Tmari1

The body is a miraculous thing. There are people walking around with 50-60 sats everyday. I have chronic hypoglycemia and I'll have a bg of 38-41 and be walking, talking, perfectly fine. The body adapts. It's pretty awesome how it is. The lowest I've seen is 15% O2 sat.

Rarely. We have CVP and ABP lines and use a LIDCO monitor with them. Zero the CVP, enter into monitor, up pop all your numbers. Now, if you're patient is on a ventilator (which almost all of ours are) there are certain values that are inaccurate and can not be used so LIDCO monitors aren't good for every patient. I work in a Burn ICU and use LIDCO mostly for SVR to titrate levo and epi drips so they are accurate. If I need some of the "considered inaccurate" values, then my patient may have/get a PAC. It just depends on the unit/patient. I've only had one patient with one. My patient I had last night had an extensive cardiac history including 19 stents, CABG, CAD, CHF, HTN, DM, Lung Cancer, Acute Renal Failure, Hypothyroidism, etc. and was on vasopressin drip, epi drip, fent, versed, ventilator, and CRRT and his LIDCO monitor was applicable to his condition soo... they are very often useful and less invasive since he already had a left IJ vas cath, left femoral ART line, and right upper arm PICC so we just ran his CVP through the pigtail of his Vas Cath and used LIDCO! And we're talking about a guy who coded 3 times the night before and needed 50mcg epi drip to keep his MAP above 65 and SVR above 400. So, my point is.. LIDCO is taking the place of PAC per patient condition. My patient was in BAD condition and had a LIDCO monitor. (BTW, he was alive when I left so go me for a BUSY night.. especially between the vent, epi drip, and CRRT. Whew.)

Oh and with all that said, I must add that I truly love my job! If it's the right fit for you, then go for it!

I work in the Burn ICU in Memphis, TN. Dr. William Hickerson, MD is our burn director and attending physician. He is quite famous in the burn world. Look him up. I wouldn't know if we're in the top 10, but I would hope we are. Our statistics are amazing and our research for the United States Defense Department has proven useful. We have often had burn patients transferred to us from other burn units. However, I would remind you that being a Burn ICU nurse is no easy task. In fact, it is typically the least desired position because it is very hard work. Our unit is a closed unit in the hospital.. basically a hospital inside a hospital. We have our OR, ER, Hydro, Recovery Room, ICU, and Stepdown in this unit. It is laid out basically in a circular pattern and closed from the rest of the hospital. As a Burn ICU nurse, you fill several different nursing roles. You are a wound care specialist, and ICU nurse, a Dialysis nurse, an ER nurse, a PACU nurse, a Stepdown nurse, etc. We also follow our patients to the floor after they've been d/c from stepdown. We deal with mostly burns and frostbite, but also have plastics patients and patients with severe reactions like Stevens-Johnson's syndrome. We are an adult burn center but take children as young as 14 in our unit, and our attending heads pediatrics in the hospital we are partnering with across the street so will in the future staff as pediatric and adult burn nurses. In addition to the roles you play, you have to understand how burns effect every system of the body.. so as a burn icu nurse, you are also a cardiology/pulmonary/neurology nurse. We also do everything within our unit because we deliver specialized care so even Code Blue is not announced over the hospital; we handle them ourselves. We are our medical response team within our unit. I don't know if all burn units operate like this, but I imagine they do because we deliver highly effective care with excellent patient outcomes and minimal hospital acquired infections. In fact we have led our hospital in minimum amount of CLABSIs wih a record of 0 in the last 6 months! Imagine that, the burn unit where most infections are expected and we haven't had a single CLABSI in over 6 months! I say all this to explain that being a burn nurse is truly a dedication. Don't do it if you aren't willing to dedicate yourself to it, because a bad burn nurse can kill a burn patient quicker than Mucor.

Thank you so much!!!!! I've been using Nursing Databases... guess I should have expanded my search to google and so on.. haha Thank you!!!

Admitted 3 weeks ago. Phosphate 4.9- high for 4 days. She's on nexium, dilaudid, propranolol, heparin, and flagyl

She has hct 19.6 and hgb 9.5. However, she has no impairment in her renal function. She has adequate voiding/uop and her BUN and CR levels are WNL.

Okay.. My patient was shot in the head behind the left ear, suffering a traumatic brain injury. Subsequently, patient suffered subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, edema, and (+) midline shift. Patient has since developed tracheal erosion r/t tracheostomy placement and c-difficile infection most likely r/t prophylactic broad spectrum antibiotics. I am doing a long careplan on this patient and am almost finished except for one more detail...this patient has hyperphosphatemia and I can not figure out why. We have to analyze our labs in our careplan. My patient does not have any renal issues, hasn't had any blood transfusions in 3 weeks, and has no muscle necrosis, so why in the world would she have an increased phosphorous level?? Could anybody help please because I am just stumped? The only reason I can think of is from tissue damage from her brain injury or from the tracheal erosion... but neither of those are muscle tissue, persay, so I don't feel like it's a strong reason for her to have hyperphosphatemia. Also, her calcium is not low. I'm just stumped. Can anybody help me please?

Memphis, TN. They need RNs. Also, they make more than $22-28/hr? The prison nurses alone make $35/hr My mom, BSN for 24 years starting MSN program, made $61/hr at the Med. I think the average for new graduates is $26-28/hr but otherwise the pay is much higher. And cost of living is pretty decent, especially with all the surrounding cities. I live in Southaven,MS and to commute to downtown Memphis takes 15 min from my doorstep to clocking in with morning traffic. I pay $662/mon rent for 2 bedroom 2 bath. $140 utilities. $13 water. Living in the city itself is slightly more expensive because of the MLGW bill. They'll fool you with cheap rent but MLGW usually adds $200-$500/month which is why I choose to live in Southaven. Anyways, that's the info I can provide from my residence. And yes, an RN is in high demand. The only difficult place to get hired is Lebonheur or St.Jude.. but the MED, Baptist, Methodist, St. Francis as well as private hospitals are ALWAYS hiring. Then there are tons of medical office chains like Memphis Neurology who have offices all over mid-south area. Then there are tons of rehabilitation clinics, etc. SO.. plenty of job opportunities, decent pay, and lower cost of living. That's Memphis, TN for you. :)

The entire reason I went to nursing school is because I wanted to become a pediatric oncology nurse. I am not yet one, but am striving to get hired. It is hard to get a job at St. Jude, my dream job. I can, however, tell you why I have chosen oncology. My introduction to oncology occurred at 16y.o. when my friend was diagnosed with a Stage IV GBM and treated at St. Jude. He lost his fight after a hard 3 year battle. With my interest sparked, I then began to obsess over oncology. I am fascinated with the disease process of all the various types of cancer. My particular interest of brain tumors led to my border-line obsession. In my own time, I've studied, watched videos, learned, understood a vast amount of knowledge related to various types of brain tumors. As you can imagine, GBM is my particular interest. It captivates me. I've even found myself watching video after video of GBM resections and debulking. In addition, with all my volunteer efforts at St. Jude, I've fallen in love with the children I've known. Pediatric oncology patients are so incredibly wise and strong and they just melt my heart. I love to play and interact with them and do anything I can to make them feel better. When I had my clinical rotation at St. Jude during nursing school, the nursing role in pediatric oncology just felt at home. To say I have a passion for this career is an understatement. I want to be active in both patient care and research, which is why I plan to continue my education. Anyways, I hope this helps!