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 My hospital had a prep course and we got a binder of stuff but mine are probably outdated.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.

Hi! Im an OR nurse applying to Acute Care NP school because I want to be a Surgical NP (alongside a surgeon) or an NP in a SICU. Are the NPs inside a SICU called Surgical NPs, Critical Care NP, or ICU NPs? Both are in the surgical field, so I didnt know and wanna get the correct naming of the position. Thanks!

Im currently applying to a NP program (MSN) and am working on the essay. Im having difficulty understanding one part of the question. It asks... 1) Explain your plans for pursuing the MSN degree. 2)Briefly summarize your background professional experience relevant to your speciality selection and rationale for the program and future career goals I don't understand what they are asking for in Question one. I assume its my future goals but then they ask for my future goals in #2. Does it mean, what are some of the ways I'll manage to be in school (financially and professionally?) or to name how I will successful in school? Any interpretations will be helpful ? thanks!

Hi just following up. Im currently applying to UAB and am working on the essay- and finding articles for that evidence based literature part yikes! Part of the essay in asks 1) Explain your plans for pursuing the MSN degree. 2)Briefly summarize your background professional experience relevant to your speciality selection and rationale for the program and future career goals I don't understand what they are asking for part one. I assume its my goals but then they ask for my future goals in #2. Also any tips on writing would help. (encouragement also appreciated)

Hi! I was wondering if theres any former or current OR nurses that are/will be NPs. Im pretty nervous because Ive been out for 6 years (and only done OR nursing)and have lost many bedside skills. Im just hoping for some positive "its like riding a bike, it'll come back to you" or how people dealt with other nurses claiming OR nurses shouldn't go back to school since its not "real nursing".

Hi! Im not a bedside nurse but still wanted to comment on what I like about the OR. Im a big anatomy person so the OR is super cool. You get to see the craziest/coolest things-an adult heart beat on its own, a 1month old heart beat on its own, bullets being removed from the oddest of places (someones butt), remove an eyeball, see and touch someones brain, and hold a liver/lung/kidney etc. I consider it very much "behind the scenes" of the human body. Yes, most people think its gross but I think its super cool. Most people won't ever get to see that in a lifetime. Then you have these crazy cool lifesaving surgeries like transplant, imagine pre-opping a patient "hi sir/madam, can i have you confirm your name...DOB...allergies... and what are you here for?.... correct, a new kidney. I know you've wait 5 years for this moment". You can feel their nervousness/excitement, its so raw and palpable. Plus you get to be there to ensure it all goes smooth, you play a major part in this major milestone. You truly make a difference. Plus, its one patient and one time. You can focus on your patient. You are there, the surgeon, anesthesia, and residents (depending on the hospital). So if *** hits the fan, you work together. True teamwork. I also work midshift so I get thrown everywhere but I like it. I can go from a hip replacement, to VATS to liposuction or mastectomy to ureteral stent placement to liver transplant. Its crazy cool and keeps me on my toes (while having the ability to always focus on one patient). Hope that helps

Im currently applying to Adult/Gero Acute Care NP school. In need of advice on what to include/not to for the application when it comes to submitting my resume... Do I need a "objective" or "personal summary" section on my resume? Should I include volunteer work (or just if its medical volunteer work)?Write that I'm a BLS provider (or should that be automatically assumed)?I have a year gap in my nursing (just wanted a break), should I explain that in my application?Also, any other tips on what to do would help (like when I should contact the people writing me letters of recommendation). Thanks!

I enjoy it! (+) strengthen your skills, get to travel (-) every hospital is different (could be mean/poor staff and have different names for instruments) I don't think you need trauma experience, but if you would like you can do non trauma hospitals (level 2) for a bit to help prepare you. CNOR AND ACLS look amazing too! I'd get it! Best of luck!

Funny! I am in the US and thinking of going to Australia for nursing- ( do they do travel nursing in Australia? If so, can americans do travel nursing in AU?) In the US, most ORs train their nurses across every surgical service (except for hearts) but you will specialize in one surgical service (and usually a second/third one). Every nurse is supposed to at least know the basics (general surgery should be one of those three specialities). Some hospitals train their nurses to do both scrub/scout but you will find hospitals who have their nurses mainly scrub because they have a lot of scrub techs. Typically, (good) hospitals will ask you what you can't do and will avoid putting you in that surgical service to scrub/scout but you will be put in to circulate. It would look good if you can do scrub AND circulate (scrubbing ortho and neuro look amazing for travelers), a few years experience and having a bachelors/masters degree looks good too (tho a couple of hospitals will hire associates). If you have any more questions just PM-also cuz I may have some Australia OR questions.

I heard from a fellow agency person what the local rate is for agency nurses in my area. Im just a few dollars short which i bummed about but then I remembered my agency tried to give me $10 less than the local rate (I just happened to ask for more before I signed... which was a bit of a struggle). I feel betrayed by my agency that they were trying to low ball me but then again, Im wondering if I should even listen to that fellow agency person. Could she be lying? Is she just trying to get me to switch to her agency? I also want to confront my recruiter because this gives me bad faith in my agency. Should I? I should probably find out the REAL local rate first but how do I do that? Can I just call the womens agency to simply ask what local rate they are paying? Is it really that simple? Im so frustrated so any help or advice is appreciated.

Hi All, I have recently decided that I want to work in Australia (specifically Melbourne if possible). I have 4years theatre experience and have visited Australia twice and I am certain that I wanna move there. I was wondering if anyone has any leads on how to get the international nursing process going. Is there an international travel nursing agency I can sign up with that will help me with the process/fees? Or do I have to apply on my own then once I am granted approval, look for agencies/hospitals? Any tips on the process or AU nursing tips is always appreciated. Thanks!