Ado Annie ASN

Ado Annie has 8 years experience as a ASN.

Ado Annie's Latest Activity

1. 

   Covid-19, No Beds, Ugly Stuff

   Ado Annie replied to Ado Annie's topic in Disasters

   No operating rooms as such (procedures such as scopes done in a specialty clinic with conscious sedation). Level IV ER. Floor census since I have been here (about 3 yrs) has ranged from 0 to 14. Yes, we try to schedule with EMS so that an intubated patient can be placed on their vent fairly quickly. Yes, we stand there and bag them until that happens. I haven't had a patient with a home BiPAP. We have had some that bring a CPAP. There actually is an RRT that is only here on days and doesn't do much with floor patients. Your questions are exactly why I'm sharing this and worrying about it. It used to be a fairly rare problem (and transfers were easier to make happen because there were beds available) but Covid has changed that. We do physically have a ventilator now and we're going to have a brief training session for the nurses. The ER doc would be the one to set it up and start it. "It's easy"... This terrifies me. My colleagues range from terrified like me to not smart enough to be scared to confident.
2. 

   Covid-19, No Beds, Ugly Stuff

   Ado Annie posted a topic in Disasters

   This is one of those times when I hope that no one recognizes me because I want to get real for minute. When patients decompensate with Covid, their respiratory status deteriorates quickly. Our small hospital doesn't have a respiratory therapist, doesn't have a BiPAP, doesn't have a vent. So a transfer is necessary, but there are NO BEDS to transfer to. In the entire STATE. It may take a few hours. When we finally have a bed, the decision has to be made whether to transfer without intubating or to intubate them and transfer them with a vent. The ER doc will come to intubate, get angry that something or other is not up to his expectations, and eventually get a tube in. It can be pretty ugly. And frequently there is not much likelihood of a good outcome. I have become very discouraged by this. I know that the likelihood of a good outcome is small anyway, but it sure feels as if we have failed these patients. Perhaps Covid patients, especially with comorbidities, who are full codes shouldn't even be kept at the small hospitals, because of the potential for respiratory failure? Even so, we had a patient who was hospitalized for something completely unrelated but days later showed symptoms of Covid. And if they're not IN respiratory failure, how do you manage to get them a bed to transfer to? You can't! I don't have answers, only questions. This has bothered me more and more. Throw telemedicine (which in general I think is a godsend) into the mix and sometimes that decision to transfer is delayed... sometimes too long. Thanks for your thoughts!
3. 

   Advice

   Ado Annie replied to Ddillard67's topic in Lounge

   Go for it! This is my second career, and I'm glad I made the change. Due to the financial resources that were available to me, I went the ASN route (shorter, cheaper).
4. 

   allnurses? Defeats Test Prep Firm in Defamation Lawsuit

   Ado Annie replied to allnurses's topic in Announcements

   Thank you for staunchly defending the rights of this community.
5. 

   Hospital requiring personal cell phones for patient care

   Ado Annie replied to krekear's topic in Nursing

   We did/do at one of my jobs. Now I feel almost hobbled when I want to get a quick message to a doc but have to go through the rigmarole of paging them and waiting for a call back.
6. 

   "I think I made a mistake" ... 30 y/o Dies after Attending COVID-19 Party

   Ado Annie replied to sirI's topic in Disasters

   We do take steps to mitigate that by having laws against drunk driving. We also have designed automobiles so that accidents (whether involving intoxicated drivers or not) are more survivable than ever. I could go on (having spent a number of years working in the automotive industry) but the point is that we make efforts to reduce the number of auto-related deaths and we will make efforts to reduce the number of Covid-19-related deaths.
7. 

   Guns at the Bedside

   Ado Annie replied to rnrazzil's topic in Safety

   Oh hellll no
8. 

   So H&H are 2 different labs: why only say one value?

   Ado Annie replied to COVIDNURSE's topic in Nursing

   Actually, this was going to be my answer, though you provided details I didn't know. I was going to suggest recovering from renal failure which could have been brought about by the shock, the drugs, or the myolysis, or the combination thereof.
9. 

   Why not quarantine McDonald's and ban soda pop?

   Ado Annie replied to Emergent's topic in Disasters

   In an attempt at a serious answer to the question When *you* drink a soda, it doesn't affect *my* health. But if you have this virus and we go to the same restaurant, I have a pretty good chance of getting it. um... bad example. I should have said, "if you have the virus and we go the same *gym*, I have a pretty good chance of getting it" LOL
10. 

    Rant: Feeling like the worst nurse ever

    Ado Annie replied to 2018nurseandbeyond's topic in Nursing

    Was it ever! ??
11. 

    Are O2 sats a vital sign?

    Ado Annie replied to roxhannah's topic in Nursing

    When I worked for a large teaching hospital, the CNAs were not allowed to chart O2 saturation. Nurses had to do it. I never understood why. (reason given: it's part of an "assessment")
12. 

    Nurse Charged With Homicide

    Ado Annie replied to Nurse Beth's topic in Nursing

    Reading all these responses has been really interesting. One question that keeps coming to my mind is ... when a law enforcement officer uses deadly force. It is so rare for someone to be charged, even though the news accounts sometimes paint a picture that makes the officer's actions seem reckless or at very least, an overreaction. Are there parallels to nursing practice? How are they the same or different?
13. 

    Need Help

    Ado Annie replied to Apple-Core's topic in Recovery

    Hugs to you, Apple Core. I hope your daughter realizes that she needs help before something terrible happens. We are experiencing a similar situation with an adult child with mental illness. He's refusing treatment, and yesterday he left the house and has not returned. We had finally got him here a few weeks ago after he was on his own in another state (with no ID, money, phone, etc.) for a few weeks.
14. 

    Video RN screaming, dragged into police car d/t refused blood draw on unconscious patient!

    Ado Annie replied to SummitRN's topic in Nursing

    RE: Complaint to SLCPD Done. I hope I haven't opened myself up to retaliation.
15. 

    Calling report to the floor.

    Ado Annie replied to CardiacDork's topic in Nursing

    I have 2 beefs with taking report from ER, but even so I try not to be surly about it . These are: 1) at change of shift. I'm busy handing off my other patients to the oncoming shift or receiving report from a nurse who wants to finish up and go home. If you have held that patient until shift change to avoid getting a new patient, shame on you. If it just happened to work out this way, I appreciate the sentiment behind wanting to go ahead with report so that a nurse who doesn't really know the patient won't be giving report in a few minutes, but this is really inconvenient. 2) the room isn't clean. I don't know when the room will be cleaned. You promise you won't send the patient until it is, but guess what? I've been burned too many times to trust you. Unfortunately, I've had the experience of calling a code on a "stable" patient within an hour of arrival on the floor from ER. So if I'm not going to be able to get in the room and lay eyes on that patient pretty quickly, I'm stressed out. Like I said, I try hard not to let my stress level affect my attitude on the phone. I know we are all stressed.
16. 

    Nursing scrubs worn by visitors in the unit

    Ado Annie replied to Skippingtowork's topic in Nursing

    I have shown up in scrubs when each of my parents was hospitalized because I just got off work or was going to work. Once, I went to the cafeteria and was offered an employee discount because my scrubs were the same color as those worn at that hospital. I'm bot comfortable being there in scrubs and don't want to advertise that I'm a nurse, but sometimes it was just the only thing to do. If offered a t shirt and asked to change, I would, though I would be a little surprised. I realize all of this did not refer to OB.