henrysmom

henrysmom

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About henrysmom

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  1. Where can I get male only patients?

    I work inpatient at the VA. 95% of our patients are male, most elderly. Many of them prefer male CNAs, however there aren't too many of them so the modest patients must be cared for by females anyway. Check out the VA.
  2. Psychiatric NP AND Psychologist?

    If money really matters, I would recommend becoming a Psych NP over a psychologist. My husband is a clinical psychologist and makes $72K a year in California at a salaried supervisory position. He also has a small private practice, but the reimburs...
  3. 13 years out of practice. How to come back

    I am in a similar situation and I tell you what I am doing. I finished my MSN FNP in 1997 and worked for a year as an NP. Hated the clinic I worked in, went back to the bedside (SICU) for several years and then worked several years in a hospice/pal...
  4. Returning NP needs book suggestions

    Hi! I graduated with my MSN/FNP in '97, but only worked as an NP for about 8 mos, then quit to go back to SICU nursing, which was my passion at that time. Took some time off when my kids came along, and then started working as a palliative care/hos...
  5. How did you arrive in hospice?

    I had worked a long time in SICU and loved it for most of that time. Then..I slowly started feeling that a lot of what we did was futile (I worked at the VA and most of the patients were quite elderly and might have been better served by hospice car...
  6. Death stories?

    I've done both SICU and hospice nursing, and have seen many, many memorable, special deaths. But one haunts me to this day.. I was charge nurse in a busy SICU. Got a call that we were getting a woman patient from OR, late 50's with metastatic ovari...
  7. NP grads - how difficult is it to work as RN?

    I acturally graduated as an FNP eight years ago, got certified, worked for six months and went back to a bedside position, where I have always worked as a staff nurse. Most of the NPs that I went to school with are actually working as staff nurses.....
  8. Nurses caps!

    My first job out of nursing school was at a large Catholic hospital with a strict all white dress code for the nurses. Several of the nurses wore caps with their whites and the patients loved it. I for one loved the all white, I liked looking at th...
  9. Leaving the profession to do...what?

    I have left temporarily to take care of my son, but do plan on returning soon. During my career the only thing that has kept me sane is trying different types of nursing, from nurse practitioner to school nurse to SICU to ER to education. It keeps ...
  10. Sudden improvement before death?

    I am new to hospice, but saw this several times even in ICU patients. My own aunt who had an astrocytoma hadn't spoken a word in over 6 weeks. Just lay there sleeping, and when she did wake up, there was no acknowlegement that she recognized us, et...
  11. how many times can a human be defibrillated?

    I remember a man about ten years ago, s/p CABG and valve who went into every imaginable rhythm for days afterwards, torsades, Vt,Vfib, etc. We probably defibrillated this man 40 or more times and had a zoll pacer for brady etc. He was extremely, an...
  12. Decadron uses?

    No you are thinking of atropine drops or scopalomine patches. Decadron is a steroid often used for people with brain tumors, etc..Kim
  13. Decadron uses?

    I am actually posting this for a friend, a hospice nurse who sadly has to work with a doctor who is not real knowledgable or savvy about hospice. She has heard that some docs prescribe Decadron for it's euphoria and appetite stimulating effects, eve...
  14. hospice education

    I finally have joined your ranks and got a job today at a local non-profit hospice. It will be my first hospice job (my background is ICU primarily), and I will be managing 12-14 patients; this is a full time job. I just recently joinedthe HPNA and...
  15. Non-Profit vs For-Profit

    I am an ICU nurse who has for years wanted to switch to hospice after experiencing way too much terminal suffering in the ICU and after having three close family members die while under hospice care. Have taken the past three years off to stay at ho...