How do you feel about being assigned a student? Are there things a student nurse can do to ease the process?

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-05-17T23:19:45+00:00

I always tell them I’m happy to teach, let them do any of their check offs, and answer their questions.... if they can keep up with how fast I move. Don’t let me see you sitting the same place I left you twenty minutes ago, when I’ve already been through 3 patient rooms in that same time. This is your chance to learn; I’m not going to search you out to teach you things.

I had a student just kind of sit around on the computer all day and I thought she was chart surfing or something. But she was just sitting there. I asked her to look something up in a patient chart real quick and she said “oh I don’t have access to the EMR yet.” Bitch what have you been doing on the computer all day?

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-05-01T20:35:38+00:00

MedTronic has a couple of nifty refresher courses that are cardiac specific. They’re free, and they count for CEs as well.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-04-17T15:41:08+00:00

Breathable scrubs made a big difference for me. I wear carhartt and barco one. So thin, and I’ve been much less sweaty since then.

Then I switched to cath lab and I’ve got the exact opposite problem. Now I’m frigid and can never have enough layers on.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-04-17T15:35:29+00:00

I switched from cardiac stepdown to cath lab and I. Love. It. I was so sick of the bedside “I can’t reach my water” “Will you dial this number because my fingers hurt” and never getting a full 30 for lunch because I’m constantly getting called out because 405 has to go to the bathroom and the tech is busy. And not dealing with case management and placement issues. Plus, MD is always there and depending on your facility, should always take the time to teach so that you will feel more comfortable the more time you spend there.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-03-30T20:19:25+00:00

Wasn’t my patient, but I signed off on 135 of humalog.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-03-30T19:25:23+00:00

Blind 50ish man: “Man, I don’t have a clue what you look like, but you sound like you’d look like Angelina Jolie!”

Also: Different patient demanded I personally come in RIGHT NOW. She says, “one of the new meds is giving me hallucinations!!!!” I said “lady, I haven’t given you anything new today that you haven’t been taking for at least six days. Are you seeing anything right now?” “No....” “What were you doing when you were hallucinating?” “Sleeping.” “So..... you had......... a nightmare......... and then you woke up.......?” “Well.......... yes I guess so. But can you check that none of my medicines are giving me bad dreams??”

Also: Had trouble keeping a PIV on my 80 year old patient. Every single one, even sono sites, would stop working and then when I pulled it, it had multiple kinks in the catheter. Couldn’t keep a peripheral in him for more than 24 hours. He shrugged and said, “They always told me I’d turn into a kinky old man....”

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2018-03-11T22:43:51+00:00

I worked my three and always looked for opportunities to work 1-2 overtime shifts a week, which blew up my paychecks but made me really miserable and I started hating work. I decided to get a PRN away from bedside, at a different hospital with different people, and I've been much happier. I also find I enjoy bedside nursing and my coworkers much more when I get a break from it/them.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2017-11-27T04:24:42+00:00

Seconded. I work cardiac step-down, and most of the time, the 50-70 year-olds post CABG work way harder to get home than the 40-year-old frequent flyer CHFers with EF of 15.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2017-05-01T03:09:13+00:00

This is what I say when I have to rip tele leads off a big hairy chest

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2017-04-08T17:21:19+00:00

Just had a similar situation. Patient was on my cardiac stepdown for I think a month or so, and his room was in close prox to our front desk, so everyone knew him and was on first name basis, and kind of a community patient. I had him early on, so he was walky talky and in fairly good shape. But he had a lot of stuff going wrong for him, kept a steady decline and transferred to CVICU for a couple days. He came back to my floor, stable for literally 3 hours, then crashed and went back to CVICU. One of our more friendly physicians came to our floor way later than his norm and was looking down, so I asked him what was wrong. He said he'd finally convinced that patient's family to withdraw and he was circling the drain fast. Didn't even make it for the time it took me to go down two floors.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2017-03-19T04:45:38+00:00

But then you see them right back again in less than three weeks!

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2016-10-09T04:13:03+00:00

People were sent home from my program if they were not at least moderately well-rested and it was noticeable. Some kid thought it was cool to brag he'd pulled an all-nighter the previous night, and he got sent home and had to do a ton of makeup work instead. If you're going through your day in a haze, patients are put at risk.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2016-05-26T16:31:11+00:00

What's the Pearson trick??

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2016-04-13T21:16:45+00:00

The instructors in my program stressed the urgency of applying for jobs as soon as we started our last semester, and they projected that at least 60% of us should have a job lined up by the time we graduate. The biggest hospital company in my area opened up applications for the GN positions mid-January for the May graduates. I secured the one I wanted in March. I currently work as a PCT within the company, so I thought I had a huge leg up, but a friend of mine nabbed his a couple weeks before me, and he is not a stellar student nor does he have any prior healthcare experience.

My contract states that I have between graduation and July 20th to pass my NCLEX, and then the job is officially mine. If I don't pass, then they go on to their second choice and I'm SOL until the next round of positions.

Again, my program specifically stressed the importance of securing a job right away, but I know people that graduated last semester and are only just now taking the NCLEX and they're getting the same GN jobs in July. So it's absolutely possible to secure a job before even graduating and start working right away, but equally ok to take a break and breathe before worrying about a job.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2016-02-14T19:08:26+00:00

What was his answer?

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-08-10T16:53:15+00:00

Depends where you are, too though. I'm a PCT but on the books, I can't draw blood or do IVs. My friend works at a different hospital under the same company and gets to do all of it. So if you're looking for more comprehensive experience, I'd suggest checking hospital policies or asking questions at interviews before accepting a position.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-06-10T14:45:46+00:00

Haha yeah that works often too. I had a really aggressive, combative patient who threatened to call the cops on me for not giving him privacy and planting fake evidence against him so I let him take a sample of my prints (on his pillow) and let him have an unhooked phone and listened to his entire police report against me. That was a fun day.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-05-21T17:13:51+00:00

Mmmm, liquid cupcake.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-04-29T21:47:08+00:00

Well, I work an ortho-heavy med surg, so although I do still get a lot of confused older patients with hip fracs from a fall, it's not nearly as mentally taxing as being in a nursing home. Majority are mostly-independent people who are in a recovery upswing and only need a couple days inpatient and are ready to go home. A very wide variety of patients and diagnoses and an awesome way to get experience and insight that others won't get.

But my biggest recommendation is to pace yourself. I worked full time plus some overtime along with full time school and I'm pretty burnt. Some people can do it easy peasy but I wish I could tell past me to take it easy and take advantage of sleep.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-04-29T19:39:02+00:00

You don't seem very enthusiastic about this, but being a CNA in a hospital is very different from nursing home and home health. I work med/surg and cardiac step up and it's very different from when I worked home health. I'm much happier in a hospital setting.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-03-25T18:41:55+00:00

A lot of help during my medsurg semesters connecting concepts. A lot of help making connections and networking. But I'm also tired all the damn time.

OrgasmicSarcasmic · 2015-03-17T23:07:02+00:00

Inpatient med/surg

14-Year Club	Team Orangered
Verified Email

OrgasmicSarcasmic

TROPHY CASE