loveSBK

ICU faqs is a website with a lot of information, which you download as a word document. I've found this website very helpful. And it's free!!!!

I hate that as well. I have to untangle everything, label everything from the pole to the actual IV. A lot of times, I end up cleaning my room before I even assess my patient (unless they're critical of course) because I can't work when my room is a mess and my pt is a mess.

We only do neuro exams together if the pt is neuro-related. I've had nurses ask me to reposition the pt, to get a new bag of this since the one hanging is halfway done, to suction them, to pull out their central line together :Frankenstein:

Blooming onions from outback have been completely ruined for me....I used to love that dish

I don't know if there is something else you should be doing but thankfully nothing happened to the pt. I had something similar happen to me with a mag piggyback. I program the pump correctly and turned around to do other stuff and 5 minutes later the pump had bolused the magnesium. I showed the other nurse who was in the room the setting and it was correct. So I reported it, I don't know what happened with that pump. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. Sometimes, now I'm paranoid and I watch the pump to see it start and make sure its not going to fast.

You need to start assessing patients in order to learn. Even though your preceptor doesn't explain everything, watch her attentively and make notes. Try to do an assessment after her and then explain to her your results. Practicing is the only way you can learn. Also, watch YouTube videos on head to toe assessments and they will help you. Good luck!!!

Perhaps your preceptor is stressed and has been keeping things under the radar that maybe she should have talked to you about but decides not to to not discourage you. From what you wrote, seems like things were great in the beginning. 5 weeks before her demeanor changes is a long time, maybe something happened that you don't know about that made her upset. Try talking to her again, don't text her, have a face to face conversation. If that does not work, can you get a new preceptor?

My sister moved to Switzerland after working here as a nurse with her BSN. Over there, unless the red Cross certifies that you can work as a nurse, they will most likely hire you as a tech. That's only speaking from her experience in that specific country. She had to submit her transcripts and prove that she spoke French at a advanced level. They denied her request as they said that she did not have enough clinical hours. Now she has to pay for a lot of classes and its very expensive. You may want to check the Red Cross website instead

I've been waiting for your post lol. I love how you are keeping a "diary". I love DC as well. For ACLS, its really not bad. I had a great teacher and he went beyond just to teach us and to understand especially why the algorithms are the way they are. The book was useless to me as I learned everything from class. But its a fun class. Don't be nervous. Use your critical thinking for the mega code,

ICU is very tough and you need adequate training. It's great to have a preceptor but I'm finding out that most stuff you learn when you are on your own but with that said, you should have the ability to ask questions when in doubt. The only way to learn is by asking and getting insight from more experienced nurses but seems like they are of no help to you for whatever reason. Definitely try to see if you can get a preceptor, if not then maybe find a different job with a better training program. Don't beat yourself up, we all make mistakes, no matter how small or big, we all do especially when we're new and we are developing our critical thinking skills. Keep your head up and hopefully things will get better.

Take the lab class. You'll learn and you'll have it in case you need it. You wouldn't want to wait until next semester/year to take a lab class because you didn't get into school #1 (which did not require lab)and school #2 (which does require it). Never put all your eggs in one basket.

When I first started orienting in ICU, I was afraid of talking to the docs or anyone else, and I was especially afraid of giving report. My preceptor always told me that I needed to practice my report so we started doing that, before change of shift I would give him report on both pts and he would point out things and that made it better. Also, now I am way more comfortable talking to doctors and other people, I am not afraid to ask something if I need to know. But its important to start early to build confidence, my preceptor always pushed me to do it even if I didn't want to.

This week I learned: 1. That I can see myself improving as an ICU nurse. I'm still terrified but I'm learning how to use my critical thinking skills to advocate or anticipate needs for my patients 2. A person can go from completely flacid to kicking you in the face in a matter of a 12-hour shift 3. Going to CT/MRI will guarantee loss of IV access....on a already horrible super-hard to stick pt 4. Admission at change of shift means standing for 12 hours straight 5. I learned that keppra can make a pt angry

I love your posts. Sounds like you're getting more comfortable which is great. And sounds like you have a great support system at work as well, congrats!!!u PS. We had "I'm bringing sepsy back" as part of education class, it was awesome. Great way to learn.

I love your posts. I am a new grad in ICU as well, except my orientation was only 16 weeks and I'm now on my own. Going on my third week. I can surely relate to your posts. I can't wait to feel comfortable at my job. Thanks for the great posts!!!