720 days later. . .

Blog hiatus OVA! Sorry for the neglect guys! I know it has been a good little minute but I am happy to say..

Two years ago on this day I started my journey in nursing as a new grad nurse in a Surgical/Transplant ICU.. looking back now I never would have guessed I'd be where I am today.

Guess I'll start with the now. . .
I have since transitioned from dayshift (as a new grad) to nightshift (as a new grad), where I spent a solid 2 years (seasoned)... and now BACK to dayshift as recently as a few months ago. I like am getting used to it but I must say I'm still a nightshift nurse at heart. It is nice to have a normal life outside of work which is ultimately why I made the switch to dayshift. I also have started precepting and joined a few teams on the unit with one being our Unit Patient Council, which is basically the 'SGA of the unit'. It's so funny that my last post was explaining MARS therapy because now I know how to setup & run this machine. 

Soon. . .
In other words my goals or things I want to accomplish in my career or at least start before 2017 rolls its way out of here, are as follows: first things first, I want to start travel nursing!! Why? I've always loved traveling so why not do it & work at the same time? Next is to obtain my CCRN (Certified Critical Care Registered Nurse) & PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support). These are both nursing certifications, one is specific to pediatrics and the other is specific to critical care nursing because they are both specialty certifications that I could benefit throughout my practice. 


What are some goals you guys set for 2017?Post below!!




 

(Disclaimer: The clinical suggestions, advice and recommendations described on sicunurse.blogspot.com are based on my personal opinions and are not medical advice. The content is for entertainment purposes only. I, surgicalnurse.blogspot.com, do not own, nor did I create any of the animations above. I did create the content written above and below them, customizing them to my experiences along with learning tips I have found helpful in my practice.

 












 

Girls are from venus boys are from....

'MARS' or as my unit likes to call it.. Molecular Adsorbent Recirculating System which is pretty much dialysis for the liver. It is one form of artificial liver support and a treatment modality indicated for patients with acute liver failure, most commonly from drug overdose. Click here to learn more about MARS Therapy and how it actually works!

(Disclaimer: The clinical suggestions, advice and recommendations described on sicunurse.blogspot.com are based on my personal opinions and are not medical advice. The content is for entertainment purposes only. I, surgicalnurse.blogspot.com, do not own, nor did I create any of the animations above. I did create the captions written above and below them, customizing them to my experiences along with learning tips I have found helpful in my practice.

ELAD

I'm sure you're probably wondering why I wrote an acronym out in this heading...  and that is because I wanted you to present this concept to you EXACTLY as it was presented to me initially. The first thing I did was google search and WALLAH!! There it was Extracorpeal Liver Assistant Device aka ELAD. Ultimately, it works as a mechanical liver. Similar to how CRRT works as a mechanical kidney when acute failure involved. ELAD improves survival rates with liver failure patients. Click here to learn more about ELAD Therapy. Ultimately, it works as a mechanical liver.

(Disclaimer: The clinical suggestions, advice and recommendations described on sicunurse.blogspot.com are based on my personal opinions and are not medical advice. The content is for entertainment purposes only. I, surgicalnurse.blogspot.com, do not own, nor did I create any of the animations above. I did create the captions written above and below them, customizing them to my experiences along with learning tips I have found helpful in my practice.

Time flies

Geez where did all the time go... I am approaching my last month on orientation (can you guys believe it!?). I can remember Day 1 like it was yesterday.. brushing through those double doors and opening a can of sensory overload..from hearing ventilators alarming to pumps beeping.. it was music to my ears! I observed the flow of the unit starting with AM critical care rounds and the involvement of different medical personnel (dietary, physical therapy, GI, Infectious Dz, Liver transplant..etc) working as a team to better the patient's care. Thinking back to that day, I can say it has truly been a journey.. no it was not easy.. the learning curve was very steep and still is. Yes, it was VERY overwhelming at times.. but with patience, perseverance and dedication.. you can get through it! For those of you who might be new nurses in your area of specialty who have made it over, what I call.. "the struggle hump".. CONGRATS! The worst is over!

 

"Fruit for thought"