1JerseyCCRN

I never tell unless they ask me, or if it becomes relevant for some reason. I agree starting and IV without gloves is not something I would want done to me, and wiping the blood off on her scrubs? :eek:Yuk, I wonder how many other people she does this with? Cutting corners is one thing, but when I worked in the ED I remember there being an endless supply of gloves on hand in each room. Best of luck with the finger, Maybe you will get a few days of much needed rest :cheers: Jersey

I check the pupils without the pen light, say they are a 4, they constrict to a 3 with the pen light, so I will say pupils reactive 4->3

My neice suffered a bleed after falling from large slide at a playground when she was 5, she was in PICU for 4 weeks recovering, there was one PICU nurse who my brother and I grew close to and she would call us everyday that she was off just to make sure we were ok and that things were running smoothly with her care. I just wanted to let you know from the other side of things we appreciated her more then words would describe. My hats off to you and your collegues for the work and love you share day to day. Dont have much advise to you but from a patients perspective You are an angel.

Um for ICU we "intubate, sedate, and constipate" L&D " admit 'em and pit 'em"

Not too long ago, there was a nurse explaining the diagnosis to a patients family, she said the lab tests indicated that the patient had a bacterial virus of some kind, I was like wow, that must be some infection;)

All the nurses at my hospital get raises 3 times a year, not a whole lot probably about 50 cents-a dollar but its union raises, hopefully your manager will mention it in your yearly evaluation.

organized chaos

Most feel this way, especially in the high paced areas such as L&D, there were many times when I was a new grad in ICU that I thought what did I get myself into?? This too shall pass, let your preceptor or manager know how you are feeling, and look for some constructive feed back. It took me a good year and a half before I felt confident in my unit, and still to this day I ask questions and Ive been there for around a hundred years.

There are a lot of us old birds in my unit :)

Personally I would mind my own bee's wax..... Honestly who made you the license police?

Realize that you will Never be alone, you will hopefully be with a preceptor for a while. Speak up and let them know if you are unfamiliar with a procedure or medication. Remember you are only ONE person, you can only do what you can do. Its very scary to start out, I remember being scared for at least a year. When you hear of something new going on in the unit, ask to watch or participate. Be honest when you dont know how to do something, we old nurses tend to forget how much you dont get to experience in nursing school. I remember I would make brain sheet, I would fold a piece of paper in half, write "report" on one sheet with all the systems (I do Neuro, Cardiac, Resp, GI/GU, Skin, Lines and Meds) the on the back of that sheet I would write tasks for every two hours (like turn, meds, residuals, neruo check ect....it will be different in your unit) then on the back of the folded sheet I would write out my assessment so I could add to it if needed through the day. Also I put K___, Mg___, ect so I dont forget to check my labs first thing in the morning. This way I have all my info I need for the day on one sheet of paper. Good luck! You will do great:)

I was definitely one of the "i want to be" students. I really thought I was going to graduate, get accepted into an NP or PA school...ya didnt go that way. I was also under the impression that I could work any day of the week I wanted And go part time if I felt like it, so of course I thought I could work mon-tues-wed and never work a weekend....Yes I had big dreams

I think all those things she does not want to deal with were in my job description....

I get free HMO for my family and I, death benefits for me and the husband, vision premium for $14 a month for all 6 of us, free HMO dental, 401K, short/long term disability (i think I pay about 43 cents a month?) They even have a pet benefit option, and travel insurence but I havent looked into that. If you want PPO I believe its about 280 a month for a family of 6. I get 8 hours of PTO per pay period. I havent been at this job for long so im not sure about sick leave and vacation.