[lytlbyt]

I am an LPN... almost finished with my RN. I am at a rough patch in the road with my career and am wondering if I should continue... Any advice out there??

[underpaidrn]

I don't know what your rough patch is, but try to see yourself past it and look at the future and what you want. It sometimes seems overwhelming to get through the odds but you can do it. Don't give up now. Look how far you have come already and what lies ahead for you is nothing but good things. Please don't quit. There are a lot of people out there praying for you. Good luck.

[traumaRUs]

Yes, definitely continue. Your RN will open doors for you that the LPN simply can't. Please stick with it...

[Tweety]

Bite the bullet, put one foot in front of the other and keep focused on today and one day it will be over. I went through similar patches myself and never regretted hanging in there.

[lytlbyt]

Thanks everyone... I really needed the words of encouragement. My rough patch....
Well... tomorrow morning I have an appt with my DON to be fired. here is the very long story of why....

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I have been a nurse for 8 years... I have even worked as an ADON in a Long-term Care facility. I know allot of my states regulations... but I have never been under scrutiny like this...
I started working at this place about a year ago. The DON is from the facility that I had been ADON at and she knows my skills and capabilities.... Since I started many nurses have come and gone. I work the weekends as an LPN charge nurse. The RN that was in charge of the building on the weekends "house supervisor", quit. I was the only full time employee left to charge the halls... and because of my back ground... given a job that I was in no way asking for.... sure we had other nurses, but they were from agency. I was delegated the responsibility of staffing/ house supervisor for the weekend crew. All on top of charging my own hall of 28 residents. I was pulled in 100 different directions for approx 9 months... no raise... no thanks. In the mean time there were 2 RN's that were hired... (I had to train them)... they couldn't charge their hall... always coming to ask me policy procedure questions... computer questions and problems with staff questions... I am a nice person... so I graciously helped... to my own determent.
I completely spread my self very thin... I started forgetting things and missed transcribing a couple physician orders... I took my med error.... as any good nurse will...
About 2 weeks ago.... I had a patient that was having severe pain in her knee.... I got an order for warm moist pack.... I delegated the task to my CNA... that also happens to be a restorative aide.... this is in their scope of practice for our state....
I instructed the aide on how to make the pack... 2 towels wet with hot tap water wrapped in 2 cloth bed pads... The aide said that she was going to go to therapy to get the pack... I thought... ok... we are in the middle of construction... hard to find things... maybe hand towels are easier to find in therapy... so I said ok.. I went to take care of another patient... approximately 15 minutes later I heard a woman shouting.... I instructed the aide that was with me to go see what was going on since I had my hands full. She said it was the pt with the pack.... I told her to take it off... I washed my hands and immediately went to see what was going on. The CNA had used a Hydrocollator pack (hot stones in a water bath) and she had not wrapped it well. I looked at the resident's knee.... skin was pink.... no blisters... no red areas. I checked her twice in the hour I had left of my shift.... still no redness or blisters... the woman goes 24 hours without anyone having checked her..... (I was off as this was on a Sunday) how that happened I have no idea.... so on Monday night... 1030pm... A CNA finds blisters on her knee. HOW??? FROM MY WARM PACK??? On top of that I forgot to transcribe orders for the pack.... scope of practice....
I am now suspended from work pending investigation of NEGLECT!?!? I am going to graduate in MAY of 2008 with my RN... I am afraid I will lose my license over this.... What do I do??? When I went in to get my suspension last week.... I find out that they are upset with me for reporting to the DON that I took a dressing (actually 3 of them from 3 different patients) off of a patient that had been on for 11 days... I was sick one weekend.... so the dressing was from the weekend before that... it had my date and initials on it..... Is this retaliation??? Am I being unfairly penalized??? How does a blister show up 24 hours later??? Not to mention the blister was about the size of a pencil eraser.... hydrocollator packs heat evenly... or so I am told... [/font]

[ladyallure25]

definately!!! i'm an rn, but know that the road was pretty rough getting here. one of my teachers even suggested perhaps a different career....but the jokes on her. passed my boards on the first try and love renal/gi/ms nursing and have been a nurse for 5 yrs. i just had to pray about it and get into some study groups. i wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors and strength to reach your goals.