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ChristineAdrianaRN BSN, RN

Pediatric and Adult OR
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ChristineAdrianaRN has 7 years experience as a BSN, RN and specializes in Pediatric and Adult OR.

ChristineAdrianaRN's Latest Activity

  1. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Having issues with being a "babyfaced" nurse.

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to Ash2016's topic in Nurses

    Looking much younger than I am is an issue for me, too (29 but recently got carded for a rated R movie). The snottiness actually comes more from my older colleagues than patients. But you really can't let it get to you, especially with patients. Usually they don't mean any malice with it. I usually respond with a, "Thank you! I'm hoping to ride this fountain of youth as long as I can" or if patients are a little sassier or ruder, I'll be like, "Yeah, the school bus was supposed to take me home after lacrosse practice but they dropped me here, so I'm just going with it." Usually a little humor helps break the tension. Most importantly you have to show confidence. Despite you saying you're confident, your post shows the exact opposite. You seem to be incredibly insecure about this. You sound like a new nurse, so that's probably part of it. The more practice you get, the more competent you are, the less the comments affect you. Once you can do an IV in your sleep, and someone says you look too young to be a nurse, you can say, "Yeah, it's my first day, and I have no idea what I'm doing!" as you effortlessly slide in the IV. And then they smile. And it's all good. It gets easier the longer you do it. Do not quit being a nurse over this. You need to rise above it. I hope you figure out a way to let it roll off you.
  2. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Help! Hard of Hearing in the OR?!

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to callisto1013's topic in CRNA

    I agree with Rose_Queen (also an OR nurse here). I think a specialty that depends greatly on anesthesia and surgery interaction would be a poor choice. But cardiothoracic is the only one I can think of that is that way. Other than that, it seems the only time the surgeon will really talk to you is when they say, "How's [the patient] doing up there?" or "Bed up, please!" :) If they know you're hard of hearing I imagine they would work with you (just make sure you let them know you're there if you do a break/shift change and they don't realize someone HOH is at the head of the bed). But it might be stressful for you, because ORs have a toooon of background noise. I am young and not HOH and I have a hard time a lot. A surgery center or somewhere with less noise might be okay? I encourage you to shadow a CRNA for a day and see what you think!
  3. ChristineAdrianaRN
    Hey all. Current OR circulator/scrub wanting to move into ICU soon in preparation for CRNA school. Is there anyone else here that spent most of their career as an OR nurse first? That strangely seems pretty rare. I think it's because once OR nurses get into the field, they don't want to have to leave to go to ICU. :) Do you feel like this experience helped you in your preparation to be a CRNA? I feel like my experience gives me a pretty good idea of what CRNAs do since I work with them all day every day, and help as much as possible during inductions and pay attention to what they're doing. I still plan on putting my year in ICU before I apply, but I wasn't sure if my OR experience (4 years) would be a plus at all.
  4. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Becoming a stronger candidate

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to ChristineAdrianaRN's topic in SRNA

    I didn't say they were all nice. I said the ones that let me intubate are nice. I've been in the OR for 3 years, I know they're not all nice. Neither are surgeons, or nurses.
  5. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Becoming a stronger candidate

    ChristineAdrianaRN posted a topic in SRNA

    Hi all. I'm looking to apply to CRNA school, but I want to do some travel nursing first, so it won't be right away. Probably a couple years from now. I have no ICU experience so I will look to move to ICU after I settle somewhere geographically, and then apply after a year of that. In the meantime, I'm hoping to take some chemistry classes. What are the best online programs for chemistry? It would be too difficult to take class in a brick and mortar school due to the traveling. I'd need to take a basic chem class (haven't taken chem since high school and I don't remember a lick of it) before the orgo and biochem. Are there any good books to read on critical care nursing to prepare myself for working in an ICU, since I have no experience in that? (only med/surg and OR here). Certifications I should get? Any other ways to make myself a stronger candidate for CRNA school acceptance? All I have right now is working in an OR and practicing intubations with the nice anesthesiologists that will let me. :) Thanks!
  6. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Nurses carrying weapons

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to KittyLovinRN's topic in Home Health

    I have my CCW and hope to get into HH soon. I plan on carrying when I do. It's part of your training to learn when it is and isn't appropriate to use deadly force and I plan on trying to stay very mindful of that.
  7. ChristineAdrianaRN

    chance at va

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to LeslieAllen's topic in Government

    Congratulations! I think one's chances are greater if you apply for a high-needs department. I applied for a bunch of clinics and didn't get them, and I think that's what most of the nurses go for, especially internally (I was told that the clinics in this system are the only ones that pay as well as hospital nursing). But the recruiter said she "really wanted to put me somewhere" and asked me to go to their OR. They are having a hard time retaining nurses there and I had 2 years OR experience. Once I got the offer, it took me 2 months for them to process paperwork, and they were still working on it even after I started my ToD. I'm hoping now that I have my "foot in the door" I will have an easier time of going to the clinics eventually since I'll be an internal applicant. Also, I believe there may be a vet preference, and FWIW, I'm not a veteran.
  8. ChristineAdrianaRN

    VAMC nurses- any experience with union?

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to Nursemouse83's topic in Government

    I joined AFGE during new employee orientation a couple months back because they sucked me in with their marketing spiel. I didn't realize all the perks they were advertising - their life insurance and discounts - weren't actually special. The discounts are for all government employees and their life insurance is apparently not as good as other independent companies (though it does sound better than what VAMC offers). I have heard nothing but bad things from established employees regarding them not being good representatives. I'm backing out of it as soon as I'm able.
  9. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Finding a Job

    ChristineAdrianaRN posted a topic in Wound

    I'm graduating from a WOCN program soon (single wounds scope). I'm perusing for jobs and I can't find a thing. Not hard to imagine since every hospital I've worked at only has one or two wound care nurses on staff. I know I've only scratched the surface - looking at big hospital systems and their affiliations - but I'm wondering what the best way to go about this is? Are there good networking websites I can check out? Am I pretty much destined to work in LTC (I haven't looked much there yet as they don't seem to list openings online)? Or am I just going to have to wait it out awhile until something pops up? Just wondering if I can be any more proactive. If it's helpful at all, I'm in St. Louis, MO. Thank you.
  10. ChristineAdrianaRN
    Hi all - I will soon be starting a new OR job at an adult hospital. I have never worked with adults in the OR. I have only had OR experience in pediatrics (the last two years), though I have worked with adults in med/surg before. I'm really nervous about it! Mostly I'm nervous about positioning (we don't get a lot of adult sized children, and even if we do, we don't do a lot of surgeries that require funky positioning, like lithotomy, jacknife, etc). And then cases like total joints or whatever. I hate ortho as it is, I can't imagine doing it with adults. So much STUFF. Big stuff. HEAVY stuff. It sounds like they're kind of going to let me find my niche in the OR since I'm pretty flexible and CAN do most things (scrubbing and circulating any service, except scrubbing spines or cardiothoracic since they have their own teams), so hopefully I can avoid ortho, but no promises. I know there are people that love it so hopefully there won't be a need for me there. I guess I'll learn as I go, but any advice at all about someone going from working with babies to working with adults (the population is mostly men over 50 - I bet it will be TURP central!) in the OR? Thanks!
  11. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Saint Louis University anyone???

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to mtsteelhorse's topic in NP Students

    I am applying to SLU's fall 2013 FNP program. Let me know if you guys get in!
  12. ChristineAdrianaRN
    I'm in the process of applying for a BSN-DNP online program for Family NP. It's a very competitive program, so I feel the essay portion should stand out. What are recruiters looking for? What kinds of things written are received poorly? I'm not asking you to tell me exactly what to write, just wondering what things I should focus on in the essay. Thanks!
  13. ChristineAdrianaRN

    What do OR nurses do anyway?

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to greyL's topic in Operating Room

    There is still direct patient care. As circulator, you speak with the patient and the family before the surgery. This is a time in which people are typically the most frightened, so your presence makes a huge impact. You reinforce teachings, answer questions, comfort them, and keep family updated throughout longer cases. You are still the number one patient advocate in the room. Sure, it's not as much direct patient care as on the floor, but I've been there, and the amount of "awake" patient care in the OR is the perfect amount for me.
  14. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Clipping hair

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to ChristineAdrianaRN's topic in Operating Room

    @jmlowe85: *nods* I'm on the neuro team too, and that's exactly how I feel about it. @eleectrosaurus: lolol, well my boyfriend had an inguinal hernia repair and some elderly man shaved his pubes. While whistling. But you're probably right, butthole shaving would be worse! @HollywoodDiva: that's what I figured, though most kids that we need to clip have already hit puberty, so they're older, so you would think it would be okay for them, but I guess a 15 year old boy is still a child. :)
  15. ChristineAdrianaRN

    Clipping hair

    ChristineAdrianaRN posted a topic in Operating Room

    My boyfriend just had surgery and I was shocked to learn that they clipped his body hair in the pre-op area. In my place of employment, we do it after the patient is asleep on the table. Yesterday I received a AORN newsletter that talked about hair clipping, and it said that it should indeed be done before entering the OR. Makes sense in terms of cleanliness, lower risk of infection, etc. I wonder if we do it in the OR after the patient is asleep because it's a pediatric hospital? Maybe it would be too scary or traumatic for the kids to do it while they're awake? What do you think? How do they do it where you work?
  16. ChristineAdrianaRN

    attention: senior nurses

    ChristineAdrianaRN replied to nar-es's topic in Operating Room

    "Yeah, I know." Well, when I asked you about where you are in your preceptorship, you should have given me a better answer. That's the difficulty with precepting with a different nurse every day, but it's harder for us than it is for you, so work with us a bit. Really, I shouldn't have to ask, anyway. Take initiative. When I was new (which wasn't that long ago), I would go to every nurse at the beginning of the day and say, "Hello, I'm Christine. Nice to meet you. I'm comfortable with a, b, c. I am still having trouble with x, y, z. Today I would like to [focus on working the room while you chart, try to do everything completely on my own, etc etc]." It just made the day much smoother. But I get so peeved when I'm trying to teach them something, and they cut me off, and say in a snobby tone, "Yeah, I know." You know what? Just suck it up, okay? I got so much repetitive information when I was in training, but I'd rather hear something 100 times then never learn it at all. I don't know what the other nurses told you. And if you keep saying, "Yeah, I know" every time I try to tell you something, guess what? You're going to stop getting help. That is my biggest pet peeve. Also, please give me a simple, "Thank you for your help" at the end of the day. Trying to teach you while I'm running a room is harder than you realize, and we don't get extra compensation for it. It's nice to hear that you absorbed information and are appreciative of it.
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