jlautier

patients always have high bp's in HD.. i wait until it gets lowered as they UF to give it, and generally our docs don't care about the warning and feel the benefit (managed anemia) out ways the warning on the EPO box. I mean if someone with a hgb of ...

1: Needles remain in till the treatment is done; patients who get restless and bend their arm hand a chance at infiltrating. What happens is similar to a peripheral line except the instead of a rate of 100cc/hr; its 500cc/min; and a massive, painful,...

I want to elaborate on the HD perm catheters-- You are correct, it is a CVC like any other CVC. heparin dwells at 1,000units per ml, so don't get freaked out. The reason why nephro docs and HD rn's alike tweek about using a CVC that was inserted in...

its hard to do any nursing when sh*t is hitting the fan at your clinic. Nursing skills you speak of sound more like "tasks" urinary catheters, dressing changes, wounds, etc. Those are all tasks. Nursing skills are assessing patients and keeping them ...

worth it only if you want to be an educator... no requirements at FMC to keep working, FMC doesn't assist w/ CEU cost... so screw it. it can help w/ the CAP advancement but if your charge nurse you prolly are doing enough to be an RN 3 and get the pa...

Exactly my point--you would want to check the ECG before dialysis. Following treatment, a patients K, Ca, and Na will be that of the Acid used for tx. This could hide a patients underlying rhythm. So to answer this posters question, check before not ...

ECG measures electrical activity... a high K will have implications to the ECG.. widened QRS.. more K competing for bonding sites. So TBH it does make a difference because every patient post dialysis will have a similar ECG because the blood electrol...

Similar to why if you forget labs you can't draw mid treatment. Prior to the blood hitting the dializer, the patients blood is untreated and a better indication of what a patients labs are like. 2 ECG's on the same patient will look different; QRS co...

If the patient has a CVC, recirculation will always occur because the tips of the catheter are only .1 mm appart from each other. Especially if the catheter is running reverse than a higher percentage will be recirculating during the tx. That small s...

One time a patient had a cardiac arrest--not on treatment or at the unit--he was revived and his K was 8.5. He was dialyzed and his since returned to the outpatient setting...after a CABG x4. He told me he thought he was eating clementines--but happ...

No matter where you start working, give it time. I've had doubts too. It gets better. Push through!

Keep the job, broaden your search. I was there too. We all take a tour. Be a model employee. Patients first. Outpatient dialysis is the way I got out. I worked my way into acutes, and now work at a hospital. Good luck keep the faith! Organize yoursel...

I too worked at a LTC facility immediately following graduation from school, even with my BSN i found it difficult to land a job in a hospital. I found the LTC place to be unorganized, unsafe, and not a place for a new grad. Luckily, i received a ca...

CT: it's 10 pts to 1 RN w/ 2 CCHT or 9:1 w/ 1 CCHT and 1 PCT. Typically we turn over 4 machines a shift per staff member tho.

Diuresis: increased production urine d/t a medication to increase urine production. Polyuria: is a symptom.

Everyone is being a total jerk here, **** happens. Listen the higher the K concentration the more K the pt's blood will keep. 3k will give K to the patient, the regular bath doesn't affect the K level in a patient, and a 1 K will remove K; its all ab...

You have the experience from FMC so youre ready for this job. you have a unique skill set which is what landed you this offer. I just started working at FMC (dec 2013), it's so different, skill set, assessments, do the acutes !

Just get your credits while your in high school. Apply to a four year college and get your BSN. That way when you decide you want to become an APRN all you need to do is apply not go back to school with 3 kids. Mad RNs without degrees are bitter beca...

RN or LPN?

I am a new grad and had started work at a LTC unit because I couldn't land a job in a hospital. Needless to say I kept my options open because I couldn't see myself crushing meds like a robot for the next 30 years of my life. I have always had an int...

I love you attitude and i think your an amazing nurse! I could feel the compassion in your situations and you truly tried to do the right thing! Its nice to know people like you exist! :)

the board is a joke compared to nursing school. i had 75 Q's and left feeling like i had my way with the exam. i think a lot of people get too freaked out that it is a make or break exam, i was crapping my pants like i lost control of my sphincter! I...

Smart getting in a HC place now and keep your eyes open when you finish up school, nothing wrong with the non-acute arena. They pay like everyone else! I got some fresh @ss jordans man because I feel like I need to keep my sneaker game up while on t...

Im pretty sure to be magnet status you need to have a certain number of BSN's on staff or else you can't maintain the title. BSN would get the nod before anyone else when applying.

I never studied for a hesi. They are just a test of your knowledge. Go into the test with a good nights sleep, chew gum (average of 10 points higher on exams if you chew gum), and make sure you take the remediation aspect of the hesi seriously. It wi...