90orLess

Saw an interesting thing happen yesterday, and wanted to pose the question to the group. I witnessed a patient (luckily, not mine) who not only infiltrated her IV, but it infiltrated with AIR. It was a new IV start, and the tubing apparently wasn't primed completely, leaving what I understand to be about 3-4cc of air in the tubing. The IV was started in the right AC, but infiltrated immediately upon attaching to the tubing, which then infiltrated air. There is what feels like / sounds like crepitus underneath the bicep muscle from elbow to shoulder. I am off today and didn't have a chance to follow up, but has anyone seen something like this, and what would you do for it, other than time for re-absorption?

We use Angio-Seal, Perclose, and Starclose on a regular basis with great success. At our facility, the physicians deploy the closure device, and they have a fairly low failure rate. I think it's a user failure if your having a low success rate like that. We also use a D-Stat Dry thrombin pad I'd a Safeguard device for oozing, or the Femostop for bleeding.

It's funny that you mention the delay in licensing. I applied for the license and background check/fingerprinting already (not moving for 18 months or so), so the longer they take to get it accepted, the better. That way I don't have to renew it as soon as I get there. Thanks for the insight on the hospital. I'm hoping to get into their Cath lab or ICU, so hopefully they will have openings when I'm set to transition. Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of my house out here without taking to much of a hit.

I've actually been following the Cheboygan hospital situation. The hospital was to be purchased by McLaren, but there was a conflict with CMS, and the deal fell through. This caused the hospital to close, putting 300 people out of work, and making the nearest ED 36 miles away. They plan to re-open emergency services May 14th, and continue doing outpatient surgery, lab work, etc. Inpatients will go to Petoskey. McLaren-Northern Michigan, Cheboygan Campus, instead of Cheboygan Memorial Hospital. I don't mind the cold, but the feast or famine job market may leave cause for concern. Thanks for the input.

While it's not ED to CCL, I moved from the ICU. I really like my job, and I'm glad I made the switch. We have a small Cath lab, 2 rooms and 9 staff members. We take a LOT of call because we cover the department 24/7. My May schedule has me listed for 17 days of call. That means we carry a pager, are responsible for responding to the CCL in 30 minutes, and are available to work any and all hours of the day. The call coverage is from 1600 until 0700, and 24-hr weekend coverage. The people I work with are great, and the cardiologists are some of the best physicians to work with. Go for it.

Hey All: I'm an RN in Tucson, AZ and I'm planning on moving back to Michigan in about 18months or so. I have family in central and northern Michigan, and I wanted to be within a couple hours of them. My wife and I are considering Traverse City as a strong contender, but I'm curious to hear from people in the area about their opinion of the hospital, availability of jobs, etc. Let me know what you think. I'm not totally committed to TC, so I'm open to opinions and ideas.