S.G.

I just recently got a job offer and it's true that the lady job fair had 3000 applicants for 200 jobs throughout the hospital (not just nursing jobs). I'm on Oahu so unsure about Kona. Every time I've gotten a call about a job for which I've spied, they've asked me if I'm physically on the island. There are too many nurses and not enough jobs so they can be picky about it. It will be hard to find a job in any specialty where you don't have experience. They were open about many new grad RNs working as unit secretaries.

The only time we've ever been able to go to urgent care was with a referral from our PCM because of no available appointments or if we called Tricare first. The system is broken. It's crazy that they'd rather I take my kid to the ER for pink eye than to urgent care!

This is going to be dependent on facility. Many facilities say they are "tobacco free" but enforce as nicotine free on campus. E-cigs were specifically mentioned in my last employee orientation as a violation of policy even if they are nicotine free. I've never worked for a facility that explicitly refused to hire smokers but they have had a policy of no smoking during your shift (including your breaks). I, personally, would have no problem with them but I think it would be very unprofessional to see them used outside of a break room. I think it's a great compromise to prevent second hand smoke issues.

It can't hurt to go in. I've gone in and been given an application, left my résumé on file, and I've gotten calls for jobs they think my credentials fill. I've also been told that I cannot apply in person and have been directed to their online application. It's different for each facility.

It was policy at my last facility to run all minibags as a secondary with a NS flush bag that was changed every 24h. I would set the pump to run 30mL at the rate of the abx. That was the policy. Several nurses set the bag to run in at 10ml/h for patients with frequent abx or patients with IVs that were 24ga. They would sporadically get an order for fluids at kvo if it went on more than a day just to cover the legalities.

Posted in error.

I recently spoke with an ANG recruiter. There are few slots for RNs in the Guard and they are very competitive. The Army will want at least 2 years experience. If you lie by omission about your celiac, you risk dishonorable discharge and loss of benefits if found out so I'd stuck with trying to get a waiver. The application packet can take 6 months or more to come back as well. I'm not sure about the Air Force.

I've found nursing to be very cliquish but I wouldn't say I've encountered "lateral violence". I stick with taking care of my patients the best way that I can and that has including speaking with management and changing policies. I've been active in working with them to change practices and increase patient safety. With that being said, I don't care if people whisper about me behind my back. I do my job and I love my job. I don't have to invite these people over to dinner. I have to work with them toward a common goal. I have a professional relationship with all of my coworkers and a more personal friendship with a few of them. If I felt that I was working in a hostile environment (as opposed to an environment in which I didn't have personal relationships with my coworkers), I'd probably move on to a different unit. ETA - GrnTea has given some great advice.

We use the Morse Fall Scale and anyone scoring high risk automatically gets a bed alarm activated. All Ortho surgeries as well by hospital policy, since they had our facilities highest fall rates, are required to have a bed alarm. High fall risk patients get a sign on their door, a brightly colored bracelet, and a yellow blanket on their bed as well. Outside of policy dictated high fall risk patients, it's a nursing judgement. We chart the fall score and, even if they score low, there's a spot to indicate nursing judgement for moderate or high risk. Most of those nursing judgement reasons have already been mentioned. When I worked in the unit, I put any patient that was awake on a bed alarm because of all the lines and wires. There was a huge risk for tripping over them and pulling out lines causing trauma.

I wear gloves to protect myself, if not the patient. Our radiology dept left some of the central lines pretty bloody after insertion. I don't want my patients' blood on my hands even if I am going to wash my hands afterward. I always clean the line itself when I see blood on it but those things get nasty and not everyone cleans them.

I'll be completely honest here. I got into nursing as a fast track into the medical field. I wanted to be an MD. I originally majored in biomedical engineering (a great degree to fall back on if I decided against med school). Due to family issues I ended up dropping the program in the first semester of my junior year and withdrawing from my classes. I decided that Dec to apply to the nursing program at a local community college. I got a letter of acceptance and then a letter stating I was on the wait list. When I met with the program director she said the acceptance letter was an error in my favor and instead of waiting I was enrolled full time into the program's fall semester. I graduated in 2005. I decided that med school wasn't the way I wanted to go after being at the bedside. I love the nursing model of care and plan to pursue my MSN. I graduated with my BSN a year ago. I love that there is so much variety in nursing. I have so many different interests and can pursue each of them.

Are there any CNAs on the med surg floor? I've been the sole nurse before but the hospital had a policy that the nurse would not be alone. If there was no CNA, there would be 2 RNs. When I worked in the unit, it was 36 beds so I can't really relate to being the only RN there. We had a monitor tech to watch the tele. We did have a staffing ratio of up to 1:3 depending on acuity though.

We used the steri strips in a star pattern with tincture of benzoin underneath. I never had a patient or heard of a patient complain of any sort of blisters near the steri-strips in the two years I worked in Radiology.