NessaNurse

Thank you for the replies! I am currently looking at positions in PCU (stepdown) and ICU at a local hospital :) I think it will be a good change for me!

When I worked Peds at a children's hospital Policy said NOT to give the blood back..even on NICU/PICU..but some nurses did do it. I never did because of the risks associated with the practive. When drawing most labs I used the minimum waste allowed (I would call lab to see what the minimum would be to get correct values) and if the minimum was very large I would do a peripheral draw rather than waste 10 ml on a teeny anemic baby...so really even though some nurses did give the blood back..it was not acceptable per policy

I am currently looking at working in ICU. I have been working in outpatient PACU and preop for the last 2 years, for 2.5 years I worked on a pediatric med surg floor (trachs,gtubes, ventriculostomies, drips ect)..I am just a bit concerned about going from an outpatient PACU setting to ICU..would I be safe with a 6-8 week orientation? My freind who works thier says they are taking new grads with only 8 weeks orientation...hmm..yet I wonder If I would be a good candidate for ICU being outside the "hospital" for over 2 years now Anyfeedback would be good! Thank you in advance :)

Oh my JessieRN that is scary! What was that patient thinking!? If they were with it that was a nasty thing for the patient to do, especially while you were pregnant!

Children's Hospital has A new grad RN residency if you want to do peds.

Hmmmm at many hospitals where I have applied New Grads actually seemed to be the preferential new hire! I have 4 years experience but had a hard time finding a job!! So maybe it just depends on where you look! On a side note I do see many new grads finish orientation..work for a few months and just shuttle off to a better paying job somewhere else..this may be part of the problem. Some people have no loyalty! I mean its one thing if you got stuck in a job you hate or need to move for other reasons, but many new grads at my old hospital finished the LONG orientation (RN residency) and then left for more $$$$!

My survey said the same thing!! Maybe that could be changed?

Hmmm..when I worked at a childrens hospital on the floor I worked thier were quite a few guys. I think it varies at different facilities. Some of the kids prefered male nurses. Especially school age boys and teenage boys. They liked the guys better because they were, "cooler"..lol

Warm packs help. A good helper to help hold and hand you stuff..little guys are wiggly! Always have everything ready to go before you start. For little babies I like feet esp inner ankle. For older kids most of the same places you would find as in adults. And once you get that IV started...SECURE IT! Always make a loop and place you tape well, dont cover over your site though with peds you really need to assess the site to make sure its still good. Don't be afraid to practice, start on the biggest easiest kiddos and work your way down to the harder kids and babies (chubby ones are really tough IMHO).

I like briefs unless this confuses the patient than I just call them whatever the patient calls them ..unless I'm working peds then diapers is acceptable (at certain ages of course)

Wow..at our facility we use syringe pumps to place mlutiple meds into a Y site, as long as they are compatible you are good to go really.. Some meds are compatible with lipids as well. If something is not compatible with TPN you can stop the TPN, flush the Line (The CVC, not the TPN line, use a spearate one!)and run the meds *(as long it is not longer then 15 min, longer than that and the patient may bottom out sugar wise, this can also depend on the pt, some pts botton out in less then 15 min.). And yes TPN is an excellent medium for bacterial growth but when your line is your only access and you are runing meds that run for over an hour and ARE compatible, you can run them with TPN..you can check your med books or with pharmacy for compatibilties.

Where I work as well all bags, tubings ect are changed q24 h. Unless the bag is never entered (*ie no IV push meds, no entring w syringe pump, no piggy backs ect) it can stay for 72 h. So most everything is changed q 24

Hi! I started out in my chosen specialty in pediatric med/surg (rather high acuity for peds, very sick kids, some 2 to 1 patients, stepdown patients as well). I'm very interested in switching over to a PACU position in a Women and Infants department at another facility (I am moving due to family issues). I will have 2 years RN exp. as of Feb. Is ICU experience ALWAYS a requirement? The recruiter says ICU would be a requirement before entering the PACU, but I have seen other nurses go stright form my floor to units with more sedation as well as to PACU positions. Any advice would be appreciated!

sounds like largynmalacia or perhaps a sub glottic mass of some sort. I agree with the post to see a Peds ENT to scope

I've Heard AV hosp. runs by team nursing in med/surg, so you have 8 pts w an LVn and an aide, not really what I'm used to. I grew up in the AV, I like it thier, but crime has gone up in recent years. It also depends on the neighborhood you live/work in. But I've heard AV hosp. can get pretty scary. I'm htinking of moving back to the AV, but I work in LA so trying that communte again does not soundlike fun