McIndia

I think you should go ahead and get your BSN. It might not make a big difference now, but after working a few years you might want a new position that requires a BSN...then where will you be if you don't have it. It is not really that much more time and it is worth it. In the end however, you have to do what is right for you and you life right now. I obtained my BSN before I had my twin boys(now 4yo) so you can imagine what it is like now, working full time in CCU and raising them AND trying to start my MSN. Good luck with your decision and keep the faith.

We don't really have a "policy" yet...but we have been going back and forth with the anesthesia dept. and the PACU staff and the surgeons about recovering patients in the CCU. So far, if a nurse is going to have to recover a patient in the unit, the charge nurse will try to shuffle assignments...so you will have a transfer patient or a cath lab patient...not another unstable vent patient or someone that is crashing, along with the PACU patient. Noone has had to take a PACU patient along with 2 others...yet. If the patient is not reversed in the OR, then the PACU will send someone up with them for the first 30'or hour(if they can spare anyone...usually they can for the first 30'). It all comes down to what kind of surgery the patient had...so far we only take the ones that are intubated(whether they were in CCU before the surgery or intubated during surgery and not extubated after). We do not feel comfortable doing this because we are not really oriented to PACU procedures...but that is not really an issue with the powers that be, so we do the best we can. We are all afraid this is a trend we will not be able to stop.

I am not familiar with the term KVAT...but when anyone passes anything to do with this profession...I am happy for them!!! Any testing that involves nursing is complicated, so congratulations to you for passing.

I have been a registered nurse in CCU since I graduated four and a half years ago(that seems like an eternity)...I do not think family should be permitted unless the patient is a child or mentally challenged. Sometimes it is hard enough to contend with the patient during certain procedures...your loyalty becomes somewhat divided between the patient-the hysterical family-the doctor-the other staff that is trying to help...etc. Do you understand where I am going? My main concern is my patient and it becomes hard to focus with 1000 people asking questions...the family can be involved asap after the procedure. The family on one hand should sometimes witness a code to help them understand what kind of damage can be done...even if the code goes by the book(haha). Then on the other hand the family may get in the way trying to "help". All I know to really tell you is good luck with school and your career............LW [This message has been edited by McIndia (edited September 29, 2000).]