RNerd81

It makes me sad to hear of your experience in Florida. Unfortunately, I've heard the same from a colleague that worked there for a very short time (she left and came back to Minnesota for precisely the reasons you state here). I do know that there ...

This is a very grey area. I included the webpage from LifeSource on referral triggers. The catch is that if you are using neuromuscular blockade as part of your protocol, many of these tests for brain death will not be usable. I know there are als...

I'm really sorry you're going through this. I don't want that for you. Things are much better in other places. You are dealing with a very unhealthy (read: toxic) work environment. There are many things you can do to improve the interactions, but...

One other thing I might mention...a patient with CHF may breathe better without the ventilator. This is jumping way ahead (because I'm assuming that pulmonary edema is resolved), but being placed on mechanical ventilation reverses the normal mechani...

I am a nurse in the medical cardiac ICU and I did hear that the hiring pause is lifted. It sounds like you have a great background. My only advice is perseverance. I have not heard of any automated programs for weeding out applications, but I don't w...

I've heard through the grapevine that Mayo Rochester is looking into the feasibility and benefits vs. drawbacks of a nursing "residency" program. It's my understanding that nursing residency is a newer concept that is catching on in a few places.

Recently, I had a new nurse approach me and pose this question: How do I shut off all of my bedside alarms but keep the data on the screen? At first I wondered why in the world the nurse would want to do this, and questioned the quality of her orien...

So, do you question the motivation of the family for wanting the monitor on? Do you think it's morbid curiosity? If the monitor is on, does that detract from a "good" death? Does having the monitor on add anything to the dying experience in the IC...

If you're really Type-A, you may prefer a Cardiac Surgical ICU over a Cardiac Medical ICU. In Cardiac Surg, there is a lot of bean-counting...chest tube output, urine output, CRRT, titrate drip A according to protocol A, titrate drip B according to ...

I have been a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for 7 years now, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I grew up in Southern California, and the job at Mayo is what now keeps me in the midwest. I have had the opportunity t...

Virchow's Triad: 1. Venous stasis (not moving) 2. Vascular trauma 3. Hypercoagulable state Your question revolves around #1...even normally healthy people get DVTs on long plane flights. There is no definitive length of time necessary to develop ...

CCRN is absolutely not mandatory. You can work your entire career without CCRN certification and not have a problem. That being said, CCRN certification (or any specialty certification for that matter) shows your commitment to high-quality patient ...

First of all, I'm sorry that you experienced this. It's really frustrating and hurtful. You are competent. Your rationale outlines that very clearly. Secondly, the situation outlines the "ethics lag" that exists in our country. We have the abili...

Also, this is more like a troponin "flood" than "leak". No matter what your renal function, a trop of 6.4 isn't good. Even if it's "I" vs. "T", 6.4 is substantial. Especially given the patient's history.

Full reference for norepinephrine vs. dopamine: NEJM 362(9): 779-89, 2010 MAR 4. DeBacker, D., et al.

...2010, DeBacker,et al) there has been a benefit of norepinephrine shown (over dopamine) for cardiogenic shock in terms of tachycardia and dysrhythmias. That said, this person was in dire straits to begin with. I recently attended a "cardiac cath l...

Not sure why there's a second discussion posting on this, but here's my take (after reading previous posts): not sure there's a "presssor of choice" in a situation like this. The team is biting the bullet on a patient like this because most other sa...

IABP, what does the Echo show, ?inotrope, albumin, fluids. Sounds like an ECMO pt in the making...if there's anything left neurologically.

Continuous monitoring done via bedside monitoring...Usually 5-lead, but can do continuous 12. If something's fishy I usually request a formal 12-lead (different machine). Our institution has a order set that authorizes nurses to order a formal 12-le...

@hintzk83 Just off the top of my head, I know there are a couple of extended-stay hotels here in Rochester, so if you just need about a month of residence, they might be a good bet. One is Extended Stay America and the other is Value Inn. I think t...

What we have here is a Class IV lorazepam deficiency.

Where in MN are you located, or where would you like to be located?

@BelgianRN Two populations that may benefit are those in which we expect more difinitive therapy for heart failure: pre-transplant and LVAD. In these patients, improved diuresis in the short term may prepare them for improved outcomes after surgery....

Be aware that the Mayo system has a very large pool of highly qualified BSN/BAN grads, so the only ADN grads that generally get in (to the inpatient setting, at least) are from two local community colleges: RCTC and Riverland. If a person has their ...

@belgianrn the evidence for "renal dose dopamine" is clearly negative with regard to mortality and renal failure...there is no conclusive evidence that it has benefit in either of these areas. however, there is evidence that it directly dilates the ...