The most valuable thing(s) you've been told

Nurses General Nursing

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SubSippi

909 Posts

When boosting someone in bed, raise to your working height, lay bed flat, place into trandelenberg, have pt grab side rails, bend their knees and help you boost them.

Yes! It took me WAY too long to figure that one out!

A CNA showed me this: to help a weak patient get out of bed, have them sit at the edge with their feet on the floor. Then put a chair in front of them, with the back of the chair facing the patient. They can use the back of the chair to push themselves up to a standing position. Bonus: You can help them scoot the chair a little bit, and it functions as a pseudo-walker!

RNKPCE

1,170 Posts

Don't wait to do later what you have time to do now....

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Say when you don't know the answer but know where to find it.

Karou

700 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg.

These are some basic, obvious things but very important and that stuck with me...

Don't let a patient decide where their IV will be placed. Go for the site where you think you can place it. That might be the site the patient insists on or not.

Always have the continuous pulse oximeter on patients receiving IV narcs or with a DVT.

Bed alarm on, bed low to the floor, door open for fall risk patients. Most patients at night are a fall risk.

Actually look at your patients bowel movements who are taking bowel prep...

Take out water pitchers from the rooms at midnight for those who are NPO at midnight for procedures the next morning.

Never be afraid to ask a "stupid question". Better to ask first then to act without knowledge and make a mistake.

Turn off your TPN when drawing labs from a central line. I didn't forget to do this, but someone else did.

Check your orders often, especially with electronic charting.

There are more but it's getting close to my sleep time.

Specializes in Emergency.

You are going to make mistakes. Learn from them.

Specializes in Emergency.

Don't let a patient decide where their IV will be placed. Go for the site where you think you can place it. That might be the site the patient insists on or not.

But do take the patient's requests seriously. A lot of folks do actually know exactly where you'll get the line.

Karou

700 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg.
But do take the patient's requests seriously. A lot of folks do actually know exactly where you'll get the line.

I always take them seriously and give it a look. However in my experience I have had better success going where I feel comfortable versus where they prefer it. If I see a good vein where they are pointing then I will go for it. If I see a better one elsewhere, I politely tell them that I am trying a different site. Rarely if they insist loudly I will try and inevitably miss their chosen site. Then I end up getting it where I wanted to go in the first place.

I am NOT very good at inserting IV's and for me it's easier to go where I see the vein rather than where I can palpate it. There isn't always the luxury of getting one of our IV experts to try after I miss and a sono guided IV can take hours.

Just a funny story... We had a frequent flyer get admitted for obs with IV fluid ordered. When I brought in IV supplies she freaked saying she had to get a PICC, always needed a PICC, she had NO veins, ect... I saw some viable options but didn't feel comfortable myself so I grabbed one my coworkers who is basically magic. Before the patient could say ouch she had a beautiful twenty gauge in! The patient actually seemed mad and in disbelief. Later staff caught her messing with it because she wanted a PICC so bad. Physician just discontinued the IVF.

monkeyhq

242 Posts

But do take the patient's requests seriously. A lot of folks do actually know exactly where you'll get the line.

During a six-day hospital stay, I had the displeasure of dealing with a number of newer nurses who kept targeting my right arm for IV (initially, until I insisted the left hand, for good cause), and blood draws. The PCT's were even worse, trying to slip a cuff on my right arm in the middle of the night when I was sleeping.

Apparently, some did not understand the very reason the bright pink wristband existed was to alert them that I should not have needle sticks or cuffs on my right side.

As a patient, it was very frustrating to have to explain why those juicy looking veins on my right arm were off-limits.

As a nurse, it was infuriating. :no:

ETA: This was a great hospital, with great staff, normally. I chose to have surgery on the Friday of a holiday weekend. Lots of new nurses, lots of float PCT's. Nonetheless, every nurse or PCT should know their hospital's alert mechanisms.

Ruby Vee, BSN

17 Articles; 14,030 Posts

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

We spend 90% of our time trying to please folks who won't be pleased no matter what we do. Try to recognize those folks early and spend your time pleasing those folks who CAN be pleased.

You will make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It's what you do afterward that determines the kind of nurse you are/will be.

MDs are just people, and they're part of our patient care team. Treat them as you would any member of the team.

Specializes in Gerontology.

Leave Work at Work.

Don't take your worries home with home with you.

Not everyone at work is your friend.

Beware of the person that comes to you telling you "so and so said this about you" - because that person is probably going back to the first person and saying "Pepper said this about you". In other words, watch out for the s@#$ disturbers.

On my first job the supervisor told me " if you write in your note that the patient complains of 5/10 pain immediately follow that with what you did for that pain ie- APAP 650mg and also note if pain decreased".

RunBabyRN

3,677 Posts

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

People's grumpiness/attitude is rarely about you. If they're in pain or uncomfortable, they're probably going to be a pain in the butt. Your kindness will help.

Listen to the patient about where to stick an IV. I used to be a phlebotomist, and many of my pts were former IVDUs. They knew where to go. If I didn't listen to them, I often missed. If I listened, I almost always got it. We had one guy who would only let certain phlebs stick him because we knew the vein in his thumb where we could get blood (ONLY vein left on this frequent flier).

You never know the whole story. Never judge, never assume. People with a history of drug abuse often have a reason for why they started. It's a coping mechanism. Who are you to judge?

Just as in camping, leave the patient better than you found them.

Work in a clean space. Wipe down surfaces, tidy up the sink area and bedside table, etc.

Know your resources.

Learn from your mistakes.

Earn respect by showing respect.

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