CathieRN

If you are having serious thoughts about leaving your current job, do it now because down the road you will always wonder "what if"? I highly recommend Med/Surg as a first job as a nurse. You get a little bit of everything and then you can branch out from there once you know what area you most prefer. Yes the hours can stink, but it keeps you on your toes and can be very rewarding.

I've only been a BSN RN for 3years. I worked for one year on a very busy Med/Surg floor to get my foot in the door. I have now been at a different facility for 2 years. Unfortunately, it really takes a YEAR to settle in to a new job--and that's even if you have experience! Each hospital/clinic/nursing home, has their own policies/procedures, documenting requirements, forms, computer systems, organization of supplies, doctor's preferences (Ha! I wouldn't even go there!) and THEN you have to hone your assessment skills as a new nurse!!!! Physical assessment anomalies, medications, disease states, post surgical care, end of life care, learning to deal professionally with difficult patients/families, patient education....WHEW! Just as a patient who is faced with seemingly insurmountable recovery (bilateral knee replacement who lives in an upstairs apartment alone, waking up from a colectomy with a new ostomy, on TPN/Lipids, would vac, NG tube) it WILL get better. There may be set backs and bad days, but it will get better. Keep your chin up "kid!":hug:

I've only been a Med/Surg BSN RN for 3 years. I would have done the same thing you did--checked the vitals, assessed the patient, checked the blood sugar etc. With a joint replacement, the patient should be on coumadin , or a lovenox bridging so their INR should be therapeutic or close to it, so I don't think they had a PE. Their O2 sat would have declined, perhaps they would have woken up with dyspnea, and their heart rate would have increased as the heart would be trying to compensate for the decrease in available oxygen. Another nurse suggested an embolic CVA--did the patient have a hip replacement, which could have released a fat embolism which caused a CVA?? Did she have a foley with low urine output, too high of an IV rate combined with a hx of CHF causing flash pulmonary edema? Perhaps you caught the situation right before the pulmonary edema so her vital signs/sats were WNL?? Keep us up to date if you hear any news. I always wonder what happened to all of my patients. It's just part of the job. You just have to learn to accept constructive criticism, realize that no matter how perfect you try to be (the fastest, the smartest, the one with the longest endurance) sometimes it's just not enough. That's what makes being a nurse difficult. Keep up the great work and keep your chin up "kid!":lol2: