Nurse_

Here's my bare minimum: My own nursing brain Multiple pens (do not be that nurse that comes in clueless they need a pen and uses the surgical marker instead) Marker/Highlighter Trauma shears (2) hemostats Master cardiology stet hard candies/quick snacks

What's the LOL about that? It's the doctoral study of nurse anesthesia. The difference is that DOctoral study in nursing practice can also be applied to FNP. Hopefully, you are aware of the difference.

Just applied. Really excited about their DNAP program. December can't come soon enough.

EKG tech Phlebotomist Transport Nursing Assistant Unit secretary Most require additional training, some longer than others.

If it's a tiny bubble or two, there's really nothing to be concern about. However, I've seen a patient code due to air in the cordis. The patient is one of our sickest patient in the unit. A swan ganz was placed in the cordis. The nurse was giving boluses on the side-arm port through a pressure bag. When we saw the line, the side-arm port of the cordis was filled with air. We tried to aspirate and placed the patient on trendelenburg but we were unsuccessful.

NCLEX ensures you are safe. To be safe while taking care of the weak and vulnerable. That's why it is there. You mentioned CGFNS, I assume you are a foreign graduate. Maybe the problem is not the knowledge base but the way you interpret the question. Try answering more question. Try to get to at least 250 questions a day.

I have to disagree. There are nurses with some attitude, we have to as nurses. Don't we? We have to be able to stand up for our patients. But nursing is far from being catty and horrible. I'm biased, I guess, because I do like my coworkers. Even a person I dislike, I respect as a professional. If there is a problem with how others perceive you, maybe you can open the conversation about the misconceptions they may have. If the problem persists, maybe go to your supervisor.

TNCC is mostly helpful for ER nurses. I recommend taking trauma care after resus (TCAR). TNCC and ATCN can also he helpful.

Working in trauma/surgical ICU, I've seen people recover. Just the past weekend, the patient came in with a stab wound to the neck that severed the carotid artery. The doctors told the family not to expect him to survive and that they should say their goodbyes. Twelve hours past, then 24-hours, then he was started in CRRT... Now, he is extubated and talking to family. He is one of many that I've seen survive. We lose many battles. But we fight it anyway. Because there are people who wants to fight back, who has that determination to live if we only give them a helping hand.

Since I am a trauma/surgical ICU nurse, I am biased to my unit. The best part about working in trauma is that I'm able to see my patients survive and live. I had one patient, a female in her twentys who had a very bad car accident. We transfused her with 45 units of PRBC in my shift alone. She was started on CRRT and ecmo. The doctors already spoke to the family and even told the family to be prepared to say goodbye. Her SBP was on the 70s despite constant resuscitation and multiple pressors. When I gave report, I was even surprised that she lasted through my shift. To make my story short, she surprised everyone and walked out of the hospital after two weeks. She was one of many success stories we had. It reminds me that we are fighting because there are people like her, people who depend on us to survive, people who we can actually make a difference with.

Do you have prior experience? Are you a straight RN-MSN person? Nursing isn't like medicine or law or any other profession where the value of the school you came from is as valuable as the person. It may open doors in terms of interviews but that doesn't translate to job offers. Experience and emotional intelligence and how well you play with others does. Now being a new RN, I'll be more concern on getting in and having a job. Getting your feet wet, acquiring skills will make you a more valuable candidate.

I say go apply. Many new grad programs will recruit you pending a nursing license. So I suggest go start with new grad programs.

You can sign it as late entry. Just be prepared to answer any questions. When I was a LVN, I was taking care of a peds patient witha metabolic disorder. I have given a PRN medication and did not have time to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. This was all witness by the state representative. My manager and I sat down with the state official and she mentioned the error. My manager tried to argue that I always re-eval (which I really do) and that the state official may have missed the time I rechecked. The state official looked at me and I knew I did not and admitted it. The state official thank me for my honesty and instead of having a fine, she did not site that incident on her report. She remembered me through the years and was instrumental when I transitioned from LVN to RN. So moral of the story is... be honest. We are not perfect and they do not expect us to.

I don't care whether the patient has 30 seconds or 30 years to live, we always ensure that we do things the right way. Flushing a port takes very little effort to ensure that we have it when the patient needs it.

I know my shift will be a hot mess when... - trauma patient with clamshell thoracotomy, open abdomen, multiple drips, level 1 rapid infuser and crrt at the bedside - alcohol/substance withdrawal patient - getting a patient from certain hot mess nurses - getting a patient who's being rotated because they are agitated/verbally abusive or demanding family