Laurie52

Just curious, why admit to ICU if asymptomatic?

Paralytic do not alter pupil size or the pupillary light reflex.

I have worked full time as a bedside nurse since 1974 except for a recent medical leave. I still learn new things. I have great coworker's, they have my back and I have theirs. My manager is also great. Is she perfect? No. But I'm not either. Middle management is hard. She gets her marching orders the same as I do. While I was on my recent leave, she kept my job open for almost a year. She didn't have to do that! Is my job perfect? No, but I don't know of any job that is. Try to get a part time job with reasonable pay in any other field. Hard to be a part time teacher. Hard to be a part time engineer. A part time attorney works 40 hours a week! I went to college right out of high school and have not regretted my choice. I went to graduate school when I was in my 40s and chose to remain at the bedside. I would have been equally happy with many other career choices. My BFF is also a nurse so I suppose I would never have met her if we hadn't both chosen nursing. I don't necessarily like all the changes that have happened in health care. Sometimes I feel like the inmates run the asylum[emoji6]! In short, I think your job is like so much in life--it is what you make it. I know this post is a little disjointed so I have it makes sense. And sure, I would still like to make more money. Who wouldn't?

I would redraw and have it run on a different machine. It doesn't make any sense that a pco2 would be so low with a respiratory rate of 10 to 12 and the fact that it didn't give a saturation is suspicious.

I agree. There are non so blind as those who will not see.

How do you know this patient had a fluid deficit? From what you describe, this is pretty much standard care s/p CABG. Before you decide you know more than the board certified surgeon who has gone to medical school and then done a residency in general surgery and a fellowship in cardiac surgery, be very sure you understand the physiological effects of cardiopulmonary bypass and the fluid shifts that take place after surgery

Doesn't California have mandated staffing ratios?

Do you have anything that resembles a personal code of ethics?

The 20 year old could have an undiagnosed clotting disorder and a pulmonary embolism. It's too easy to get burned when just looking at the age of the patient.

No, you did not give examples. You just said you were bullied. What constitutes being bullied?

I always thought that the younger nurses were jealous of me because I'm so much closer to retirement. And just to break some of the stereotypes, I'm very techno savvy and can still multitask. Where you are now, I once was. Where I am now, you will one day be.

How long was your orientation?

When I was a 3rd year nursing student I decided to switch majors and get a double history and literature major. My father said that's fine if I know how I was going to support myself. I stayed in nursing. After graduation I got a job in heme once and after 18 months I then decided to go back and get an education degree because I loved my peds rotation. One of the attending a I worked with told me to try the ICU, that I was born to be an ICU nurse so I did. 40 years later I am still loving the ICU. I have experienced health care from both sides of the bed. Don't discount the difference you can make in someone's life.

If you had overdosed her with a narcotic her pupils would have been constricted. She was probably dying which must had been expected if she was palliative.

OK, I'm back. I am not a school nurse. I have more confidence in kids than you do. Inflammatory, not really, just a different perspective. I will just leave at that.

Secondly an inhaler belongs with the patient at all times, that should be reinforced at a young age. The nurse should not be the gate-keeper. Totally agree with this. I think that children need to be taught about medication. Some medication is good for you and some is bad for you. Kids are smart enough to understand this. I also disagree with this zero tolerance for any drugs in school. I think we, as adults, need to differentiate Motrin and cocaine. How will children ever learn to take medication responsibly if adults treat OTC meds like illegal drugs?

And people wonder why experienced nurses don't want to be preceptors. Who wants to expend their time and energy in being an engaged preceptor when they leave after a couple of months. This is why I don't want to precept anymore.

How is this fair to your coworker's? If you can't work nights, then why apply for a job that requires nights? Why don't you apply for a job that doesn't require shift rotation?

Do these people make an appointment with a physician and are seen by a nurse practitioner instead?

This thread has really surprised me. Hasn't anyone over been to a wedding or funeral for someone of a different faith? No one is asking you to convert, just be respectful of others beliefs.

I would have charted the patient's complaints, pertinent assessments and your interventions. When you document that you felt that the physicians response was not appropriate to the situation, my next question to you would be: what did you do about this? Did you call the medical director or upper management? Perhaps instead of doing everything to get the patient sent out, you could document all your interventions to stabilize the patient.

Can anyone who works in a burn ICU tell me why the visiting hours are so limited versus other ICUs? Thanks

I give you a lot of credit if you could go into a home like that. There is no force on this earth that would get me in that house a second time!

I'm pretty sure this is why they are upset with you. Not only did you not want to help her but you also set her up to do poorly by not even telling her that she missed something big. You didn't have her back, now why should she have your?

Isolation and Quarantine Isolation and quarantine help protect the public by preventing exposure to people who have or may have a contagious disease. Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. In addition to serving as medical functions, isolation and quarantine also are "police power" functions, derived from the right of the state to take action affecting individuals for the benefit of society. Federal Law The federal government derives its authority for isolation and quarantine from the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This information was taken from the CDC website. Among the diseases that the federal government should be isolating is viral hemorrhagic fevers. Whether you agree or not, the government does have the authority to quarantine individuals. I think this nurse, who incidentally works for the CDC, has gotten exactly what she wants, her 15 minutes of fame. The death toll for this disease has surpassed 5000 so I think we can all agree, it is contagious.