katkonk BSN, RN

Occupational health, Corrections, PACU

Have been exclusively in Occ Health for the past five years, and at this point I don't forsee going back to any type of nursing other than Occ Health. Never say never...but..

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About katkonk

katkonk has 25 years experience as a BSN, RN and specializes in Occupational health, Corrections, PACU.


Love Occupational Health.  It is the only field of nursing where I didn't feel like I was just passing through.  I know I've saved a few lives along the way in Occ Health, and that always feels good.  Not like in acute care, where all that matters is "right now", but knowing that you are helping people both in the moment, the immediate future and for the rest of their lives.  Teach, teach and teach some more.

Latest Activity

  1. katkonk

    Ethical Dilemma with Vaccine PPE?

    I worked on a huge government project in 2002, and at the end of it, the contractor I worked for did not want to ship all the left over items back to their corporate office to have to deal with (and did not want the expense of shipping from all the n...
  2. katkonk

    Ethical Dilemma with Vaccine PPE?

    I absolutely agree that the GAO is likely the best place to start.
  3. I'll point out that there are really two primary types of environment in which to practice Occ Health Nursing. One is in industry, and it seems like you have already explored that. The other is in the hospital setting, in Employee Health. Those two ...
  4. Did she begin to use laxatives after her jaw procedure, perhaps to counteract constipation due to opioid pain medications? Is there a history of long term use/abuse of laxatives at any time? Has a Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) treatme...
  5. katkonk

    Occ Health Director

    I'm curious. Did you end up getting that job, and if so, what salary did you agree to?
  6. katkonk

    PACU Traveler?

    I worked for about 2.5 years doing PACU local agency stuff and one travel gig that I had planned to be 4 months, and it turned into 10 months. It depends on where you are, as to how busy you can stay via agency if you are doing local assignments. T...
  7. katkonk

    ABOHN CSAT now $50 and two volumes?

    I would have to agree with you. Put the fifty dollars toward a good review course! I cannot even fathom paying that much for, as you said, a pdf. nope, nope, nope.
  8. katkonk

    ABOHN CSAT now $50 and two volumes?

    You say that you took a review course and it didn't help. I am a long time COHN-S, so my questions are just out of curiosity. Which review course did you take? If you have been working and have your CAOHC and NIOSH certifications and have experien...
  9. katkonk

    Random Drug Screens

    I just saw your post, as I haven't been on here for a long while. I completely disagree with Rbeck911. If you follow a strict chain of custody procedure with a COC form, with the urine sealed in the bag and the Lab COC copy in the proper place in the...
  10. katkonk

    Come on OHN's!!!

    I think you have to do whatever keeps the light burning in you. I love Occ Health nursing, but I have enjoyed meandering a bit during my nursing career the last few years. I always come back to Occ Health. It is my home and my comfort zone, and I ...
  11. katkonk

    Got a job offer as a Safety Technician at a cannery

    If you want to work lots of hours over the summer and make overtime to build up funds for school, that is great. Is 32 hours a week while in school too much?...I would say yes, most likely. When I was working on my Bachelor's degree, I worked 30 hou...
  12. katkonk

    Dwindling faith in this profession

    Just an observation, here. No judgement. If you are feeling that you cannot care for your patients that depend on you, that would signal to me that you are simply "burned out". Caregiver burn out is real and documented. If you need a break, take ...
  13. katkonk

    UTA NURS 5327

    Just adding my two cents here. I had been in an Adult NP program at one time. I was a Summa Cum Laude 4.0 BSN grad from a major university nursing school in Texas. I took advanced patho - easy A. I love pathophys and it is logical, gotta love Bio...
  14. katkonk

    Online BSN degrees being accepted by hospitals?

    I believe that what you heard is false. I have never heard that. Whoever said that may have heard of a particular unaccredited school that was not accepted by some place, but it would be highly unlikely an employer would reject a fully accredited s...
  15. katkonk

    NURS 4510 Fall 14

    Congratulations !