jrsquire1

I very recently went from the ICU bedside to the OR. Love it so far. My position is fairly unique however as I have a background in CTICU and now work exclusively for a pediatric CT service in the OR along with their bedside procedures (PDA clips, ECMO placement/removal, stern all closures/opening, etc.). Completely different type of nursing than bedside. As a circulator I help set the room up, prep count sheets and charting material, settle the patient when they come in, assist anesthesia with their line placements, position and prep the patient, do the timeouts, get additional supplies through the case, page services as needed, handle phone calls, then place dressings, get the patient out of the room and finalize paperwork. I'll be learning to scrub over the next few months. If you have any specific questions let me know

I've been throwing the idea around for a little while now of possibly pursuing anesthesia as a CRNA. I think my biggest fear is working in a hostile environment where nursing and medical practices do not get along. I understand this changes from place to place, individual to individual, but is there much infighting at your institution that you practice at? Or do the services generally get along?

I was curious what people's individual experiences were with their union/the union at a hospital and the union's ability to truly improve the work place. If you wouldn't mind listing the union name in your post and how it either helped, was negligible in helping, or detrimental in helping improve the work place, it would be much appreciate! I'm doing a bit of informal research and thank you in advance!

Never fast and hard, it really gives us quicker control of PEEP adjustment and ability to recruit the lung (by hyperventilating with a larger Vt or slightly faster rate depending on the situation). Yes hyperventilating can cause issues but leaving someone with their Spo2 in the tank can cause issues as well.

We tend to do this when a patient has an acute desaturation on the vent in order to both feel and hyperventilate forgoing any other obvious signs of why they may be desaturating. Most recently I had a patient plug their airway (unbeknownst to us) and desat into the 60s fairly quickly despite increasing FiO2 and minor PEEP adjustments, so manual bagging was used to assess for stiffness/resistance (possible collapse) and to hyperventilate until we CCM decided it would be a good idea to bronch.

I'm curious what your unit's staffing policy regarding patients on ECMO is; do you automatically single or staff it in a 1 (nurse):2 (patients) assignment based on acuity?

I am curious if anyone has experience in this area of healthcare as a nurse. I've been looking into getting a masters degree at some point and stumbled upon this concentration. While it is not a masters in nursing (those are few and far between with this concentration) it is accessible to nurses with their bachelors. Anyhow, I was wondering of anyone could shed a light on what this area of healthcare entails from a day to day standpoint (obviously statistical analysis of patient safety and quality measures with counter implementation of amending plans is part of it). I would simply like input into what the job outlook is and if anyone actually works in this area/knows someone that works in this area and could illuminate it for me a little more outside of the vague overview of "quality and safety control". Thanks!

Yeah we all know how imperative it is to know the geological and evolutionary timeline when it comes to modern pathology, physiology, and pharm... Anyways, facts being what they are, Liberty is a regionally accredited university with some accolades from US News and World Report and a common name for being a faith based university. Sure the founder may have had some ideas that are controversial, but if you dig deep enough into any organization you're more than likely to find the same. Honestly, if someone were on an admissions committee and looked down on credits from Liberty University, I'd be disappointed. They're credits from an accredited university and should not be scrutinized based on someone's preconception about an institution. Besides, pharm and pathophys are two classes that I honesty don't feel need a classroom component. You can lock yourself in a room and memorize away without ever going to a lecture. People will look down on online classes for years to come, but they're here to stay.

Hi All, I'm a nurse of two years in Western PA, 1 year in a community hospital med-surg ICU, 1 year in a Level 1 CTICU, and I am absolutely miserable at the bedside. I think it may be my current unit and it's employees and the chronic transplant patients we end up with that have contributed to this, but I have lost all passion to be at the bedside. For my sake, my wife's and my patient's sake, I need to make a change and fast. I have a BSN with a pretty hefty resume of extracurricular's while in college and I have taken a stab at a few jobs I'm under qualified for that are outside the hospital (Content Writer at Google and Healthcare Comm. Specialist at a research group) without any results. Nothing I've seen in terms of nursing jobs posted by the nearby hospitals have sparked any interest in me. My original goal when getting into nursing was Anesthesia, but my current work situation has severely smothered that ambition so I haven't made any steps toward it recently. However, I do wonder if it's enough change from bedside nursing that I would enjoy it. I'm posting this to see what others have done with their careers and how they have managed to get away from the bedside.