RockinNurse

Hello! I am an RN-BSN from Michigan and I am looking to relocate to Westwood, California in the next 6 months. I worked as a nurse on a medical-surgical/telemetry unit for 2.5 years and now I have been in the Operating Room for 9 months. I absolutely love the OR and if I move to Westwood, I would be looking for an OR position. Has anyone ever worked for Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center? Wondering if it's a good place for employment, if nurses are generally happy, and if the OR there is a good place to be. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

Thank you both! That's funny because I do that, also....stand over them watching their chest rise or listening carefully for a snore here and there!

I am a new grad on a Med-Surg/Tele floor. I was taken off orientation about a month ago and just started working the night shift. During the day, I found myself in patient rooms all day long (whether it be due to the patient or their family!). Now that I'm on nights, we are only required to make rounds every 2 hours while the patients are sleeping. Granted, I often get in there more than that, but other busy nights, I may not. I am set to take my ACLS class tomorrow, so I've got patients coding on my mind! This may be because I am new, but I always have this fear that one of my non-tele monitored patients will code/die in this 2 hour interval (even 1 hour interval!) and by the time I realize it, it will be too late. Am I overly paranoid?!

Thanks! My hospital even reimbursed me the $200 NCLEX fee when I passed. I got very lucky!!

I am a new RN-BSN in Michigan. I was told that you need 25 CEUs (and one in pain management) for each renewal period (2 years). Some of the nurses on my unit use a website/pamphlet that guarantees your 25 hours. Just wondering if anyone knows the website to get this information?

Hello! I am a new grad from Michigan. I started off at $24.95 and once I passed my NCLEX, I went up to $27.95. I also work nights so I am loving that premium pay!! :)

I'm a new grad working on a med-surg/telemetry unit. I've been taken off orientation and have been working on my own for about a month. When a new patient is admitted, a formal med sheet is not printed out for them and there is generally a hand written one by the unit clerk. I am always a little bit iffy on when to hold certain meds and when to give them. The other day, a bunch of the nurses were picking on another new nurse for holding lisinopril for a pulse less than 60. I know that generally you would only hold that drug for a low BP (less than 100 systolic) rather than a pulse. But it made me think! The other day, another nurse was giving Procardia. She gave it to a patient with a heart rate of 50. I thought that you should hold this drug for a HR of less than 60 and systolic BP less than 100, but I'm really not sure! What about Cardizem? Hold for a low BP, low pulse, or both? Just wondering if anyone has any info on BP/pulse affecting drugs! Wish I had one of those drug books for nurses to tell you when to hold and when not to! Also, insulins...I know everyone's blood sugar differs and insulins affect people differently. But at what blood sugar would you typically hold Regular Insulin or other types of insulin? I just started working nights, if a patient has dialysis in the morning, do you hold ALL of their meds or just certain ones? That's a lot of questions for one night...thanks!! :)

Hi everyone! I am a new RN and I am one month into my orientation. This may sound like a silly question, but I seem to find more and more things every day that I never learned in nursing school! When referring to a patient's code status, a lot of nurses say, "The patient is a Cat. 2" or a "Cat. 4." I'm not quite sure which categories are which...I think a Cat. 4 is like a DNR. Just wondering if someone else could clarify them for me! Thank you so much! Nurse Kristi