kristen38

We used to for TA, but the container dropped one day and now we don't keep formalin in the room in large quantities. We do keep the small specimen collection containers that are pre-filled with it. We filled the larger containers at a specimen station.

Sorry for a lot of the typos, I was using my ipod and did cut and paste. Kristen38

I know it's a little long but it is a study about plume smoke Smoke from tissue burning tools like lasers can be toxic to surgical team By: The Canadian Press March 18, 2009 TORONTO—The surgeon touches an area of exposed flesh with a cauterizing tool for less than a minute, sending up a cloud of noxious smoke that quickly wafts across the room and catches at the eyes and throat. It is only a demonstration—the flesh is actually raw turkey—but the result illustrates the hazard that doctors, nurses and even patients can be exposed to during operations that employ lasers and other tissue-burning tools. Known as “plume,” the smoke is laden with all manner of potentially toxic substances and disease-causing microbes that can make their way past surgical masks and into the lungs. “According to one study, exposure to (vapours from) one gram of laser-cut tissue is like smoking three unfiltered cigarettes,” said Suzanne Kiraly, president of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), which on Wednesday released new guidelines for capturing and disposing surgical plume. http://www.thestar.com/Comment/article/604877

Hi, I was a psych nurse for four years and moved to the OR this past January. I had to take a course before I could apply so that helped me with the review of med-surg and IV, and other skills that I lost while in psych. The course helped me a lot. I also had five months of orientation. Is there a course in your area that you can take? I found that some of the staff reactions are very positive and they are interested in knowing what working in psych was like and why I moved to the OR. I have yet to receive any negative comments from anyone. Mostly I hear "Wow, what a change". If you are interested in the OR, then do it. So far it was the best decision in my career thus far. Kristen

From ebay, http://stores.ebay.ca/michellemariesaccessories The person who makes them has many different styles and will customize them. I asked for a few alterations and she accomodated them and still go the hats to me within in a week.

I am not wearing lead. I still have to do orientation in Ortho, Vascular, Neuro and the other services that use lead a lot. I am going to try to build up some strenght in my shoulders (I am a member of a gym, I just have to make the effort to go and talk to someone there about what I can do) and make sure that I do some proper stretches and take good care of my shoulders. I am a little embarrased to say something at work because I am still new but I will ask my preceptor as well. Thanks for your replies, Kristen

Hi, Congratulations. Humber/UNB has the best program everI graduated from the Humber/UNB RN program in 2007 and I thought it was great. I got the placement that I wanted and (I'm not sure about other nursing programs) we did extra time in clinical in May in our second and third year. I got a full-time job from my final placement before I even finished school. I found the program to be hard and i think that was because I had been out of school for five years. There was a lot of work, the simulation lab has really improved (or so I have heard) and the teachers (for the most part) were awesome. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer. Good-Luck, Kristen

Hi All, I have been in the OR for five weeks now and I am really enjoying it. One thing that I have been having problems with is when I am scrubbed I find that my shoulders hurt a lot. Does anyone else experience this and if so what do they do about it? I know that I will not be scrubbed all the time, and that I will get use it, but they are really sore. Are there some good exercises that I can do to help strenghten my shoulders, other then the usual? Thanks, Kristen

I work on a busy acute care psychiatric unit, and I am often busy, nights can be busy as well. However, I find that I still have lots of downtime and during that time I like to play on my ipod touch. There are so many mindless games that I can download on to it. They take no concentration and are perfect for night shifts. I can also watch movies on it, which is also an activity that is conducted often during my down time. Of course being on the computer kills a lot of time as well. Kristen

I am new to the OR and the hospital that I am at gives the scrub nurse the option of wearing paper or cloth gowns. I have been using the cloth gowns and find that I get really warm while scrubed. I was wondering if the paper disposable gowns are cooler. I have been told by some nurses that they are and others say they are warmer. What do you wear at your hospital and do you find paper, disposable gowns cooler? Thanks, Kristen

I found that when studying patho, and treatments for illness that the NCLEX book was laid out better then Mosby and easier for me to use. It's all the same stuff regardless of where you live. I made sure to study the parts in Mosby that were specifically for Canada, as well as CNA stuff and delegation, and bestpractice guidelines. I used a variety of books to study from.

I did the CRNE last June and found that the Mosby book was terrible. I only used it for the parts that were specifically Canadian, and the long tests at the end of the chapters. Otherwise I used the NCLEX guide. I liked it better because I was able to quiz myself with chapter specific questions, and it was not a long comprehensive test at the end of the section. I was able to do the quiz at the end of each chapter first so I could figure out what parts I needed to focus on and could skip studying some stuff. I also found it was laid out better and easier to understand (even though they are similar). I also used the prep guide a lot, but only as the exam got closer. Use what you feel comfortable using because everyone learns and remembers things different. Good Luck, Kristen

I also just graduated and passed the CRNE (Canadian version of NCLEX) and thought about doing something other than psych, espcially after doing my consolidation on a psych unit. In the first month I had to do a couple of catherters, had a pateint so depressed that she wasen't eating and agreed to go on an IV to keep her fluid intake up (TPN should be started this week, in an OBS unit, she is also pregnant) and I have had two patients with ostomies. I know that it is not the same a med-surg floor but at least I was able to use the skills I learned in school to help me. I was told by a lot of the staff that if you don't use it then you lose it and doing a few years in med-surg and then going to psych would be good experience but 15 years down the road you won't remember your med-surg skills, so stick with what you like doing. Kristen

On my unit each patient has a locker in their room that is locked with a pad lock. When the patient arrives in the unit (most often already in hopsital PJ's) all of there stuff goes into the locker. They can keep their toothbrush and stuff (razors are locked in a room with really small bins). Once the doctor orders that they can have their clothes their lockers are opened for them. I never take patient wallets, health cards, or anything else valuable. Too many things go missing when that happens and I don't like being blamed for it. I tell them to keep it in their locker, or give it to a family member. The lockers seems to work really well in the 8 months I have been there no one has been able to break into their locker. Kristen

I work on an acute unit, and we were street clothes. During the week it is business wear, but fortunatly on weekends and nights we can wear jeans and sweatshirts. It's so nice to just wake up and throw on a pair of jeans. I have seen a couple of patient who do not like uniforms of any kind and tend to question why some people (like RT's) are wearing uniforms on the unit and what they are doing there (these patients were paranoid of everyone, but especially a uniform). I have also had a patient that escalated anytime she saw a uniform, including nurses (or other staff) in scrubs Kristen