arnwest

Most neurosurgeons I've worked with would not let us sedate our patients unless they had ICP issues or were seizing (we might get low-dose dex or prop). Patients can be awake with an EVD and even ambulatory with an EVD. (I had a guy trying to take ca...

I used to work at Upstate in one of the ICUs. They're a level-I trauma and burn center, so it's definitely the best hospital in the area for trauma (in fact, they're the only trauma center between Albany and Rochester, besides level-IIs in Utica and ...

We don't use caps/claves on our pressure lines or our continuous low-rate infusions (i.e., dilaudid, vaso). I'm not sure of the brand our caps, but our venous access team has been cracking down on dressing bundle adherence as the biggest source of CL...

I'm the process of researching CRNA programs and have noticed that a lot of schools are switching from masters to DNP programs. Besides the advantages of being well-suited for research and teaching as a DNP, how advisable do you think it is to try fo...

Get an ICU assignment. Most places will just float you to the floor anyway.

Our CVICU uses an anesthesia stopcock system - kind of. They stopcock all of the compatible drips together (one is always a carrier) and tape the line of stopcocks to the IV pole so it's just one line running to the patient's central line. Fewer tang...

I got hired into the SICU right out of nursing school, but as you said, your area sounds like it has a greater abundance of experienced candidates to choose from. I got a call-back on an application recently whose qualifications weren't completely c...

My understanding is that it depends on what kind of shock the patient is in. According to Surviving Sepsis, levo is the first line pressor, followed by vaso, to decrease levo requirements. Sometimes I see Neo used if the patient doesn't have a centr...

First off, congratulations on the job offer. I must say that I'm a little surprised that you were offered a position so far in the future. What does your cadiothoracic and neurology experience consist of? Do you have tech experience? I started as a n...

Like everyone else said, it probably depends on the company where you're applying. My experience, however, was this: I applied for, interviewed and secured a job about a month before I graduated from school. The nursing recruitment department was hap...

Before traveling to MRI, make sure your patient is small enough to fit in the machine. (If they're on the heavy side, I always call the tech up to measure them beforehand. It's saved us both a lot of trouble). For that matter, before traveling anywhe...

We've done it with a couple of patients who were on CVVH for weeks, once they were stabilized, but just couldn't tolerate hemo. We didn't get them up to walk, just slid them out of bed to the chair. It's kind of like getting a vented patient out of b...

Most of the Upstate hospitals hire ADNs, at least to my knowledge. I had no issues getting a job. Good luck!

I would recommend waiting at least a year, especially if you have an ICU position. I applied to several ICU positions throughout Seattle/Tacoma after about a year and a half of ICU experience (in NY) . I only heard back from the University of Washing...

I finally filled my gas tank to full! I had been working for a full month before I got my paycheck and you better believe both my checking account and car were running on E!

Have any May graduates received their ATTs yet? I graduate this week and want to take my boards ASAP so I can start working! I've heard that New York takes like 3-4 weeks around this time of year because of the influx of applicants. Has anyone in New...

See about shadowing a nurse in a different setting (maybe acute or critical care). I shadowed a respiratory therapist for a day during nursing school and her assignment happened to be in a CVICU. I liked the feel of the floor, so I applied for an ex...

We were told for RN interviews absolutely not to wear scrubs. They said they'd be happy to point us to a changing room before the interviewed us. This is all from our HR dept to my class in nursing school.

The 4 weeks in classroom sounds beneficial, but only 14 shifts with a preceptor? I think most of the acclimation to an ICU takes place by working on the floor and that just doesn't sound like a long enough time. Maybe not? My institution is giving us...

I worked at a large teaching hospital and we use tape. I didn't know there was any other way. It's changed q 24h and as far as I know we haven't had issues with skin breakdown. I also did a clinical at another hospital in a level III NICU and they, t...

St. Joseph's in Syracuse is currently expanding their ED. From what I've heard they have the best pay in the area. They do a lot of ortho, cardiac (they're huge on vascular surgeries), birthing center. Then there's Crouse Hospital - I think they're w...

I got my quick results today and I passed!

I finished mine in about an hour with 75 questions. Like 3 math, probably 8 SATA, one graphic, a few click and drags, no hot spots. Lots of obscure drugs though! Well, I got the good pop up, so I guess now I get to wait for NY BON or quick results. C...

I'm taking mine tomorrow too. On one hand, I'm pretty confident. My school has pass rates of like 95%. Yet on the other hand, I feel so inadequately prepared... I've been getting 70s on all the practice tests I take. And I know the passing standard w...

I agree, this was a good thread idea. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one stepping out of school into an icu. I'm going to a S/TICU for a level 1 trauma center. It's exciting to be in a place where I'll learn something new every day and be able to s...