Okay, I’m a a little late in the game (these 12 hour shifts are killing me) but here it is… Change of Shift is the new nursing blog carnival started by Kim over at Emergiblog. Kim is one of the God-mommas of nursing bloggery and she has done an excellent job of putting all of…

About a month ago I was ready to quit the MICU. Instead I decided to stay and “fight the good fight.” So here’s round one: On Monday I assume care of a patient who’s going on day 90 in the MICU. I know her story well; I’ve take care of her at day 18, day…

Florence Nightingale created the nursing profession based on her belief that dirt was at the root of all all sickness, and cleanliness=good health. Interestingly enough though, she rejected the germ theory of disease. Perhaps she would have liked this story: ———————————— My patient had a bug in her urine. Escherichia coli? Proteus mirabilis? Try Pediculus…

So the end of life saga continues. I guess in the MICU “end of life” is just our way of life. Two more “firsts” for me as a nurse – my first Family Meeting and my first unplanned decannulation (Mom- this means that my patient ripped his trach tube out and subsequently could not breath).…

Here is an update: My patient that I was so convinced could be extubated? Extubated the next day. Developed airway edema. Had to be reintubated. I found this all out when I came to work two days later. So I was wrong. She didn’t fly. You see? I still have so much to learn. And…