JPnewACNP

I had a 70-something year old man come for an elective Cath which was postponed due to Hgb 3.2.. He was just pale. Eventually found he had a tiny chronic GIB that was found by the third radiologist on a nuclear scan after dozens of other tests to find the bleed.

Exactly, there are times when we have to do what we have to do in whatever circumstances, I think the key is to put forth a good effort to do the best thing and then fall back to next best. One has to be more conscious of what they are doing when doing something out of ordinary.

Honestly, this usually isn’t a big deal and I don’t run anything dry unless I’m there with another bag. For continuous drips, I leave myself about an hour or so of volume to remind me to get another bag. For intermittents, I do 5ml less than the total volume because on some pumps it’s a pain to get air out of the main line and shouldn’t make much of a difference to the pt. Use discretion though, somethings (tpa, amio bolus, etc) I prefer to run it dry.

I’m sorry to be blunt but, Mixing drugs is well within the scope of practice for an RN. I can think of dozens of scenarios where mixing my own drugs will save a life rather than waiting an hour for pharmacy to do it even with a clinical pharmacist calling for it stat. This is a pet peeve of mine because some will say “it’s against policy” or “it’s unsafe.” If you are prudent with double checking everything, have a colleague double check if you have any doubt, and label it (even writing on the bag with a sharpie) then it is absolutely safe. “Outside my scope of practice” would not be a satisfactory defense to a lawyer why your patient died.

I know in some family practice clinics the nurse and doc have worked together so long they have a shorthand down pat. He tells the nurse to give a shot of whatever and states an arc, nurse writes it down, MD comes and signs the script after making sure it’s correct. What the OP described is incredibly illegal. If that ever happened to me, I would call leadership and go straight up the chain of command AS WELL AS calling the legal department. Our license is too valuable.

Hello everybody! I'm currently working as an ICU Float nurse going to multiple facilities across the system. I'm also about to graduate as an Adult-Gero Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and planning to complete my DNP in the next year or two. This company was a merger with another and a lot of changes have occurred over many years before I began working there. Since starting here, I cannot begin to understand how this system is run, how they can justify their processes that DO NOT work at the bedside, and where the leadership is. There is a new EHR being rolled-out and that is incredibly disorganized wasting not only my time (many of the support people are sitting around chatting), my patience, and their money. At the bedside, policies and protocols that should be easily and quickly accessible are non-existent and not a soul in the hospitals know what is actually suppose to be going on. Leadership cannot even produce a policy to back what they say. To say I am concerned and exasperated, I am a bit worried about my license and the well being of my colleagues at the bedside. Why is it feeling like we are trying to recreate the wheel everyday? There's plenty of resources and evidence to guide us and help easy these types of transitions. As middle management or executive management, why would you not include bedside staff and research into their decisions and implementation of these changes? Why would you opt to not support your staff or decrease ratios during times of large transitions? Why would you teach one thing in class only to do the opposite in practice? Granted, I am not in management or even a charge nurse, but things really shouldn't be that complicated.

Or worked in several places, but this is my favorite thus far! Plus it was strictly enforced so it really helped to know each other's role without having to ask or see their badge. It helped families to know who they're speaking with too! RN/LVN - Navy PCA/monitor techs - Burgundy Transport - Burgundy top, Black bottoms Surgery/Cath lab - OR sea foam greens Pharmacy - Hunter Green Radiology - Black RT- Grey Etc I don't remember about ceil blue... nobody was allowed to wear navy blue except RNs and LVNs. Physicians/NPs/PAs wore whatever they wanted except navy. Occasionally, after inter hospital competition or special events, we were allowed to wear t-shirts.

My Checkster is still very much open...

Nice, but before I even start that process, I want to have a little better understanding of where I will be when I can be licensed.

So I completed the application and everything that has been requested. I'm hoping to receive an email confirming everything is in order. kaycatherine, how will you do licensure for Pennsylvania? I think I will get my Texas license and then apply for endorsement since Pennsylvania isn't part of the Nursing Compact with NCSBN.

The best way to know where you would like to work is to experience each of the areas your interested. I'm also in nursing school and that is what I am trying to do: have some experiences in many different areas without regard to money. If your doing something you love, the rest will sort itself out. Find out what you enjoy for yourself, don't let the words of anybody influence your opinion. Use their thoughts to gain an idea of what you want to do, then shadow a nurse in that unit. Thats just one piece of advise from one nursing student to another.

I'm the same way, I don't like to have my blood drawn. Its not the actual blood I have a problem with, its the needle in my arm. i don't really have a problem sticking my patients and often my patients compliment on how they never felt a thing and I've only been drawing like three months! During my training, I got stuck by a paramedic with 20+ years of experience and his stick hurt until the next day. The next two girls who stuck me accidentally pulled the needle out while trying to get their sample. The tourniquet was still on and I bled for a few minutes and they left huge bruises. But all in all, the training wasn't bad as the needle is only like a 23 gage!!

I am about to start the upper-division program, and I must say that almost everybody in our class are going to be great as far as my orientation. Considering almost one-third of the class is in fact gay. I am also working on a unit as a nurses assistant and everybody in the unit has been great. Although I have not told anybody, almost everybody seems to know despite my non-flamboyance. None the less, everybody has been wonderful!!

You are only accepted into the upper division during the fall or spring, those are the only times you can start the professional sequence. After getting in, its only two more years.

I guess its possible... The only thing is that with UT's upper division, you absolutely have to apply and you can only apply sometime during the spring for the coming fall (apply spring 2012 to start upper division in fall 2012) or in the fall for the coming spring (september 2012 to start in spring 2013). You might want to talk to one of the advisors that is listed on the website. Or call the School of Nursing Advising Office to find out if that is possible. There are information sessions at the School of Nursing on December 2 and 6 so you might consider attending one of these. The sooner get going on your transfer the better because the pre-nursing major can be hard to get into. Its not impossible but possibly difficult. Check out this worksheet, figure up what courses you have already taken and see which ones you will have to take here and when they are offered (i.e. pharmacology is only offered during the spring and summer). If the school you go to doesn't use UT's numbering system, you can find the equivalent courses in the Undergraduate Catalog to be found at beALonghorn.utexas.edu. http://www.utexas.edu/nursing/docs/bsn_degree_plan_2010.pdf Hope this helps more....