whofan ADN, BSN, RN

69 bed unit separated into pods. CVICU pod 8 beds. S/TICU two pods with 11 beds and 10 beds . MICU with 40 beds split into three pods. pod 1 taking infectious disease and CVAs, pod 2 taking MIs, and pod 3 taking mostly respiratory.

We follow a similar handoff with name, age, etc, then dx, hx, then review of systems. We do a mini skin assessment because we turn our patients at shift change because it gives you two hours to have to do it again and at the beginning of shift this i...

briefs can hold moisture up against the skin and cause skin breakdown leading to pressure ulcers. with chux at least there can be more air movement and drying of the skin, depends on the brand and absorbancy of the chux as well, and if the patient is...

I started on med-surg/stroke unit, and after 15 months got accepted into my hospitals' fellowship for ICU. It was 13 weeks long and provided enough training to make me feel like I was not lost when coming out on my own.I feel know after being on my o...

Report all critical labs, no matter what they are, and do it quickly. My hospital has policy that it has to be within 30minutes. We also have protocols on how to deal with electolytes and DKA. The order sets save calls to the doctors as they are prot...

Is it a part of your religion to stop other's from getting blood transfusions? I don't see the moral dilemma, if you r cannot press the start button how that different from monitoring and pressing the stop? I understand that if you were a patient the...

Our RTs do it once per shift and the RN is required to the care the remaining 2 times. We use toothettes with suciotn and chlorohexidene gluconate mouthwash. Our unit has dropped its VAP rate since it started this. Why would it take 3 RNs to do oral ...

1-2 CNAs on day shift only. Night shift has none. 69 bed unit.

I agree with Mully. Art lines are awesome once you get comfortable troubleshooting them. Also call the physician with anything weird, it covers you and it is their patient too, most likely the will want to know about anything strange happening with t...

its not necessarily the number of years but the amount of hours. Or it was the last I checked.

Word it differently but tell them/her everything you just said in your second paragraph. If you have a passion for critical care that is helpful too. Be honest, don't stress and be yourself. Interviews are hard, but they are like NCLEX questions, don...

There are some places that allow you to get the BSN as a second degree and give you credit, but from the research I did they are mostly brick and mortar locations but many do have hybrid, which is to say that you have some online classes, or theory a...

I work at a teaching hospital so luckily we have residents and fellows to help.This does not always lead to a good outcome but we do have a great survival rate. The pharamacist on hand at night is a wonderful luxury we do have, especially since we do...

you may see different units for heparin, but that is always for a drip and for that, at least at my hospital you have to two nurses to change, or start so you will always have help.

The word always and never should be red flag, to get you to stop and think before choosing an answer.

I find that if it does not apply to me then it is not worth the effort to get upset about it. Follow the rules that your school requests of you, take pride in your training and appearance, and know that once you are out of nursing school you can wear...

What charting system is that. Ours is more conducive to real time charting. Its a flowsheet and you can see what you charted and the previous shift too. I keep notes as well but our charting system makes is simple to see your task lists, meds to be g...

Knowing that doctors are people too, helps. I have been lucky at my work, at first on med-surg, then in ICU to have good even-tempered doctors and PAs. Be prepared when calling them is the best advice. If you know your stuff then even if they are mea...

My employer is always hiring, but it is located near an army base, and not much else. People come here, work for a year to get experience and then leave. The turnover is huge on the med-surg floors. It is not quite as bad in the ICU where I work, but...

Are you a new grad? Sometimes critical care departments can be super overwhelming. Did you have a good orientation/internship to the ED. I know the hospital I work at has a short one for the ED but a much longer one for ICU, and the ICU nurses have b...

The hospital system I work for only has 5 weeks for new grads on the med-surg floors, and unfortunately it is the only one in 100 mile radius that hires new grads. We have many people coming from the surrounding areas to get trained her and they leav...