Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Lava Lamp
Sep 18, 2007
banana phone

Hughmoris posted:

And after that, go up there and start knocking on doors.

Well, it sounds antiquated, but it seems like new grad RNs are hired mainly through a specific New Grad RN hire program, not for regular RN job postings, so a search site like indeed will be of minimal help to a new grad. Some hospitals specifically say for new grads not to apply to regular RN postings or the apps will be chucked straight in the bin.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

ApplePirate
Nov 4, 2006
He's dead. You killed him when you left the door open with the air conditioner on.
Obviously it depends on the job market in the area and each specific hospital, but for what it's worth, I found my job through Indeed by searching "new grad RN" and my city. After seeing the job posting I went to the hospital's website and applied there. I was really lucky, it was the first place I applied and I got the job right away. There are a lot of postings on Indeed for new grad programs or general positions that will hire new grads, but it really depends on the area. In my city there are a few hospitals that post new grad positions every month or two, but where I went to nursing school an hour away there is nothing. I still know a couple people there who haven't found jobs since graduation last spring. So with that search you will definitely get plenty of results where it hits because the posting says "no new grads," but it's still worth a shot to see what's out there.

LoveMeDead
Feb 16, 2011
I would also suggest looking at smaller, rural hospitals if you are planning on moving. Our hospital hires tons of new grads. Of course, we have a pretty high turnover on med-surg. It's a good place to learn, and a good place to get that year or two of experience that your dream job may ask for.

LoveMeDead
Feb 16, 2011
Well, I'm off to Frontier Bound, Frontier's orientation. I'm excited, but really nervous. I'm beginning to think I'm crazy for even trying this.

I don't know why I'm so nervous about this orientation though. It's just 3 days of meeting people and learning how to learn.

SlyFrog
May 16, 2007

What? One name? Who are you, Seal?
I have a curiosity question regarding nursing (medical practice in general). For people who are in routine contact with infectious patients (so I would assume family practitioners who are constantly seeing cases of strep throat, flus, colds, etc.), how are you not constantly sick yourself, or at least sick much more often than the average person? I understand the scrutiny behind hygiene, disinfectants, etc. in a clinic or hospital, but I can only imagine that goes so far.

I have also seen that healthcare facilities have an absolute no tolerance ban on people working while sick (or even slightly sick). But how does this pragmatically work for a profession where I would assume you are sick much more often than the normal person (again, given your greater exposure to pathogens)? I mean, do you really get to say, "Can't come in, I'm slightly sick" 20 times a year or something? If I didn't come into work every time I felt something that might be an illness or the start of one, I'd probably miss 1/5 of the year.

Iron Lung
Jul 24, 2007
Life.Iron Lung. Death.
I'm looking into going back to school to pursue a BSN with the goal of being an RN. I've wanted to work in healthcare for the past few years (looked into being a RD, Occupational Therapist, etc) and it seems like a good fit for my skills, and career goals. I'm doing an orientation call this week and might do a follow-up appointment this coming weekend if I feel its necessary. I already have a BS in Biology, and took Anatomy 1&2 last summer. Anatomy 2 was super hard for me because I had a terrible professor, but I passed with an A & B respectively. I would need to take Pathophys, and maybe another class or two before actually starting the program in the Fall I think, but I'm not positive on how they deal with transfer students quite yet - I'll find out this week. Would it be a good idea to re-take Anatomy for review or just to re-read my textbooks/notes? It's been a few months so I feel pretty rusty.

Most of the nurses in this thread seem really content with their job, and while I don't feel like nursing is a ~calling~ for me, it definitely seems to tick all or most of the boxes I have for a career. I almost passed out once at an appointment with my fiance when she had a minor procedure done, but I'm fairly certain that was just due to being super nervous and not breathing and that I'd be fine under pressure especially after getting trained etc. I'm really good with people, and want a career where I can actually help them. I've worked for tech start-ups etc the past few years and feel generally unfulfilled by my work and this would provide an actual career with direction which is super appealing to me. I also like the variability of the career, seems like there are a ton of different paths you can take after getting licensed. And the pay also seems pretty awesome compared to what I've made previously.

As for the program, it would start in the fall and take probably a year or a year and a half (or up to two) to complete. I will probably apply to ASU's post-bac nursing program but don't think I have a real shot at getting accepted. I did well as an undergrad, but my GPA might be a bit low for what they normally accept (3.57, seems like they usually admit students around 3.8 or higher unfortunately.) Will I have any trouble finding a job my first year with a degree from a non-state school? The other program is through a for-profit Christian (hurray) university, but apparently it is a pretty decent program. My future brother-in-law is also planning on attending the same program in the fall, so he's been telling me about the program.

Our end goal is to move to California asap, and it seems like according to the thread after your first year of nursing experience jobs are not terribly difficult to get even while moving states. What is the usual path after passing the NCLEX? What about moving to a different state after receiving your license? It seems like a lot of the hospitals out here do student loan repayment if you sign a year or two contract with them which would actually work out pretty well with our theoretical timeline to move.

Thanks for any advice, I've been wrestling with this decision for the past few months and I think getting some feedback from the thread as well as the meeting I have this week will help cement it.

DannyTanner
Jan 9, 2010

Do you have your CNA? I'm in a similar boat as you (majored in Biology, taking AP2 right now) and I wasn't sure if nursing would be a good fit until I started working as a CNA.

Iron Lung
Jul 24, 2007
Life.Iron Lung. Death.
I do not, just the degree in Biology. Should I look into getting my CNA first?

Atma McCuddles
Sep 2, 2007

According to ~my extensive Internet research~ California is the worst place in the States to be an RN. Pay is high and so the market is FLOODED.

Interested to hear from anyone who went straight to ER from nursing school. Positive experiences or regrets for the rest of your lives?

Epic Doctor Fetus
Jul 23, 2003

Iron Lung posted:

I do not, just the degree in Biology. Should I look into getting my CNA first?

Since nursing isn't a ~calling~ for you, I'd definitely give being a CNA a whirl before spending all that time and money on nursing school and risking burning out before you've managed to pay off your student loans. It'll take you about a month to get certified and shouldn't be too expensive. Once you're a CNA, you can spend some time in the trenches and see what being a nurse is really about. While your CNA scope of practice will be quite different from an RN's, you'll be working very closely with them and you'll get a good idea if dealing with blood, guts, and poop are for you.

Don't kid yourself, though. Nursing school and working as nurse is tough, especially if you aren't very enthusiastic about it to begin with. There are better career choices if you're looking for something pragmatic.

Edit: Also, being a CNA at a hospital is a great way to later get hired as an RN at that hospital.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

SlyFrog posted:

I have a curiosity question regarding nursing (medical practice in general). For people who are in routine contact with infectious patients (so I would assume family practitioners who are constantly seeing cases of strep throat, flus, colds, etc.), how are you not constantly sick yourself, or at least sick much more often than the average person? I understand the scrutiny behind hygiene, disinfectants, etc. in a clinic or hospital, but I can only imagine that goes so far.

I have also seen that healthcare facilities have an absolute no tolerance ban on people working while sick (or even slightly sick). But how does this pragmatically work for a profession where I would assume you are sick much more often than the normal person (again, given your greater exposure to pathogens)? I mean, do you really get to say, "Can't come in, I'm slightly sick" 20 times a year or something? If I didn't come into work every time I felt something that might be an illness or the start of one, I'd probably miss 1/5 of the year.

I can't speak for other facilities but at my hospital your rear end better be coming in to work, unless you are actively shedding the flu. Even then, they'd probably tell you just to just put on a mask and come in. We catch a lot of flak for calling out sick because we have been so habitually short staffed.

In regards to avoiding sickness ourselves, I think its just a matter of luck and good hygiene. I try my hardest to avoid touching my face at work. If someone shows symptoms of something that might look catching, I toss on a mask just to be on the safe side.

Ravenfood
Nov 4, 2011

SlyFrog posted:

I have a curiosity question regarding nursing (medical practice in general). For people who are in routine contact with infectious patients (so I would assume family practitioners who are constantly seeing cases of strep throat, flus, colds, etc.), how are you not constantly sick yourself, or at least sick much more often than the average person? I understand the scrutiny behind hygiene, disinfectants, etc. in a clinic or hospital, but I can only imagine that goes so far.

I have also seen that healthcare facilities have an absolute no tolerance ban on people working while sick (or even slightly sick). But how does this pragmatically work for a profession where I would assume you are sick much more often than the normal person (again, given your greater exposure to pathogens)? I mean, do you really get to say, "Can't come in, I'm slightly sick" 20 times a year or something? If I didn't come into work every time I felt something that might be an illness or the start of one, I'd probably miss 1/5 of the year.
Good hand hygiene. I work hard at not touching my face at all, too, unless I know my hands are clean. Also, during this flu season, we're required to wear masks in any patient room regardless of their infection status. Maybe that's helping, who knows? And I figure constant mild exposure to poo poo has to be building my immune system like crazy.

In my unit we're told, repeatedly, that we're supposed to call off if we're feeling in any way sick. We're also only given three call-offs/year before we start getting written up for it. Even better, if you come in and get sent home, that counts as a call-off for that purpose. So, verbally told to call off sick, practically encouraged to come in. Its frustrating as all get-out, but then, so's being told that your replacement called off and it'll be two hours until the on-call person can make it in.

Cacafuego
Jul 22, 2007

Iron Lung posted:

Most of the nurses in this thread seem really content with their job, and while I don't feel like nursing is a ~calling~ for me, it definitely seems to tick all or most of the boxes I have for a career. I almost passed out once at an appointment with my fiance when she had a minor procedure done, but I'm fairly certain that was just due to being super nervous and not breathing and that I'd be fine under pressure especially after getting trained etc. I'm really good with people, and want a career where I can actually help them. I've worked for tech start-ups etc the past few years and feel generally unfulfilled by my work and this would provide an actual career with direction which is super appealing to me. I also like the variability of the career, seems like there are a ton of different paths you can take after getting licensed. And the pay also seems pretty awesome compared to what I've made previously.

Nursing wasn't a calling for me either, I more or less became a nurse because I knew a program that graduated quality nurses that had a good reputation at the local hospitals (i.e. they got jobs here after graduating). One of the main reasons influencing my decision was that once you get your RN, a variety of career options become available. I did fine in nursing school, and got choice placement in the unit I wanted to work on. After I got hired and worked there for a while as a floor nurse, I realized I absolutely hated it. The environment was toxic and I was sick of the micromanagement. I transferred to become a clinical research nurse and it was the greatest career choice I could've made. It's not for everybody though as I routinely have one or sometimes no patients (participants now) and I spend the day reading protocols for our current studies or doing other research. I feel my input is valued now, compared to the floor. Other people love it and can't get enough. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

There are so many things you can do as a nurse, even if you dread the bedside, although you'll likely have to start that way. Bedside nursing is difficult, exhausting work and I'm thankful for the people that subject themselves to that because I'll freely admit that it was too draining for me, both physically and mentally. Good bedside nurses are the real heroes in the hospital, as far as I'm concerned.

On that note, you'd think it would be easy to find nurses who want a M-F 8-5 day job as an RN clinical research coordinator. We're having a difficult time getting anyone. I tried to recruit my wife who is an ER nurse and some of her friends but they've all turned it down because apparently nobody wants an office nursing job!

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

Cacafuego posted:


On that note, you'd think it would be easy to find nurses who want a M-F 8-5 day job as an RN clinical research coordinator. We're having a difficult time getting anyone. I tried to recruit my wife who is an ER nurse and some of her friends but they've all turned it down because apparently nobody wants an office nursing job!

Do tell more about what you do. I'm currently in the ICU and am enjoying the experience but I can say without a doubt, I do not want to stay bedside forever.

Lava Lamp
Sep 18, 2007
banana phone

Cacafuego posted:



On that note, you'd think it would be easy to find nurses who want a M-F 8-5 day job as an RN clinical research coordinator. We're having a difficult time getting anyone. I tried to recruit my wife who is an ER nurse and some of her friends but they've all turned it down because apparently nobody wants an office nursing job!

That's interesting. How's the pay compared to a "typical". Nursing job? I'd hate giving up the 3 12s shift. They're so worth it for the four days off.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

Lava Lamp posted:

That's interesting. How's the pay compared to a "typical". Nursing job? I'd hate giving up the 3 12s shift. They're so worth it for the four days off.

Amen, brother(?). I lined up my schedule this month to have 8 days off in a row, without taking PTO. :smug:

Iron Lung
Jul 24, 2007
Life.Iron Lung. Death.

Cacafuego posted:

A lot of good things.

On that note, you'd think it would be easy to find nurses who want a M-F 8-5 day job as an RN clinical research coordinator. We're having a difficult time getting anyone. I tried to recruit my wife who is an ER nurse and some of her friends but they've all turned it down because apparently nobody wants an office nursing job!

Thanks for the advice here, this is actually really close to my thinking on it. I'm fine starting off like you (and most everyone off), in fact I think it'd be really interesting and challenging. But the variability is what really attracts me. I have an acquaintance who is a NP and pretty much runs the QA program for our state, so there are a ton of options out there for nursing jobs with a more normal schedule.

Can you tell me more about what you do? Sounds really interesting. I come from a (kind of) research background in my undergrad so I'd love to learn more about it. Would your undergrad school have effected your ability to get into the line of work you did or is it still fairly moot after a few years of experience?


Epic Doctor Fetus posted:

Don't kid yourself, though. Nursing school and working as nurse is tough, especially if you aren't very enthusiastic about it to begin with. There are better career choices if you're looking for something pragmatic.

Edit: Also, being a CNA at a hospital is a great way to later get hired as an RN at that hospital.

This is also the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I'd love to work in healthcare in some capacity - do you have recommendations for other career options that might be more on the pragmatic end of the field? I've looked at a lot of the options that take a year or two to complete (nuc. med, medical imaging, think it'd be a blast to be a physical therapist assistant, etc) but they all cap out eventually career option wise and Nursing has a lot of different paths. Being a PA would be pretty awesome, but I have no idea how I'd get the necessary clinical hours besides being a CNA etc. But those programs are obviously rising in popularity so admissions and cost are definitely a barrier. Seems like Masters of public health or healthcare administration are also rising in popularity so I suppose I could look into those as well.

Baby_Hippo
Jun 29, 2007

A lot of people enjoy being dead.

Hughmoris posted:

I can't speak for other facilities but at my hospital your rear end better be coming in to work, unless you are actively shedding the flu. Even then, they'd probably tell you just to just put on a mask and come in. We catch a lot of flak for calling out sick because we have been so habitually short staffed.

In regards to avoiding sickness ourselves, I think its just a matter of luck and good hygiene. I try my hardest to avoid touching my face at work. If someone shows symptoms of something that might look catching, I toss on a mask just to be on the safe side.

I think I've been my healthiest since I became a nurse. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, get rest and exercise on your days off, take lots of zinc. I would only call out if I had a fever, anything else is manageable with lots of cold meds.

BadSamaritan
May 2, 2008

crumb by crumb in this big black forest


Iron Lung, I'd recommend working as a patient care tech or something like that before making the dive into nursing school. I ended up leaving nursing school partway through- the academic aspect was fine, but the career wasn't right for me. I knew I would burn out quickly as a nurse. I went into working as a medical technologist/clinical laboratory scientist, and it's a good field if you are less suited for working directly with patients. Lots of people enter the field from a biology background, and the work can be pretty interesting- transfusion medicine is pretty boss if you work at a busy/diverse hospital.

A quick question to nurses and nursing students- how much are you taught about the requirements for lab test samples? I know you guys have a lot of clinical information you need to know and that many patients are hard sticks or shouldn't lose any more blood, but the number of nurses I've talked to that ask me to run CBCs or PT/APTTs 'around the clot' or have removed the clot from a tube in hopes that we will run it makes me wonder what the lab test/interferences curriculum is like for nurses. (Hint: all your platelets/Hct/Hgb/clotting factors will be gone and we will probably have to call you for a false critical value and waste everybody's time) Also, please feel free to ask me any lab questions, because I feel like there is very little communication between the floor and the lab.

And yes, the lab feels bad that we can't run the tiny peds tube of blood too, we really do. Please don't get mad at us when we cancel things or request a redraw, we just want to make sure we're giving good values :(

Joellypie
Mar 13, 2006

Atma McCuddles posted:

Interested to hear from anyone who went straight to ER from nursing school. Positive experiences or regrets for the rest of your lives?

I went straight into the ER after school. I had the option to go into the neonatal ICU (where I am now) and neuro ICU. I can say, without a doubt that, that it was the best decision of my life to go straight into the ER. I learned alot about time management, different illnesses, medicines, and people in general. I didn't work in a trauma ER but we did get our fair share of pretty bad poo poo. That said, I could only do about a year before my empathy went out the window and I started to really hate people (why I now work with babies). I think I will eventually go back, but hopefully to a pediatric ER.

Cacafuego
Jul 22, 2007

Lava Lamp posted:

That's interesting. How's the pay compared to a "typical". Nursing job? I'd hate giving up the 3 12s shift. They're so worth it for the four days off.

The 3 12s is the reason my wife won't do it. I hated the variability of shifts and not knowing when I would be working until the last minute or whether I'd get off when I request it. I crashed and burned without the stability of 5 8s, Monday-Friday. Since I had 2 years of research experience prior to becoming a nurse and they hired me as if I had 3 years of experience. I get paid as much to work days here as I did working the floor at night. Also, we have a free starbucks machine. I would've done it just for that. I also have off every holiday!

Hughmoris posted:

Do tell more about what you do. I'm currently in the ICU and am enjoying the experience but I can say without a doubt, I do not want to stay bedside forever.

Sure. Actually the reason I got into research nursing was because of a nurse with 15 years of ICU experience who went into research that I knew through a former colleague. I was a nurse for about 6 months and she told me to just apply ASAP because I had research experience. I applied and got the job. The manager was so excited to get an RN with research experience that they didn't interview anyone else.

Where I work there are 2 types of research nurse. The first is the clinical research coordinator (CRC). You don't always have to be an RN to be a CRC, but my facility will only take RNs in the role. If they take unlicensed people, they are typically paid a salary that is less than a floor nurse, but since my place only takes RNs, they get paid around the same as a floor nurse but are salaried(I don't know specifics) and may have to travel more. They work M-F and manage research studies by writing study protocols and essentially "translate" what the sponsor wants to do with what we are able to do. The sponsor can be pharma companies, federal institutions (NIH grants) or in house stuff, etc. At my place, they screen participants, have them sign the informed consent and are the go to person for questions. They will sometimes have to remove participants from a study for noncompliance. They do much more than this, but you get an idea.

I am the other type, a clinical research nurse. Our research is primarily on healthy people, or they'll have a specific problem, but no others (diabetes, for instance). I essentially collect data on participants who stay on our inpatient unit for multiple days, which comes in the form of blood or urine or tissue samples, etc. The catch is it has to be done at an exact time set by the protocol, which can be a problem if you can't get a vein or your IV clots. I can't explain too much about each study due to confidentiality. On one study we do muscle and fat biopsies and assist the MD/NP during the procedure. On another, we're dosing people with an experimental drug and monitoring for any problems. Another has extended periods of bed rest, so we have to monitor them for DVTs. On another study, we're testing the effects of diet changes. On yet another, we test insulin sensitivity by running glucose clamps. There's a variety of different things, work is never the same. When the participants are not actively doing something, they just chill in their rooms. Because they are there voluntarily, you want them to stay, so the rooms are equipped with blu-ray players, big flat screen tvs, wifi, etc. I even think we have netflix for them. Because they are mostly healthy, they never call for anything. We do have to be vigilant for adverse events to a new drug, but they never need pain meds, or antibiotics (no isolation!!!), etc.

That's mainly it, but I can give more specifics if you want.

Cacafuego fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Feb 19, 2014

ThirstyBuck
Nov 6, 2010

Lava Lamp posted:

I'd hate giving up the 3 12s shift. They're so worth it for the four days off.

I like the look on a person's face when I tell them I work three days a week. It's usually four but that is my choice. "What?! You mean you get four days off every week?" Yes, except that a component of every week includes feeling like poo poo due to the jet lag like symptoms of switching between night and day shift and attempting to bank some sleep. Sleep ceases to be something contiguous and becomes a thing you calculate over the course of several days or week. Yes, you can attempt to block your nights and days together but eventually you will do it. Switching shifts isn't like drinking too much or not exercising enough. You feel like poo poo and the only cure for it is a regular sleep schedule...

Someone said nursing for money? Nursing is hard work. I'm just passing through nursing but from my short time there one thing I've confirmed is that it won't make you rich. But it will make you old and tired.

On the upside, I've had no issues finding a job. I just interviewed for a different position at a CTICU at the main location for a large teaching university/medical center today. LVADs, balloon pumps, crrt, rotaprones, and ecmo out the wazoo.

SuzieMcAwesome
Jul 27, 2011

A lady should be two things, Classy and fabulous. Unfortunately, you my dear are neither.

ThirstyBuck posted:

Yes, except that a component of every week includes feeling like poo poo due to the jet lag like symptoms of switching between night and day shift and attempting to bank some sleep. Sleep ceases to be something contiguous and becomes a thing you calculate over the course of several days or week. Yes, you can attempt to block your nights and days together but eventually you will do it. Switching shifts isn't like drinking too much or not exercising enough. You feel like poo poo and the only cure for it is a regular sleep schedule...

I can attest to this. Considering that I am sitting here writing this at 4am after getting off at 10am going to beer breakfast with some coworkers then coming home and passing out all day.

Bum the Sad
Aug 25, 2002
Hell Gem

BadSamaritan posted:

A quick question to nurses and nursing students- how much are you taught about the requirements for lab test samples? I know you guys have a lot of clinical information you need to know and that many patients are hard sticks or shouldn't lose any more blood, but the number of nurses I've talked to that ask me to run CBCs or PT/APTTs 'around the clot' or have removed the clot from a tube in hopes that we will run it makes me wonder what the lab test/interferences curriculum is like for nurses. (Hint: all your platelets/Hct/Hgb/clotting factors will be gone and we will probably have to call you for a false critical value and waste everybody's time) Also, please feel free to ask me any lab questions, because I feel like there is very little communication between the floor and the lab.

And yes, the lab feels bad that we can't run the tiny peds tube of blood too, we really do. Please don't get mad at us when we cancel things or request a redraw, we just want to make sure we're giving good values :(
Put blood in the tube color indicated on the label. That's what nurses are taught no more.

SuzieMcAwesome
Jul 27, 2011

A lady should be two things, Classy and fabulous. Unfortunately, you my dear are neither.

Bum the Sad posted:

Put blood in the tube color indicated on the label. That's what nurses are taught no more.

Wait for lab to get there or if you HAVE to do it yourself. Call lab and find out what tube it goes in.

Bum the Sad
Aug 25, 2002
Hell Gem

SuzieMcAwesome posted:

Wait for lab to get there or if you HAVE to do it yourself. Call lab and find out what tube it goes in.
We have label printers in the ICU so it prints out the ordered lab label when you put it in the computer. So printed on the labels at the bottom tilt say "LAV" or "BLUE" or if it's like a Ionized Calcium or Lactic Acid it'll say "GRN - ice" "GREY - ice"

Asclepius
Mar 20, 2011
I like to imagine nurses here have been taught enough critical reasoning to stop when we see a weird acronym on a path slip we're not used to, and take the time to ask someone more experienced or look it up on the intranet. But then I also wonder how many false values we get from idiosyncrasies like having to double draw and discard if you're taking only coags with a butterfly.

Roki B
Jul 25, 2004


Medical Industrial Complex


Biscuit Hider

Bum the Sad posted:

We have label printers in the ICU so it prints out the ordered lab label when you put it in the computer. So printed on the labels at the bottom tilt say "LAV" or "BLUE" or if it's like a Ionized Calcium or Lactic Acid it'll say "GRN - ice" "GREY - ice"

Oh god are you using mobilab because gently caress that poo poo and gently caress meditech and gently caress hca.

Bum the Sad
Aug 25, 2002
Hell Gem

Roki B posted:

Oh god are you using mobilab because gently caress that poo poo and gently caress meditech and gently caress hca.

HCA and Meditech no loving loving clue what mobilab is but yes meditech is loving awful.

Roki B
Jul 25, 2004


Medical Industrial Complex


Biscuit Hider

Bum the Sad posted:

HCA and Meditech no loving loving clue what mobilab is but yes meditech is loving awful.

Its the label printing software we use with these portable label printers that are chronically useless.

SuzieMcAwesome
Jul 27, 2011

A lady should be two things, Classy and fabulous. Unfortunately, you my dear are neither.

Roki B posted:

Oh god are you using mobilab because gently caress that poo poo and gently caress meditech and gently caress hca.

gently caress meditech so hard. I think our lab people use mobilab but we do not even in the units (ICU/CCU) send off our own labs. On my floor, we have A LOT of PICC's and TLSC's so we draw a lot of our own stuff versus having to stick, but we do not do them until lab comes by.

Bum the Sad
Aug 25, 2002
Hell Gem

Roki B posted:

Its the label printing software we use with these portable label printers that are chronically useless.

Ah we got hard lined ones next to the printers.

And a tube system Suzie. How the gently caress can you have an ICU and not be able to instantly tube labs and print labels.

LoveMeDead
Feb 16, 2011

Bum the Sad posted:

Ah we got hard lined ones next to the printers.

And a tube system Suzie. How the gently caress can you have an ICU and not be able to instantly tube labs and print labels.

We don't have a tube system because our lab is about 150 feet from the CCU. We also don't usually draw our own labs, but we do in the ED. Of course in the ED we just fill up all the tubes, so that's not an issue. LOL

Orientation went well. I had a minor panic attack at one point, but in just 3 years, 9 months I will have my doctorate! Frontier seems like a great program if anyone is interested in FNP, CNM, or WNP (although I don't know why anyone would do that one).

Ravenfood
Nov 4, 2011

Asclepius posted:

I like to imagine nurses here have been taught enough critical reasoning to stop when we see a weird acronym on a path slip we're not used to, and take the time to ask someone more experienced or look it up on the intranet. But then I also wonder how many false values we get from idiosyncrasies like having to double draw and discard if you're taking only coags with a butterfly.
Shouldn't you don't just automatically waste 5-10ccs of blood before drawing any labs from anywhere? I know we do, and we can even take a few labs off the waste tube if its the right type.

Asclepius
Mar 20, 2011
That's not something I've ever read or seen done here. But drawing a waste tube for coags is just an example of something I was certainly never taught outright, and from observing my colleagues' practices, even up to the most senior nurses, I don't think they were either.

SuzieMcAwesome
Jul 27, 2011

A lady should be two things, Classy and fabulous. Unfortunately, you my dear are neither.

Bum the Sad posted:

Ah we got hard lined ones next to the printers.

And a tube system Suzie. How the gently caress can you have an ICU and not be able to instantly tube labs and print labels.

We have a tube system and if we HAVE to send our own specimen down, we just put a pt sticker on it with date time and initials

Finagle
Feb 18, 2007

Looks like we have a neighsayer
I knew I was going to be working my rear end off but goddamn you guys are making me readjust my planning from "very busy" to "hahah what free time"!

Still excited for it though. Taking the GRE on the 1st, and then I get my application in to the two schools I'm applying to (College of Mt. St. Joseph and Xavier, both in Cinci). Tired of taking these pre-reqs though, I really want to be actually working on this already!

BadSamaritan
May 2, 2008

crumb by crumb in this big black forest


The waste tube, especially for Chem/BMPs, CBCs, and coags is mainly to make sure the blood is fresh and undiluted. It essentially makes sure that the results accurately portray the patient's blood and helps prevent contamination from anything that may have been put through the line. Heparin, excess saline, glucose, EDTA, and old rbcs/factors can all effect tests. Coag and chem panels are usually the most affected and can get pretty crazy real fast.

awkward_turtle
Oct 26, 2007
swimmer in a goon sea

BadSamaritan posted:

The waste tube, especially for Chem/BMPs, CBCs, and coags is mainly to make sure the blood is fresh and undiluted. It essentially makes sure that the results accurately portray the patient's blood and helps prevent contamination from anything that may have been put through the line. Heparin, excess saline, glucose, EDTA, and old rbcs/factors can all effect tests. Coag and chem panels are usually the most affected and can get pretty crazy real fast.

That makes sense for drawing from lines. At my institution it's standard to draw another of our blue top (liquid heparin) tubes for coags if you're drawing through a needlestick. I was told by a lab tech once it was because the dead space in our butterfly tubing was enough to mess with the results since coags are so precise. I've never tried emperically testing to see if this was true or not.


Has anyone in this thread ever done home health or home infusion therapy? I've got a possible side gig lined up to do a few hours a week in my city and the surrounding area. One of the pharmacies does home infusion set ups and their nurse was talking to me about needing a hand. It would mostly be more complicated drugs that some of their nurses don't feel comfortable with/ haven't seen in a while; Things like home inotropes and IV Ig. I've been a nurse for 3 years now in general med surg and step down and I'm fairly competent on my own (pretty regularly complimented by providers for knowing my material and being a step ahead in catching problem. Constantly stop interns from killing my patients.) It's a fairly rural southern town so I'm probably going to be going into some straight poo poo but I'm considering the offer.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Roki B
Jul 25, 2004


Medical Industrial Complex


Biscuit Hider

SuzieMcAwesome posted:

gently caress meditech so hard. I think our lab people use mobilab but we do not even in the units (ICU/CCU) send off our own labs. On my floor, we have A LOT of PICC's and TLSC's so we draw a lot of our own stuff versus having to stick, but we do not do them until lab comes by.

Madness. Madness.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply