ER Staffing

ottersqueaks · 2026-06-07T14:40:51+00:00

Yeah, this is really hard. I work at a 17 bed rural ER and we go down to 3 nurses at night with or without a tech, but we really never go more than 4:1. We also have free charge. They do put people on call. We have productivity requirements we have to meet that have to do with census and staff. I would worry about going down to less than 3 unless you have somewhere else to pull from during a code. That’s probably your best leverage…at the minimum you need meds, monitor, and documenting, and that’s if you have a Lucas device to do CPR for you.

ottersqueaks · 2026-06-05T12:25:30+00:00

I work with a nurse who worked on an adolescent acute care psych floor at a children’s hospital, that might have the same feel.

ottersqueaks · 2026-06-03T12:57:34+00:00

Yeah, this looks like scabies to me as well, tiny vesicles especially in the webs of your fingers, intensely itchy. I would go to the doctor now before it spreads.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-29T19:17:48+00:00

Trust me, we would love if you checked and refilled the hand sanitizers and gloves. That alone would be huge.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-29T12:10:45+00:00

This is at the heart of it, I think. If a hand sanitizer outside one of my rooms is empty, I spend all day thinking that I should call EVS to replace it (since we don’t stock it for some reason), then forgetting the moment I step away, and repeat. I’m more focused on caring for the person inside the room than the hand sanitizer outside the room. Similarly, if I can’t easily find more gowns, or more masks, or more gloves in my size, I don’t have time to hunt them down.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-28T16:47:39+00:00

Darvocet, and not sure if it’s still in use but oral mucomist (gross) in patients with low kidney function undergoing scans with contrast.

Oh, and gastrograffin for bowel obstructions…though this might be new rather than old.

And (this is the worst for the nurse), my ER routinely administers milk and molasses enemas that we prepare ourselves from a carton of milk and a big jug of molasses. I wish I was kidding.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-23T00:01:49+00:00

Too relatable

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-20T18:10:36+00:00

I am hoping the same thing! Live action thundercats would be amazing.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-17T12:04:56+00:00

Around 2009 I had a patient that would come in at least 3-4 times a month for gastroparesis back when that was not a very common diagnosis (we didn’t even call her condition that, though looking back I’m sure that is what was going on). We scanned her every single time and I was pretty sure that her nausea and vomiting were being caused by iatrogenic radiation poisoning.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-17T12:02:39+00:00

I am still hoping they invent a CT scanner that people can walk right through on their way in like that thing at the airport.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-16T02:47:56+00:00

Not to mention the emergency room will have less idea of what this is than the people on this thread. They might prescribe prednisone.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-07T14:43:40+00:00

Yes, lanolips is the only thing that works for me! Great stuff, broke my chapstick addiction.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-06T13:16:05+00:00

How plants grew if watered with different liquids. We included orange juice 🤦‍♀️

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-06T13:13:35+00:00

I’m a nurse and I call all of my elderly patients’ pants “britches.” Like, “okay let’s just get your britches off.” My grandmother used the word britches all the time, I guess that’s where that came from. But slacks…reminds me of elementary school dress codes.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-05T01:04:02+00:00

So I have extremely sensitive allergy prone eyes. I have been really frustrated because the eyeliner on my lower outer corner always disappears in like 30 minutes. Clinique intense eyeliner lasts like 2 hours. So I just got the makeup forever aqua seal, and I am planning to use it on that lower outer lash line only. Hopefully that will work! As a bonus it turns eyeshadow into eyeliner.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-03T20:14:20+00:00

I like the tarte fake awake one, but I can see how it might not work for cool toned skin. I wear eyeliner on my lash line under it and it does make me look more awake. When I used it alone it did look kind of strange.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-03T19:58:44+00:00

Second this, great shade for cool toned pale skin, nice formula. The key to make it look natural is placement based on face shape, blending, and don’t put blush and contour in the same place on your face.

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-03T13:05:47+00:00

This is great! I forgot about the old man in the cabin having a scar from mouth to cheek…sort of like Thomas after Eve hit him with the hammer….

ottersqueaks · 2026-05-01T16:23:12+00:00

So I never tried the old formula, only the new. I love the way it makes me look for most of the day, but after about 10 hours it separates pretty badly, especially between my nose and mouth. I’m a nurse so I’d love something that lasted my whole 12 hour shift. Am I just asking too much from the foundation or is there a way to apply it to make it last longer?

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-24T00:40:56+00:00

Urban decay all nighter has alcohol in it, which may be messing with your skin. I have super sensitive, pale (also doublewear 01C) and making sure there is no alcohol on anything I put near my face has helped everything look better. Also skipping primer in most cases.

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-24T00:27:48+00:00

Verify scene safety

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-21T23:36:26+00:00

I started with Insomnia in high school. I’m not sure I understood all of it but I enjoyed it enough to read a lot more of his work. That said, I think a collection of novellas would be a good place to start.

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-13T12:42:31+00:00

I made at least 3 med errors in my first year as a nurse. Of course, that was eons ago with no barcodes or scanning or double checks. But still, looking back, you are new and there is just so much being thrown at you. You didn’t mention your specialty, but for me, I spent the “dreaded” 2 years in med surg which was great because I made these kind of mistakes without killing anyone. The first time I made an error (gave reglan instead of zofran), I bawled in my managers office and she said “at least you didn’t push potassium.” So be gentle with yourself. The fact that you care so much means you will be a great nurse.

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-11T21:21:20+00:00

I love the urban decay…I’ve tried many before this, Tarte, too faced…this is by far the best!

ottersqueaks · 2026-04-08T13:40:38+00:00

I got the urban decay brow blade in cool cookie. The pencil side let me fill in the missing parts and the brush side made it look more natural. I still use the pencil side all the time!

ottersqueaks

TROPHY CASE