DanChicagoRN

I got my BSN from Loyola in 2007. I've worked at Northwestern for 2 years, and they do offer tuition assistance to employees- $5,200 a year, with no commitments to work for the hospital afterward so it's actually a pretty good deal.

Hey, Many years ago, while in high school I started volunteering at Lutheran General on the pediatric unit. It was a great experience, it's actually one of the reasons I decided to go into nursing instead of medicine. I was a pre med student or thinking of studying to become a doctor in High School so I decided to volunteer in a hospital. When I applied to Loyola Chicago I switched over to be a Nursing major and it's been a great journey ever since. Anyway- to make a long story short the pediatric unit at Lutheran General I would imagine is a great place to work. Hopefully things haven't changed in several years. I volunteered for about 3 years off and on there, and later worked as a PCT at Lutheran General in float pool through the summer program for Jr. Nursing students. My only disappointment actually is that when I finished nursing school and applied for a position at Lutheran General as an RN, I didn't end up getting a job offer. Oh well- I work at Northwestern now. Best of luck at Lutheran and with Loyola for nursing school. Loyola is a fantastic school.

No offense but as many others highlighted here your "friends" sound like douchebags- I'm sorry for the blunt language. The fact that they aren't supportive of you clearly says something about their character and their "friendship" Perhaps many of them are stuck in dead end jobs that they hate and are jealous that you are entering a rewarding career with limitless opportunity that allows you to make a difference in the lives of total strangers each day. Few can claim they do that day in and day out- even fewer make a living like that. Maybe one or more of your friends secretly wanted to become a nurse many years ago, but now regrets it, and is jealous that you had the, excuse me for saying it, balls, to take that chance in the middle of your career and enter nursing school. Contrary to some caveman beliefs, nursing has a tough and a soft side. The soft side is the caring, compassion and empathy. The tough side is the quick thinking, intelligence, confidence and courage under pressure. Ask these "men" if any of them are man enough to be a nurse? Clearly you are- you're going to be tough enough to stomach blood guts and gore. Not everyone can do that. My friends were all very accepting of me going into nursing- many commented that they couldn't stomach all the blood and guts involved. I entered nursing school straight from high school, an all boys high school at that. It was an interesting change- going from classes with all boys to almost all women. Many of my guy friends are still jealous that each day I work with and am friends with so many beautiful, intelligent women. Finally, as I started my first job as an RN, my base salary was a lot higher and even with the recession I still have good job security. You should check out the American Assembly for Men in Nursing- AAMN- http://www.aamn.org. Finally, I'd encourage you to join the National Student Nurses Association- NSNA. http://www.nsna.org DanChicagoRN

Hi All While the new nurse practice act states that CE's are necessary, the state of Illinois, and Illinois Department of Professional Regulation have not yet created the administrative rules for CEU's. Therefore, it is not likely that the state will be requiring them for 2010 renewal, as they have not yet created a system of accounting for them. DanChicagoRN

Hello Everyone, I feel the need to provide my two cents and interject among the numerous negative comments about INA / ANA here- this is a long post but addresses numerous issues brought up. I joined INA/ANA upon graduation from nursing school. The Illinois Nurses Association has done more to protect nursing practice in Illinois than any other nursing association. INA is one of very few organizations that has a full time lobbyist, her name is Sue Clark, and she herself a registered nurse, working at the Illlinois State Capitol everyday lobbying for our interests as Registered Nurses in Illinois. Sue Clark works as a contract lobbyist for ISAPN and IANA. Jolie- the Illinois Nurse is sent to every licensed RN in Illinois- whether or not they are a member, as a courtesy of the organization. You highlighted the recent article on CNA II legislation. Actually the push for CNA II legislation was by the Long Term Care lobbying group- Life Services Network. INA and it's Government Relations Committee fought hard, as a result the bill died in committee. I applaud you for writing letters to legislators on your own- not every nurse has the time or interest in doing that however, and that is why INA has a government relations committee and contract lobbyist that does that work. "The INA seems to have no desire or effectiveness in protecting nurses' interests, but rather "getting along" with other organizations and entities that answer to the hospital and nursing home industries." That statement is completely false- whether it is INA opposing a CNA II pilot program- which Long Term Care very much would love to see or INA opposing Ratio Legislation -which the California Nurses Associaton/NNOC advocates for INA works to protect nursing in Illinois. INA does sit down at the bargaining table with the physicians, hospital association etc to get things done. If INA had not worked with other groups- Advanced Practice Nursing would not have become a reality, and we'd probably still be fighting today for that. INA and the work of other nurses across Illinois brought Illinois advanced practice nursing in 1997. Yes, IL was the last state but look at the enviornment- Chicago is home to the American Medical Association- often, the physicians have more money, and more members so who are state legislators going to listen to? However, I"m proud to say many other states have "med techs" individuals in long term care whose sole purpose it is to administer medications in long term care. Medication administration is a complex nursing assessment- not just a task to be delegated to lesser qualified individuals TurnLeftSide- Regarding other states withdrawing from ANA- that is largely due to debates and differences of opinion on labor issues. INA remains affiliated with ANA and the organization strongly values it's association with ANA. In some states where the state association "dissafiliated" from ANA, many nurses who are members of their respective state association probably aren't even aware. ANA president Rebecca Patton highlighted one state as an example- the vote to dissafiliate occured with a membership meeting where less than 100 members were present- a very small proportion of the membership actually voted for the dissaffiliation. I was at the ANA house of delegates in 2008- Things got ugly, I believe the Michigan Delegation physically walked out of the house of delegates TraumaRUS I'm glad to hear that you're active in ISAPN, however I think you should consider joining INA. While ISAPN addressess only advanced practice issues, INA also addressess those issues, and INA has always been at the forefront of nursing practice in Illinois. I'd say that the value of the money I spend on INA is worth it's weight. Like I mentioned before INA was the responsible body for securing advanced practice in Illinois. This occured through lobbying by staff nurses, nurse administrators and a coalition of individuals ISAPN was founded about 4 years later after APN licensure became a reality. INA speaks for all nurses in Illinois no matter their practice role- bedside nurse, APN, educator etc. Regarding the California Nurses Association/NNOC. Many years ago, in 1995 the california Constituent Association left ANA- I'm not sure the circumstances, I think that is an interesting research topic. Since then many other states have followed suit. Apparently, in nursing we can't all play in the same sandbox- which I think is really to our detriment and it speaks about the challenges our profession faces in the 21st century. As long as we fight amongst ourselves in nursing- in the words of Lincoln- "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We may have some philosophical differences of opinion, however in the words of an early ANA leader "To Advance We Must Unite"

I'm working on a med/surg floor where we typically have 6 nurses (always RN's) when we have a full floor of 23 patients, with 3 CNA's and a unit secretary. Unit secretary coverage occurs from about 6am- 10pm, although on weekends we only have a unit secretary from 7:30 am- 7:30 pm. Staffing numbers of nurses/CNA's is based on the overall number of patients on the floor- if there less than 23 patients we have 5 nurses for 22-about 20 patients, and lower numbers of nurses depending on the situation. The charge nurse typically does not have any patients, and the goal is for the charge RN to do paperwork go to meetings and help the other nurses on the floor. Our staffing levels are generally quite good, if you compare them to many other hospitals nationally I'm curious- are all the nurses on your floor LVN's? I'm curious since you highlighted that the charge nurse has to help with piggyback meds and pushes- so in that sense I'm assuming- but I don't want to you know what happens when you assume. The fact that you are doing Q4 vitals on everyone even with CNA's is ridiculous- you have so much to do already with a patient load of 5 patients. Some days I start the day with five patients, and depending on the acuity of patients and day I see the difference in care- You're simply catching up versus getting ahead and being proactive. Now, many hospitals have instituted goals with hourly rounding, my hospital has also, however we don't have to go sign a clipboard in a room. That's like when you go to the bathroom at a fast food place and the staff signs a clipboard to assure the room is clean- GIVE ME A BREAK!!! I think that's horrible, and if our manager instituted that I'd tell them that I was insulted. Your manager sounds out of touch with your unit and like he or shei s out of touch. Perhaps she should try to work the floor a day and see what it is like for staff. I think you need and your colleagues- fellow nurses and CNA's need to come together to verbalize your concerns for patient safety and patient care. The CNA's also probably feel the same way. Linda Aiken's nursing research studies have shown that as nurse patient load increases, so too does patient mortality.

We've created many threads before about the challenges of entry into practice, and Nursing's inability to really set a standard for RN's. I'll throw more fuel into the fire with a post. Every teacher in America, at least in public schools, has to have a bachelor's degree as a requirement for state licensure (Unless I am incorrect- this is based on the US Dept of Labor Occupational Outlook 2009). For physical therapists, our colleagues in the health care world, in order to be licensed, each has to have a master's degree, and many have doctoral degrees. These professionals are at the bedside 24/7. Sure there might be a few therapists now working in the "Ivory Tower" but for the most part, they practice "at the bedside" with patients day in and day out, in hospitals, outpatient clinics, community settings, etc. For social workers a bachelor's degree is a minimum requirement for entry into practice, while many also have master's degrees. Still today many argue that a BSN is only being sought by individuals due to interest in administration or that once you recieve an MSN or BSN, nurses will no longer be working in bedside roles. If you ask me, that is a bunch of baloney. A more educated workforce will only enhance the contributions nursing makes to healthcare. ANA, which for some here is a dirty three letter acronym, has advocated for BSN in 10, whereby, nurses, after initial licensure, would be required to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing within 10 years. 10 years is a long time and very attainable. I simply argue, in a more complex healthcare system, with increasing patient acuity nurses out to be educated at a higher level. The only barrier to resolving the debate in entry into practice is our own lack of willpower to do so. As always, as nurses we are fragmented, and fighting amoung our own house. Let's make the leap and unite on entry into practice.

Hi With the exception of a few mental health facilities in the state of Illinois, CNAs are not legally authorized to pass medications. That is a nursing responsibility, the responsibility of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Registered Nurse (RN). I'm not sure what type of place you work at or what the situation is , but it doesn't sound like it's something that is appropriate. I think that you should call the Illinois Department of Public Health 800-547-0466.

For many years the long term care industry has been trying to allow CNA's to pass medications in long term care facilities. Often these have been led through legislative efforts. Now, they've created a website to back up their efforts. http://www.medaidesillinois.org I find it hilarious that they highlight Florence Nightengale, and use the idea of her being for delegation in an attempt to bolster the argument. If we continue to outsource nursing care to non nurses-whether it be unlicensed assistive personnel, nursing assistants, etc, where is nursing knowlege and judgement needed. Where is our value as the RN? The argument becomes that passing out medications is a task only, not a process that requires skill, knowledge, judgment and clinical decision making. Oh yea and on a side note, the page "benefits- nurse", I really love the gender stereotyped language. "In other words, performing all the roles for which she went to nursing school to begin with, such as assessing, collaborating, managing, supervising, role modeling, documenting, educating, and functioning as an agent of change. Let's look at a day in the life of a staff nurse freed from the task of passing routine oral medications: Thoughts?

WOW All this anger toward Barack Obama. Good point one person made, Senator Obama is serving in the US Senate- he is working on and voting on federal legislation, not state legislation. While he served in the IL legislature, Barack Obama was supportive of nurses. I believe he has much greater potential to help effect change in our national healthcare policy that is currently flawed. Healthcare in America is broken, and someday soon we will need to fix the system. While many fear national healthcare, why is it the our nation's healthcare system is ranked so low in terms of overall quality of care when compared with numerous other industrialized nations who have universal healthcare? Many of our issues in IL are related to poor leadership, and waste. The cook county system is poorly managed, while Speaker of the House and the governor are arguing all the time and unable to come to an agreement on anything, resulting in overtime legislative sessions and legislation being held up and not passing. I'll be voting for Barack in November.