akulahawkRN ADN, RN, EMT-P

Emergency Department

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All Content by akulahawkRN

  1. akulahawkRN

    BP

    akulahawkRN replied to neogirl's topic in General Students

    While most of the time you don't need to palpate the brachial pulse, it's a good habit to get into. Some patients will have their brachial artery shift a little bit away from the usual place if you...
  2. akulahawkRN

    BP high or low -when to call the Dr. ?

    akulahawkRN replied to cmkayne's topic in General Students

    This is nursing, not medicine. Calling the physician usually isn't going to be an answer you are going to choose. OP, look up "normal range" for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure values. You...
  3. akulahawkRN

    I Think I Messed Up =(

    akulahawkRN replied to Subvers658's topic in General Students

    You have 55 units of GE from the military. That's not useless. Keep those in your back pocket because you never know when you might be able to apply those GE units toward some graduation requirement....
  4. akulahawkRN

    How do I peel pill packets without meds flying everywhere!

    akulahawkRN replied to hs4zu's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    Well, the *ultimate remedy* is to take a hammer and bludgeon the poor wretched soul that invented the infernal things in the first place! I'm kidding... I wouldn't actually do that... but I truly do...
  5. akulahawkRN

    Missed a fracture

    akulahawkRN replied to Buggus's topic in School

    Normally, if there's a fracture, even if it's a hairline/greenstick, kids typically won't want you to mess with it and they won't want to move it because doing so will make it hurt more. That's more...
  6. akulahawkRN

    I&D...sterile procedure?

    akulahawkRN replied to deefizzle's topic in General Nursing

    "Garden variety" abscess I&D is a clean procedure. There's nothing wrong with setting it up as a sterile procedure, including doing appropriate skin prep but once that abscess is opened,...
  7. akulahawkRN

    Is 32 to late to go to a nursing program ?(ADN)

    akulahawkRN replied to Samyong's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    Basically if you're younger than dead, you are not likely too old. I was in my late 30's when I started nursing school and I wasn't the oldest. There were quite a few students that were at least a...
  8. akulahawkRN

    Question about manual blood pressure monitoring

    akulahawkRN replied to ilovebirds's topic in General Students

    From my own experience, taking one's own BP measurement isn't exactly easy. I can do it... but I've got years of experience to help me. I would suggest that you have someone else take your BP manually...
  9. akulahawkRN

    What order should i take these classes?

    akulahawkRN replied to Lightning90's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    I would suggest that you look at your overall expected academic load next semester. If the majority of courses are going to be relatively easy, then you might want to look at doing medical...
  10. akulahawkRN

    Should I become a nurse?

    akulahawkRN replied to NoOne1233's topic in General Nursing

    Please do note that I'm in the US, so the training for both will be different from what's done in the UK. If you're looking to work in another country, foreign to the UK, take a very hard look at...
  11. akulahawkRN

    I'm not sure if nursing is for me and I am freaking out.

    akulahawkRN replied to Brewskii13's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    Since you're already an EMT, and you like that, chances are you're just nervous about going through the process of becoming a nurse. You're stepping into something that's relatively unknown and...
  12. akulahawkRN

    Should I become a nurse?

    akulahawkRN replied to NoOne1233's topic in General Nursing

    That's a great question, should you become a nurse? I cannot, nor can anyone else, answer that question for you. It's a question that only you can answer for yourself. I am both a Paramedic and an RN....
  13. akulahawkRN

    Is it normal that my school doesn't teach us IVs?

    akulahawkRN replied to Annie_1101's topic in General Students

    Seriously, IV starts and the like are actually fairly basic monkey skills. The reason I call them that is because you can pretty much teach a monkey to do them, and do them well. It's just a...
  14. akulahawkRN

    Are Nurses First Responders?

    akulahawkRN replied to ScrubADub12's topic in General Nursing

    No. A BSN is not legally a first responder. Neither are Critical Care/ICU/Stepdown nurses. Why? They do not have the requisite training/education to safely function in the field in a first responder...
  15. akulahawkRN

    Treat the Patient, not the Monitor.....Really?

    akulahawkRN replied to jk2185's topic in General Nursing

    I'm more of a fan of the saying "Treat the patient, not just the monitor." You have to have both, and know when to apply what weight to each side of the equation when doing patient care. A couple...
  16. akulahawkRN

    Why the double standard.

    akulahawkRN replied to RN2364's topic in Men in Nursing

    I'm an ER nurse, and male. You're very right that there is a double standard and it's NOT in favor of us guys. My suspicion is simply that us male nurses are quite aware of the possibility of being...
  17. akulahawkRN

    What do I need to become a Flight RN?

    akulahawkRN replied to PM2RN2016's topic in Flight, Surface Transport

    I'm not a flight nurse by any stretch of the imagination but what I do know is that typically you'll need to put in at least a couple of years in an ICU setting. Your years of being a 911 Paramedic...
  18. akulahawkRN

    NCLEX RESULTS how long until rules are posted.

    akulahawkRN replied to ChristinaMaria85's topic in California Nursing

    Just 2 years ago, I took the exam and my license posted something like 35 hours after taking the exam. Since California doesn't participate in the Quick Results, you won't know for certain if you've...
  19. akulahawkRN

    Job abandonment-CNA

    akulahawkRN replied to Vzuniga627's topic in General Nursing

    Job Abandonment is one thing. Patient Abandonment is worse and if you weren't assigned any patients at the time you left, you should be OK on that end. However, Job Abandonment may affect your ability...
  20. akulahawkRN

    LPN to RN in California

    akulahawkRN replied to Kapenta's topic in LPN to RN

    Excellent advice! The one thing I would add is that if this advice is followed, the program has to one that meets California's requirements for initial licensure. One big component is this little...
  21. akulahawkRN

    LPN to RN in California

    akulahawkRN replied to Kapenta's topic in LPN to RN

    The prerequisites are not too bad. They'll be the same as any RN program. I would, however, highly advise you NOT to pursue a "30 unit option" program because those programs do NOT result in a degree...
  22. akulahawkRN

    Working over 40 hours... still no overtime pay? Legal?

    akulahawkRN replied to xtina15's topic in General Nursing

    There are several different FLSA orders for different industries. Each set of "orders" are slightly different but groups various industries together because there are work similarities among them. One...
  23. akulahawkRN

    NCLEX requirements for California

    akulahawkRN replied to ms.greyrn's topic in Nurse Registration

    The process is not likely going to be easy. There's a LOT of information about the process on this site here, but you may have to look a little bit in one of the forums here, just search for something...
  24. akulahawkRN

    Phenergan dilution

    akulahawkRN replied to EDnatasha's topic in Emergency

    Given that your ED apparently doesn't have small IV bags (mine has 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 mL bags of saline) I would suggest finding the smallest bag your ED has on hand and put the Phenergan...
  25. akulahawkRN

    ED Nursing Notes

    akulahawkRN replied to rubyagnes's topic in Emergency

    Because you're in the ED, and things generally are under more of a time crunch than perhaps is found on a M/S floor, write your notes as "tweets" that describe what you see or notice about the patient...