vera4130

vera4130 has 4 years experience and specializes in ICU.

Latest Activity

1. No more fingersticks in ICU?

   vera4130 replied to ccer99's topic in Critical

   Arterial line is best. Especially if they are on pressors or cold (hypothermia protocol), or even have very calloused hands. When I have an art line available I never use finger sticks.

2. Being blamed for fall after shift

   vera4130 replied to notyetnurse's topic in General Nursing

   A few options in the future: Document when there are safety shortfalls. No chair alarms? Document it. I had to document a "system" problem when the phones were apparently down and my trauma patient decided to de-recruit a lung. Not my fault, not the...

3. Good ICU Nursing Books (Non Textbooks)

   vera4130 replied to Crew2Nursing's topic in Critical

   I'm not 100% sure this is what you're looking for, but the book 'When Chicken Soup Isn't Enough' by Suzanne Gordon is fantastic.

4. Who's at fault here?

   vera4130 replied to PerkyNurse55's topic in General Students

   I think many people fail to prepare for HESI, they assume that they will be prepared without actually doing much preparation. Did that 25% invest time in studying or doing practice exams? I personally prepped for exit HESI by reading, reviewing, and...

5. Is this legal?

   vera4130 replied to songbird1's topic in Texas

   This is not unheard of. They're setting a minimum passing score based on exams. I cannot even think of how this would be a "legal" issue, how schools grade is not regulated. If it's clearly stated it's definitely fair game. There can be all kinds of ...

6. In my feelings

   vera4130 replied to Shanella25's topic in General Students

   That's really a little rude. I think it's totally normal to worry about "being behind." The OP hasn't shared anything about themselves other than they're worried about delaying graduation. OP, don't worry about it at all. You'll work with nurses who...

7. Dumbest thing a doctor has done/said to you

   vera4130 replied to WorriedNurse25's topic in Relations

   Had a patient come in with hyperkalemia and was going to need dialysis, wasn't currently on dialysis and so didn't have access. Didn't seem emergent and renal was swamped so they decided to hold off until the following morning. Throughout my nightshi...

8. What path would be easier to get a job in with no experience?

   vera4130 replied to Eeramsey's topic in Career Support

   Why not just get the experience? Short cuts are not always the best route. What makes you qualified as a manager if you have no experience? My best managers have had clinical experience and an MBA or MSN in admin. I honestly can't imagine working for...

9. Want to quit nursing school

   vera4130 replied to student_nurse2016's topic in General Students

   There are research nurses too, and many do more than just taking patient histories. Public health could be a good option too. I hated nursing school so much I almost dropped out. I also had a previous degree and thought that I wanted to do research,...

10. Should you bring a paper with questions to interview?

    vera4130 replied to wonderwoman92's topic in Job Hunt

    Yes. It is as much me evaluating them as it is the other way around. I care about how units schedule, floating, staffing, education opportunities, etc. Well thought out questions should be seen as a bonus. And I'd get benefits info up front from HR.

11. Schizophrenia and nursing

    vera4130 replied to Weber's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I'll second that. Some places may be an outright no, others will want more information. But I'd want to find out before spending the time and money to go to school.

12. What have you learned in nursing school that was utter nonsense?

    vera4130 replied to TheMiss's topic in General Nursing

    I had one who was a "therapeutic touch" practitioner and believed she'd healed someone's DVT or some non-sense. She taught our first semester lecture and I've never had a more worthless class. Thinking back it's clear she wasn't really qualified to t...

13. Scared!!!

    vera4130 replied to novicenurse1384's topic in Critical

    Get familiar with how to look things up at your hospital. For example, if I have a question about what is best practice for a certain diagnosis, I usually start with UpToDate. Find where to look up information about diseases, medications, equipment, ...

14. Judgement Free Zone Please

    vera4130 replied to sassyrn333's topic in MICU

    Nursing is stressful, and critical care is stressful in a different way. I think the only way to survive sometimes is to have a life outside of work. It's not that I'm not a team player (trust me, if you need help I'll probably stay late), but someti...

15. Nursing Research online starting 5/19

    vera4130 replied to Guest07/13/15's topic in Texas (UTA)

    YES! Do everything in APA format up front, it will make revising easier!! Your assignments the first three weeks (I think - I've already starting blocking out the painful memories of that class) will result in a rough draft of your final paper. Do th...