bruinlaura

We usually have 2 unless the patient is very critical. It is uncommon to be tripled in the ICU I work in but it does happen on occasion when staffing is poor. Usually a triple goes to a float or traveler. If not we have a list with our last time being tripled and whoever has gone the longest without one gets it. So even if there are triples you won't be the one getting them every time. Also triples are chronics and pt's awaiting stepdown beds. I have never heard of someone getting 4. At least in an adult ICU.

Was there a reason you couldn't use the cordis? We don't put blood in any of the ports in the swan but I use the cordis for blood and fluid boluses almost exclusively. We will use the medication port for drips and the proximal port for other meds but we never use the pa port for anything other than monitoring and svo2 sampling.

I work in a CTICU and we never wedge. Apparently there was an incident a few years ago where a pt was left wedged and died. It appears that any place that has had an incident doesn't wedge anymore.

Make your expectations clear and be organized. The best clinical instructor I have had so far gave us a list of things we should always be doing (from check armband and emergency equip, assessment specifics, look at chart and meds, etc) and a list of things to try to do once those things were done. I learned far more then my other instructors who just released me onto the floor assuming I knew what I was doing. I learned how to prioritize and time management and felt like I was responsible if I didn't get something right because someone actually told me what my job was. The RNs on the floor were all really impressed with us as well and it was one of the first time I felt welcome by the staff on a floor.