HermioneG BSN, RN

Hi everyone! This site has been such a great resource for me, that I promised myself if/when I passed the NCLEX I would try and help others and share my experience. My academic background: I was a pretty middle of the road in nursing school. I score...

I work in a level 1 trauma center and we work in both adult and peds. We have a 2:1 ratio in the trauma rooms and then 3:1 for the rest of the department. During very rare situations we have done 4:1 but that's typically if one is a hall patient wait...

I've found that taking an initial two minutes to show empathy, kindness, and overall sweetness on initially meeting my patients goes a long way. Wrapping them in warm blankets, providing an extra blanket for a family member, tucking them in and fluff...

I bring it up immediately as I meet the patient. It goes something like this: "Hi, my name is HermioneG and I'm going to be your nurse today. What brought you into our ER today? (pt explains) Ok so I took a look at your chart and I see that we have d...

My view on life is that you can learn something from every single person out there, and sometimes you learn from them how not to act. This person sounds insecure and seems to lack perspective. This is not your problem. Move on and don't let it rattle...

I usually don't mind it, but I did become very frustrated the other day with it. A dear coworker of mine who I love a lot was blasting (yes... blasting) music. It was difficult to concentrate, but most importantly it was so loud that you couldn't hea...

I just want to echo what everyone else said and say great job. If I or any of my loved ones was ever in pain or needed help, I would feel so fortunate if they had a nurse like you. And in our profession, I can't really think of any higher compliment....

Well, at least I can now be at ease knowing that if the OP ever comes across me and I'm in dire need of a needle decompression, they will hopefully remember to use the mid-hemithorax as opposed to mid-clavicular line for the needle decompression site...

Also, here's a great article on the topic of needle decompression that I want to put here to really drive my point home. In these "what would you do" situations, its important to look at the big picture. Diagnosis can be complicated and the procedure...

In order to be protected from legal liability (and, in my personal opinion, to practice with integrity) you must work within your scope of practice in the manner that you have been trained. In the hypothetical situation you presented, you are making ...

I'm a New Grad at a teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center. We are also cross trained in both the adult and pediatric ERs. I think that starting out in the ER is great, but you need to be in the right ER and you have to go in with the right mind...

I just got off orientation and there are three very solid pieces of advice that stand out: First is that in all kinds of nursing, but ER especially, its important to be tuned in to what one of my preceptors calls the "steps to an emergency." Example:...

Do you have any children? -No Well, you had better hurry up, your eggs are getting old Do you have any children? -No Thats a shame because that's a woman's purpose in life. You won't know true happiness or fulfilled your duty until you have children ...

For me, nursing school was much harder. Instead of stressing about exams, all nighters, and busy work, my free time is my own. Although I use my free time to study, my studying is based off of real life scenarios instead of random nursing models. Th...

Be open minded. Put effort into studying the culture of the unit. Be teachable. Smile often and learn how to laugh at yourself because you're going to be a hot mess your first year. You might as well own it lol.

I think that's great! If I was you, though, I would first do thorough research on the caduceus (also known as the staff of Hermes) vs the Staff/Rod of Asclepius before you buy one. I've personally thought of finding a Staff of Asclepius necklace to w...

I learned this one the other day!! The trauma junior (?) asked me if I had some lube for my patient's face. I must've looked really confused because he laughed and quickly clarified that it helps to remove the dried blood! hahaha I love reading al...

I forgot to quote so I'm going to just delete this comment, sorry! :)

Different perspectives are always fun and appreciated :) I think that this conversation really hits home that while I'm okay with it not everyone is. So when I'm on my own and mentoring new nurses I will avoid using the term with anyone who doesnt us...

I call myself a baby nurse because I'm a New Grad, and I've heard that word used a lot on my unit. And its accurate.. especially the other day out in the ambulance bay during a disaster drill when I was trying to navigate an empty gurney that was gai...

Why does it matter, though? Nursing school can be hard without people having to try and say it is harder than Medical School. Nursing school and Medical School are difficult and respectable each in their own right. What a weird comparison to try and ...

I didn't graduate with honors and I landed my dream job the day after I found out I passed my nclex. Now on the job, no one has ever asked me what my GPA was, if I graduated with honors etc. In the insulated nursing school bubble it can seem importa...

Nursing, like any job, isn't perfect but it's a great and rewarding career. I come from a family of nurses and I've seen how much joy it's brought my mom, stepmom, grandma, aunties etc. Like every other path in life you'll come across those that are ...

I made a medication error recently. What made it so terrifying was the deficienes in my awareness and the critical thinking failures I made leading up to the mistake. To me, there's never a minor med error and I think that's important to recognize. T...

I can see how this can be irritating, but you're new and said yourself you're receiveing push back from people who have been there for years (nonclinical or not). If people who have been there for years are truly giving you push back on it, I persona...