EDValerieRN ASN, RN

The Emergency Room1. The world of ER does not revolve around you. There are sick people here, and you aren't one of them. 2. Our definition of sick is not your definition of sick. If a member of the ER staff says that someone is sick, it means that t...

I think that as an L&D nurse, it would be important that you don't push your beliefs onto others. Not that I think you would, but I'm just speaking from personal experience. I got an epi and my nurse made me feel bad about it. That's not cool. I...

I figure a nurse could get into a whole lot of problems administering meds w/o an order... plus, why would you want to paralyze someone when you don't have anyone there to manage an advanced airway? Paralyzing someone before an airway can be managed ...

So being that I'm in a neuro-focused ER, we give lotsa the tPA. Here are a few points. ~ Our window is six hours from time of onset. However, I have never seen it given more than four hours out. ~tPA can only be given for an ischemic stroke. The pa...

Mr. Poopboots. He's got these wide boots on, and wears them with shorts... and poops... poop falls into boots, hence Poopboots. He also had some Cheetos in there.

I had the priviledge of taking care of a holocaust survivor. Such an interesting man, I found it hard to take care of my other patients because I enjoyed listening to his stories so much.

In three years, I've had one physician talk to me in a less than respectful manner, and he promptly apologized the same day. I think it depends on the culture where you work. Where I am, yelling and berating are not accepted, period.

If your fiance plans on retiring at 48 or up, your child should be out of the house by that time. Regardless of if you adopt or not, you're always gonna have a kid around. I'm not sure what difference two years would really make. I had a daughter in...

I have a cheap band I wear to work, and I keep my platinum and diamonds at home. The last thing I need is to lose my stone, or cover it with bacteria...

I think it's a good idea. Sure, it'll be abused and mistreated, but it will also catch a few things that could have been prevented. A patient one time on a floor was complaining of SOB and palpitations. The nurse blew them off. The family member ende...

Easy, even cheaper way: "You leave now, you don't get a voucher, here is security to escort you out."

A nurse that I work with put it this way: People don't go to the grocery store and demand the clerk give them a ride... why would they think they can do it in a hospital? We give them out, and I HATE it. People abuse it sooo much. We had one guy who...

I just delivered my second daughter on July 19th. I thought I would share my birth plan with you ladies: Dear Nurses, Please do all you can to make sure my baby and I remain healthy. Also, I would like food ASAP after delivery. Thanks, Valerie They...

My favorite: Dude who had rectal itching, and figured what better to scratch it than a steak knife? Ended up with a colostomy.

Squirt an amp of bicarb over stinky feet (1/2 amp each foot), and it neutralizes the smell. This is how we wash our homeless people's feet, works every time.

See, this frustrates me so much. You are a grown woman, with a career. There is no way you should have to bring in brownies to be respected on the team. Do you think your coworkers would expect a new male nurse to do so? Never. I see your frustration...

STAT Orthostatic BP's (lying, sitting, standing) on a 340lb paralyzed pt with a vent. I asked the poor guy if he was trying to be cute...

You can also use a regular large-bore needle (18g or bigger) if the poop hits the fan. We use Jamshidis on the kids, and we just got the IO drill (forget the name, think it's called EZ-IO) on the adults. If you've taken PALS, it feels a lot like the ...

The detective work... you have some really sick dude roll in, and you have to figure out why he's sick, and what's going to make him better. It's fun. I'm also lucky to work with docs who trust my judgement and value my opinion.

When I was a nurse tech II, I worked alongside a nurse and did assessments, pretty much everything except give meds or start IV's. I was always under supervision. It was more for the learning. I think it depends on the hospital. I made more than the ...

Another one for anticholinergics: Can't see Can't pee Can't spit Can't sh*t

If they take 4 weeks getting back to you, that's just rude. I wouldn't want to work there... if they are this bad before you are hired, imagine what they'll be like once you actually work there. Yuck.

Just give out ativan and dilaudid in the triage room. That makes them nice.

Do you snort it? Because that would be nasty. I wonder if it really works... I'm gonna go check and see if I have some nutmeg.

Bottom line: if you are an ER nurse, you need to be cautious about which rooms you step into, and who you have around to help you. If you think there is a possibility of being kicked in the belly, wait for help. If you rush in there on your own and g...