SheriLynnRN

Doesn't it just drive you insane when someone tells you that Mr. Smith's O2 STAT is 96%? It's O2 SAT people! Sat, short for saturation. I even hear respiratory therapists saying this. I am sooooo tempted to say something next time, but I know it...

Last night, towards the end of the shift, most of the staff was either in the report room taping or busy in their pts rooms. We didn't have a secretary, and the charge nurse was away from the desk. One of the LPN's was charting at the nurse's station...

In my facility, we do not use skin prep under ostomy appliances because it contributes to leaking. Just a very thin layer of stoma powder if needed. Also, you want to cut the hole to fit the size of the stoma, no the size of the bag opening. I think ...

it's only the "reality of things" because we allow it to be that way. it is unacceptable to ask someone to work for 12 hours without taking a break. if we don't demand that we be allowed our breaks, we are accepting abusive working conditions. occasi...

I think your letter does a good job of explaining why you weren't at work, but it doesn't address the issue of the manager changing the schedule without letting you know. If I were you, I'd be more assertive about that part. I can sympathize with you...

Someday society may be more accepting of tattoos in a professional environment. Until then, I would do as the others have said and find an effective way to cover the tattoos. That way you can still pursue a nursing career without limiting your option...

no, i've never been a manager. i may have mistook the intended meaning of what you posted. i was simply pointing out that your statement seemed to devalue to role of a staff nurse as compared to a manager. i would venture to guess that most staff nur...

I work with a nurse who mispronounces the antibiotic Zosyn. She says zoy-sin.... drives me nuts! I want to scream "It's zoooo-sin!!!!" And another nurse who says po-taz-ee-um. It's po-tas-ee-um lady!

wow. i'm sure you didn't mean that they way it comes across. i've really valued and respected things you've posted before. this seems to imply that staff nurses aren't using our brains in our daily work. if it's just sticking needles in people and ha...

I agree that some of the hoops we have to jump through make it a bit more time consuming and frustrating at times. I'm just saying that I don't think you have to be any "smarter" or have a higher IQ than other degree seeking college students. I think...

This is exactly how I feel. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think nursing school is going to be sooo hard because others said it will, then you will have test anxiety and freak out. Honestly, I think those that struggle in nursing school woul...

Not trying to pick on anyone, but isn't the nurse signing off on a chart ALWAYS supposed to verify that they were actually entered in the computer, etc? That's the way I've always been trained and seen it done.

I am on a commitee to help implement bedside change of shift report on my unit. It is a 28 bed general surgical unit. Another unit in my hospital has done this successfully. We are just in the beginning stages of the process. Any input would be helpf...

I went to nursing school and was a CNA in Maine, and we always called hospital gowns "johnnies". When I got my first job out of school at a hospital in NC, I sure got some curious looks when I asked people where the clean johnnies were kept, usually ...

Ok, so it's a New England thing! Good to know.... Here in Montana, where my hubby is stationed now, we call 'em gowns. I wonder where the term "johnny" comes from?

When I work in the cicu, I set my monitor to show the resp parameter. When I am working in the surgical unit, the CNA's routinely take vitals. If I do a set I do usually count resps. I wouldn't ever make up a number though. If I don't count, I just d...

I was just wondering of any of you long timers had any memory tricks or ways to help remember which drips do what and/or what doses to start at...whether they are in mcg/kg/min or mcg/min etc. Or does it all just come with practice? Once I look the d...

I saw a pain scale that made sense to me posted on the wall at the Air Force base clinic where I get my GYN care. It's based on level of functioning...ie pain is present but able to perform activities of daily living..etc etc. According to that scale...

Personally, I would want someone to let me know if I were saying something the wrong way. The reality is that a person who misuses words, or pronounces them incorrectly comes across as less knowledgeable and intelligent. There may come a time in the ...

I was 20 when I graduated with my ADN. I turned 21 a couple of months later.

I'm not really bothered when pt's or family members say things incorrectly. There are some things that the general public just doesn't know....but I get really annoyed when healthcare workers/professionals don't use or say the words correctly. It's n...

Yeah, if you're the ER nurse. Not so awesome for the floor nurse. It's nice to know you're getting a pt, and a little info about them...like their NAME, for example....before the doc is on the phone trying to give admit orders. Geez.

That's exactly the type of memory aid I was thinking of! Thanks!

At my last job I had to constantly reach over the charge nurse's shoulder to look at my charts, and annoy the heck out of her...or rely on the less than dependable unit secretary to let me know when I had a new order...A lot of orders were missed, or...

This sounds pretty passive-aggressive to me. IMHO, it's always better to be direct than to resort to cattiness. These are the kinds of behaviors that lead to a breakdown in communication and collaboration between docs and nurses, which leads to care ...