Propranolol

Haha. I thought I was the only one who enjoyed this. Also, looking back further into the chart (orders) and understanding the story of the patient. You learn a lot by just skimming 2-3 days of previous orders.

I've only been a nurse for 2 years. Every code I've attended never made it. One patient after 30-40 minutes of CPR and lots of drugs finally went into a rhythm. Transferred to icu. Later, heard two code blues on the page system. dude didn't make it. At my hospital, besides 1. CPR 2. Lots of drugs 3. intubation 4. Paddles, there is not much we can do for them. sad.

Making a medication error that kills someone.

We schedule ourselves on a spreadsheet. After i'm done, i make a copy of it. some people try to be sneaky, but they usually get caught and are confronted about it. simple as that.

I work nights too. it was difficult switching from days to nights. I don't know how your schedule works, but i work 12 hour shifts. 4 days off. once a month i try to take 5-6 days off in a row. i feel refreshed when i get back. It took me about 6 months to get used to working nights. took me a year to find my groove (i.e. working out my schedule, sleeping/eating habits, etc). good luck.

Everyone on my floor starts IV's. PICC lines are done during the day with the interventional radiologist. we don't have picc teams, unfortunately. i remember just one time when anesthesia was called. they placed an IV in the foot. i believe the patient was seizing or something along those lines. If we can't start it, we just call the house MD. our house MD who use to be a pediatrician (now emergency medicine) is excellent. one stick wonder.

If the nurse wasn't in the vein, when she flushed it, she should have seen the skin blow up with saline. I've seen it done ONCE where there was no flashback on a #24. Patient had tiny veins. no problems after wards. Even when there is a flashback on a #24, usually don't see blood return after the catheter is properly placed within the vein. just my experience.

quoted for truth.

i'm not a case manager but i do see what the case management goes through. some of these managers have 10-15 years working on the floor or other management experience. its a very tough job trying to convince physicians to discharge patients or get them the services they need to get them out the door. i've been asked by one of the case managers to come work with them and they asked me how much experience i had (1.5 years) and they said to come back in 2-3 years. no thanks anyways. haha. its a HUGE learning curve. they teach me stuff all the time and its stuff i wouldn't think of. i think it comes with years of experience. i can't decide for you, but if it were me, i would try to get floor experience somewhere. good luck with whatever you do.

i work noc. med/surg. we have a charge nurse. wait, we have a nurse who is responsible for making assignments. she has the same amount of patients and does her own admissions, just like the rest of the nurses. whether you have 3 pts or 8pts. everyone has their night. -good day.

We typically get verbal report. recently i've seen the ER just sending a faxed report. the pt comes to the floor and we scratch our heads. rooms not ready. patients need to be moved. its embarrassing when the pt has family members who are AAO and look visibly upset. the hospital doesn't look good. Sometimes the reports are half correct. in medicine/nursing, communication is the basic foundation for proper patient care. period. sometimes the ER just wants to bounce the patient out of their area, ASAP (annoying family), for whatever reason. this happens in other departments too, not just the ER. unacceptable. PERIOD. -good day.

I felt the same way as you when i started. 1.5 yrs ago. I felt like crap when i left and was dreading coming in. My stomach was always upset. My preceptor was really nice and helped me along the way. Find someone you can trust (hard, i know) and ask them. Nurses of 30 years practice come up to me and ask for my advice on things i find simple. Nurses who ask questions are the best kind in my opinion. I work at night and it seems like a different environment than the day shift. When i see someone who needs help, i always volunteer to help them. whether its helping inserting an IV or running all the way down to pharmacy/central supply to pick up something they need NOW. I do it. they remember it and will be more willing to help you insert that Ngtube/foley/iv etc when you can't get in it or stop and answer a question for you. I'd wish you the best of luck, but you don't need it. rock on! ps. look back in a year from your post date, you think you haven't learned anything. it was quite the surprise when i did this.

yeah. how did she "fix the count"?

sticking to the topic.. I work on a med/surg floor. we had a long term patient there. meaning, he would not leave. no insurance and he was homeless. can't just kick him to the street. refusing medical treatment for his original problem. etc etc. anyway, he gained somewhere between 50-75 lbs. just sitting in bed eating and taking morphine all day. one of the nurses, who isn't a nice person overall, took a mirror and told the patient to look at himself. look at what he became. I thought cruel and bold at the same time.

didn't read the responses. but here's my take.. I remember being a new grad and being uncomfortable with the word diaper. then i saw in the computer to order them, it reads, "Small Diapers" or "Large Diapers." hmm ok. then i talked to the patients, and they called them diapers. So, i guess they are diapers. Whatever the culture is on the unit, i just go by that. ps. i work in acute care, not ltc.