My Most Humbling Nursing Experience

Nursing is a very busy and rewarding career. During my 36 years, I have had many experiences in which I have been exhilarated, saddened, overwhelmed, and just plain exhausted. None, however, compare to the night that I was humbled right in the place I stood at the bedside of a young man who was dying of AIDS. Here is that story... Read

Are student loans haunting you?

Do you ever have moments where you wish you didn't have any student loans? Having multiple student loans can be scary. For those who have multiple loans, have you thought about consolidating? Read

Am I on the right track if I want to eventually work in SICU?

I am a VERY new nurse. Still in my orientation on the Med/Surg floor I just started on. The floor I took the job on is a predominantly surgical floor. We see mostly ortho, gyn, urology, and CA related surgeries. My main goal is to get into some area of critical care eventually, and i prefer surgical patients over medical, so i think i would really like to get into a SICU. Am I doing it right? If I work where I am for a few years, would I be a good candidate to get a job in a SICU? Is there anything else I can do in that time to make myself more qualified? Read

Weird, but missing my old state's nurses union!

I found myself back home to Ohio after a 1 1/2 year stent in California as an RN. The ICU I came from was a well-oiled machine and staff morale seemed to be pretty high. I lived in an area of California where the cost of living was VERY comparable to Ohio, yet nurses were paid upwards of $30/hr and staffing ratios were mandated. If our unit was short a nurse, they were required to fill the hole instead of having the nurses pick up the slack for 4+ hours until a replacement could be found. If we missed any or all of our breaks during the day, and the charge RN was aware, we filled out a form and got paid extra for missing a break/lunch. If we were made to work more than 12 hours in one shift, every hour over that was paid doubletime. In a nutshell, our union had everything to do with this and I was so happy to feel that someone had our backs. Read

End of the (Med) Error: or, How NOT To Bomb Your Survey

As any nurse knows, a state survey or JCAHO inspection tends to bring out the worst in a facility. And as any nurse-manager knows, the survey team usually uncovers mistakes that we never even dreamed our departments were capable of---stupid, careless errors committed by staff who are too busy, too overwhelmed, or yes, too lazy to use the safe medication systems in place.

Many years and many surveys/inspections after my very first as a manager---the one that got me fired for the first and only time in my career---I've come to be rather protective of my med room. When we bring on new med techs, the first thing I hand them is my dog-eared nursing drug reference and teach them to look up each and every medication they don't know, BEFORE they give it. But somehow, when State is around, we discover things like... Read.

Pre-employment Questions

I am applying to various hospital positions and I am frequently coming across the same 5 questions. I don't have much experience with machines or malfunctions as my clinical rotations usually consisted of my professors assisting or obtaining things on our behalf so I'm really having trouble answering one question. If anyone could please help me I'd greatly appreciate it.

1) Your patient is crashing, you set up the defibrillator and it doesn't fire, what would you do? Read

Vacation/Holidays - New game to play

Don't you love it when you book months in advance for a vacation or a holiday break, you have approval from your manager, and appropriate time off - ONLY to have your manager later state that you might not be able to take your vacation or visit with your family. Read

Accident Scenes: Do You Always Offer Assistance?

Ok, so I have read what many have felt their obligation would be on the scene of an accident, but what would you do if you caused the accident, hitting a pedestrian, country road, EMS 10 minutes or more away, obvious head injury, face down on roadway. You're an RN in fact studying for MSN, do you have an obligation to render assistance or at least do an evaluation based on your medical knowledge? Read

Filaggrin Mutations Up Risk of Irritant Contact Dermatitis

Both atopic dermatitis (AD) and loss-of-function mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) are independently associated with an increased risk of developing chronic irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), with people having both mutations at about a five-fold higher risk, according to research published online Oct. 5 in the British Journal of Dermatology. Read

Frustrated at my facility's high turnover

I am generally happy with my hospital and I like my coworkers. Psych patients can be aggravating, but it's kind of their job, so I'm cool with it. I don't mind training the constant stream of newbies, either. However, dealing with the attrition is getting tiresome. I feel a little battle-weary every time they post another internal position because it means that someone else is leaving. I don't feel any need to move on yet, but with the number of people who leave every few weeks, it feels like something is wrong with me for being comfortable at this facility. I would love some tips from others who have dealt with this. I have a vacation scheduled soon. Wouldn't it be nice if that helped? Read

How do you handle an admission?

I am just wondering how you handle an admission. First, what are your priorities? Lets say you have a patient in for a pancreatitis. The patient is in a lot of pain, requesting pain medication. What do you do first? I always get a set of vitals, do a quick assessment, check orders, and order supplies. Then address the patient's needs. While doing that, that orient them to their room. Then when I have time, do the admission paperwork. Does this seem correct? I just feel really overwhemled when I have a patient that is in acute distress being dropped off on me. Read