Jul 20 - Jul 26 Hottest New Topics

• Offservice
• Have you seen this person?
• More Reasons NOT To Take a Vacation---The Sequel
• Too Few Docs Refer High-Risk Women for Genetic Testing
• To Swab or Not to Swab...
• What is wrong (if any)with this picture?
• Clinical Post Conference
• Nurse:Patient Ratio on Med-Surg Floors?

• R.N. II - Citrus Valley Health Partners - Glendora, CA
• Assistant Nurse Manager - Milwaukee, WI
• RN-Labor / Deliver - Milwaukee, WI
• R.N. II - Glendora, CA
• Staff RN-Labor - Milwaukee, WI

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Offservice

We take any number of off-service patients. While we are a respiratory and infectious disease ward, we were known to be able to make a bed for anyone. Today is bipap, tomorrow is suicide protocol for a soldier from the local base. We could do it all. Sometimes, though, you wish it was just a little old lady with hankies up her sleeves.

Have you seen this person?

I smile, and know that the rest of my night at work has to go ok, because somehow, my heart has been touched by an angel.

More Reasons NOT To Take a Vacation---The Sequel

Mayhem ensues as the world's most indispensable nurse (me) returns from ten marvelous days off to find that somebody left the inmates in charge of the asylum.

Too Few Docs Refer High-Risk Women for Genetic Testing

Most U.S. physicians adhere to recommendations against genetic counseling and testing for women at average risk of ovarian cancer, but less than half adhere to guidelines for referral for high-risk women, according to a study published online July 25 in Cancer.

To Swab or Not to Swab...

Does anyone know what the current practice is regarding alcohol swabbing new single use vials after you pop off the tops prior to drawing up the fluid?

There seem to be two camps of thought:

1. One says that the vial is sterile since you've just popped off the top and alcohol swabbing is unnecessary.
2. The other camp says swab everything prior to drawing up meds even on single use vails. The reasoning being that the pop off tops are just there to protect the top not necessarily to keep the top sterile and you should always swab every vial even single use prior to drawing up the fluid.

What is wrong (if any)with this picture?

You come on shift and have a pt with a triple central line. Looking at the IV bags, you see a routine IV bag hanging. Your eyes shift to the TPN and Lipids that are infusing. The Lipids are the primary IV solution. The TPN is piggybacked with the filter above the pump mechanism and then the two run in together to the patient.

Clinical Post Conference

I hated post-conferences as a student (25 years ago) and my feelings have not changed. I see nursing students who come to post-conferences wanting nothing more than to go home. I know I'm burned out, especially when I have two clinicals in a row. I understand a colleague of mine is instituting a 2-hour post-conference for our students--that means the clinical instructor will give another 2 hours of some sort of instruction after the students have had 8 hours of direct patient care. I believe this is asking too much of our students.

Nurse:Patient Ratio on Med-Surg Floors?

I just interviewed at a couple of hospitals in Southeast Michigan for med-surg floors and the Nurse:Pt ratio is 1:6 and up for day shift with 1:8 not being abnormal. Is this standard here? It sounds so high compared to Chicago where and 1:4 is standard with 1:5 being the max. Can anyone comment on this for Beaumont RO & Troy, St. Johns, DMC, Henry Ford?