Today I only had to work 6 hours, because I filled in for a call in. However, in those few hours I felt as if I had taken care of half of the town! I had multiple admits, and with the lack of resources, can make for an exhausting shift. I really wonder if some facilities realize that ancillary support of lab personnel for venipuntures or transporters to move the patient's could actually increase patient satisfaction. I certainly know it would increase mine!

I found myself in hot water the other day because of the call bell.  One of my peers received two ambulance patients at the same time, and since I wasn't too busy, I figured I'd run in and give a hand.  I got the patient settled in, did my assessment, inserted a luer and drew some blood, did an ECG... all the usual. Then as is my usual practice, I explained what the process would be and that there might be a wait.  I then grabbed the call bell and let her know to press the bell if she needed anything.
 

I haven't posted here in a very long time.  My life has gone through many changes in that time but I'm still alive and well and doing my thing in the ER :)
 

When doing CPR, the last thing you're thinking of is music, really, but maybe you should be, and specifically the Bee Gees song Stayin' Alive.

According to the American Heart Association, at 103 beats per minute the Stayin' Alive song almost perfectly matches the rhythm needed to jump start the heart (100 beats per minute). And, apparently, the American Heart Association has been using the song as a training tip for CPR instructors for about two years.

This article on the CNN website is worth a read.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/16/disco.song.health.ap/index.html#cnn...

A 68 year old female presented to the ER with complaints of abdominal pain and vomiting for three days. Past medical history was significant for end stage renal disease on hemodialysis, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

Her past surgical history was significant for bilateral below the knee amputations (BKA), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and amputations of two fingers on her left hand.

I am starting to develop a list of custom syndromes for the varying patient presentations I see in the ED. Recently I have been dealing a lot with the multiple complaint syndrome, which I am positive most of you who work in the medical field will be able to instantly identify.

During quieter nights and when there's not much going on, the charge nurse will sometimes let me do the triage thing. Even though I am not yet at a point where I can be the triage nurse, it's a great experience for me because it helps me practice on how to get triage information, patient histories, and all that. Usually, the charge nurse or someone more experienced will be there with me initially to make sure the patient is stable enough to hang out with me in the triage room for a short time.

A couple of weeks ago I lost my first patients. Since I started working as an ER nurse I have seen patients die, and been part of that event, as in the case of The Vigil, but this was the first time that the patients I lost my were my own.