MattNurse MSN, RN

Do you trust the respiratory rates the CNA's chart? I notice that some of the CNA's on my unit always chart the same number for respiratory rate. The other day I had 5 patients and all had vitals Q4 and each time their respiratory rate was 18, for 1...

Actually you probably need to report that to the compliance officer at your hospital. It is a big no-no and if you are aware of fraud then you should call the compliance line. You probably have an ethics committee at your hospital that you can turn...

Just curious what her ABG looked like. Must be horrid as well.

If that were my family member I would be grateful to the OP.

Any normal saline solution with an added ingredient makes it hypertonic. I said technically because of the way it works in the body but that does not change the osmolarity and osmolality of any given solution. And as I wrote "dextrose gets metaboliz...

dextrose is metabolized so technically NS with anything added is hypertonic, the fact that dextrose gets metabolized really makes it an isotonic solution in the body.

I would be more concerned if I had a diabetic patient on insulin around 70, less concerned with a sugar of 172, I would still cover the sugar at meal time. Even though 70 falls in the ideal range for a diabetic, I would monitor that level closer the...

Were any of those medications new to the patient?

If this were real life you would focus on the reason for admission. The patient is not left in acute chest pain but still needs interventions to prevent the chest pain from recurring. The nurses are probably intervening and preventing the pain via ...

That blood sugar for a diabetic non-fasting is rather normal and probably won't lead to much pathology. I would go with something related to his chest pain/SOB as the nursing diagnosis, all the other issues are chronic issues that you wouldn't addre...

I tell patients I am eating a special diet and leave it at that.

I wouldn't want a peer review. And if it is optional I would think you would be able to opt out. My hospital doesn't do peer review. I wouldn't know what other people do on my shift. I wish I was part of the review process for CNA's though.

I don't get it.

Yes you can force for certain instances, the instance that comes to mind is neutropenic patients, I make them put on a mask when they are sick and wash their hands before entering the room. We have signs outside the door that says a patient must che...

Nurses make med errors and don't lose their jobs. If you lost your job over this then the hospital must have a high turnover rate.

I am looking for a change. I was just wondering if many of you work with men in your units. I always heard that most NICU nurses come from labor and delivery.

I don't think you get where I am coming from. I am not a pediatrics nurse first of all, my patient is not 5 years old or a teenager with mom and dad hanging around. My population is usually over 40 years old and live independently at home. Visitors...

I had a post op appi patient years ago with testicular pain in his early 20's who was too embarrassed to tell me until his mother, father, and siblings left the room. People need space to have privacy in the hospital, especially if you want to be op...

I have been in the hospital and I have been with sick family members. First of all, I don't camp out in their room for days at a time. When you get sick; do you call everyone to your bedside at home? I know I don't. I need rest and having a camp...

I had a visitor complain that I turned off the TV he was watching while his wife was sleeping. I told his too bad, she needs her rest and sleeping with a TV on is poor sleep hygeine, I am promoting sleep/rest. He went to manager and she backed me u...

If you are a nurse you are a mandated reporter and if you suspect this you should report it to the state. People should not be abused, end of story, while receiving care. This is disgusting it is not investigated by the proper authorities. Report ...

MCC on iTunes U then open in itunes, then click on nursing, then click on pathophys 104. She is a good teacher.

John Campbell - YouTube

Breathing is not controlled by gravity. Breathing is all controlled by Boyle's gas law P1V1 = P2V2.