sjalv

sjalv

CVICU

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All Content by sjalv

  1. What's your favorite thing about working in CVICU?

    sjalv replied to shan_elle's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    We take care of a lot of renal patients, particularly when their hemodynamic system becomes unstable and they require pressors to maintain their blood pressure and therefore cannot tolerate their...

  2. What's your favorite thing about working in CVICU?

    sjalv replied to shan_elle's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    What's your favorite thing about working in CVICU? This is probably applicable to all kinds of nursing, but you never know what you're going to walk into when you get to work. You might be walking...

  3. Nursing wages.

    sjalv replied to Medic2RN33's topic in Oklahoma Nursing

    I started in the CVICU as a new grad at a hospital in Tulsa at $23/hr base, and went up to $25/hr base after a year of being there. I can't speak to OKC hospitals but can't imagine it would be too...

  4. Possibly relocating.. Best area for rural job-OR specialty.

    sjalv replied to chili514's topic in Oklahoma Nursing

    There are many rural areas within an hour of Tulsa, such as Skiatook, Collinsville, Sperry, and large swaths of land between these towns and the city. I'm not sure about OR jobs specifically but there...

  5. Should ED put in lines before sending up arrest patients?

    sjalv replied to Paris01's topic in MICU, SICU

    I'm an ICU nurse and am always enthralled when I get in report that the patient already has a PICC or central line, but I don't expect it. I do expect that the patient have two IV sites though. We...

  6. Recommended experience for first time travel assignment.

    sjalv replied to Samc144's topic in Travel

    She is not telling her to take the discussion elsewhere, she is giving her additional places to get feedback. The Facebook groups that I am a part of have over 20,000 members. You get at least 5-10...

  7. Nursing Dreams and Nightmares

    sjalv replied to Joe V's topic in General Nursing

    I've dreamt before that a patient of mine started coding and I knew they were, but my body couldn't perform compressions. I could yell for help, push the code button, position the bed supine, but my...

  8. How do you get into the ICU?

    sjalv replied to renae0404's topic in Critical Care

    CCRN is a certification, nothing to do with any board. 'board certified' tends to refer to physician certifications upon completing a residency and passing their respective boards. I think to say...

  9. How do you get into the ICU?

    sjalv replied to renae0404's topic in Critical Care

    I got hired into an adult CVICU before I even graduated ADN school without any tech experience. It really depends on where you

  10. What do you keep in your locker/make sure to take to work with you?

    sjalv replied to Dianna11's topic in General Nursing

    I keep my stethoscope, headphones, a phone charger, some nonperishable food as previously mentioned, and an IV drug reference book, although each med room on my unit has one so I rarely use

  11. Quitting my 1st RN job

    sjalv replied to Nori.Giselle's topic in General Nursing

    I'm not sure if you are asking me or if you were just clarifying that that was the question you were trying to figure out, but in case it's the former, I'm not too sure. On one hand, you have ICU...

  12. Quitting my 1st RN job

    sjalv replied to Nori.Giselle's topic in General Nursing

    Disclaimer: I'm speaking as a nurse who started in an adult CVICU, and that's still where I am. Obviously our hospitals' orientation programs and environments differ, as we don't even do transplants...

  13. Missed H.R call

    sjalv replied to MiamiR.N.'s topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    I know someone has already said this but whenever HR calls you, it's for a reason. Voicemail or not. Keep that in mind for whenever you do work for a

  14. CABG recovery ratios?

    sjalv replied to brook0224's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    At my hospital, hearts are 1:1 for the first 6 hours. Hearts are never doubled before this point, and if they have an IABP, they're kept 1:1. Even if the heart technically goes off 1:1 during day...

  15. Do you pre-inflate the balloon on a foley cath?

    sjalv replied to VegGal's topic in General Nursing

    I was taught to not inflate and I never do. I also do not know any nurses that

  16. Foley Cath Insertion

    sjalv replied to sammiesmom's topic in Critical Care

    An incontinent patient who is A&O x4 and can vocalize that they are soiled = not a reason to catheterize. A patient who, regardless if they're usually continent or not, is sedated and cannot...

  17. Move from Medsurg to ICU?

    sjalv replied to CafeduMonde4Breakfast's topic in Critical Care

    Did he say that his unit was a 'special snowflake' unit? Is your passive aggressive assumption warranted, or does it contribute anything to the

  18. Foley Cath Insertion

    sjalv replied to sammiesmom's topic in Critical Care

    Please, for the love of God, if I end up intubated/sedated in an ICU, catheterize me so I don't keep urinating on myself out of lack of awareness/control. To not do so would be ridiculous in my...

  19. Central line compatibility

    sjalv replied to mfarmer88's topic in Critical Care

    Did you clarify what you know to be the truth, i.e. that the lumens are separate and even if the medications are incompatible, they are fine to infuse through separate

  20. CVOR vs CVICU

    sjalv replied to bauern5513's topic in Critical Care

    This is exactly what the OR nurses tell us when calling report on a heart and it's all I need to know, for what it's worth. I feel like if the nurses want to know the nitty gritty of the surgery, such...

  21. Health Unit Coordinator/CNA

    sjalv replied to Twinsmama28's topic in Nevada Nursing

    Is it possible you can post the job description here? If you are not a nurse and do not have experience in leadership/management, I don't see how feasible it would be to get a job in this position...

  22. BP cuff over a PICC line

    sjalv replied to offlabel's topic in General Nursing

    Is there a reason you can't use the other arm? If so, I would use a radial cuff below the PICC line. I would never use a brachial cuff over a PICC

  23. showering: before or after work

    sjalv replied to peachypurple's topic in General Nursing

    I usually shower before work. I don't change into regular clothes before entering my house, nor do I have work-specific shoes. I'm more worried about catching a communicable illness at the grocery...

  24. Bed Baths Washing Post Op Heart Patients

    sjalv replied to AllisonMcTigue's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    On my unit, intubated patients/continuous bipap are bathed at night, everyone else is bathed in the day. By bathe, I mean 'chg bath'. This is irrespective of their surgical status. If they are so...

  25. Yep. Nurses do "eat their young"

    sjalv replied to Dianna11's topic in General Nursing

    I don't agree with this mindset. I expect to see patients in distress due to their situation of being hospitalized, but that does not give them the right to be disrespectful. I tell patients when they...