hawaiicarl BSN, RN

Critical care

Grumpy Old Man

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All Content by hawaiicarl

  1. hawaiicarl

    Why do we do codes?

    hawaiicarl replied to scrubs0204's topic in General Nursing

    What a great topic! I was in shock my first code here in the US, the patient had a living will that said DNR. I asked the physician after why we coded a DNR patient, and he said because the...
  2. hawaiicarl

    Giving report/day shift probs

    hawaiicarl replied to scooterscamp123's topic in General Nursing

    Try sarcasm .... not advised if you are a novice at it. Something like "their last chemo was lot #23-b16e, expired 1/16/12, given through the port-a-cath with a 22 gauge access over a time of 87...
  3. hawaiicarl

    How to get into ICU?

    hawaiicarl replied to alli.'s topic in General Nursing

    Wow, the number of red flags in this post is amazing. I would recommend not telling potential employers much of this. 1. I used my connections with the DON to get a job as a charge nurse as a new...
  4. hawaiicarl

    Y-porting potassium IV - what's your policy?

    hawaiicarl replied to sarmrn's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Our potassium comes in 2 concentrations, 10mEq/100 ml NS, or 20 mEq/100ml NS. Peripheral IVs can only be used with the lower concentration. I understand why people would think running NS concurrently...
  5. hawaiicarl

    Psych RN Considering CRNA

    hawaiicarl replied to Zyprexa's topic in Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist

    Oops.
  6. hawaiicarl

    What would you think if you saw this patient?

    hawaiicarl replied to coffeemamaRN's topic in General Nursing

    Epiglottitis, allergic reaction, mumps would be my top three guesses. The cause really doesn't matter, if they can't swallow their secretions they need immediate treatment in the ER. Usually...
  7. hawaiicarl

    Do you have a free charge nurse on your unit?

    hawaiicarl replied to EllaBella1's topic in General Nursing

    Charge nurse hat .... check Patient assignment .... check Code nurse .... check RRT nurse ..... check Tough IV start team .... check Hmmm which hat to wear this particular moment in
  8. hawaiicarl

    Dating a former patient

    hawaiicarl replied to sarahg88's topic in General Nursing

    As soon as I saw the title of the post I thought .... mental health ..... bingo! I was
  9. hawaiicarl

    ED or ICU

    hawaiicarl replied to spence41's topic in Emergency

    If you like focused cases with autonomy, then ICU. If you like task based nursing with rapid turnover, ER.
  10. hawaiicarl

    Lab Values in the ICU

    hawaiicarl replied to Santiago Pinon III's topic in General Nursing

    We use Istats in our ICU, mostly on our post-op open hearts, although they are faster they are way less accurate. We use them as an initial value for replacements, then confirm when the labs show up...
  11. hawaiicarl

    Manager catch phrases

    hawaiicarl replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    "Grow them." "Just Sayin' " "Here's yer sign" "Thank you for all you do"
  12. hawaiicarl

    New grad as a unit manager

    hawaiicarl replied to aspiringrn1987's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I think your success is partially related to it being a sub-acute environment, as you stated. This in no way relates to transferring into an acute care setting later, but you could be a director of...
  13. hawaiicarl

    Should drug diverters be prosecuted?

    hawaiicarl replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    As you can see from many of your replies some softhearted fools feel this is an illness. This is why few are prosecuted, we actually had an ER tech smoke meth on site, when caught he claimed it was a...
  14. hawaiicarl

    Age-slapped in the face!

    hawaiicarl posted a topic in Nursing Humor

    This is not really a joke, just something funny to me. I was driving to the post office the other day, and went to make a left hand turn, but stopped because an old couple was in the crosswalk. Some...
  15. hawaiicarl

    so... i assisted in a code today... BUT

    hawaiicarl replied to sickonXmas's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    You should know two things here 1. Little old ladies obsess over bowel movements. 2. Nurses make the worst patients.
  16. hawaiicarl

    Most exotic places to nurse

    hawaiicarl replied to kardz30's topic in General Nursing

    Hawaii is nice, it's tropical, but not third world. So you get the flavor of exotic without the risk of an undeveloped
  17. hawaiicarl

    How do nurses keep current with up to date information?

    hawaiicarl replied to Shillelagh's topic in General Nursing

    Personally for my EBP I use the AACN website, the CCRN magazine, and the CDC. Cheers PS - Well of course I do NTI, and other conferences
  18. hawaiicarl

    Do you pre-inflate the balloon on a foley cath?

    hawaiicarl replied to VegGal's topic in General Nursing

    EBP, and the manufacturer both say not to pre-inflate balloons. This is one of those old practices that never seem to go away no matter how much education on the rationale is done.
  19. hawaiicarl

    How do YOU check for lice?

    hawaiicarl replied to JerseyTomatoMDCrab's topic in School

    From farrrrrr away, them little critters jump!
  20. hawaiicarl

    Central line compatibility

    hawaiicarl replied to mfarmer88's topic in Critical Care

    Surprisingly bicarb drips are compatible now with a large number of our ICU drips. Yes they were wrong, you were right. The key here is .... it was the ICU director, bringing back that old saying...
  21. hawaiicarl

    Haven't graduated yet, being asked to stay after I do. Need some advice

    hawaiicarl replied to FLnurseprospect's topic in General Nursing

    I would take the contract if it seems fair. Often I evaluate nursing students during clinicals to determine if they are good candidates. Having been there for seven years in a support role, and...
  22. hawaiicarl

    IV compatibility

    hawaiicarl replied to sara2013's topic in General Nursing

    We use Micromedex as well. In addition to this we have a large laminated sheet with our most common drips posted on the wall in each room. This is a lifesaver when you get those drips you don't...
  23. hawaiicarl

    Actual handwashing vs. sanitizer

    hawaiicarl replied to quazar's topic in General Nursing

    Our facility has a "Gel in, Gel out" policy, we are not allowed to enter a pt's room without hand gel on the way in and the way out. They even have secret shoppers who observe staff, and turn you in...
  24. hawaiicarl

    Seeking advice from all you Introverted nurses out there...

    hawaiicarl replied to jk2185's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I wasn't sure whether to be offended or amused at this comment. In the end I just sighed and shook my head. ICU is by far the most emotionally draining unit to work, other than pediatric oncology...
  25. hawaiicarl

    Looking for Guidance on Mistake

    hawaiicarl replied to katie115's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    I can just read the headlines in the local paper now. "Newborn discharged from local hospital at midnight with no food" .... You did the best you could. My question would be where was dayshift, and...