R5RN

R5RN BSN, RN, EMT-P

ED, CTICU, Flight

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All Content by R5RN

  1. CRRT: Flushing Access Ports - How do you do it?

    Also to clarify (because IDK if you want it this specific), but I pull back first to see if I have blood return before flushing. If nothing is working, we would also switch our access and return...
  2. CRRT: Flushing Access Ports - How do you do it?

    When I was in the ICU, we also used Prismaflex and we used the same method you are describing. Disconnect, flush, reconnect (cleaning the patient's access port with isopropyl alcohol in between). We...
  3. Do charcoal masks work for foul smells?

    When I was pregnant at work, there was a couple of month time frame where smells were REALLY challenging for me. This was the only time I chose to wear masks. I certainly don't think it's insensitive...
  4. Do charcoal masks work for foul smells?

    Much easier solution - smear a bit of toothpaste between two
  5. MVA, EMS didn't use a backboard!!

    Speaking with 15 years of EMS, backboards are no longer recommended and are very seldom used, though each state may have slightly different protocols/guidelines. In my state, the only time you might...
  6. when should i tell my manager i'm pregnant?

    I was in an almost identical situation (it's almost uncanny how similar our situations are) and posted about it here I asked the same questions you have. I actually posted this update on page 2, but...
  7. Need to vent and process this

    Oh absolutely! Your role as a school nurse definitely varies from those in EMS. For example, in my state, our protocols would not warrant epinephrine in the way that you described your student (again,...
  8. Need to vent and process this

    First, as a paramedic myself, I apologize on behalf of the *ahem* jerk of a paramedic you dealt with. It's so frustrating that there are still quarrels between RNs and paramedics (speaking on the...
  9. Medical Response?

    RotorRunner had a very good post at the bottom of page 3. To answer your question directly (which I know others have), you would not start CPR. I totally hear you with your rationale, but CPR is...
  10. Pregnant and new job

    I've scoured the internet for advice on this and have asked some close friends but I am still not sure what to do. I was recruited for an ICU position at a different hospital than I am currently...
  11. Pregnant and new job

    I know this post is over a year old, but as the OP, I wanted to post an update in case any other nurses find themselves in my situation and come across this thread looking for advice. First, I let my...
  12. Head Padding

    Chair cushions/pads. Ikea has some for super
  13. In the ICU, do you get a tech?

    We have techs(/CNAs/PCAs or whatever you prefer to call that roll) in our CTICU. There are two during the week, and one during nights and weekends. They are not assigned rooms, they help throughout...
  14. Birthing gowns

    I came across this post because it popped up under "popular" and I was surprised that calling a gown a "johnny" is a regional thing! I am from CT, too and we always call them
  15. An 18-year-old in 2018 isn't a millennial. Millennials are defined as being born in 1981-1996. I'm an "older" millennial and I always carry a pen. Two, actually! One nicer ballpoint pen for me to...
  16. Cadaver Labs at Disney Resorts!

    I attended a cadaver lab in a hotel ballroom earlier this year. The floors were covered wall to wall with plastic, there was no food anywhere near the cadavers, they had a portable hand wash station...
  17. Why would med not draw up from vial

    If your needle is fully immersed in the medication but the syringe is filling with air (actually filling with air and not just meeting resistance/suction that would cause the plunger to return back to...
  18. Trauma

    Whoever told you blood cannot go through an IO was misinformed. Blood can absolutely be given through an
  19. Pregnant and new job

    To address some questions I see popping up, I absolutely have every intention of returning to work after what I anticipate being a short maternity leave. Being a stay at home mother is not for me. I...
  20. Pregnant and new job

    I have already reviewed their maternity and FMLA leaves and have no concerns in that regard, but thank
  21. Junior scrubs with 26in inseam?

    I'm a bit smaller than you, but I absolutely swear by Cherokee 4020P, I wear size XXSP. They are much smaller than all other Cherokee styles I have tried, and they are essentially the only scrub pants...
  22. ED staffing ratios

    Our fast track ratio is 9:1 and takes 4s, 5s, and "soft" 3s that frequently end up being not-so-"soft" (migraines, male abdominal pains, bounce back pedi abdominal pain, etc). Our main ED has 4-5:1...
  23. Hourly charting

    We are required to do hourly notes and they even make a list of what we are supposed to note. -Reassessment of complaint, pain, airway, breathing, circulation, cardiac rhythm (as applicable),...
  24. tips and tricks for difficult IV starts?

    Some of these other posters have already mentioned some of these things, but these are all things that I mention to people starting out or looking to improve. For the cases that you mention...
  25. How do traumas run in your ED?

    My ED is a level III trauma center and there's no real flow to how things go when we get trauma patients. Recently when I was in a trauma, both the trauma surgeon with a surgical PA and the ED...