JennyAS BSN, RN

I'm a new nurse, have been working in the ER for 5 months now (and loving it!). Last night I offered to take a pt up to the floor for another nurse. Dx: viral meningitis (strange to already have that dx in the ER, aren't you supposed to wait till cu...

VENT Why are some ED docs so averse to actually writing orders? I understand it's the ED, and they get spoiled by how much ED nurses are willing to do without a doctor's order (lines, labs, fluids, etc), but if you tell me to give Dilaudid, I'm gonn...

I just moved from one level I trauma center to another in a different state. Of course I expected a lot of things to be done differently, but I think my new hospital may be setting up arterial lines incorrectly. At my old hospital, we would place ...

There is no hospital policy written to detail the exact step-by-step process they want us to use to prime an arterial line. I just wanted to get a poll as to how nurses around the board tend to prime their art lines.

When we give Toradol IM, we offer a dose of 60 mg/2 mL. I agree that 2mL of fluid is too much to inject into a small muscle mass like the deltoid. I usually only use the deltoid for Tetanus IM (0.5mL) and anything less than 1mL.

To the loudly snoring ETOHer found in an Auto Repair Shop: "Maybe she needs her air filter changed." To the drug seeker throwing out his best pseudo-seizure: "Sir, that's not a seizure. Stop shaking." Response by pt: Immediately sits straight up ...

Yay, I passed the CEN today! I have about a year of ER experience, and I started out as a new grad. I know they recommend 2 years of experience, but I was eager to have it under my belt. I studied for about 3 months. My biggest studying tool was t...

Patients and/or family members who are CNAs and think they know more than the nurses and doctors combined. Case in point: Lady, you've received Demerol 50 mg and Dilaudid 2 mg IV for a freaking abscess. No you can't have more narcs. Don't tell me ...

Look LOL, you came in c/o dizziness, sweating, and "pressure in your stomach" that suddenly resolved when EMS arrived at your house. You better believe you're being admitted for a cardiac workup, even though we're all convinced you had an anxiety at...

I started out in the ED as a new grad 7 months ago, and I absolutely love it. But my 2 cents, on top of what everyone else has already said, is that we have our doctors immediately available 24/7. As a new grad, sometimes it's hard to decide whethe...

I actually did share the site with the nurse, but he was uninterested. haha. Gram stain neg.

But what happens when you've filled all your rooms with sprained ankles and abdominal pains, and you have a respiratory distress or STEMI come in? Do you leave critical rooms open in case that happens?

I am about to graduate nursing school in June. I've been offered a job at a level III ED, and I'm #1 on the waiting list at a Level I ED. I had my heart set on the Level I, so I was pretty disappointed about getting wait listed... but after talkin...

Good point, Crocuta... I've actually done lots of research: I forgot to mention that I shadowed at the Level I for 12 hours, and plan to shadow at the Level III soon. I loved the Level I, especially because of the teamwork. I actually had a reside...

I'm about to graduate from UF's Accelerated BSN program, and I want to start working in an ED. Can anyone tell me what it's like to work at the ED at Shands UF? I've heard some bad things... but I'd like to get more opinions. Thanks!

Hello! I will be starting an Accelerated BSN program at the University of Florida this May, and I'll be done in 13 months. (VERY VERY excited!) So here's my situation: I plan on moving to San Francisco right away. I know what to do to get my licens...

I'll be starting my Accelerated BSN soon, and after I get that I may move to San Francisco. How are the job prospects for a new grad? Do hospitals in San Francisco generally prefer nurses with at least 1 year of experience, or will I be able to fin...

I know this topic has been exhausted in this forum, but I'm really concerned about finding a job when I graduate, and I'd love some advice. I'll be starting my Acclerated BSN soon, and after I graduate I may be moving to Boston to be with my boyfrien...

PS - My boyfriend would be a grad student at MIT, which means we'd be living somewhere around there, if that helps. Thanks, again!

I'm going to begin nursing school in less than a year, and I plan on earning my MSN at some point. Do you recommend that I earn my BSN, get a few years of experience, and then go back to school to get my MSN? Is it easy to work and get your MSN at ...

I currently live in Florida, but I was born in California and lived there for 7 years. I'd love to live there once I finish nursing school, but I have some worries. I know that California pays its nurses very well, but I hear that the cost of livin...

Thanks so much, everyone. This really helps! I was really starting to worry that Cali wouldn't be a good place for me, but I'm such a Cali girl at heart. Thanks, again!

I'm a third year undergraduate student who used to be pre-med. I decided that becoming a physician wasn't for me because I'm much more a social person than I am an analytical person. I thought I wanted to go into foreign service because I want to t...