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Yes, and the patient is fine!

Bump!

Hi everyone, I have been a nurse for 1 year and just had a question about a situation, wanting to make sure I did the right thing. A patient was sitting up at 90 degrees eating, talking on phone as well (yes, while eating) and began choking and then started vomiting. Patient already had suction at bedside due to swallowing issues and confirmed silent aspiration. I was in the room at the time and began suctioning the patient. I pushed the emergency button to get help immediately after I started suctioning. I suctioned the patient for several minutes until they could speak clearly and they said they were okay. Cleaned patient up and checked on them again about 10 mins later, they were asleep and appeared in no distress. I told the MD after and wrote a note. Vital signs taken shortly after were okay. I don't remember really being scared, everything felt instinctual. I just want to make sure I did the right things. Is there anything else I should have done? Would you have done anything differently? Thanks

And that's because I do want to get the good solid foundation before I go back to school. I'm just trying to think ahead and figure out the smartest way to do it so that I can come out with minimal debt.

Thanks guys! I wasn't planning on going back immediately. I'm thinking about a year or more from now.

Hi everyone! As the title says, I'm thinking about going back to school. I graduated with my BSN in May of 2017 and have been working full time since. I worked in post-op Ortho with Med Surg overflow and now I'm working full time in an acute inpatient rehab. I absolutely love rehab. All of my nursing experience is with the adult population. I want to go back and get my MSN. I'm leaning towards doing the ACNP route because I have no experience working with children and do not desire to treat that population. Don't get me wrong, I love kiddos and want my own in the future, but I just don't have an interest in pediatrics or anything like that. Which is why I don't really want to do FNP, unless I can get in somewhere that only sees adults. I'm also looking at the financial aspect of things. I currently have $10k in student loan debt from my BSN that I have started paying on, and my payments are $102 a month. The hospital I work at will pay up to $5,250 a year in educational reimbursement. I want to avoid going into any more debt if at all possible, but in order to do that I would have to hope I get some scholarships and completely wipe out my savings account and start over. Do you guys think I should take out some smalls loans and utilize my hospital's reimbursement and apply for scholarships to help me, or do you think I should use the hospital's reimbursement and my savings to pay for school?

If the patient would have been more unstable, would a rapid response have been appropriate? I just want to know if I am ever faced with this situation again

Hi everyone, I am a new nurse, have been on my own for 2 and a half months. I recently had a situation in which a patient with chronic stable Afib stated that they felt themselves go into afib. I promptly called the doctor and got an order for an EKG and put the patient on telemetry. EKG showed Afib RVR, called back and reported results. I gave a fluid bolus after which did nothing. I called again and reported this and received orders for a Cardizem bolus. I had never given Cardizem before so I got someone to help me do it. Patient had a stable BP and denied chest pain and SOB. They were then moved to a different unit to be put on a drip. Patient is fine. I guess I am just happy in how I handled the situation being a new nurse and especially one with anxiety. Have you been in a similar situation? Would you have handled it differently?

It is, and it does count.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I feel better knowing that how I feel isn't abnormal. I'm hoping that seeing a counselor for my anxiety will help me too.

Thank you!!

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I did a new grad program and we had 3 days of simulation and a TON of mock codes. For some reason I'm still anxious though.

Well, they did. Not sure what else you want me to say.

Thanks! That's great advice. I know I get ahead of myself in my thoughts due to my anxiety. I just have to find a way to reign it all in. I am seeing a counselor in 2 weeks - hopefully that will help me too.

Assess ABC's/responsiveness, call for help, start CPR.

Thanks so much! I've only been in 3 codes. The first two I mainly observed. The most recent one was my second week of orientation as an RN, and it was my patient. I did compressions and they survived and were discharged home with no deficits. Still anxious though.

Hi everyone, I'm a new RN and have only been on my own as a nurse for a little over a month. I have anxiety, which I have had for a long time, that is starting to creep into other areas of my life. I am constantly fearful of codes, emergencies, etc. I know the fear in general is normal, but I also feel that the level of anxiety I have about it definitely isn't normal. There aren't many codes on the unit I work, but the possibility of one happening is enough to cause me to be anxious. My greatest fear is to walk into a pt's room and find them unresponsive. Thinking of that makes me sick. I know what to do (in my head), but I feel like I'll just freeze or panic and be useless. I'm scared and it's starting to interfere with my desire to even continue being a nurse. I'm also on night shift so I don't know if that has anything to do with me feeling anxious and depressed. Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice? Thanks guys!

Nursing school was rough for me, but doable. I graduated in May. One of the most important things, in my opinion, was staying organized. I had a planner where I wrote down all my exams and the chapters they were over, and I would give myself a reminder 2 weeks and 1 week before the exam so I knew it was coming. Having a planner helped me tremendously, it was like having an extra limb and I would've been so lost without it. The tests in nursing school were tough. The questions are different - not just memorization. They are critical thinking questions. I would take a look at NCLEX style questions and get familiar with their format. That will help you with your exams and with the NCLEX after graduation. My favorite part of nursing school were the clinicals. Try to be as involved as possible. You get out what you put in. Help the CNA's with their tasks, help pass trays, look up and give meds, do your assessments thoroughly, do dressing changes, ask questions - these are all nursing tasks and clinicals helped me tie together what I learned in school with real patients. Nursing is a team effort and nursing is 24 hours a day. Instructors notice students who are eager to learn, and a good attitude will go a long way. However, nursing school didn't teach me how to truly be a nurse...that comes when you're a nurse. Good luck - you'll do great!

I would definitely look into that. A lot of schools do have counselors that you can talk to. Professional help would probably be something for you to look into as well.

I'm sorry you feel that way... have you ever considered seeking therapy for your history of abuse? I would definitely consider that. As far as the workplace goes, you can't take things too personally and you shouldn't tolerate disrespect. No reason for a hostile work environment and everyone makes mistakes.

I have been having the same problem with a specific group of students in my class. I will shush them periodically, but that doesn't seem to help, and I sent my instructor an email, but the matter was never addressed during class. If the instructor can't control their classroom, and you've already addressed the issue with them and nothing is done, you can go up the chain of command. You SHOULD go up the chain of command. People seem to be profoundly entitled to their right to speak, even at times where they shouldn't and it's rude to others. But if it's impacting your ability to learn, you should absolutely do something. There is no excuse for this imo, and they should be thrown out of class.

Just wait until nursing school.

Does your textbook have an online resource that comes with it? All of mine have, and they really helped me understand the material and get familiar with the questions.

It usually takes me a couple hours... it's not always easy to find a diagnosis that fits your patients. And the care plans have gotten more complex with time. Last semester, we started having to explain the patho of the disease...I never took a patho course...and our textbook usually only has about a paragraph about it. So then I have to find scholarly articles. It usually takes me about 3 hours to do one