codeblue22

Which part of carpuject confuses you? The blue holder? Just twist to click in, and twist to click out. They are kind of annoying. I hate those things, so I jerry rigged a plunger to fit inside the back end of the vial. Or u can just draw the med up into a regular syringe.

Omg guys, you are confusing the poor kid. New-grad: Congrats on your new job.. Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed calling staffing or your managers to clarify. They will not think you are dumb. Rather, they will see you as ambitious and responsible. No harm to your rep.

Wow, COR-ZERO. That's really cool. Sounds like a new-age commercial kitchen set. Lol

Careful, I heard excelsior was terrible. A friend of mine is a 25+yr paramedic and did the excelsior program. They jacked him around and took his money, without graduating him. For no reason. This dude, as a paramedic, works circles around most RNs and MDs. Just, if u consider excelsior, please research it and be careful.

Stay strong, lcamp85. It will get better. I'll give u a personal story... When I first started, I let every missed IV get into my head, and I would psych myself out every day. I was a walking time-bomb. Eventually you will learn that there is a learning curve, and that curve is forgiving. Not all nurses grow at the same rate, but all nurses can become really amazing if they set goals and maintain a positive attitude. When I was a new nurse, I received the best piece of advice from an older RN about to retire. She saw me stressing out one day, frantically overwhelmed with tasks and treating everything as "urgent.".... She said, "Remember this: You can only do one thing at a time. So slow down, and do that one thing really great. And then move onto the next thing." I work in many critical care areas, and when I get swept up with bazillions of "urgent" tasks, I always think of her advice and slow myself down (respectively). Just remember, taking the time to focus (say, on starting an IV), will result in a really great IV.. And not result in 3 misses. 3 misses will always use up more clock than 1 good attempt.

It will be incredibly difficult in the sf bay area without a BSN. as you may know, one of the focal points in the latest strike referenced hospitals eliminating their non-BSN nurses, or rather, not hiring new RNs without BSNs. Inevitably, that's the road these hospitals are going, whether sooner or later. I'd put money on it. Better to exceed qualifications, it's competitive out here.

Doesn't sound promising at your facility.. I suggest looking elsewhere where RNs work every-other weekend, but as a new nurse you'll never get 8-hr dayshifts. Sorry, but it's the honest truth. Seniority will prevent that. So rather than going against the system (which will be hard to beat), try to either work with the system, or find a new place. Everyone is unique. I'm a single mom and 12hr night shifts work great for me. I don't get much sleep, but the tradeoff is that i only work 3 days/wk. It's an easy choice.

Which state are u in? The ratio of 7-8 patients per nurse sounds unsafe. In California, the tele floors are 4:1, and sometimes 3:1, depending on acuity. Sounds unfair to expect a newgrad to jump into the deep end with not much training.

Hey, it works on Grey's Anatomy. Why wouldn't it in real life? Heh, heh.

If Ativan and Haldol don't work... Try Geodon! It is a God send with these hostile patients!

Speaking from experience.. You already have a bachelors. Do the accelerated BSN and support yourself with loans and/or part time work. You'll be out in a year and the degree pays for itself. Trust me. Best route, I promise.

I agree with Murse.. Imagine how many people in scrubs patients see during the course of their hospital visit: phlebotomists, xray, transport, housekeeping, discharge planners, house supervisors, CNAs, RNs, MDs, etc.. I WISH our hospital had uniforms by dept.. Instead, everyone dresses free-for-all, and patients are so confused and overwhelmed. Also, if they have complaints or comments, they may not be able to identify the staffer without a uniform color. Personally speaking, I have been blamed for a bad blood draw by a phlebotomist, and it was next to impossible to get myself out of the hot seat. so infuriating.

Lady swallowed a spoon.. When asked if she felt the spoon going down (to examine gag reflex or cranial nerve damage), she replied, "the ice cream was so good I just kept shoveling it in, and lost the spoon."

Document, document, document. I have a whole notebook of information on specific episodes which holds incriminating evidence of hostile nurses and managers, including sexual harassment. I also included names of witnesses to the bullying. Your memory may fade or the bullying episodes become foggy or blend together, or are indeterminable... and if u need to recall events for disciplinary reasons, it will be helpful to review your notes.

Joey, NP's have much more autonomy than a PA. They can work independently and direct the care of their patients without signing off or consulting an MD. Of course needless to say, the smart ones usually do ask for another pair of eyes on the case, as MD's often do. But end of the day, the PA is always inferior to the MD and cannot treat patients independently. They are by definition, an assistant.