akulahawkRN ADN, RN, EMT-P

Emergency Department

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All Content by akulahawkRN

  1. akulahawkRN

    Sac city Nursing Statistics

    It is possible that they attach a TEAS and GPA "weight" to your name once you're in the lottery but I am not 100% certain of this. It's been a few years since I graduated and they were starting the...
  2. akulahawkRN

    ACLS skills session - any insight

    In ACLS, the skills session and the megacode is the same thing. The best way you can be sure of passing the megacode is knowing how to do CPR effectively and to AHA standard, know the rhythms and the...
  3. akulahawkRN

    Sac city Nursing Statistics

    Sac City is very similar to ARC. Their application process is a little different, but in terms of numbers of applicants, seats available, etc... very similar to ARC. In other other words, it's...
  4. akulahawkRN

    Pain management

    First off, remember that documentation is key. If the patient states they're in pain and would like medication, ask the physician. Do whatever non-pharm stuff you can for the patient. In both cases,...
  5. akulahawkRN

    How many can you get wrong?

    The NCLEX isn't likely to be like any exam you'll have ever taken in the past. There is no pass/fail percentage. You could take 75 questions, you could take 265, or you could take any number of...
  6. akulahawkRN

    This is not what I thought it was

    A lot of knee pain comes from improper foot/ankle alignment. It's not just ensuring that your ankle and feet are put into neutral alignment, it's also ensuring that you have an effectively equal leg...
  7. akulahawkRN

    BMI Screenings totally depress me

    Body Mass Index is flawed in a very particular way. For most people, that aren't particularly athletic, it is generally useful. That being said, people that are fairly athletic can be significantly...
  8. akulahawkRN

    School Shootings

    Here's an update on that. They're now saying that the shooting was accidental. The girl is being basically being charged with negligent discharge of a firearm on school grounds. She claims the pistol...
  9. akulahawkRN

    ADN or BSN?

    With all the prerequisites, both ADN and BSN programs are essentially the same length, when you actually start from day one of your first prerequisite course to graduation. This is because once you...
  10. akulahawkRN

    EMS talking down to Nurse

    While I'm not a school nurse (I'm an ED RN), I am also a Paramedic and have been for some time. I can see how this could very easily happen. What I suspect is that the Paramedic that you were working...
  11. akulahawkRN

    Starting out in ER?

    Starting out in the ED can be a great place to learn! I did and I've only worked in the ED and I wouldn't have it any other way right now. Here's the caveat to the whole thing and it can make you or...
  12. akulahawkRN

    Best experience before ER nursing?

    I think I would tend to agree with some of the above posters. While either will give you a good starting point, the fact that you wish to do ED work down the road does make a difference. While the...
  13. akulahawkRN

    ER right for me? Not an adrenaline junkie

    I would say for new nurses that are contemplating starting out in the ED, you will learn a LOT about there. That being said, you need to be certain that you're getting a longer orientation than other...
  14. akulahawkRN

    Interim permit active after nclex

    The fact that your IP is still active only means that they haven't actually updated your file. They have likely received your NCLEX results and those results are in the queue for actual processing...
  15. Every basic first aid course I have ever attended has addressed the use of tourniquets. In short, if direct pressure does not stop bleeding in a limb (and the vast majority of the time it does), then...
  16. akulahawkRN

    Question about priming tubing

    It depends upon how I'm going to run the medication. If I'm just using the IV intermittently, I'll just prime a primary line and not worry about running the drip chamber dry. If I have a maintenance...
  17. akulahawkRN

    NCLEX and SATA questions

    For the NCLEX, it's all or nothing. That being said, in theory, the "wrong" answer could provide a clue as to your knowledge level and probably more so than an entirely "correct" SATA answer. What I...
  18. akulahawkRN

    Drawing up liquid medication

    Preferably you should be using oral syringes that have the 0.1 mL marks for more precise dosing. If you do not and your patient is going to be getting sufficient volume that you need a 10 mL syringe,...
  19. akulahawkRN

    IV Bolus

    I work in the ED and for us, when a provider orders a fluid bolus, we run it wide open, whatever the volume is. If I need the fluid to infuse as fast as it'll go, I do two things: increase the height...
  20. akulahawkRN

    How many patients do you have on each shift?

    At any one time or total per shift? As an ED RN, my ratio varies from 1:1 though 1:6, depending upon the the patient population I'm assigned to. Most of the time it's 1:4. Where things get fun is when...
  21. akulahawkRN

    Correct way to draw blood?

    As an ED RN, I do this all the time. What helps this happen is our phlebotomists from the lab usually show up in the patient's room at about the time I'm about to start a line. If I'm successful with...
  22. akulahawkRN

    NCLEX Completed, But Did I Pass?

    You're welcome. Now all that having been said, please update us when you find out. You've survived nursing school, exam review, actually sitting down for it, so you have definitely earned the right to...
  23. akulahawkRN

    NCLEX Completed, But Did I Pass?

    Stop trying to re-register for the exam. If you're getting that response from the billing system, you likely have passed but this is NOT (by far) a 100% fool-proof guarantee that you have actually...
  24. In the nuclear realm, I'm not too worried about detonations. @SummitRN covered the reasons. Ground detonations, while very dirty, initially have only very local effects and if you know which way the...
  25. akulahawkRN

    Correct way to draw blood?

    I would have to say that it sounds like he got some PO replacement and his potassium level went up and they may have continued to give him lasix and the like and held the PO replacement for a short...