Skip to content
  • Nursing
  • Beauty
  • Travel
    • africa
      • 9 Days in Egypt
      • South Africa Travel Guide
    • asia
      • The Best of Dubai in 2 Days
      • Thailand Island Hopping Guide
    • North America
      • Maui, Hawaii Travel Guide
      • Dallas/Fort Worth Travel Guide
      • Visiting Nashville for CMA Fest
  • Life
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • SHOP
clear
Instagram post 2198283598732465943_6816277 Let’s talk about every ICU nurses 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦 drug....⁣
⁣
𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐅𝐎𝐋!!! 💤💤⁣
⁣
🔹It is a general anesthetic.⁣
🔹Indications include:⁣
▫️Induction of general anesthesia in children & adults.⁣
▫️Initiation & Maintenance of Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC).⁣
▫️Sedation of intubated patients in the ICU & ER.⁣
🔹It is a short-acting hypnotic. The mechanism of action is not entirely known...but propofol is known to work on GABA.⁣
🔹Produces amnesia (so you don’t remember)⁣
🔹 No analgesic qualities. This is important to remember that while your patient may be snowed on propofol, you still need to treat any underlying pain they may have with other drugs.⁣
🔹The most common side effects that I see would be bradycardia & hypotension. A rare side effect is green urine. 😳 Anyone seen that before? I have it’s weird.⁣
🔹If not contraindicated, patients should have DAILY “sedation vacations 🏝” in which the propofol dose is lowered to get a neurological assessment. This has also been proven to better patient outcomes, shorten length of hospital stay, and decrease the incidence of ICU delirium or Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), which is basically PTSD following an ICU admit. 👎🏼⁣
⁣
Pssst...if you’ve made it this far, this post is a hint 🤪 any guesses as to what I’m hinting at?! 🤐
Instagram post 2196088912160989955_6816277 We all have scars. 
My scar used to look good. A nice clean cut after my first surgery. But as the months passed, I fought a physical and mental battle daily following my accident. I rejected what was reality. I couldn’t accept it. I was internally bleeding emotionally, and then one day, physically. Blood began to pool under my scar, and my hope, patience, and skin began to stretch thin. 
It hurt. One day it couldn’t stretch anymore, and my scar burst open. I evacuated a hematoma in my bathtub. The pressure was released, and the fragile skin began to repair itself again. 
Another month went by, and the emotional buildup continued. I was depressed and jealous of others who weren’t going through what I was. I kept asking “why me,” what did I do to deserve this? The scar began to stretch again. One morning I woke up in a pool of blood. My scar was demanding attention. 
Then came yet another setback... osteomyelitis. The bones in my leg had become infected. I was rushed to get a PICC line and was on IV antibiotics q8h for 6 weeks. I had allergic reactions to every antibiotic I was put on, some requiring me to go to the ER for IM Benadryl. I was still in a wheelchair. I was exhausted. I was covered in a rash the entire 6 weeks, and prescribed atarax to basically sedate me enough to not feel the itch. My mind and body were giving up. I had seen this at work before. The young girl who dies after a straightforward surgery, followed by every complication and infection. I told myself I was going to die. 
But then one day, I didn’t. The thing about scars is that they demand attention, acknowledgement. They will continue to push and pull at you until they burst. What you resist, persists. While your scars may not be physical like this one, we all have emotional scars from our past that will continue to build up until we explode. If instead we accepted our scars, our battlewounds, our past...we are then able to move beyond them and develop scartissue... that while jagged-looking and not a clean cut, it forms even tougher skin than before. 🖤
Instagram post 2193901986528094758_6816277 LETS TALK DRIPS. 💧⠀
⠀
Drips can be intimidating when you’re starting in the ICU. It’s extremely important to understand the mechanism of action behind each drip, and not just follow orders/handoff to “keep MAP > 65.” ⠀
Each drip is very unique, and it’s gonna be on YOU the nurse, to speak up on why a prescribed drip may not benefit the patient, and be able to recommend another drip + give the rationale. 🗣⠀
⠀
I can’t count the times I’ve called the doctor at shift change and ask for a different drip when I see what’s hanging. For example, getting report to maintain a cardiac index > 2 on the med above (norepinephrine/levophed), and the nurse was going up and up on the drip to make the goal but still not meeting it. ⠀
⠀
When given a history of heart failure and an EF of 10%....this patient may need DOBUTAMINE instead of levophed to improve cardiac output. That’s because I know that dobutamine helps with CONTRACTILITY of a poorly functioning ventricle, and it DECREASES AFTERLOAD to help pump that blood out. THAT will actually help maintain your CI because you’ll stop vasoconstricting, causing an increase in AFTERLOAD for a failing heart if they had used levophed. Make sense?⠀
⠀
Would you guys be interested in more drip specific education? What drips do you guys see the most? Lemme know below! 😃
Instagram post 2185954718529320955_6816277 And as you become more successful,⠀
The amount of haters will grow. ⠀
There is a direct correlation⠀
As you check off more boxes⠀
Smiling as you go⠀
They are watching⠀
But do not forget⠀
You were not born to please other people. ⠀
Getting their approval ⠀
Was not part of your bucket list.⠀
Keep your head up 
And
Eyes fixed on your daydreams⠀
Because soon⠀
They will no longer be daydreams⠀
It will be your reality⠀
If you keep this mentality. ⠀
So⠀
Envision your future self often. ⠀
Set your intention daily.⠀
And get to work.⠀
-⠀
Sincerely,⠀
My exhausted jotted-down thoughts post nightshift 3 in a row. 😂 .
💾 Save this post for motivation 👍🏼
Instagram post 2184325088189709002_6816277 Y’all asked for ECMO education...I’m gonna break it down real simple. 👌🏼 ECMO stands for ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. “Extra” = outside, “corporeal” = body so, outside of the body. Membrane oxygenation = oxygenation by a membrane. Outside of the body. Ya?

There are two types of ECMO. VA or VV ECMO. Veno-arterial or Veno-venous. First letter is where you’re pulling from and the second is where you’re returning blood. VA ECMO provides heart and lung support. VV is solely lung support. Blood is pulled from the body via cannulas and travels through an oxygenator to be oxygenated and for CO2 to be removed. We control the amount of CO2 removed via something called “sweep.” Then it is returned back to the body. ⠀
⠀
This treatment is a last resort for patients when other conventional therapies don’t work (max ventilator support, max pressors/inotropes, end stage heart failure etc) and there are contraindications of course. But it does work and use of ECMO is growing. ⠀
⠀
Examples of patients who may require ECMO include but are not limited to: septic shock, aspiration pneumonia, ARDS, pulmonary embolism, cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, cardiac arrest. The list goes on.⠀
⠀
These patients are SICKY SICK. K like not well. The ECMO specialist cannot leave the bedside, we are constantly monitoring these patient’s vitals, intake & output/fluid balance and also typically manage the CRRT machine along with it. We are responsible for maintaining therapeutic anticoagulation to maintain circuit integrity, checking pre and post oxygenator ABGs as well as patient ABGs, serial electrolytes, hourly pulse checks to make sure the big cannula doesn’t occlude perfusion to the lower extremities..managing sedation for patient and circuit safety, and sometimes paralytics for ventilator compliance or to decrease oxygen demand. ⠀
⠀
There is also another nurse doing patient cares, medications, possibly managing another device in addition. Who here does ECMO and who wants to?! Doesn’t want to? 😂😝 .

Save this for reference later 📋
Instagram post 2182341693549085563_6816277 TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. ⠀
⠀
Wow. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be designing and opening an online shop I would have laughed 😂. I have been working very hard over months and months to design some #nursemerch with a sassy and trendy flair to it. Over the years I’ve had numerous situations where I wanted to buy a nurse a graduation gift, thank you gift, etc, and I was so disappointed in the tacky stuff that’s out there today! (ive seen enough incorrect EKG clip art designs, thanks) Next thing you know I’m designing my own products... that I’m actually excited to gift to my friends and family that are nurses or in school! 🏩📝⠀
⠀
I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing combined with excitement combined with extreme gratitude FOR YOU. You guys that have followed along my nursing journey... YOU have made an amateur blog that was created to get through personal trauma, into a community that gets me excited to keep going, move past my struggles, and continue to spread positivity in nursing. So thank you, THANK YOU 💖⠀
⠀
Shop link will be posted tonight at midnight MST in stories. 💋
@lipstickandlifesaving
Instagram post 2180256768918308180_6816277 Rest In Peace Nonna ❤️
.
My sweet grandmother passed away this weekend surrounded by family. It was very unexpected and sudden, and I am so fortunate to have gotten to Canada in time to be with her when she passed. Also feeling so grateful she was able to make it to my wedding in Arizona just last month.

This was my first family member being cared for in the ICU. I always wondered over the years how this would go for me, and I am so wowed by the hospital staff who were so accommodating to me and my giant loud Italian family that took over the entire waiting room with people, pizza, and biscotti 😂
.
Not only that, our family included 5 nurses, 2 RTs, 1 medical student, and a million questions. You can only imagine how annoying we would be for that night nurse...but wow. She pulled up every CT, ABG, CBC we asked for, without a single roll of the eyes. This was closure for us. She also made EACH of us one of these EKG strips that she hand cut, and placed a heart bead with her favorite color. THIS is nursing. Don’t ever forget the little things you can do as a nurse in these situations. This meant the world to us.

Nonna you were a light in all of our lives. Always so happy, and had a social life I could only dream about. Heaven gained a beautiful angel this week 💖
Instagram post 2175612208598498198_6816277 This guy here is a Total Artificial Heart (TAH). 🖤⠀
⠀
It is implanted as a last resort for biventricular failure either as a bridge to heart transplant or as destination therapy (this stays in forever). The patient’s ventricles and valves of the heart are completely removed and this goes in their place. Crazy right? 🤯⠀
⠀
In this picture you can see the mechanical metal valves and if you look closely in the middle you can see yes, that is VELCRO that attaches the two plastic ventricles together. The flappy suction cup looking parts around the valves are sutured to the patient’s atria. ⠀
⠀
These patients are usually in the ICU for months...but once they become stable, they are able to go home attached to a 13.5 pound portable pump that runs on battery, and worn as a backpack or shoulder bag. This becomes their new way of life. 🎒⠀
⠀
Who’s taken care of a TAH patient before? Opinions on this therapy? Would you say yes to this if it was your last option to live⁉️
Instagram post 2171229601102553105_6816277 One of my posts from a few years back but still a good reminder to my fellow nurses as winter rolls around 🏥⠀
⠀
“Patients do not put their trust in machines or devices. They put their trust in you. You have already spent years studying, training, doing research & seeing patients. And you likely have many years of education before you. ⠀
⠀
But please remember the more skilled you become, the more specialized you become, and the more dependent on technology you become — the easier it becomes to lose your humanity, forget your compassion, and ignore your instincts. ⠀
⠀
I have one last piece of advice: Never ever lose your moral compass.” 🖤 Margaret Hamburg, MD⠀
⠀
In this photo the patient is on ECMO, Impella, CRRT, and a ventilator.
Instagram post 2167776739236018984_6816277 Back to reality, but forever in the honeymoon phase with you 🥰💕

Lipstick & Lifesaving

Beauty

My Top 5 Beauty Picks for March

March 24, 2017April 4, 2017

I can’t believe it’s already April. 2017 is flying by and it’s definitely springtime in San Diego. Here are my top 5 beauty products from the month of March.

makeup and skincare on marble background

“Full Dry Volume Blast” by Living Proof. I love the brand Living Proof and use many of their products already. This is a newer product, and it lives up to Living Proof’s high standards. “Full Dry Volume Blast” is a volumizing and texturizing spray used on dry hair. It’s infused with molecules that expand once released from the can, giving you lots of volume wherever you spray it. I get Brazilian blowouts which I can’t live without, but it does make my hair flat. This spray gives me the best of both worlds-straight hydrated hair with volume! The spray won Allure’s “Best of Beauty” award in 2016 when it was released. Paraben and sulfate free. You can buy it at Nordstrom and get free shipping/returns here: Living Proof Full Dry Volume Blast, Size. $15 USD for 3oz, or $29 USD for 7.5oz.
Disclaimer: I received this product for free but all opinions are my own. 

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

“Hydrating Foundation Primer” by Laura Mercier. I’ve used Laura Mercier products for years and love how they don’t bother my sensitive skin. This hydrating primer is my go-to as I have drier skin that needs an extra layer of hydration before foundation. It contains vitamins A, C, and E, in addition to hyaluronic acid (my fave) and glycerin for added moisture. It’s important to always wear a primer under foundation as it extends the wear of your makeup and smoothes the appearance of the skin, filling in pores and lines. Try it at Nordstrom with free shipping/returns here: Laura Mercier ‘Hydrating’ Foundation Primer – No Color. $38 USD for 1.7oz.

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

“Kylighters” in ” “Cotton Candy Cream” and “French Vanilla” by Kylie Cosmetics. I looove me a good highlighter and so far Kylie Jenner’s cosmetic line does not disappoint. I decided to try out her new highlighters and they are BEAUTIFUL. Simple packaging with a lot of glow inside. “Cotton Candy Cream” has more of a light pink hue compared to “French Vanilla” which is a cool, lighter cream. Both are extremely pigmented and last all day. These highlighters are amazing and you can only get them on kyliecosmetics.com. $22 USD.

Kylie Cosmetics kylighters in French vanilla and cotton candy cream
Kylie cosmetics kylighters

 

 

“Ink Liner” in “Trooper”by Kat Von D. This is a product I can’t live without! I’ve tried so many eyeliners and this one is my favorite. It’s waterproof, smudge-proof, and lasts all day. It’s a felt tip liner, so you can get sharp precise lines. In my opinion, the felt tip makes it easier to apply compared to the alternative brush tip on Kat Von D’s “Tattoo liner.”Both formulas are amazing, they just have different applicators. I’ve gotten a lot of my nursing coworkers hooked on it as well because it lasts a 12 hour shift without going anywhere! So nice not to have raccoon eyes in the morning giving report! Buy it at Sephora here. $20 USD.

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

“Night-a-mins” Night Cream by Origins. My all-time favorite night cream! This moisturizer smells fresh and is so hydrating. Infused with vitamins C and E, this night cream helps repair and replenish the skin overnight. It’s great for all skin types and is paraben and sulfate free. It also helps retexturize the skin, improving the skin’s smoothness over time. I’ve gotten so many friends to buy it and so far, everyone loves it! Give it a try at Nordstrom with free shipping/returns if you don’t love it, here: Origins High-Potency Night-A-Mins(TM) Mineral-Enriched Oil-Free Renewal Cream. $43 USD for 1.7 oz.

Processed with VSCO with hb1 preset

That’s it for this month!

TAGGED WITH: beauty blogger, eyeliner, highlighter, Kylie cosmetics, Makeup, moisturizer, nurse, primer, Skincare
3 Comments on My Top 5 Beauty Picks for March

You may also like

Being New in the ICU
My Top 5 Beauty Picks…
Makeup that LASTS through a…

Post navigation

Previous postHow I Studied for the CCRN
Next postMaevn Scrub Review

3 comments on “My Top 5 Beauty Picks for March”

  1. Arline
    April 5, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

    Reply
  2. mariiacano
    April 2, 2017 at 10:10 am

    I am loving the Living Proof Full Dry Volume Blast – I got it in this month’s Sephora Play! and I love it.

    Maria Cano | Instagram | Bloglovin’

    Reply
  3. Jackie
    April 2, 2017 at 8:01 am

    Love the Laura Mercier primer. Used it for years now. Can’t wait to try some of the other products you mentioned especially the highlighters!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

author

Hi, I'm Marissa.

I'm an ICU Nurse on the nightshift. Here you can find some education & motivation, along with a touch of sarcasm to keep you sane in a difficult but rewarding career. Thank you for stopping by!
signature

instagram

Instagram post 2198283598732465943_6816277 Let’s talk about every ICU nurses 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦 drug....⁣
⁣
𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐅𝐎𝐋!!! 💤💤⁣
⁣
🔹It is a general anesthetic.⁣
🔹Indications include:⁣
▫️Induction of general anesthesia in children & adults.⁣
▫️Initiation & Maintenance of Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC).⁣
▫️Sedation of intubated patients in the ICU & ER.⁣
🔹It is a short-acting hypnotic. The mechanism of action is not entirely known...but propofol is known to work on GABA.⁣
🔹Produces amnesia (so you don’t remember)⁣
🔹 No analgesic qualities. This is important to remember that while your patient may be snowed on propofol, you still need to treat any underlying pain they may have with other drugs.⁣
🔹The most common side effects that I see would be bradycardia & hypotension. A rare side effect is green urine. 😳 Anyone seen that before? I have it’s weird.⁣
🔹If not contraindicated, patients should have DAILY “sedation vacations 🏝” in which the propofol dose is lowered to get a neurological assessment. This has also been proven to better patient outcomes, shorten length of hospital stay, and decrease the incidence of ICU delirium or Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), which is basically PTSD following an ICU admit. 👎🏼⁣
⁣
Pssst...if you’ve made it this far, this post is a hint 🤪 any guesses as to what I’m hinting at?! 🤐
Instagram post 2196088912160989955_6816277 We all have scars. 
My scar used to look good. A nice clean cut after my first surgery. But as the months passed, I fought a physical and mental battle daily following my accident. I rejected what was reality. I couldn’t accept it. I was internally bleeding emotionally, and then one day, physically. Blood began to pool under my scar, and my hope, patience, and skin began to stretch thin. 
It hurt. One day it couldn’t stretch anymore, and my scar burst open. I evacuated a hematoma in my bathtub. The pressure was released, and the fragile skin began to repair itself again. 
Another month went by, and the emotional buildup continued. I was depressed and jealous of others who weren’t going through what I was. I kept asking “why me,” what did I do to deserve this? The scar began to stretch again. One morning I woke up in a pool of blood. My scar was demanding attention. 
Then came yet another setback... osteomyelitis. The bones in my leg had become infected. I was rushed to get a PICC line and was on IV antibiotics q8h for 6 weeks. I had allergic reactions to every antibiotic I was put on, some requiring me to go to the ER for IM Benadryl. I was still in a wheelchair. I was exhausted. I was covered in a rash the entire 6 weeks, and prescribed atarax to basically sedate me enough to not feel the itch. My mind and body were giving up. I had seen this at work before. The young girl who dies after a straightforward surgery, followed by every complication and infection. I told myself I was going to die. 
But then one day, I didn’t. The thing about scars is that they demand attention, acknowledgement. They will continue to push and pull at you until they burst. What you resist, persists. While your scars may not be physical like this one, we all have emotional scars from our past that will continue to build up until we explode. If instead we accepted our scars, our battlewounds, our past...we are then able to move beyond them and develop scartissue... that while jagged-looking and not a clean cut, it forms even tougher skin than before. 🖤
Instagram post 2193901986528094758_6816277 LETS TALK DRIPS. 💧⠀
⠀
Drips can be intimidating when you’re starting in the ICU. It’s extremely important to understand the mechanism of action behind each drip, and not just follow orders/handoff to “keep MAP > 65.” ⠀
Each drip is very unique, and it’s gonna be on YOU the nurse, to speak up on why a prescribed drip may not benefit the patient, and be able to recommend another drip + give the rationale. 🗣⠀
⠀
I can’t count the times I’ve called the doctor at shift change and ask for a different drip when I see what’s hanging. For example, getting report to maintain a cardiac index > 2 on the med above (norepinephrine/levophed), and the nurse was going up and up on the drip to make the goal but still not meeting it. ⠀
⠀
When given a history of heart failure and an EF of 10%....this patient may need DOBUTAMINE instead of levophed to improve cardiac output. That’s because I know that dobutamine helps with CONTRACTILITY of a poorly functioning ventricle, and it DECREASES AFTERLOAD to help pump that blood out. THAT will actually help maintain your CI because you’ll stop vasoconstricting, causing an increase in AFTERLOAD for a failing heart if they had used levophed. Make sense?⠀
⠀
Would you guys be interested in more drip specific education? What drips do you guys see the most? Lemme know below! 😃
Instagram post 2185954718529320955_6816277 And as you become more successful,⠀
The amount of haters will grow. ⠀
There is a direct correlation⠀
As you check off more boxes⠀
Smiling as you go⠀
They are watching⠀
But do not forget⠀
You were not born to please other people. ⠀
Getting their approval ⠀
Was not part of your bucket list.⠀
Keep your head up 
And
Eyes fixed on your daydreams⠀
Because soon⠀
They will no longer be daydreams⠀
It will be your reality⠀
If you keep this mentality. ⠀
So⠀
Envision your future self often. ⠀
Set your intention daily.⠀
And get to work.⠀
-⠀
Sincerely,⠀
My exhausted jotted-down thoughts post nightshift 3 in a row. 😂 .
💾 Save this post for motivation 👍🏼
Follow on Instagram

Like on Facebook

Need Resume help?

Send me your goods.

I help nurses & students tailor their resume to get their dream job.




 

Top Posts

Being New in the ICU
57 comments
How to Write a Kickass Nursing Resume (for new grads)
15 comments
My Top 5 Beauty Picks for February
11 comments

Search

Facebook
instagram
pinterest
↑