marienm, RN, CCRN

Burn, ICU

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All Content by marienm, RN, CCRN

  1. marienm, RN, CCRN

    (Manual BP) Can't find systolic through palpation. What am I doing wrong?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to dumb_'s topic in General Students

    I'm sure the method described by Noctor works fine, but I was taught to do it with the brachial pulse. 1) Wrap cuff around arm, get the dial where you can see it, etc, put your stethoscope in your...
  2. marienm, RN, CCRN

    What do you call the tracking device nurses sometimes wear?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to klone's topic in General Nursing

    My hospital uses AeroScout tags on equipment and Voceras on people. Our equipment department has the software that can locate the AeroScout tags within the hospital, so when we call and say we need a...
  3. marienm, RN, CCRN

    burn standards of care

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to laurin_p's topic in Burn

    One of our docs like to use wound vacs on extremity burns, and these are often changed every 3-4 days under general anesthesia in the OR. However, there are some practical problems with "GA for...
  4. marienm, RN, CCRN

    What do other hospitals do regard to scheduling staff for weekends?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to Metalchild's topic in General Nursing

    I'm at a union hospital, so you bet we have a policy! First, our pay-periods are 2 weeks long (starting on Thursdays). FT employees work 80 hours per pay period, with very few restrictions about...
  5. marienm, RN, CCRN

    BLS/CPR

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to JMayRose's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    The AHA is moving away from paper cards anyway...when I did my renewal this year I got an email a few days later. It had the date of the class that I took and some kind of control/verification number...
  6. marienm, RN, CCRN

    How do I peel pill packets without meds flying everywhere!

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to hs4zu's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    My hospital changes who the buy their meds from daily, I think, so the packaging is always different. Currently, our colace packets have no peel-away edge and the foil/paper back is rugged enough...
  7. marienm, RN, CCRN

    New Nurse at Burn Unit

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to iamchloe23's topic in Burn

    Are you moving from ambulatory/outpatient dialysis to an inpatient burn unit? If so, 3 days does not sound like enough time unless you've previously worked on a med-surg inpatient floor before. If...
  8. marienm, RN, CCRN

    What is with this angry nurse?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to itsybitsy's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I just got report the other day from a newer nurse on our unit who had taken report from the recovery room. She said to me 'the pt has a hx of ES, so they didn't want to give too much fluid.' I...
  9. marienm, RN, CCRN

    I love a nurse

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to johnsbro's topic in Emergency

    I'm not an ED nurse, but in my city, I think the ED and the police frequently see a lot of people who need help but actually don't want help (for any number of reasons). This can be exhausting and...
  10. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Dog had emergency surgery last night.

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to hppygr8ful's topic in General Nursing

    One of our cats had emergecy surgery last fall & spent a week in the hospital. (We have pet insurance!) Around the same time, we had a pt on my unit who was very sick...cancer, septic, just...
  11. marienm, RN, CCRN

    What is with this angry nurse?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to itsybitsy's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    Most of the nurses on my unit (adult ICU) use the same report sheet, and most of us try to go in order so we don't leave things out. However, all the demographic stuff is at the top (proxy, code...
  12. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Hopeful future Burn Nurse

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to ha081917's topic in Burn

    I agree that if the burn center/ICU takes *only* burn patients, it will limit the exposure you get to other types of patients. I work at a teaching hospital that's also a trauma center. We have a...
  13. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Hopeful future Burn Nurse

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to ha081917's topic in Burn

    You might be able to do the ABLS training, if it's offered near you. This was *not* a prerequisite for me being hired, and I don't think my trainer had me do it until I'd been working for a while....
  14. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Ridiculous medical mistakes on TV

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to adventure_rn's topic in Nursing Humor

    I haven't read all 19 pages of comments (sorry!) but we just watched an old Criminal Minds the other day where the 'unsub' (perpetrator) keeps her victims paralyzed with nimbex for, like, 2 months at...
  15. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Help me understand an Ampule

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to Femine91's topic in Patient Medications

    I was taught to invert the ampule after flicking any liquid down out of the tip & snapping the top away from myself (graduated 3 years ago) but didn't exactly believe it would work! Others are...
  16. marienm, RN, CCRN

    New to ICU. What do you hate to see a new ICU nurse do?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to IPMC15's topic in Critical Care

    I hate finding IV tubing connected to the patient with the channel turned off and who knows when the line was flushed! I also hate finding the CVP connected to any-old-port, through a clave. Check...
  17. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Use of backup saline infusions for medication infusions in ICU

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to taif1's topic in Critical Care

    We do it based on our discretion (& ask for an order if we think a carrier is needed). Examples- If we're running a pressor, we're probably running some kind of maintenance (or perhaps bolus) IV...
  18. marienm, RN, CCRN

    First Code Blue

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to LunaTunaPineapple's topic in General Students

    The first code I saw/helped with was during RN orientation, and it wasn't my patient...I was in the room for something else & everything started. It was a barely-stable trauma pt fresh out of the...
  19. marienm, RN, CCRN

    EKG reading and leads

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to Red398's topic in General Nursing

    This is not a promise, but on my boards I definitely didn't need to recognize a STEMI on a 12-lead. (There were probably questions about what to do when one had alread been diagnosed by an MD, but...
  20. marienm, RN, CCRN

    silver nitrate sticks & silvadene creme

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to onthemark's topic in Burn

    If the wound (a burn?) is deep enough that there are 'raised, bloody' parts...implying that the rest of the wound bed is deeper or covered in eschar & not bleeding, then the wound might benefit...
  21. marienm, RN, CCRN

    When to call a code

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to JenHRN's topic in General Nursing

    We called a code on a pt who had gone into V-Tach and didn't have a palpable pulse or a waveform on the pulse ox (or the A-line...I think the pt had an A-line). The nurse got to the bedside...
  22. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Worst/Best thing a nursing instructor ever said to you?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to CryandNurseOn's topic in General Nursing

    I had an instructor who advised us to 'stay in our own boats' a lot. It meant slightly different things at different times, including: Don't assume that someone else's situation is your own...just...
  23. marienm, RN, CCRN

    New burn nurse- need gear suggestions

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to poopylala's topic in Burn

    Congratulations! Good luck on the NCLEX! My preference is for shoes that are pretty impermeable. I also have high arches, so Dansko-style 'hard' clogs don't fit me comfortably. I have a pair of...
  24. marienm, RN, CCRN

    When should I start feeling like a nurse?

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to 2bNursesamRN29's topic in General Students

    Two thoughts: 1) I started feeling like a nurse when I started thinking "I can handle this without needing another RN for help." In my 3rd (out of 4th) semester of nursing school, I answered a call...
  25. marienm, RN, CCRN

    Burn Technician

    marienm, RN, CCRN replied to dreamerachiever's topic in Burn

    I work nights on a small burn ICU that also takes off-service patients, and we don't have a tech at night. During the day, I assume the tech does normal 'tech' tasks such as blood-sugars, meal...