scrubulator

Situation: MVA pt with heroin on board/hx of drug abuse, pt had surgery, MDs prescribed morphine/tramadol/tylenol for pain. I suggested we do COWS every few hours, my coworker didn't think we need to since he was prescribed mainly opioids for pain ("he wouldn't be in withdrawal since we are giving him opioids"). Question: But COWS is for opiates (not opioids), so he could still withdraw from the opiate (heroin) right?? Thoughts?

do you like nicole's resources? is it helpful?

Looking for an timeclock/timesheet app where I can punch in my start/end times to double I am getting paid for the right amount of hours. any suggestions? bonus points- if theres a way to include pay and shift differential/holiday. thanks!

I heard DNPs don't have to sit for boards, is this true? also, if they do have to take boards, is the certification similar to MSN-NP? same renewal dates/fees?

I took it a few years back...2015? My hospital had a prep course and we got a binder of stuff but mine are probably outdated. Just remember, you passed your NCLEX and that was hard. You can do this!!

haha yes! CRNA, it was late for me ?

This may or may not help. As far as I know RNFA's need to be certified in the OR (CNOR). to be certified in the OR you of course need hours in the OR. You might want to look into this a bit more... it might help sway you one way over the other

The highest OR nurse role is CNOR but that requires ICU training for 1-2years at least and then 3-4years of school. Management is next. If money is what you are aiming for, travel OR might be up your alley. CVOR makes bank! @LovelyElly- I thought for AGACNP-RNFA, you have to maintain your CNOR. but how can you if your a NP? plz correct me if Im wrong.

hard. I've heard many stories of people getting questions outside of the surgical speciality (as if the computer knew-LOL). Mine was pretty fair (from what I remember not many anesthesia questions .....no ophthalmology & no math questions!) My biggest challenges were the sterilization methods and temps. Do a prep course, theres a few CNOR apps out there too. Also, if you can check out the books CNOR suggest and read chapters for areas you feel weak in. Some ORs own them, mine didn't so I had to go to a medical library. You find out if you pass then and there (unlike NCLEX). BEST OF LUCK!

I like the variety of both. Some days I hate charting, so I scrub. Other days, I dislike the surgeon I work with so I circulate. I think its valuable to do both if you see yourself in a long term OR setting. It looks appealing as a OR travel nurse AND if you switch to other ORs. If you are hoping to return to ICU/CRNA school then you should be fine. I have heard thats the new trend, newer OR nurses get taught just to circulate.

Offer to put extra stuff away for OR rooms. Thats where you find where things are located (and you aren't on a time crunch).Go into rooms you've never seen or what to see more of- ask questions about them.compression socks, but like professional ones (or over the 20mmHg)always have an extra pair of scrubs in your locker- some mornings they are out of my size and have to go a size up. looks awful so get it before they run out.this also helps if the scrub machine is far from the locker room.its prob a general nursing rule, always keep pens on you. I like multi colored pens. whenever I relieve ppl for a break, I switch to a different colored pen. that way, if I add anything to the count, I know I did it cuz I wrote it in green (or whatever). if theres a miscount, and they call you, you say "all I opened were the 5 laps and I wrote it.... in green pen". your *** is covered. You can also just write your initials next to what you added but some letters could look like numbers. color coding is easier.always, always, always log out of your EMR when you get relieved. you don't want someone to chart in your namethe most important rule, if you feel like something is off-say something. that comes to whether you question something/someones sterility or if you think theres a miscount. when someone wants to count, you count. no questions asked. I don't care if its in the middle of the case, you count. (esp sutures/sponges cuz even the most experienced ppl forget to add them at times)

I agree and disagree with @YoYosama. In nursing school, I learned tons about meds, how to do head to toe assessments, place IVs and how to give shots (among other things). Do I do this now? No. But the nursing education that has helped is A&P. For a Lap Chole, knowing what we clip/cut helps. Seeing a diagnosis and understand whats happening cuz thats what I learned in school, helps. Everything else is on the job training and memorization. Commit to taking the OR education home and reviewing it. Im probably late but if someone else is in a similar situation:: I say talk about what you liked about the OR in the interview and why you still wanna see it through.

I too went straight into OR from school. It was somewhere I wanted to be. That being said, it's really hard and some days I hated going to work. Theres a HUGE learning curve. I assure you, we all have felt that way and we get it. It's only a year in, give yourself grace. My advice: its OK not to know. You're a year in, make sure you know what YOU are doing before you venture out and figure out what anesthesia is doing. I also suggest to slowly build relationships with the doctors. Side rant:: SOME Anesthesia personal like help upon intubation so go up there and offer to help. Hand them the tubing once they see the vocal cords since they need to focus on the visualization, withdraw the stylet, or give them the ET tubing . Some won't like it but I know some who LOVE it when we help, just ask. Thats how you build relationships, little things. The ones you eventually feel comfortable around, ask them your burning questions. They most likely won't judge. Also it may just be me, but I think CRNAs do a beautiful job explaining things in layman terms. Second side rant: I guarantee you 90% of the people exchanging "glances" will forget what you said. I've heard my fair share of stupid, but you remember the "stupid stuff" more than "who said the stupid stuff". ^^^^^ I get it. It may not seem like critical thinking cuz thats not what we were taught in school but it still counts. Again, you're a year in. You gotta have a sturdy foundation, take this time to build it. After 2 years, maybe go into cardiac or trauma surgery. Now thats critical thinking. Get certified. Hell, maybe do travel nursing and see if you can swim in new environments.

Thinking of going applying to NP school for either Family or Acute Care at University of Southern Indiana. I cant find much review of it online. I don't know if its a good school or just a nursing school factory pumping out NPs. Does anyone know? If so, can you share your experience?

Also stumbled onto this page (and late to the post). All my nursing experience has been OR and while I want to pursue ACNP to be a surgical NP I worry that I'm not preparing myself up well. Should I switch to floor nursing for the first year of school so I at least have some bedside skills? Should I do OR travel nursing for the first year to make $$ for school to offset the future debt/loans and maybe network a bit ? or build relationships with my current surgeons? How do I pick preceptors? Most surgeons utilize PAs and the few surgical NPs are at hospitals that dont allow outside nursing students. Are there surgical NP fellowships? Does the NP school name carry any clout? woof. Sorry for off-loading, my mind is going nuts and I dont know what to do.