Nursing Podcast by NURSING.com (NRSNG) (NCLEX® Prep for Nurses and Nursing Students) - INSULIN . . . Life Saver or Life Taker | Understanding How Insulin Works

INSULIN . . . Life Saver or Life Taker | Understanding How Insulin Works

02/27/24 • 6 min

Nursing Podcast by NURSING.com (NRSNG) (NCLEX® Prep for Nurses and Nursing Students)

Does insulin save lives, or does it take lives?

Bodies that don’t produce enough insulin shut down, but if too much insulin is in the system it can be just as disastrous. As nurses, we are often tasked with administering insulin to our patients. When done incorrectly it can be life-threatening. For years I was a member of the code team, and count

WHEN I was a new nurse I remember trying to keep track of the patients and insulin action times and the dosage times and everything else . . . I felt like I was drowning trying to keep it all straight in my head - I was both stressed and scared at the same time
THAT’S WHEN I copied all the insulin peak and onset times down in my notebook.
THIS HELPED me feel more relaxed and avoid my patient coding!

If you want to see my notes they are at NURSING.com/cheatsheets.

Honestly, I still use the cheatsheet today!

What we cover in this episode:

what is insulin
understanding how insulin works
what does insulin do
types of insulin
onset, peak, duration of insulin

Does insulin save lives, or does it take lives?

WHEN I was a new nurse I remember trying to keep track of the patients and insulin action times and the dosage times and everything else . . . I felt like I was drowning trying to keep it all straight in my head - I was both stressed and scared at the same time
THAT’S WHEN I copied all the insulin peak and onset times down in my notebook.
THIS HELPED me feel more relaxed and avoid my patient coding!

If you want to see my notes they are at NURSING.com/cheatsheets.

Honestly, I still use the cheatsheet today!

What we cover in this episode:

what is insulin
understanding how insulin works
what does insulin do
types of insulin
onset, peak, duration of insulin

Previous Episode

Nursing Prioritization and ABCs | How I Almost Killed My Patient

I almost killed my patient.

In the days after my scary event I spent hours and hours thinking through what I had done.

I knew my ABCs, I had prioritized everything I was supposed to, how could things have gone so horribly wrong...

See our full lesson on Prioritization at NURSING.com.

And I realized that I had overlooked a very important part of my ABCs.

It wasn’t the A - airway, the B - breathing, or the C - circulation

What was left, what did I miss?

What I violated was Safety.

That small little “s” at the end of my ABCs - Safety

And I learned 3 Crucial Take-Aways

ABCs are Priorities not Checklists!
Don't be complacent about the s for Safety
Ask for help as soon as possible

See our full lesson on Prioritization at NURSING.com.

Next Episode

I'm not smart enough to be a nurse . . . yet

Ever notice why some students embrace challenges, while others shy away?

Mindsets.

Your mindset might just change how you approach your goals in nursing school...

A fixed mindset: abilities are set.

A growth mindset: abilities develop.

When challenges appear, your mindsets matter.

In nursing school, challenges are constant.

A student with a fixed mindset avoids challenges.
One with a growth mindset thrives when challenges arise.

Having a growth mindset is the secret sauce for success.

Putting effort into a fixed mindset is useless. It's time to shift your thinking.

When considering success and failure, success in a fixed mindset is about validation, but in a growth mindset, it's about learning. Failure isn't a setback; it's an opportunity for growth.

As a nursing student, adopt a growth mindset: see challenges as learning opportunities, embrace mistakes, and persist. Grow your knowledge and expand your growth mindset with NURSING.com.