totallackofsurprise

totallackofsurprise has 10 years experience and specializes in ER, Perioperative.

Latest Activity

1. Home Health Nurse pay??

   totallackofsurprise replied to Okie51's topic in Home Health

   I was hired as 1099 employee -- 'independent contractor' which means an 'at will' employee. Meaning labor laws do not apply. Exactly! That is the exact description of the 'best' employees at my HH agency. I do find the work fulfilling, but I actual...

2. Home Health Nurse pay??

   totallackofsurprise replied to Okie51's topic in Home Health

   I have been doing HH since May and I am looking for another FT hospital or ambulatory job because I can't live on this money, as another previous respondent said. I really love the work itself... but I have bills and rent. I didn't expect my income t...

3. Fraud? Should I report?

   totallackofsurprise replied to MotoRN34's topic in Home Health

   Hate to sound like a cynic, but that old adage applies: "If you see something you do not understand, look for the financial interest." The manager doesn't care because 1) the agency gets paid regardless of whether or not the visits actually occur. Me...

4. Help! Had to Quit My Job, Now What?

   totallackofsurprise replied to Nurse Beth's topic in Nurse Beth

   Have you considered registry/per diem RN work at a hospital or clinic, or through an healthcare staffing agency? The trend in hospitals now (at least in non-profit community hospitals here) is minimal staffing, expanded with registry/float pool/agen...

5. Rn dealing with own family member illness.

   totallackofsurprise replied to captainRN1's topic in General Nursing

   What everybody else said x10. My stepfather, with whom I was close, worsened (metastatic prostate cancer) and died on hospice during my probationary period at my 1st job out of nursing school. I could not take extra time off although at least I was ...

6. Need advice on picking best RN to BSN online program

   totallackofsurprise replied to chrisRN180's topic in Online Learning

   I would stay away from for-profit schools like Chamberlain. 1) They are almost always the most expensive programs. 2) They really don't care if you make it through or not, as long as they take your money -- even if they are accredited. 3) Non-profi...

7. Dealing with insults from patients

   totallackofsurprise replied to Lycoriselaine's topic in Stress 101

   I understand the urge to fully inform patients, but there are things you don't need to tell them. While it's good to inform patients of what you're doing and why, sometimes too much information results in very specific negative reactions. In this ca...

8. Opposite Sex Coworker Social Boundaries

   totallackofsurprise replied to cyc0sys's topic in General Nursing

   If parsed more skeptically, here is much in the original post intended to distract readers from multiple red flags, deliberately vague back-story, and true motive. First, and ...are mutually exclusive. (Describing one's wife's feelings of an...

9. Fired from my first nursing job, before one year

   totallackofsurprise replied to mightynurse1's topic in General Nursing

   A 100 year veteran??? That would make here, what, 120 yrs old? Amazing!! (just kidding!) It sounds like it wasn't worth the migraine to put her in her place a little. That being said, I do agree with you: sometimes you DO have to dumb yourself down. ...

10. Fired from my first nursing job, before one year

    totallackofsurprise replied to mightynurse1's topic in General Nursing

    Based on your original post, I get the impression that your previous experience was as a CNA or some other nursing support staff. If that's the case, you may have felt -- in school -- that gave you an edge, because it probably did, especially in clin...

11. New grad RN needs advice on resigning

    totallackofsurprise replied to MidnightStars's topic in New Nurse

    My advice to you is to stick it out for a year at the job you have now, even though you don't like it. Let me explain why. I graduated in 2007 and worked as a camp nurse for 3 months, so I could study for the NCLEX-RN and chill before starting my fi...

12. New Grad Freaking Out!!!!!!!!!!!

    totallackofsurprise replied to rottie69's topic in Geriatric

    Other replies are right. That's far too little orientation and far too many patients for a nurse like you having no experience and only five days orientation. I understand if quitting is not an option, and the job market is no picnic now. One of the...

13. Bad Experience with Nurses at hospital, rethinking my major now.

    totallackofsurprise replied to Lindsey-Student's topic in General Nursing

    OP, I'm an ER RN with 4 yrs experience. I've taken care of a lot of patients who were battered or sexually assaulted. I worked 3 years in an absolutely insane ER on the south side of Chicago. I saw more batteries and SAs than I can count. On my worst...

14. Tell me this doesn't happen all the time.

    totallackofsurprise replied to grannyrn65's topic in General Nursing

    Was the surgery originally supposed to be outpatient surgery, or was your daughter supposed to be kept over night? That would determine what unit she went -- or was supposed to go to -- after she was out of PACU. My boyfriend just had a sigmoidectomy...

15. HELP! Newly RN, poor clinical background, where do i start

    totallackofsurprise replied to willowRN's topic in International

    If you are a new grad or haven't worked as an RN before, most hospitals will put you on some kind of orientation or precepting. No one gets out of nursing school with good clinical skills -- unless they were a medic in the military before or were pr...