AKav8trix

Hi All, I'm looking into purchasing new IV pumps for our small, very rural clinic/urgent care/ED/Obs (4-bed Obs and ED combined). :) We're leaning towards the new Baxter Sigma pumps, as they look user-friendly and I like the fact you can use standar...

I recently was given the task of ordering supplies for my clinic/urgent care/rural ED (but not a hospital) and I'm starting to do some research into current evidence based practices for steam sterilizing instruments with an autoclave. Primarily I'm l...

I've been on night shift (12's) for a few years solid now. I love it! I've been blessed with being able to work my night shifts together with a good amount of time off in between. If I need to flip, it usually gives me enough time to adjust. On my fi...

giving nebs: yes drawing own labs: yes, and run them most of the time, too starting your own iv's: yes running own blood gasses: i would if we did them here (hopefully soon!) cleaning own rooms: yes walking pt to radiology, ct etc: yes, and some of t...

Asking for more orientation is perfectly fine, especially as a new grad! I wound up asking for 2 more weeks, because I soon realized after a few weeks on my own (and some scary patient situations where I didn't have someone available to answer those ...

Ooooo, professional world traveler, that would be a blast!! :) Hmmm, dream job...designing evening gowns or being a pilot for a flight-seeing tour company. I'd love to get paid to fly!

I've seen it both ways and IMO the best places I've worked have been where the NM stays active in bedside nursing, even if it's just one or two shifts a month. It seems to make a big difference in how the unit is managed because they are in tune with...

Some hospitals used to have (5-6 years ago) residency/internship programs that weren't restricted to just new grads. It's likely changed with the current economic climate, but perhaps there's still a few around? Sounds like in your area the requireme...

Oregon has something similar with OHSU and the nearby community colleges. IMO ADN is a great way to start because you typically get a really solid clinical background (unlike many BSN-only programs that I'm aware of) and is much more affordable than ...

My shortest commute ever was 5 minutes. I used to drive 40-60 min one-way to one job depending on the traffic, passing several other hospitals, and it was totally worth it. I loved working at that hospital. If I get my dream job this winter, I'll be...

I thought I'd revive this thread since it's been a while and things may have changed. I never did make it Anchorage a few years ago, but now I will be going there for sure, and so I'm applying for ICU and ED jobs. I've heard that the Providence ICU h...

Even though this thread was from last summer, I thought I'd chime in if someone else was wondering about this. I know several ppl with AT&T up here and even in remote areas they get decent coverage. I kept my Verizon plan when I moved up here and...

General US wholesale prices for primary gravity drip tubing can be around $3-6 each. Pump tubing sets vary widely, on average $7-12 ea. Secondary sets are around $1-2 ea. :)

What problems are you running into with priming the tubing? I think I've used most of the different brands out there at one time or another for primary drip tubing and they all seem to prime about the same. What's different about the tubing for these...

Wow, I guess I've been pretty lucky in the places I've worked so far as a nurse. I've never had any trouble if I called in sick (a rare occurrence). Most of the time I was required to call the charge nurse and the staffing office. The policy was usua...

Hi Deemalt, Have you found any new info since you last posted?? We're still searching, though I think we might be leaning towards the Cidex line of products, but we don't really have a good reason for it, other than it seems to be what some of the la...

I have had a very positive experience working in 2 different SDA facilities. The environment was very caring and holistic care was really emphasized. Not everyone I worked with adhered to SDA beliefs (or more broadly, Christian viewpoints of any deno...

There's a good chance I'll be moving to Anchorage in the next year or so and am trying to figure out which hospital might be a better fit for me. My background is in Trauma/Neurosurg ICU in a Level 1 Trauma Ctr and I love it. I'm thinking I'd like to...

Bown is awesome!! Had her for my biology classes years ago. Came across this thread and just had to post something when I saw her name mentioned. :)

Thanks for the replies. :) We haven't used another since then, but the ER I work in just started stocking them, so I'll probably have more opportunities in the future to get more experience with them. It's great that it's become more mainstream to ha...

My EMS agency recently started using the EZ IO drill, and not too long ago we got to use it for the first time on a real adult patient (Code 99). It was very easy to use and we had definite bone marrow return, but as we tried to get fluids through it...

I can't say I really work in a truely rural hospital, it's more a community level on the outskirts of a metro area, but our ICU is often staffed with only 2-3 nurses and we get just about everything but trauma. Overall, it's around a 40 bed hospital....

I wish you well with your CCC application. They have a great program and it's so worth it to jump through all the hoops you have to to get in. That way you get to go through school with a group of students that worked really hard to get in and intend...

Hang in there...I'm a new grad in ICU as well, but with one year behind me (whew!). I can so relate to your frustrations. I actually had very supportive preceptors, BUT sometimes I think they would forget what it was like to be a new nurse (not on pu...

Help! Am I being unrealistic trying to get into the ICU as a new grad? Ever since I started nursing school I have had a desire to work in critical care. Actually it was the encouraging words I heard from critical care and ED nurses two years ago tha...