Vanilla101

I've worked in large teaching hospitals for most of my career, and have been a student, a preceptor & a clinical instructor at both the undergraduate & graduate levels. I've been seemingly drafted into both precepting & into being a clin...

Before pumps, Dial-a-Flows were the BOMB! The first generation of pumps only measured rates in ml/hr. Weight based drugs had to be calculated by hand, fortunately pocket calculators had been invented by then. The current pumps that have the formula...

When applying for a new job, the hiring hospital will call HR of the former employer. HR will let the hiring hospital know if the candidate is "eligible for rehire". Its basically a way of finding out if the employee has been fired. Hospitals chec...

"Truthfully most nps never clean poop." I was an NP for 8 years in acute care. While I didn't clean poop regularly, I would offer to help. I also got the job of disimpacting every patient who needed it. Every single patient. I'm in a unit based...

I find it amusing that she is going into psych to avoid cleaning poop. In med/surg/icu at least poop (and most other bodily fluids) is mostly found in one predictable place. If she has kids or wants them, she'd better get used to being on the poop/...

The standard process for orientees in virtually all hospitals is to have regular meetings with your preceptor & a representative from your units leadership. At these meetings issues in practice may be discussed, and you will always know where yo...

Is this a joke letter? Why didn't you go into teaching? If you are unwilling to do weekends/holidays, you probably won't get a job. These jobs go to experienced nurses. Oh, get ready for night shift as well.

It's why mock codes are so important. The room doesn't need to be full, the room should be clear of extra people. It's more help to the team, especially when (as the author noted) the other patients on the unit, especially the roommate of the patie...

For an extra whitening boost, use blueing. It's in the laundry section at the supermarket, look for it carefully, it's one of those things that's hidden away and there are usually only about three bottles. Follow the directions CAREFULLY!

First thing, travel light, everything should fit in your pockets. I recommend a stethoscope. Second, a penlight. There are some nice ones for physical exams, but I assume you will be working nights as a newbie. A small, but not too small, maglite...

My mistake, I should have clarified. To decrease self extubations, in restrained or unrestrained patients, there also must be other interventions put in place by the team, such as sedation vacations and respiratory driven protocols. With the use of...

"I don't believe a single nurse, save possibly the ICU, who doesn't admit to "copy paste". Trust me, it's done in the ICU. It's not considered illegal if the nurse accurately documents changes from the previous assessment by changing what they wro...

About self extubations: it's been shown in the literature that unrestrained patients do not have significantly higher rates of self extubations than restrained patients who use all sorts of creative maneuvers to get the tube out. They will shake the...

Trust me, management/administration doesn't mind if you say no. They also don't mind if you don't answer your phone. As a bedside nurse for 25+years! I learned this. I also figured out that if we were short staffed on a dayI WAS THERE all of us on...

I now have been working 8 hour M-F for 2 years. I like what I do, but I'm on salary and there isn't any OT. I have recently been somewhat successful getting out on time. It's only now that I'm really getting used to it. I loved 12 hour shifts, no...

Honestly, there is no big philosophical question here. Gay people are ordinary people. There really isn't anything to talk about.

EVERY ICU in the hospital gives you something to learn. All ICU patients are sick, their illness, medical, surgical, trauma, etc., requires a higher level of nursing care. Any ICU will sharpen your assessment skills, increase time management skill...

Patients who are admitted to med/surg/trauma floors are there because their condition might change for the worse. (They may need an ICU/ICR setting if it does). Be aware of S&S of worsening condition in your vital sign patterns and assessments. ...

The nurse who was orienting you was wrong for not helping you. The unit that you were transporting the patient from could have offered someone to help. I've been a nurse for 28 years, I don't know of very many people who would have not helped.....es...

In my first post, I wish to make sure that people are human, and DO make errors. That does not mean they don't go on to be great nurses. There should always be a system in place to prevent such things, such as the 5 rights. Also know the common p...

It was harm. As stated, the patient needed a c-section. Not only was it harm, it could have been easily prevented had you followed policy, the five rights, even if your preceptor didn't. That's the ultimate resposibility of the person hanging the m...

I work as a CNS, and was trained as an NP.in addition to earning my CCRN, I want CNS certification. I've looked, and it seems that ANCC has retired the CNS Core test, but may still offer the adult course. If not, is there any other company that prov...

That's a great idea, I'll let you know what they say

Sure. I no longer desire to practice as an NP, when I left the NP world, I took on the role of CNS. I enjoy the job. But I will no longer be able to accumulate the hours needed for recertification as an NP. Unlike most states, mine does not requ...