fiveoclocksomewhere

I am still a new grad, but I have been working as an RN on an ortho/neuro unit for the past few months...I hate floor nursing! It's so busy and the patient load is crazy, plus the paperwork for multiple admissions and discharges takes forever when time is already crunched. There are a couple new postings for new grad RN's in the main OR at a big teaching hospital that I applied for, and I was just wondering how nurses like working in the OR compared to general med-surg/floor nursing? I know it is still going to be really busy/hectic, and there will still be doctors who treat nurses like crap, but I feel like there may actually be time in the day for a lunch break?! I did shadow in the OR during nursing school, and the nurse I shadowed basically ran back and forth to get supplies the MD asked for the entire time...is this what OR nurses generally do, or do they assist with the surgeries? Sorry for so many questions, any information will help me tremendously :) Thanks!

I am still a new grad, but I have been working as an RN on an ortho/neuro unit for the past few months...I hate floor nursing! It's so busy and the patient load is crazy, plus the paperwork for multiple admissions and discharges takes forever when time is already crunched. There are a couple new postings for new grad RN's in the main OR at a big teaching hospital that I applied for, and I was just wondering how nurses like working in the OR compared to general med-surg/floor nursing? I know it is still going to be really busy/hectic, and there will still be doctors who treat nurses like crap, but I feel like there may actually be time in the day for a lunch break?! I did shadow in the OR during nursing school, and the nurse I shadowed basically ran back and forth to get supplies the MD asked for the entire time...is this what OR nurses generally do, or do they assist with the surgeries? Sorry for so many questions, any information will help me tremendously :) Thanks!

If a pt is receiving NS with potassium added, could you piggyback mag sulfate on it? Might be a dumb question but I can't find any answers after searching the net :/ if not, how would you give the mag? Still a newbie so bear with me lol.

Moorefun, when you say you clamp the line, where are you clamping it at? I'm sure it would make perfect sense if I was watching you do it. So you have fluids running..you draw up your morphine (diluting it first), push it into the port closest to the patient, clamp the line, then push NS in the same port?

New grad RN here, just curious about giving iv meds (antibiotics, phenergen, etc) through the iv line that is already running. I know it probably seems basic but it confuses me. Do I still need to dilute the med, or does the fluid running dilute it? Certain meds need to be pushed over 2 mins- how does this translate with an IV pump? Do I give it in the furthest port from the patient (I've tried to give it above the pump, found out quickly that doesn't work!)? I have just been pausing the iv fluids, unhooking the iv, and then pushing the diluted med the old fashioned way...wondering if there is a quicker way?? Thanks for your help and patience

It will depend of the school, but to my knowledge none of them require you to have a year of patient care. Most of them are thrilled if you are already working with patients because many students applying have barely any direct pt care experience. I am a newly graduated BSN and I'm planning on applying to PA school this summer :) good luck!!

Thank you all SO much for all of the helpful info!! All of your replies really helped me get a better grasp on what consults are. I am still way too sensitive when docs yell at me but I think I will get more confident as I progress and I now know that there is no way I can speak to the consulting doc without being near the chart or computer! They just always seem to catch me off guard.

Just a quick question regarding consults, I'm just starting out as a new RN and I get so confused when a doctor calls me and simply states that he was "consulted"...what exactly am I supposed to say? Just give them a basic report on the patient? They always get mad at me because I either wasn't aware of the consult or don't know what info they need. I know it's kind of a dumb question but I figure this community would be happy to answer Thanks!

I am a brand new grad just finishing up my first week of orienting on a medsurg unit. I have had a hellish experience so far due to the worst preceptor of all time. Verbal abuse, not allowing me to ask questions and belittling me in front of fellow nurses is just the tip of the iceberg. Luckily I will have a new preceptor starting next week (the other nurses kept coming up to me apologizing for the way I was being treated and encouraged me to get a new preceptor).The other night, I was put in charge of the 24hr chart checks on our patients, including one that was a new admit from surgery. I am still trying to figure out the charting system and feel completely lost, but my preceptor would literally yell at me if I asked her a question. So I tried to go through the charts and orders as best as I could but ended up just signing for the 24hr chart check because my preceptor kept telling me to hurry up and finish. Now I am terrified that I will get fired once the doctors or nurses find things in the chart that were ordered and never entered into the computer all because of me. I thank God that I have a new preceptor who seems much kinder and more patient, but I hope my experience so far has not ruined my perceptions of the unit. I can't sleep and I'm having major digestive issues because I keep thinking how badly I messed up patients care due to my bogus chart check :'( I know I should never have signed my name but I literally did not know what else to do- she wouldn't help me and was telling me to finish, so I finished...!