humglum BSN, RN

Is it still bleeding? I'd put a square of gauze over the stitches and cover it with an occlusive dressing. Accidents happen -- just make sure it is well-covered and you wear gloves when necessary.

I find it hard to believe, especially in this economy, that someone would latch onto a nurse as a 'meal ticket' and expect to be kept by him or her. I'm an RN and I make a good amount of money but certainly not enough to be the sole breadwinner in a ...

I don't think anyone here is anti-ADN. If you've been around this site for any length of time, you'll see some variation of this thread over and over again. In my opinion more education is never a bad thing and it is something to be encouraged. What ...

I work in a prison surrounded by men who stare at me like they have never seen a female before. I strive to look as plain as possible. I wear minimal makeup, I pull my clean hair back from my face, and wear clean (not ironed, thank you very much, and...

I think you should share your medical information. It is important information for them to know if you should have a diabetic emergency while at work -- it could mean the difference between life and death for you. There are many, many nurses here tha...

Are you serious? Why would you convert to mcg? Divide 25 mg into 450 mg and you'll have the necessary volume. I'm quite sure you can manage this yourself.

When can you start? No, really, when can you start? I've been in my corrections job for YEARS now so I can't offer specific advice. I'd be clear on maintaining boundaries, being firm/fair/consistent, resisting manipulative behavior. Prison dispensa...

No. There is no reason for medical to be involved in strip searches. That is a custody issue. We're not involved in cell extractions either but we do treat inmates (and, to some extent, assist officers) for chemical exposure.

When I first started taking drug tests they would ask what medications I was taking. Now they don't. If, for some reason, you test positive the person that interprets the tests will call you (using the number you provided) and discuss it with you, as...

I work in corrections and here nobody can carry a cell phone, not the medical director, not the warden. It's a safety issue because of inmates getting control of phones and making escape plans or coordinating gang/drug efforts on the outside. Here we...

Cell phones aren't permitted at my job. We go through a metal detector, our belongings are packaged in clear bags that go through a scanner, and we have pat downs. No cell phones, period. No exceptions. At first it was an adjustment but now I don't ...

I live in Salisbury and I've never had any problem with violent or property crime. I think, like anywhere else, there are good areas and bad areas and it is important to be aware of your surroundings so you don't create an opportunity to be victimize...

Wow, I can't imagine that. Our census tonight is 6. I'm the only nurse here, which is fine because there isn't much to do. One night I worked and had one patient all night long. That patient had the best nursing care of her life!! Where I work we ca...

We don't generally draw labs from IV starts, either. And I would agree that the best thing for your skill and confidence level is practice. I work in a prison so I am usually starting IVs on healthy and muscular young(ish) men. Sometimes they have bi...

Probably a good few months. Maybe as long as 4. I started out feeling sort of zombielike during my days off but my problem is that I'm a light sleeper and I had trouble sleeping during the day. Now I have darkening shades, I go to sleep with the TV o...

Nights is hard. It's such an unnatural schedule. I try to take a quick, 2 hour or so nap before going in on my first night. On my last night I go home and sleep until 1 or 2 pm at the latest (then I wake up and do energizing things like drink coffee ...

Just recently I underdosed someone. I work in a prison infirmary and we had a trainwreck of an inmate here. We get our Vancomycin in vials to be reconstituted and then added to minibags; it comes in 1g vials and the order was for 1.25g. I didn't noti...

I don't think it was inappropriate at all. There's no reason for a patient to be verbally abusive, regardless of your specialty or what their medical problem might have been. Thankfully I work in corrections so I don't have to deal with that. If an ...

I think everyone thinks they failed, regardless of their actual result. I passed with 75 questions, first time. Good luck to you!

Well you'll find out if you go in for an interview and facility tour. Ask a lot of questions. We don't have CNAs/PCAs at my facility but we do have a couple of CMAs (medication aides) -- they do the general population pill call and sometimes deliver ...

I don't understand why administering medications would be outside of your scope of practice. At my facility the inmates in general population come up to pill call (and only for those medications that aren't KOP - keep on person) and the RN (lucky me)...

Well, you're right. That is difficult. If an IM refused to come down to medical for insulin rollout I would document him as a refusal. Of course that doesn't help if you have to keep going to him around his meal times. I would say if he is so brittl...

I like unisex, drawstring-waist. No elastic. I actually prefer unisex scrubs all around. No cutesy prints or shirts that tie in the back.

Hello, all. I've been a member of this board for years but I mostly read what everyone else posts. Today I have a question of my own. I've been a nurse for 5 years (graduated in 2003) and so far have had an untold number of jobs. I've been out of acu...

How long have you been there (i.e. how long was your nurse externship?), what area are you working in, what is it about your environment that you consider unsafe? If you can I'd advise staying and trying to work with your nurse manager. It is totally...