andi.w

Latest Activity

1. Stuff my patients say...

   andi.w replied to sdegracia's topic in Nursing Humor

   A patient recently told me that she was scheduled for a stress test and an autopsy the following

2. medical error injection

   andi.w replied to jennifer009's topic in Patient Safety Issues

   I think that a lot of RNs have or will make a med error at some point, whether big or small. I've made med errors before; it feels TERRIBLE. And as terrible as it feels, at the same time, it feels so...

3. Vent settings

   andi.w replied to andi.w's topic in MICU, SICU

   Good resources! Thank you all! One thing that I think I may be confused about is CMV vs. SIMV. It's my understanding that in CMV, the ventilator gives a fixed number of breaths with a fixed Vt and...

4. Vent settings

   andi.w posted a topic in MICU, SICU

   Hello, all. I've been looking for a good resource that explains the different vent modes/settings. Does anyone have any favorites?

5. Violent Physician

   andi.w replied to blondesareeasy's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

   Unfortunately, this sounds familiar to me. I have worked with a couple of physicians that have been ordered anger management classes for their behavior. In my experience, it didn't make a difference....

6. Lexiscan vs. stress echo

   andi.w replied to queenjulie's topic in Cardiac

7. Cardiac Handbook

   andi.w replied to NeuroRN123's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

   Try this: http://fastfactsforcriticalcare.com/ I bought this mini binder as a new grad and still use it as a reference. It's not only cardiac, but has several sections for neuro, drugs, respiratory,...

8. Shift change and visitation in ICU/stepdown

   andi.w replied to opossum's topic in MICU, SICU

   I'm so jealous of those of you with visitation restrictions! The other two ICUs in my hospital do not allow visitors between 6a-8a and 6p-8p. I work cardiovascular surgical ICU, and we have NO...

9. crescent shaped incision for open heart surgery?

   andi.w replied to Brucenet2000's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

   I work in open heart recovery, and I have not heard of a crescent shaped midsternal incision. I do not work in a large hospital, but I have seen a few patients come through with a MVR via a...

10. Trust?

    andi.w replied to Classymommy's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    I felt this way when I first started too. It seemed like the more critical patients always went to the nurses who had been there longer. Eventually when I had gained some seniority and started taking...

11. amiodarone/a-fib

    andi.w replied to kgirl22's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    Tricky. Is the BP low because of the afib or does the pt normally run low? I think it would definitely depend on how brave the doc was feeling. You could try giving a slow bolus of amio and then...

12. Staying organized on Tele

    andi.w replied to CyclingMurse's topic in Cardiac

    I also started as a new grad on a tele unit. It took me several months to find a routine that made me most proficient. One thing that I did at first was make a Sort of "check sheet/graph." I...

13. priorities and time management

    andi.w replied to amzyRN's topic in Cardiac

    It's good that you have a mental plan for how to begin. I work both CVICU and tele, and my "routine" is different for each. Everyone has a routine that works best for them. It took me a while to...

14. EKG courses

    andi.w replied to tkanca's topic in Cardiac

    Skillstat.com is another good site for practicing ECG rhythms. It also has ACLS practice and other helpful

15. Responding to the ER for STEMIs

    andi.w replied to MesaRN's topic in CCU, Coronary, Cardiac

    If EMS picks up a STEMI or if a STEMI walks into the ER, we activate an AMI page, and a page is sent out to the interventional cardiologist, Cath lab team, and the CVICU unit. A nurse from CVICU does...