1. When a person is anuric, a fentanyl drip may not be the most appropriate option for them.
2. Patients seriously get spoiled in ICU. Boy do they get disappointed when they go out today the floor with 4:1 and higher ratios.
3. "Fever of unknown origin" is not the best possible admission diagnosis for your first ever needle stick.
4. If you're going to give a non-responsive patient a t**** twister to attempt to make them responsive, you should really warn the other people in the room first.
5. I am seriously getting tired of getting off work hours after my shift was supposed to end.
6. My family is out of town this weekend, and I have been working, so clearly, my dog has decided she is dying.
7. So.....apparently 11:30 on a Saturday night is the best time to take the family out to shop at Walmart.
8. If a nurse calls you for narcan, just say yes.
9. It sort of feels amazing to have a respected colleague say you'd be perfect for ICU. At least, I hope it was a compliment. That's a compliment, right?
10. It's crushing to see a person who did everything right in life slowly lose every piece of themselves to random illnesses that hit and leave damage.
11. Wegener's Granulomatosis is evil.
12. My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.
Man I had a whole list of good stuff a couple of days ago and now I am drawing a blank. I'll have to comment bomb as I remember.
3. If the only way a patient will take his medications is crushed in ice cream, then it's perfectly appropriate to have chocolate ice cream for breakfast.
Chocolate ice cream is always appropriate for breakfast. No rationale needed.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
My son's school is insane. Today's infraction--chocolate. At least he didn't bring wine to school, I might for the meeting with administration. (Joking.)
It's awesome to pick up a pediatric client for a bus ride home who used to be locked in their own world and not only be recognized but be greeted with a huge smile, child attempting to open the door, and squealing with delight---and have the actions witnessed by school staff who weren't sure child reacts to essential strangers only met a few times.
1. I learned that I graduated from nursing school feeling fairly intelligent, but real world nursing makes even smart new nurses feel stupid.
2. To tag with #1 I learned that half the stuff posted in the I learned thread (okay, not this particular one) I don't always have a clue what you veteran nurses are talking about, but I read them anyways hoping to glean a little bit of information.
3. Basic assessments are still hard for me. I realized I can still pull out my assessment stuff from school and get better :)
4. I didn't get enough practice on wound care in school. Doing a nice figure 8 dressing over a stump was harder than it looked.
5. Don't rely on other nurses to do a thorough assessment. It's really important to do your own and chart what you find even if everyone else is charting something different.
6. Prioritizing patient care is not as simple as they tell you in school. Sometimes the patient that comes first in line to get his/her meds is not the one with the most medical needs. Sometimes it's the patient that will tie you up with things the rest of the day if you don't get their meds on time (my dementia patient that I've figured out goes downhill at 4pm. He gets his meds first.)
7. Of course every time I've figured out who I think needs to be first, I'm wrong.
8. Don't worry about what everyone else posts in this thread. Even if what they learned was more advanced and more challenging I have to learn the basics first.
Oh yeah and this one. If your meds aren't going through the tube check and make sure you took the cap off the syringe before you insert it into the feeding tube. Uh duh!
1. I learned that I graduated from nursing school feeling fairly intelligent, but real world nursing makes even smart new nurses feel stupid.
2. To tag with #1 I learned that half the stuff posted in the I learned thread (okay, not this particular one) I don't always have a clue what you veteran nurses are talking about, but I read them anyways hoping to glean a little bit of information.
3. Basic assessments are still hard for me. I realized I can still pull out my assessment stuff from school and get better :)
4. I didn't get enough practice on wound care in school. Doing a nice figure 8 dressing over a stump was harder than it looked.
5. Don't rely on other nurses to do a thorough assessment. It's really important to do your own and chart what you find even if everyone else is charting something different.
6. Prioritizing patient care is not as simple as they tell you in school. Sometimes the patient that comes first in line to get his/her meds is not the one with the most medical needs. Sometimes it's the patient that will tie you up with things the rest of the day if you don't get their meds on time (my dementia patient that I've figured out goes downhill at 4pm. He gets his meds first.)
7. Of course every time I've figured out who I think needs to be first, I'm wrong.
8. Don't worry about what everyone else posts in this thread. Even if what they learned was more advanced and more challenging I have to learn the basics first.
I think your list is fantastic, and see a humbleness yet confidence in you that tells me you are off to a fantastic start! Best wishes on an awesome career!
Oh yeah and this one. If your meds aren't going through the tube check and make sure you took the cap off the syringe before you insert it into the feeding tube. Uh duh!
Also, when you know you've done everything to ensure the line is patent but it JUST.WONT.GO..... Make sure the stopper is in the on position. lol Not going to admit how many times I've missed that one.
I learned that a whole weeks' vacation is awesome and I really don't miss either of my jobs (and that my tween daughter is an awesome little person). (And that new York state liquor laws are dumb and archaic)
My hospital doesn't keep enema supplies on the unit. To get an enema kit, I have to fill out a form, fax to central supply, wait forever, and hopefully actually get the item. Sometimes I have to fax the form multiple times and call multiple people to ensure it got where it's supposed to be. Sometimes it never comes even if I do all of that.
I confess that I have started to just go ahead and use foleys for enemas without even trying to get a hold of central supply at all - ain't nobody got time for that. You just inflate the balloon and clamp the hemostat for a retention enema - works well if your person doesn't have a super loose butt.
ixchel
4,547 Posts
I've just learned that since I'm going to sleep now, I need to be intubated.
Perhaps nursingaround1 was Michael Jackson's nurse with the propofol.