Freedom42

Freedom42

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About Freedom42

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  1. NP working as RN?

    I'm about to start my first job as an FNP. I did an accelerated BSN to enter nursing as a second career and worked as an ER nurse for four years while pursuing my master's degree. Some thoughts as I read this thread: How much you'll earn depends on w...
  2. Psychiatric Institutions

    The largest private psych hospital in Maine is at St. Mary's in Lewiston. It's a unit of the larger hospital, but it's around 88 beds plus a psychiatric ED. They hire ADNs.
  3. Professionals or "workers"

    I don't have the option of belonging to a union at my hospital. I haven't had a raise since 2009. I have no guarantee of health insurance, retirement benefits or paid time off. I can be fired at any time without cause. The doctors at my hospital, how...
  4. Have you ever witnessed this situation?

    This isn't rocket science. I pick up my meds at a supermarket. The pharmacy has a sign posted that asks other customers to respect others' privacy by coming to the counter only when called. There's a small rope line just like at the bank. The pharmac...
  5. Frequent Flyers

    Room them somewhere north of Siberia, without a phone or a TV. When they ask for a meal tray, tell them that you only serve meals at designated times. Period. The doc will more than likely recognize the patient's name and, presuming it's the usual sy...
  6. All Those NPs with No Bedside Experience

    No, I don't see any incongruity. As I've indicated in my posts, I consider my BSN education valuable, but not all of it is relevant to the education I am now pursuing to become an NP. Much of it is; however, I don't believe that an NP needs bedside e...
  7. All Those NPs with No Bedside Experience

    I presume you're referring to my post. As an RN entering my fourth year at the bedside -- including two in the ED -- yes, I do count my BSN education toward my clinical hours. The PA student has not accrued those hours prior to the start of his or he...
  8. All Those NPs with No Bedside Experience

    As an NP student, I will have completed 1350 clinical hours, including BSN clinicals, by the time I graduate. Classmates who are in the three-year entry-to-practice program will have accumulated the same hours. Although they do not receive the BSN, t...
  9. All Those NPs with No Bedside Experience

    People who think they know everything -- or who are not secure enough to admit that they don't -- are a problem in any setting or profession, regardless of the initials they have after their name or how many years of experience they have under their ...
  10. Vodka tampons?!?

    Again, the issue was not the quote from a 14-year-old. It was the praising of the quote by an adult. And I'm quite confident that neither the teenager nor the adult considered "retarded" anything but pejorative. However, I'm sure the posters on this ...
  11. Vodka tampons?!?

    Thank you. I understand why kids use the word that way; after all, they hear adults use it that way, unfortunately. What bothered me was the poster's "well said" response to the remark.
  12. Vodka tampons?!?

    I don't mean to digress from the topic of this thread. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer my booze in a glass. This quote, however, is troubling. It's offensive. Can we please stop using the word "retarded" to refer to things that we think are...
  13. Need some advice on how to start an IV on pt with severe edema

    It's true, some people are nearly impossible. But I'll say this, as one of my patients recently pointed out: My charge nurse could start an IV on a dead man. She's that good. I have never seen her miss. When I started, she told me to find a man with ...
  14. Need some advice on how to start an IV on pt with severe edema

    The lower the albumin level, the tougher the stick. My supervisor gave me a good tip: Use two tourniquets, one in the usual place, the other about three inches above that. Works well with hands to really concentrate blood in a small area. You might a...
  15. Do I have this right? Obstructive lung disease: FEV1 is low, FEV1/FVC is low. Restrictive lung disease: FEV1 is low (?), FEV1/FVC is high (latter ratio may be normal or high, actually). I can't find an answer to the FEV1 status for restrictive (inter...