ABM1227

ABM1227's Latest Activity

1. 

   Unit Based Councils

   ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in Med-Surg

   YES Shared Governance is the other term I have heard used. Handoff tools is a good idea. We currently have one for ICU/Med Surg transfers. That could actually probably use some updating!
2. 

   Welcome Letter

   ABM1227 posted a topic in Med-Surg

   Hello All. Our UBC is looking at creating a Welcome Letter to handout to patients when they are admitted to the floor. I am wondering if any other hospitals or units have anything similar? What was pertinent to include? How was it received by other staff members or patients? Did it help patients understand what to expect when admitted? Thanks for any feedback!
3. 

   Unit Based Councils

   ABM1227 posted a topic in Med-Surg

   Hello! Our hospital just initiated Unit Based Councils. I am wondering if any of you are involved in your Units UBC? I am curious to hear of any projects you have initiated, policies you have created or changed or any other insights you may have. Any feedback would be great!! Thank you!!
4. 

   ENPC

   ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in Emergency

   Just thought I would update those who took the time to respond. I passed ENPC, I read the book I thought it was an amazing class and I'm very glad I took it, even if I do work med-surg. Thank you all for replying to my question it was greatly appreciated!
5. 

   Picc line question

   ABM1227 replied to sophtheorn's topic in Nursing

   Our policy is: Remove cap, scrub with alcohol, flush with 10 mls, waste 5 mls, draw blood (usually just 10 ml's), replace cap and flush with 20 ml's. we are not allowed to use a PICC for blood draws at all if the patient is getting TPN. Also never use a syringe smaller than 10 mls. Seems pretty consistent with most everyone's answers.
6. 

   ENPC

   ABM1227 posted a topic in Emergency

   I am gearing up to take the ENPC course next month. Any advice or tips on things to study or brush up on? Thanks!
7. 

   ENPC

   ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in Nursing

   Thank you codeteam B! While I agree I am not working in the ER yet, it is a future goal of mine. Because I do work with pediatrics I want all the tools and experience I need to be able to quickly and accurately assess a child or infant and know whether their current state of health is beyond our capabilities. Same with med-SURG, we may not need to "triage" Pts as they come in the door, but we do need to be able to accurately prioritize our Pts,and again-quickly and accurately decide if they are deteriorating. If these classes will help me achieve these goals I'm all over them.
8. 

   ENPC

   ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in Nursing

   I agree. Whenever I see a pediatric crash cart in the hallway coming into work I hold my breath and cross my fingers they aren't assigned to me. I'm hoping this class will give me more knowledge in this area of nursing. Knowledge is power, face your fears- haha.
9. 

   ENPC

   ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in Nursing

   I think specifically because we take pediatrics on our floor. We ship them if they are critical , but during flu and RSV seasons we get quite a few sick kiddos with respiratory distress. Pediatrics can be a challenge for us because the nurses on our floor aren't specifically trained in pediatrics, so when we are assigned a pediatric patient they count as 2 patients D/T the hourly iv checks and q2 hr respiratory vitals. I had expressed an interest in getting more training/experience with pediatrics. She said this class will be a good learning experience for assessment and signs of deterioration. I also had a meeting with the ER director who wanted me to come and precept down there after I had helped fill in a few nights-I told him I didn't feel like I had enough confidence and experience yet. He also recommended me to take both EPNC and TNPC along with ACLS and PALS.
10. 

    ENPC

    ABM1227 posted a topic in Nursing

    Hi all! I am not sure where the best place to post this so I will start here. I am a recent new grad who has been working on a Med-Surg floor for almost 1 year. Recently my director mentioned having me take an ENPC course next month. I am totally excited but this only the second time I have heard of this course can anyone offer me some insight on what this class is like? It's a two day class. Thanks so much!
11. 

    Pain Medication

    ABM1227 posted a topic in Med-Surg

    Hi All, I am a recent graduate who was blessed to be hired on a Med Surg floor. I absolutely love it! I've asked my preceptor and done some research but I am still coming up short on this topic. Does anyone have a credible source that can help me distinguish the differences in pain medications in terms of strength. I have read a few threads on here with people saying Percocet is stronger than Lortab/Norco etc. Frequently the Physician will have both Norco and Percocet ordered. Normally I look at what the patient has been receiving, ask them how effective it has been working for them base the dose (1-2 tabs based on the severity of their pain). However I would like a better understanding of the differences in strength between the medications to help me make more educated nursing judgment decisions when it comes to administering pain medication. So... Any one know of a credible website that I could use as a reference? Thanks!
12. 

    Nursing Jounal Reccommendation

    ABM1227 posted a topic in Med-Surg

    hello all! i am a new graduate nurse who has just begun the exciting journey of beginning my carreer as a full fledged rn! =) i landed my dream first job as an rn on a medical-surgical floor. i am doing a 12 week orientation in a great hospital and have been loving every minute of it. i am curious if any of you more seasoned med-surg nurses have any reccomendations for proffessional nursing journals i should subscribe to, other than the american journal of nursing. now that i am out of school i want to stay up to date on current information and continue expanding my knowledge in nursing! any reccommendations would be grately appreciated!
13. 

    Time Management

    ABM1227 posted a topic in General Students

    I am planning a presentation on Time management. Because we are due to graduate in December I want to gear it more towards time management on the floor as opposed to time management with school work etc. (I mean we are in 4th semester if you haven't figured out how to manage your time with school its a little late now.) I am really wanting to find a group activity involoving time management, I have searched for one but can't seem to find a good one. I was thinking about making up patients with different diagnoses, meds, orders etc, and having the groups try to priortize their care and organize their day. Does this sound effective or useful at all? Does anyone know of any good time management skill activities that I could use? Any help would be awesome, I have been stumped how to do this for a couple of weeks now, and I'm becoming frustrated. thank you!!
14. 

    Pinning Ceremony

    ABM1227 replied to tcscrash's topic in General Students

    I also JUST posted a thread like this one, I havent had much response though. I am also planning my classes graduation and pinning ceremony. What I have planned so far is to hold the pinning ceremony at our campus, with a slide show and a humorous powerpoint. After that we will announce that we are holding an after party at a different location (we are deciding between three local restaraunts) We have a local bakery in our town who was willing to donate a sweet tray (instead of a cake). This way guests can buy dinner and drinks if they wish and it doesnt come out of my $200 budeget the university gives me. We will also serve coffee and tea to go with the sweet tray. I am also having class sweatshirts made for everybody. And because my class didnt want to order the traditional pins I had some buttons made up for everyone. We are also going to do senior superliatives during the pinning ceremony!
15. 

    Graducation/Pinning Ceremony Ideas

    ABM1227 replied to ABM1227's topic in General Students

    I agree, the ceremony is more for all the people that have helped us accomplish our goal. It's been a long journey and we as well as our families, mentors, and teachers deserve some recognition. Our clinical Instructor has made it clear that bowing out of a ceremony is not an option. The ceremony is tradition and is expected of us. Apparently it's a big to do with quite the turn out from the community.
16. 

    Graducation/Pinning Ceremony Ideas

    ABM1227 posted a topic in General Students

    hi all! i am 6 weeks away fromg graduating nursing school, needless to say i am totally freaked out and on top all my anxiety, homework and clinicals, i also got sucked in to planning my classes graduation/pinning ceremony-which will prove to not be an easy task as half of my class members don't even want a ceremony. they are completely negative about the whole situation, which makes my job a lot harder. i have the basics completed: location, time etc. what i am looking for is some ideas on how to make the ceremony more fun... i found a thread on here called "you know your in nursing school when.." i asked my classmates to finish that sentence so i could incorporate some humor in to our ceremony, i also have some pictures i can use to put together a brief slide show. we are having buttons made, instead of pins (because the majority of the class thought the pins were "stupid" and didnt want to pay for them) and possibly we will have either t-shirts or sweatshirts made for our graduating class. does anyone have any suggestions for me? i appreciate any feedback you all might be able to give me!! thank you!! =)