rach_nc_03

rach_nc_03

PICU, Nurse Educator, Clinical Research

Member

  • Content

    372

  • Visitors

    5,006

  • Followers

    0

  • Likes

    5

All Content by rach_nc_03

  1. Are nursing students allowed to give IV push meds?

    rach_nc_03 replied to GrnHonu99's topic in General Nursing

    it really depends on the hospital and the unit. in nursing school, one hospital allowed us to push anything, including narcs (did a lot of morphine on a post-op ortho floor), and *wanted* us to hang...

  2. Picu Nurses Please Help Me !!!!

    rach_nc_03 replied to brina's topic in PICU, Pediatric

    hi, i'm a new grad working in a PICU, and after almost 3 months, I can tell you that janfrn's description is right on the money, as far as my unit is concerned. we also have a large number of cardiac...

  3. Trying to survive as a new PICU nurse..;(

    rach_nc_03 replied to Elicec's topic in PICU, Pediatric

    I am so sorry you're in this situation! It does sound terribly dangerous. I work with several nurses from the Phillipines, and they've described similar situations in some of the hospitals there. I...

  4. Annoyed that public doesn't know what nurses do?

    rach_nc_03 replied to UM Review RN's topic in General Nursing

    sorry- not to hijack the thread, but my current unit is the *only* place i've seen where the bedside blood glucose testing was done by the RN and *not* the CNA- don't know if it's unit policy, or that...

  5. Annoyed that public doesn't know what nurses do?

    rach_nc_03 replied to UM Review RN's topic in General Nursing

    in NC, a CNA II can insert and remove foley catheters, d/c IV's (but can't insert them), do bedside blood glucose testing, and all the other tasks the previous poster mentioned. it varies from unit to...

  6. your very own personal crusade

    rach_nc_03 replied to goats'r'us's topic in General Nursing

    it bugs the snot out of me when people- nurses, docs, social work, whoever- walk into a patient's room and say, 'hello....sir....i hear you're having trouble with your bowel movements!' ok, first of...

  7. Shoes???

    rach_nc_03 replied to MarylandNsgStudent's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I have three pairs of dansko clogs, and i love them. i've tried wearing my new balance trail runners to work, but i end up with pain in my calves. it's such a personal thing- some people have great...

  8. Does anyone here love their job?

    rach_nc_03 replied to elainebenes's topic in First Year After Licensure

    well, right now, I pretty much hate my job- I'm a new grad, I work in a PICU, and I've been there for 2.5 months. I'm about to go in for work right now, and, as usual, I feel like I'm going to throw...

  9. When did you apply?

    rach_nc_03 replied to IV-PUSH's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I work in peds critical care as a new grad. I knew this was where I wanted to work, so I did a shadow day in december, then applied on january 1st, and had my offer letter by my birthday in february....

  10. public's view of nurses

    rach_nc_03 replied to bulldawggirl's topic in General Nursing

    wow....so many thoughts come to mind. today, i was looking for books on critical care nursing on amazon. just to see what i'd find, i just typed in the word 'nurse' and searched. take a look at what...

  11. night shift - sleep dilemma

    rach_nc_03 replied to mtnmom's topic in General Nursing

    I agree wholeheartedly. I'm working a few weeks of nights during orientation, and i'm hoping to go to straight nights as soon as possible. I'm not a fan of the three shifts in a row kind of...

  12. I lost my clipboard full of nursing notes today! :(

    rach_nc_03 replied to christvs's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Doesn't a helpful preceptor make all the difference in the world? I had my sixth preceptor in eight weeks this past week, and she was fantastic in teaching me time management strategies- not just...

  13. I am very embarrassed... my work day yesterday.

    rach_nc_03 replied to perfectbluebuildings's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Rachel, I identified *so* much with your post! I'm also a new grad, and have four weeks left on orientation in the PICU where I work. I feel dumb and incompetent almost every day, at some point- even...

  14. For all the new nurses: who has had crazy dreams about work?! :)

    rach_nc_03 replied to christvs's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I work in a PICU with extremely acute patients....I've worked 15 shifts, as of yesterday. The bulk of our patients since i started have been cardiac babies- mostly with congenital heart defects, so...

  15. Pay Rates?

    rach_nc_03 replied to Paula7's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I'm in NC, and our base pay is pretty bad, compared to the rest of the country, but it goes something like this with incentives: base: $18.54 night premium: $4.00 weekend premium: $4.50 OT pay: time...

  16. Civilian RN jobs in overseas military hospitals?

    rach_nc_03 replied to lauritasol's topic in Government, Military

    My fiancee is stationed on okinawa right now, and I looked into exactly the same thing. You would have an easier time than me, since you're a vet and a military spouse. At kadena, all the jobs...

  17. Why Are 12 hour shifts the standard?

    rach_nc_03 replied to Alpha13's topic in General Nursing

    During school, I worked 30 hours a week in a weekend-option tech job- two twelves every sat/sun, and a six-hour shift some other time in the week. I was commuting 100 miles round-trip for school 3...

  18. Workload split between RNs/CNAs

    rach_nc_03 replied to Alpha13's topic in General Nursing

    another thing to keep in mind is that the role of the nursing assistant is largely determined by state regulations, hospital policy, and unit needs. I worked in an adult ICU during school as a nursing...

  19. And the Classes Continue.

    rach_nc_03 replied to helpinghands's topic in First Year After Licensure

    We have, in addition to a week of hospital orientation-type classes: 2-day ECG/dysrhythmia ACLS for 1 day PALS for 2 days something like 4 or 5 days of skills classes, each 8 hours PICU core classes...

  20. Tell us what a *stellar* nurse you are!

    rach_nc_03 replied to porterwoman's topic in First Year After Licensure

    good idea- had my first full week on the floor last week, and I left the hospital in tears every night! A few good things that happened: 1. I learned a TON of skills we never had the opportunity to do...

  21. About to give up on being a nurse

    rach_nc_03 replied to Lorel's topic in General Nursing

    hi laurel, you certainly have a tough row to hoe here. there are a few things you might consider doing: 1. do a web search on unusual scholarships, grants, and loans. there are gobs of scholarship...

  22. Can Someone Be a Nurse Without Jean Watson??

    rach_nc_03 replied to Q.'s topic in General Nursing

    1. I'm getting *really* tired of people assuming that those of us with degrees other than a BSN are somehow less educated *or* intelligent. Regardless of what you, or anyone else here, may think, an...

  23. New, ICU, and Older Too!

    rach_nc_03 replied to Nansanurse's topic in First Year After Licensure

    i'm 33, a new grad, and just started my PICU position last week. this is my 3rd career (worked as a musician, then in the corporate world), and i feel like my life experience is going to help get me...

  24. Can any RNs tell me if this is true

    rach_nc_03 replied to geminiskittels's topic in General Nursing

    I was so happy to read your post and know that the nursing profession wasn't being completely duplicitous- yes, we do everything possible to alleviate the pain of our patients, but lord knows we can't...

  25. PDA's-Are They Worth It?

    rach_nc_03 replied to TypicalFish's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I'm in love with my ipaq as well, just from personal use since i bought it last month- looking forward to using it on the unit saturday. what kind of skills program do you have? it's so tough to...