Rmorcart

Thank you that is helpful! I like "resting in bed with eyes closed, easily arousable, resps even and no obvious distress noted at this time" I will use that for sure.

I just had a pt. yesterday who vomited a large amount after lunch. I as a new nurse wasn't exactly sure what to do right away but I did lsiten for bowel sounds, looked at abdomen, asked pt. if they feel any pain with palpation of abdomen. I administered pt's prn zofran for nausea and vomiting after helping nurse aide put pt. in bed with hob at 90 degrees. I asked a nurse who has been a nurse for years if I should report the vomiting to the CNP and she said well what do her lungs sound like? and how much has she vomited? Has it been going on all day? and when was her last bm?? I think she likes to kind of freak me out but it was helpful and reminded me of things to look at.

Is sleeping comfortably better to say because it means they are still breathing? I just am not sure how it is very different than saying the patient is resting comforably?

I just joined this site and I am so glad that I have. I come home and vent to my boyfriend on a daily basis about my troubles I am experiencing as a new RN. I graduated in Dec. 2009 and just started at my current place of employment/my first nursing job in mid April 2010. Every trouble that I read that someone else has posted on this site I can relate to! I too have had medication errors..one was an order that I had put a pain medication for a pt. as prn only instead of as routine and prn. The mistake was caught when the pt.'s pain still remianed the same three days later. I felt awful that it happened and am glad that it did get caught so soon. This pt. had been having pain for weeks and finally the CNP did something about it. I take responsibility for the error of course but it was not intentional and it makes me extra careful now when I out orders into the computer. The other day I floated to a floor and a pt, had an order for a diuertic and it was not available and I assumed it was on order and would be coming in. The order was for a pill form. It wasn't until the end of my shift until I found a liquid form in my drawer for the pt. I felt bad but I was not made aware from the regulars on this floor on previous shift of this. Next time I will pull from the pixis if I can not find a medication. I just get so overwhelmed with the medication pass on the long term care units that I work on and feel that if things don't go perfectly as planned I have no extra time to take extra steps.