bjz823

I can not find anyone that is hiring. I have applied all over. Some seem interested but say there is no openings and they do not want to hire a new nurse per diem. I might sell the fact that I have been a CNA for many years in all sorts of settings. That is not nursing but I might have an edge over someone new to nursing all together. I am getting discouraged. My student loans are about to come due and I need more money.

Well said. I have been a CNA for 20 years in LTC, med surg, ortho, home health and assisted living. I am a new LPN and I am still waiting to be hired. I have to diga little deeper to find something I guess. Thanks for that post. I appreciate that. The only time I don't want to jump in and help with the CNA duties is when I have not enough time to get my LPN duties done. I have had CNAs ask me to help during my LPN training when they could have gone down the other hall to get another CNA. I do help and it is a good time to see the patient more.

It is a skilled unit. I had a couple days on the floor passing meds and giving injections, changing colostomys etc. I am pretty confident and think I handle myself well but there are things that we have not done much of in school. Or we have only done once or twice. If an emergency or complication arises I would feel better if I had a supervisor present to assist me. I think I would do my best and when in doubt I would send them out to the hospital. I have worked over night at the assisted living side with no nurse present when I was a CNA and handled emergency and sent them out 911 but as a nurse working in a skilled unit I think I would feel more comfortable with other more experienced nurses to guide me in case I need it. I am looking for full time work elsewhere but I was wondering if I should just say no thanks to the per diem day here and there that they want to give me. I did the few days training which was great to practice. I think I will tell them just to keep me full time as a CNA until I find other work. Thank you for your response. I am a new LPN and I want to do the best for my patients as we all do.

I just got my licence. I have been a CNA for many years and the facility I have been working wants to train me for per diem LPN since there are no openings at this time. There are only about 24 pts. total so I would be the only nurse on duty at the time. Sometimes the DON will be there if it is between the hours of 9-5 but otherwise I will be the only nurse. I am scheduled for a couple night shifts and I am wondering if it is a good idea to accept this position since there is no other more experienced nurse on if I have a problem or have to do something I have not done much of in school. I was a good student and have a lot of confidence but I would prefer to work somewhere where there is a supervising nurse on at the same time that I can learn from or if I have questions about my pts. I want to protect my license as well as learn from other nurses. I am looking for full time work at a long term facility but nothing has come up yet. What do you think?

For the past week I felt like I was getting a cold. I have a sore throat and pressure in my ears, nasal congestion and today I started with a cough and a low grade fever. I felt tired so I called off for work. My work asked that I go to the doctor before coming back to work since the Swine Flu is a concern right now and I work with the elderly. The nurse practitioner did a throat culture and it was negative for strep and told me to take it easy this weekend. My work requested a note from the doctor with my diagnosis. When I asked for this at my doctors office they said it is none of the business of my company. I asked them for a release to go back to work and the diagnosis on there so that my work knows I just have a cold. I don't mind my work knowing what I have and I want them to know I am actually sick and did not just call off to go to the beach or something. My question is "Does a work place have the right to know an employees diagnosis if they call off from work and will be coming back to care for elderly residents and patients ?" The nurses at my doctors office just said they don't know if I could develope something later so they did not want to put a diagnosis on my doctors note for my work.

Good point

Well you can pass or fail with 75 just as you can 265. The number of questions really is not an indication except for the fact if your test ends at 75 either you passed easily or really bombed.

As an LPN I am sure it will be long term care to start. The hospitals here do not employ LPNs. There are some working but they are experienced. They are going with only RNs. I want to work LTC until I get experience then do something different like home health or something like that. I would enjoy visiting residents.

I am newly licensed. I was a good student making 86-90 on most exams and testing in the 96% percentile on the NLN exam at the end of school. Right now I know I need to know meds better and refresh my memory because I have not passed meds since December. In school I worked full time while in school full time. I found myself rushing to cram for tests and do homework. I think some material did not stick in my head like I would have liked or needed. I passed the NCLEX easily but I need to do some more work and study to be more confident when I start working. What do you suggest so that I am prepared for work. I am reviewing my procedures by reading my clinical procedure book, also I ordered Pharm Phlash cards. It has a limited amount of meds but i figure I can study those most common ones then continue after that with my Pharmacology and the nursing process. What else can I study to be ready and prepared? I know we are always learning but I really want to really be sharp when I start.

thank you so much for sharing that. i check myself so much while doing my med pass. i am calming down. i do better when others are not around me but i like to check several times. i am determined not to make mistakes. i did forget to give something and not signed off on things in school, but i am trying too get things 100%. i feel better hearing you say you do the same thing and so what if the other nurses get impatient. i am not iv certified yet. that class is coming next month. i know i will only be able to do fluids and not meds as a lpn.

I just got my LPN and I am hoping to get hired for nights. Not eves. Second choice is days. I really love nights. I have worked that shift for 20 years. I am praying for something to come up because 10.00 as a CNA I am really not doing great financially especially since I have to pay back student loans.

Well that answer sounds pretty good to me considering the fact that some of the nurses that I have worked with were so uncommunicative. It is horrible when you are a CNA caring for patients and you can not get information out of a nurse or a nasty attitude like you are bothering her for asking something. Friendliness is really important to me. To work with someone who gives you a feeling that you can ask them anything is so comforting to me.

I appreciate you sharing your experience. I think I would have tried to get it done also. I am just starting as an LPN. I have anxiety about getting my meds right. I think I am good but I am slow because I am checking and rechecking when I do my med pass. During my transition at the end of school I made a mistake of only giving one potassium tab instead of two. I am getting nervous around the experienced nurses. I think I need to boost my confidence and just go at the pace I need to make sure I am 100% accurate. Don't let it get you down. You were trying to do a good thing.

Hello. I am in the same boat with you. Today is my first day training. I am training with the company that I have been working with as a CNA for two years. As soon as I got my license they asked me to train. They gave me one day and said the DON will call me. So I guess I will wait and see if they want me to train more. I trained on 7-3. I would rather work 11p-7a especially since it is not as busy. Just to get used to the routien. I have major anxiety about my med pass. I am slow, checking the name and med several times before giving it. Now I have anxiety that maybe I forgot to do something, or gave one tab instead of two, or forgot to sign off on something. I am eager to hear what others have to say about their experiences. I feel clumsy. I think I did ok. I have been doing the same job for years now to be out of my comfort zone is hard.

Well as far as not being 100% reliable it looks like it is. I have not seen anyone get to go to the payment option and pass. If you mean don't take it as official I agree. You can't even take the Pearsonvue quick results as official, not until your BON issues your license.