jenksb

I have seen pin site care done a few different ways. I was taught to cleanse around the pin site with a solution of half peroxide and half sterile normal saline, using a new sterile cotton tipped applicator for each pin site. Then rinse each site with sterile normal saline on a separate sterile cotton tipped applicator. Allow the sites to dry. Some prefer to cleanse the site with sterile normal saline only. I have read in some sources that no oinment should be applied to the sites, although many physicians still prefer to have antibiotic ointment or betadine ointment applied around the pin sites. Cover with sterile gauze sponges. Pin site care should be done daily or BID and prn if they have drainage. It is my experience that each doctor has their own preference. I would recommend that you ask the docs at your facility what they recommend. If they have varying opinions, they may want to write out their own pin site care orders for each patient rather than having one method used for every patient.

Cox South Hospital in Springfield is not that far of a drive if you move close to Hwy 65. It is maybe a 30-40 minute drive, and it is a nice road. If Neonatal ICU is what you are looking for, I don't think you will find what you want in Branson. I know lots of people who make that commute every day without complaints if they are on 12 hour shifts.

It is true that the pay in that entire area is low. When I started at Skaggs, I made the same amount that my fellow nursing school graduates made in Springfield. That amount, however, is very small compared to what is available here in San Antonio with a similar cost of living. Is the pay better in Harrison than in Branson? I did get floated fairly often while I was there, but it is nice to get out and see what else is going on. (I just didn't like floating to the ER) What area of nursing are you interested in, futuregaspasser?

When I worked at Skaggs, they had 134 beds, I think. They had one floor for mostly medical patients and one floor for surgical. The few pediatric patients that they got went to the surgical floor. They don't have a pediatric ICU, so if kids get bad, they have to be flown to Springfield. They have an adult ICU that had 8 beds, and an adult CCU that had 6 beds it seems (or vice versa, I can't remember which was which), and a Step Down Unit. Their ER is always busy as they get so many visitors to the area. They have an OB department and Nursery as well. All of the floors take telemetry patients, but on the medical and surgical floors, the tele was monitored remotely from one of the units or from Step Down. They also have a large outpatient center. While I was there, I worked on the Medical floor and then on the Surgical floor. I enjoyed the Surgical floor the most. There are some people who will tell you that they have heard bad stories about Skaggs, but I heard bad stories about all of the hospitals around there at some point. Whenever things in health care don't go just as a patient/family hopes, they tend to talk poorly about the hospital as a whole. I have especially found that to be true after moving to San Antonio. If I ever move back to MO, Skaggs will always be my #1 choice.

I grew up near Branson and I worked at Skaggs Hospital for 6 years prior to moving to San Antonio, TX. Skaggs is the only hospital in that area unless you want to drive to Springfield. It is a beautiful place and the small hospital atmosphere is something that I loved. Everyone there is like family.

On my unit, we usually take 4-5 patients per nurse on day shift. Our PCA's have 10-24 patients depending on the day, so usually the nurse does 2-3 baths and assists with all of the patient transport to dialysis, wound care, etc.