Home Care offer for new GN NEED ADVICE

Nurses New Nurse

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Specializes in Stroke/Neuro.

i have been offered a job working for a man who is basically a "vegetable" and on a trach. he went in the hospital for colitis and was given the wrong meds, he was given 3 times the normal amount of dilaudid instead of antibiotics!!! then the nurse tried to cover up her mistake - well the family won a huge lawsuit and built a house with a seperate wing dedicated to their son. everything is state of the art. they offered me a very worthwhile salary working 7-3 mon-fri. i am just wondering if this would be the right choice for me since i am fresh out of nursing school, i just graduated may 2008. i have to admit i am kind of scared and feeling uncompetent. i feel like i should be working on a med-surgical floor for at least 6 months even though i don't really want to???? sooooo confused, any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. thanks a million!!!!:eek::confused:

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Lawsuit? No. Brand new grad? No. Work directly for family with no employer go between? No. I don't believe this is the situation for a new grad. Since this family won a lawsuit against an incompetent nurse, they are more likely to be so sure of their ability to "push you around". I wouldn't take on this opportunity. Think of your present worries being multiplied five or ten times once you take the job. You are better off to get experience while working for an employer before you take on a private duty case. Families are notorious for insisting on doing things "their" way, and you won't have the experience level to know the difference or the fortitude to stand your ground if they are too far off in left field for your liking. Get some experience before you work for a family and always think three times before you work in a situation where you know there was a previous lawsuit.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

I strongly agree with the above poster. I'm a new grad as well. I was offered a job in a nursing home for $30/hr. I turned it down because I need med/surg experience first. Think of it this way.....When you need to ask a question, or if things go south very quickly, on a med/surg floor there will always be a much more experienced nurse to lend a hand. If you're on your own without experience....sounds like a sure way to lose a license to me.

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I strongly agree with the above poster. I'm a new grad as well. I was offered a job in a nursing home for $30/hr. I turned it down because I need med/surg experience first. Think of it this way.....When you need to ask a question, or if things go south very quickly, on a med/surg floor there will always be a much more experienced nurse to lend a hand. If you're on your own without experience....sounds like a sure way to lose a license to me.

And you already know that this family will have no second thoughts about throwing you under the bus.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

If you could only hear how loudly the alarm bells are clanging in my head!! I've got years and years of experience in critical care nursing and would be scared to death to take on a job like this. There isn't enough money in the world to make me want to risk my license, my livelihood, my mental health for a job. This scenario is as the previous posters have said, a ripe opportunity for exploitation and I'd strongly advise you to run the other way.

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Absolutely not. The fact that the family is suing doesn't bother me, this sounds like something to sue over. However, in the home you will be completely on your own, with NO backup. As a new grad you do not have the experience to be in that position. Not trying to discourage you, but there is a reason why CA requires 1 year of hospital experience before a nurse can work HH, at least for an agency.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.
i feel like i should be working on a med-surgical floor for at least 6 months even though i don't really want to???? sooooo confused, any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. thanks a million!!!!:eek::confused:

this sounds like a gut feeling that you must pursue. ;)

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Specializes in Stroke/Neuro.

I have this nagging feeling that I need to start in med-surg to get a solid foundation, I know this. I think I was just looking for someone to tell me YES to confirm what I have known all along. I am NOT taking this job, just the thought of it gives me major anxiety. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

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I think you have made a very wise decision. Better to be safe than sorry sometimes. There are plenty of opportunities out there that don't sound like a ticking time bomb from a mile away!:no:

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Specializes in Stroke/Neuro.

My good friend that I met in my first semester of nursing school works for this family right now part-time. He failed out of nursing school in the second semester. He is actively pursuing a nursing degree from another school. He is pushing me to take this job, he has been doing it for about 8 months and he is not even a nurse. He thinks this would be a great opportunity for me to "get my feet wet". I am not going to take this job but now I think it is causing friction in our relationship.

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The difference between you and your good friend is that you have a nursing license and an untarnished professional reputation (even if it isn't much of one) to protect. Outlooks change a lot once you get those letters after your name!

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