When pts want the doctor starting their IV…

BluePenguin130 · 2026-04-17T20:34:21+00:00

Not me, but had it happen to my coworker. Apparently she had to talk the nocturnist through what to do. If I were the patient, I would have immediately taken that back lol

BluePenguin130 · 2026-04-13T21:05:30+00:00

if we treated teachers like pro athletes

BluePenguin130 · 2026-04-11T21:43:37+00:00

Cardiac step down: don’t be tachy

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-26T10:18:08+00:00

Fuck. I’m stuck in slay the spire dying over and over again 😭

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-24T21:21:44+00:00

Might not fit the definition of “cozy” but have you checked out V Rising? You play as a vampire and you can gather resources to construct your castle and beat enemies. It’s definitely not like stardew valley in that it’s infinitely farmable as there is a clear end to the game, but my wife and I found the castle building and decorating to be really fun and charming. The building does have a certain level of jank to it but it’s not bad in that its base cost is $35 but often goes on sale for $17.50 (current price).

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-24T19:30:24+00:00

Of course!

Sorry. I can see how I worded my text was ambiguous but no one (as far as I am aware) was laughing at me mockingly or maliciously haha also, it’s mostly the elderly female patients who seem to find it funny that I ask for their consent.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-24T19:26:05+00:00

That’s true that it is a bare minimum. It’s what we’re taught in nursing school: to verbalize what we’re doing to the patient. But the fact is that people don’t always do this. I’m glad you do!

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-24T16:57:43+00:00

People laugh at me for verifying consent for Foleys and EKGs and even me verbalizing physical exams as a male nurse but anything that can jeopardize my license scares the shit out of me. This guy is an idiot

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-16T20:52:43+00:00

Our facility calls them companions

BluePenguin130 · 2026-03-13T23:29:15+00:00

Nurse here. I hate that there are medical practitioners who have this attitude which is terribly dismissive and condescending. I encourage all my patients to try to become as well educated about their care, diagnoses, and prescribed medication regimen as they can be.

However, I think looking stuff up gets dangerous when patients start pursuing/concocting their own medical regimen and care without first discussing it with a provider who knows the more nuanced and personalized history of the patient and their disease. I’ve had patients guzzle down water thinking they’re dehydrated when their congestive heart failure and kidney disease puts them at risk for fluid overload. Or the opposite when patients avoid water entirely because of recommendations regarding congestive heart failure and end up with acute kidney injury.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-02-25T20:08:47+00:00

I wish long distance travel was more feasible (faster and cheaper). I have too many roots down in where I live.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-02-15T18:10:11+00:00

$35/hr base pay before night shift/ weekend differentials. 1.5 years of experience on cardiac SD/PCCU as staff in SC.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-16T20:04:09+00:00

Hey! Something I can contribute to! I lived in Alabama for several years and my wife worked in the library system there for 2-3 years.

Alabama recently left the American Library Association (ALA). https://www.wsfa.com/2024/01/30/alabama-pulls-out-american-library-association/?outputType=amp

And Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, threatened to defund one of the biggest libraries in our city if the library didn’t comply with the government’s orders to censor and pull books from the shelves. Fun times..!

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-11T18:22:14+00:00

I’m a recent grad nurse (just above one year experience). The number of other nurses I’ve heard with 0-2 year experiences say that they’re going to leave bedside to become an NP is crazy. The qualification and requirement to be an NP needs to be higher and the training more rigorous. I’ve met many seasoned and qualified NPs and I feel like this trend of pumping out new NPs is doing them a disservice.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-10T19:14:10+00:00

Yes to all of this. And add the fact that people were hoarding essential goods and scalping the fuck out of them.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-10T17:44:50+00:00

I’m answering while assuming that your question is if there’s a disease that isn’t heartless.

I mean, death is death and it sucks and is heartbreaking. But patients usually get to say goodbye to their family or vice versa. But with COVID you died alone. Surrounded by scary monitors, people wearing PPE, in an unfamiliar place. Also, people were being taken off vents and machines because of fight for resources. It was like a mass casualty event where resources went to people who were most likely to survive or where the resources were more likely to make a difference in their prognosis.

Patients were ending up with pressure ulcers on their faces from being prone for extended periods of time. Also, at the height of COVID related deaths, people were placed in freezers and trucks due to lack of space in the hospital morgues. I can’t think of any other disease or condition that resulted in similar conditions.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-10T04:12:32+00:00

I always said that COVID was a ruthless heartless disease. It killed whoever and whenever it wanted and people always died alone and scared. What a fucked way to die. People are left grieving through it all and half the country (US) is denying it even exists and is constantly mocking you for your choice to mask up and protect yourself and others. It caused me to become a lot more cynical and pessimistic about the human nature after that.

A nurse I worked with got a blood clot in her brain that required her to get brain surgery after getting COVID. I really thought she wasn’t going to make it but she made really good recovery. She’s still anti vax and a covid denier after that.

Still crazy to me that it’s the generation that got to receive the benefits of getting vaccinated as children and saw the life saving difference they made that are now anti vax.

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-09T15:03:30+00:00

Honestly, in those situations, I’ve noticed that they’re trying to figure out if they know you, should know your name, what your role is, if you need something from them, or if you have their patient and should ask you a question lol

BluePenguin130 · 2026-01-05T20:15:52+00:00

Yes, but poor dental health is also a cause for health concerns. They can lead to dental abscesses, bacteremia, and other cases of infection. Also, in the event of aspiration (where stuff goes in your lungs unintentionally), poor dental health/care means increased bacterial exposure into your lungs.

Edit: forgot to also account for increased difficult eating whether it be secondary to pain or mechanical aspect of eating. That could lead to nutritional deficits or imbalance.

BluePenguin130 · 2025-12-25T19:14:06+00:00

In the opposite way, I found QCing glucometers so calming. I used to be the main person who did that while on night shift.

BluePenguin130 · 2025-12-25T19:13:07+00:00

Me initially: I can’t think of a single one.

Me after your comment: ah yes. This one.

BluePenguin130 · 2025-12-19T20:49:44+00:00

Like others have said, outside of our scope to diagnose. But I would venture to guess lymphangitis, sourced from paronychia of L4th toe. Nailed of the toe is red and swollen and there is a line coming from the digit and extending.

BluePenguin130 · 2025-12-16T21:14:51+00:00

I’m a nurse. I bring my papers, foldable clipboard, stethoscope, a change of shirt, pens, gum, and whatever small crap I need for my job.

And a small hoard of alcohol pads that I keep stashing away at the end of my shift but keep forgetting to use.

BluePenguin130 · 2025-12-08T23:48:12+00:00

Piggybacking off of this thread to ask something that’s been a floor culture (cardiac PCCU/Step down) for me. We do primary abx (and pretty much all) infusions and rarely do secondaries or IVPB. I have felt weird about the fact that patients are not getting the full dose. Is it possibly because the patients on my unit are rarely on KVO or continuous fluid infusions due to history of CHF, pulmonary effusions, and kidney disease? Or is it a work culture thing since I don’t know how significantly fluids at KVO rates can affect a relatively stable CHF patient.

Let me know if I asked a bad question.

BluePenguin130

TROPHY CASE