SwansonRN

Now that I've posted in and read this thread I had TWO nursing dreams last night 1) Left work, drove 45 minutes home, realized that I left before my shift ended and never gave report on my patients to the day nurses. I knew I'd get in big trouble fo...

Like -having 4 days a week off -having a job -getting better at skills and critical thinking -leaving someone better than I found them Dislike -rotating days and nights -heavy lifting -jerks...whether it be management, doctors, ancillary staff, pat...

Sepsis and hypothyroid? Or maybe she has adrenal insufficiency or something weird going on with her pituitary gland. Sounds like a pretty sick lady.

I've had a thing with amio ever since the dream, skeevs me out. Do you remember what happened to the patient?

Forgetting a patient is my most frequent nightmare. In my dream it'll be a few hours before shift change when I realize it and I'm scrambling. Weird to know this is so common! I once has a dream that I ran a bag of amio wide open into a peripheral s...

I asked my boyfriend who is more opinionated than me and he said, "no definitely not." I've gotten a flu shot every year since I've been a teenager because my brother was neutropenic growing up, so it's no skin off my back. I suppose the principal ...

This has rarely happened to me lately and when it does I just shrug it off. They get cleaned and get the good old ICU fluff and buff as soon as they get to the unit anyway. I have only complained once and this patient came up drenched in urine. Th...

I don't think 3 hours is doable. I commute about 45 minutes, but I think an hour is the max I would consider. Working back to back to back 12 hour shifts with a 3 hour commute each way just doesn't seem safe.

I think it's good to reflect on events you see that make you uncomfortable. If you were the nurse, how would you handle that situation differently? From my perspective, I am very glad this patient was able to make her own decision. It seems as thou...

I can confidently say that I would want a nurse like myself and would be happy to have the large majority of my coworkers take care of my family. I think it's sad so many people have such negative perceptions about their peers...

I think most ICU nurses can relate to that tangled ball of wires

I think that's really sad. I do all my own vital signs, blood sugars, and blood draws, but I only have two patients and they're on cardiac monitors that feed into the computer. I ask the aides for help with turns, baths, and the occasional EKG, but...

I love that you said "deuces"!! What's next on the horizon?

This is embarrassing, but twice. The first time I was a student on my way to only my second day of my internship. The roads were very snowy and I slid into a snowbank. My car had to be towed out. I called out and cried the rest of the day. Yup! ...

Days and nights are both busy in my unit, but busy in different ways. Its a 24 hour job, but as a rotator I know that certain things should be handled during the day while some should be done on night. Everything just runs more smoothly that way. ...

There are definitely the patients that love the pampering and attention of being sick. Feigned helplessness does annoy me, but what really gets me is when the family calls for the nurse or comes out into the hallway to find me so I can hold the cup ...

It's seems like you were a little lackadaisical with passing meds. Even with a scanning system you should be using your 5 rights every time. I also always take a second to ask, "is there any reason I shouldn't give this med?" Once you give a med, ...

I know I can't be the only one that has made the mistake of switching someone's gender. Now that's mortifying. It's not always easy to tell with someone orally intubated, covered up to the neck with sheets and continuous EEG monitoring. I had a da...

On my track and cross country teams we'd always aim for our pee to be "classic post it note" yellow. I'm still my own urine's biggest critic

Agreed with everyone else, I can almost guarantee you were given conscious sedation, not general anesthesia. My wisdom teeth were impacted so I was given IV fentanyl+versed for my extraction. You feel like you were put under because of the amnesia,...

Nope! Unless there's an a line. Only RTs, MDs, and mid levels can do them. RTs are usually the best, though :)

If anybody ever needs a nurse to put a foley in someone's vagina or poke it at their clitoral hood for a few minutes, I'm their girl! But I've gotten better lately. Love that yellow flash.

You sound just like me. I will bend over backwards to make sure I have done everything I need to have done and that the patient is clean, medicated, and is stable by the time the next shift rolls in. Lord knows that's not always possible. Those nu...