gtmoore

I was also told that you had to use the "special" 2000cc Normal Saline for irrigation bags for CBI. However, a nurse last night kept hanging regular 1000cc NS IV bags which I thought had different preservatives. Was she doing the patient harm or wa...

i am trying to determine if there is a "safe" and maximum number of patients that a monitor technician should observe at any given time. for those hospitals that utilize monitor techs, how many patients do your monitor technicians watch simultaneous...

Thank you so much, great idea.

Are floor/tele nurses at your facility allowed to d/c EJs, or does it have to be someone on your IVT team? My first thought was that it is considered a peripheral line so the same considerations apply as to other peripheral lines. As a tele nurse a...

I procrastinated and waited until the last possible day allowed to take the PCCN exam. I did not get a chance to do much studying, especially with a new baby. I did not think the exam was that difficult and was elated when I found out I passed the ...

It is 125 questions; however, only 100 count. The remaining 25 are questions they are "testing out" for possible future use. You do not know which 25 do not count. I did a two day PCCN review course in March that was sponsored by AACN. I did not pick...

The Joint Commission standard is to label the multi-dose vial with an expiration date 28 days after opening.

Can you guys help me out? I'm putting together a powerpoint on IV medication administration and safety. I need to know which medications should never be filtered. I know chemotherapy (except Taxol). I know there are others. Can anyone think of an...

Thanks for everyones input.

I believe I came up with a couple more: Insulin Propofol

I'm developing competencies for our PCTs. PCTs are pretty much the same as CNAs or PCAs except, at our facility, they can do more advanced skills. These skills include IVs, phlebotomy, & inserting Foley's. I'm OK with them doing these skills. ...

I would give the CNA the benefit of the doubt first. I would get her/his attention by saying "excuse me". I would repeat the request. If the CNA still continued to ignore me and talk on the phone and it appeared it was not an emergency and clearly...

I disagree regarding Baltimore area. There are very few openings in the Baltimore area. My hospital had 84 new nurses apply for 15 slots for the new graduate program. Most Baltimore area hospitals are on a hiring freeze.

I had a patient receiving continuous tube feeding with 100 cc of tube feeding residual. I referred to our tube feeding protocol and it stated to only hold tube feeding and notify MD if tube feeding residual is >250. Doesn't that seem like a lot ...

Thanks for your input.

Can hypomagnesemia be corrected during hemodialysis. I know low K can be corrected, but I've noticed that magnesium usually is unchanged after dialysis. It came up when I wanted a novice RN to call the MD to get an order to give Mg for 1.5 Mg. The pr...

Agree with the other posts that it depends upon the type of PICC line whether heparin should be used or not. If the person is getting at least 6 meds through IV daily, why not consider running the line at KVO? Another thing to consider whether or ...

At our facility, you cannot leave hospital property while you are on duty. Even while at lunch, you are still considered responsible for your patients, and cannot leave the facility.

It doesn't matter who it was, RN, LPN, CNA, MD. Arguing in front of a patient is not professional. I would have simply not talked at all about this issue in front of a patient. Take it outside of the patients room and talk about it where nobody, e...

Thanks for the replies. Obviously, hanging a 1000cc bag was silly because she was going through like 1-2/hour. I was also just thinking that if the NS is good enough to go in IV, it should be fine to irrigate the bladder.

As soon as you graduate, you are considered an NG and do not need a CNA per the BON. You do however need to take the NCLEX ASAP. Do not wait. I understand you don't have your ATT yet. You need to call your school and not the state as the ATT come...

Although LPNs are a dying breed at my hospital, we do team nursing. LPNs give all the non-IVP meds and RNs do the assessments.

Personally, I hate going in and not knowing where I am going. It is very stressful to me.

Not lethal but certainly the patient is in renal failure. Many patients on dialysis still produce some urine. 136 + 22 is high, never seen dehydration do this alone.

Evaluations are done based on anniversary dates at my facility. Raises are given in July, to all nurses. We have a "cost of living/market adjustment" component and a performance-based component of the raise. It is not routine to get a raise after ...