Alright, friends. I'm keeping this one short and sweet because my brain is sore and my dog is annoying.
This week, I have learned....
1. There should be a time limit hospitals should have to fix a problem. If things aren't better after, say, 15 days, let someone else try.
2. I'm in the mid Atlantic of the US with spring travel plans to Florida, and I'm actually feeling nervous about Zika. I had a guillian barre syndrome patient in nursing school. On his way driving home from work, his chest felt off, so he course corrected to the ED. When he pulled up and walked to the doors, he struggled with leg weakness. After he was done in triage, he couldn't stand. He was intubated, and completely paralyzed, before he left the ED for ICU.
3. A patient on neuroleptics will still have detectable epileptiform patterns on an EEG.
4. A good neurologist knows no matter how crazy the patient sounds describing symptoms, what they say is legit and will stay the course for diagnosis.
5. My favorite doctors to work with are the ones who will sit and talk patho with a nurse and enjoy that the nurse legitimately loves to learn.
6. Sliding scale coverage alone for inpatient management is not currently supported by research.
7. If working day shift doesn't eventually make me check into a psych ward, nothing will.
8. The GI doc who left me scrambling to save a guy's life (what felt like) single-handedly by doing no intervention before he got dumped on us (actively bleeding out 2 points of hemoglobin over 8 hours and maintaining a BP that won't leave 70s-80s) has suddenly become cautious enough to send a perfectly stable (hemodynamically, symptomatically, and on CBC) rectal bleed to ICU before meeting or scoping her after I've literally done all the work needed on her for the shift. And of course, I was rewarded with an end of the shift admission.
9. The Florida Man Collective has evolved to include its latest - Wrinkles the Clown. He is a scary-looking clown who is for hire to scare anyone you want, for any reason.
10. The more you annoy the doctor about the same thing, over and over and over, the more likely it is they will listen and maybe put in an order.
I have nothing else right now. My broken brain is feeble!
1) I HATE being right. I had to enact our infection control policy on a patient because I saw ONE bedbug creeping across her pillow. The lab confirmed it. What IS it with me and my patients with parasites lately? (I don't work in the ED)
2) I absolutely do not care if I have to walk into a group of providers and ask who has my patient and clarify/get orders, because our computer system went down. I really, really don't care if this annoys them or my charge nurse. Providers interrupt my work all the time with orders/calls/questions.
3) Patients can be totally asymptomatic with A fib into the 200s after walking. A lot of our post-op patients pop into this rhythm after surgery and this was my first time really handling it till he converted back to sinus.
4) Night shift, how I've missed you!! My favorite people were on my first night back and I was so happy!
-always recheck your medication before you administer. because it scans and matches the patients armband doesn't mean it's correct.
-it doesn't matter who you talk to or tell about the dumping-ground you become. the director doesn't give a ****. wait until you see how many hours of OT i have. i am constantly/consistently caring for patients who other/veteran nurses refuse. or the "difficultly/needy".
-i need to slow down... i'm becoming an unsafe nurse.
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
The people who say that running is fun are sick, sick masochists.
Agreed. Even when I was a beast (tennis team, figure skating/ice dancing, ballet/tap/jazz, daily free weights) I couldn't run for very long. Running at the beginning of practice or in gym class was torture.
I have friends who are OBSESSED with running and I'm like..nope.
Agreed. Even when I was a beast (tennis team, figure skating/ice dancing, ballet/tap/jazz, daily free weights) I couldn't run for very long. Running at the beginning of practice or in gym class was torture.
I have friends who are OBSESSED with running and I'm like..nope.
I do it for fitness. But I can't say that enjoy it. I was the kid in class who always walked the mile. Seriously, people get endorphins from running? Hogwash. I get cramps just from thinking about running.
Of course, I tried buying new shoes to help cope with this lack of desire for running.
I do it for fitness. But I can't say that enjoy it. I was the kid in class who always walked the mile. Seriously, people get endorphins from running? Hogwash. I get cramps just from thinking about running.
Of course, I tried buying new shoes to help cope with this lack of desire for running.
I am a horrible runner, but when I do I Always get the endorphin rush.
I learned that as a charge nurse, with a full patient load of six patients I might add, there's a co-worker that really doesn't approve of the way I do charge and don't help her do her work. She made a scene and thought she embarrassed me but looked like a fool. I learned there are others that totally support me.
I learned, yet again, that when I'm precepting a student in her final weeks of nursing school, the techs I work with think she's a tech and they don't have to do their job when working with me. This despite the false documentation of q2h rounds on my patients.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
I learned today that while families may know on an intellectual level that their loved one not going into hospital will hasten their death, they arent ok with that when rubber hits the road.
Went into work today to find my patient who didnt want to go to hospital yesterday went to hospital last night and I'm left wondering if I shouldnt have fought so hard to respect their wish to remain at home
(I don't work in the ED)
OrganizedChaos, LVN
1 Article; 6,883 Posts
This week I learned that hand, foot, mouth is a very nasty virus. All you can do is be there for your child & give lots of love.
I also believe my son will need tubes because he just had another double ear infection since December.
I am getting anxious to start working. I just want to start working already. I hope I start Monday or at least this week!