snowflower2016

I typically "triage" people who ask for advice. Always referring them to their healthcare provider. Only once have I recommended treatment....a family member called in a panic after giving her child the 2nd dose of a new medication....she described ...

If you wear glasses....take them off, put mask on, THEN put glasses back on. If you have long hair.....pull back in a tight ponytail. These tips work for me.

I'm a new nurse, too (19 months on the floor). I am a big questioner and ask "why" all the time. I ask my peers first and then check google....if nobody knows the answer or google isn't clear, I ask one of our APNs or residents. My inquisitive na...

I had a patient who was an opioid addict thank me for treating him like a human being.

Are you a student? Or employed by hospital? Either way, follow up with manager of unit and ask to be notified if the patient's cultures or blood results come up positive. If they are positive then go to student health or employee health (it should...

I would recommend finding out what type of clinical placements each program offers. Some programs place their students in long term care facilities for their med-surg clinicals, which will not prepare you well if you're interested in working in acut...

I work with a CNA who refers to herself as "a nurse". At first I questioned her use of the term, but as I've thought about it more ANYONE could call themselves a "nurse". A "nurse" is someone who gives medical care to someone in need no training re...

Telemetry/Specialty Med-Surg 1:4 with a tech is a normal day.

I'd go with your passion. If you ever decide you want to switch to peds, you'll likely have to start out on night shift anyway. So I say, "pay your dues" now and then work until you can transition to a day shift position in peds.

OMG! THIS! Made me gasp and gag!

I would think that your institution has a policy for admissions. Check your policy and procedures information. Mine does all the things you mentioned, plus a health history, medication reconciliation, skin assessment, IPOC goals, flu shot assessment,...

Yes! I'm a regular donor and always get an email with where my blood went. (It's never gone to the hospital where I work, though.)

Hang in there. I think this is a completely normal feeling. Have you been involved in any Rapid Responses or Codes? I would suggest going to ALL of them....observe at first. Watch and observe the different roles that people take and how things pr...

We typically do pRBCs at 150 ml/hr on our floor...which takes around 2 hours for 1 unit.

Google "IV start tips" and watch some videos or read some articles with tips then practice, practice, practice.

The large teaching hospital in Chicago where I work hires ADN nurses regularly with the agreement is that you will have your BSN within 3 years of date of hire.

I love my Embark lunch bag from Target. It's smaller than a suitcase. :) But big enough to carry my lunch, snacks, and drinks for a 12 hour shift.

No need to "pick" your specialty now....I was convinced I wanted to be a labor & delivery nurse before I went to nursing school and then didn't like that specialty at all when I was in clinicals. I learned that I preferred the smell of poop to t...

Location: Chicago, IL Facility: Large Teaching Hospital Role: Staff-Nurse Evenings: $2.75 (Defined as 7pm-11pm) Nights: $4.25 (Defined as 11pm-7am) Weekends: $2.00 Charge: ???

I'm also in a hospital. For our hospice/comfort care patients there is an order set that includes no scheduled vitals, no blood glucose checks, no blood draws, etc. Our primary goal is comfort.

Catheters are flexible and very bendy rather than being rigid like the needle is. I suggest taking one out of the package, look at how the device is put together, pull the catheter up off the needle, spin it around, retract the needle, and then feel...

Most new grads work nights and I was originally hired to work overnights. There was an opportunity to work day shift while I was still on orientation and I accepted it. I'm a single mom so the overnight shift was going to mean finding an adult to s...

I would suggest taking a weeklong NCLEX review course. They are expensive, but would be worth the expense in the long run. If that's not an option you can purchase an online review course. This would be more reasonably priced, I'd think. I took...

For adults on my unit... OR requires 18G CT requires at least a 20G 18G or 20G is preferred for administration of blood products (on our unit) 22G is a last resort if the patient has difficult veins or is a "hard stick" I typically go with a 20G for ...

I was thinking of working only part-time when I graduated.....a friend who is a nurse manager (and who has been a nurse for 20+ years) told me that no hospital will hire a new grad part-time. Her advice to me was to work full-time for at least 6 mon...