be introduced to so many new experiences, and you will undoubtedly grow and blossom in a rural ER setting. You will learn a completely new skill set and will be exposed to a...
  15. canesdukegirl

    Do you let sales reps open items in your OR?

    I have never let a rep introduce anything into the sterile field. AORN doesn't specifically state that reps CAN'T open sterile items, but does state that reps can't be in the sterile field: POSITION...
  16. canesdukegirl

    My rose colored glasses got knocked off!

    it is refreshing to hear that you are such a team player. it seems to me that there is a horrendous flaw in the documentation system your unit is using, and that makes it difficult to be excited about...
  17. canesdukegirl

    What happens in the real world if:

    A culture is an ordered lab test, so you would call the provider to alert them of your findings, document what the provider ordered, and then implement orders
  18. canesdukegirl

    Stupid things that nurses say

    I was in the pre-op holding area one night during a particularly heavy run of orthopaedic traumas. The residents were EXTREMELY tired after working in the OR all day, and had many more consults to do...
  19. Another bizarre experience: About 10 years ago, a trauma pt came in to the OR after being in a car accident. His foot was traumatically amputated. A Good Samaritan stopped to help and put the pt's...
  20. Trauma season is upon us, and I have to admit, more outlandish things have been happening! I want to hear from you guys about the most bizarre experience you have had in your nursing
  21. canesdukegirl

    OR Desk Space

    This rolling computer stand is much like the ones we use in the OR: C WPS4BRE Presentation Multimedia Rolling Table
  22. My husband told me that when he was on the truck during his EMS days, he picked up a dude that somehow "fell" on a mag light, and it was so far up his rectum that the surgeons had to do an ex-lap to...
  23. Several years ago, I was alerted to set up an OR for a urology emergency. Many thoughts went through my head, and after I set up the room, I went to the front desk to get my pt's H&P. I asked the...
  24. canesdukegirl

    Documentation by PCT's

    Hmmm..just the phrase "resting comfortably" sends up a red flag for me. It is objective data that requires assessment. If the pt actually stated, "I am resting comfortably", then it could be...
  25. canesdukegirl

    Do people take advantage of me because I work nights?

    If they call you and ask if you can work on Wednesday two weeks from now, the onus is on THEM to look at their own blankety-blank calendar to give you the actual date. Let's say your co-worker, Jack,...