jennileigh8182

Thank you! My visits are almost always 45-60 minutes, because if they need home care, their needs should take about 45 minutes if the provider is thorough.

So home care services have many specifications under Medicare. One is that visits must be 45min long to bill and multiple disciplines on the same case must have visits at least 5 min apart. I showed up to a visit today, sat in the car for almost 10 min to eat my lunch, then went in and marked my actual start time. DON is asking me to change my log because PT used an end time matching my start time. I did not see the PT present while I was sitting out front. Am I causing an unnecessary ruckus in telling her that this is fraudulent and that I'm not comfortable changing my time when I didn't even see her there? What they keep telling me is that we have to have "45 paper minutes" aka 45min on our time logs per visit. I argued that it's 45min with the patient, not paper minutes. I've been told several times that it doesn't matter how long I'm in the home, my time log must show at least 45min.

It really depends on the program. I am graduating from an accelerated second degree BSN program next month, and we put in more clinical hours than most other nursing programs in the area...BSN or ADN. It's one of the reasons I chose the program I did. Typically, we've spent the equivalent of one entire day/week in lecture, then 2-3 full clinical days/week throughout the program. Our program began last September and I'm graduating next month, so it was a quick, intense program with lots of hands on experience. Also, we have 4 men out of our class of 27. At my school, the traditional BSN program, which is 3 years, is actually heavier with men than the accelerated program...so I disagree with the anti-men argument. Magnet status DOES have something to do with BSN v. ADN hiring. While hospitals don't have to ONLY hire BSNs, they do have to show that a certain percentage of their staff has advanced degrees, not just the minimum required by the state to practice. For me, it took, I think, 1 month longer to get my BSN as compared to my ADN, and it was from a better quality school. I'm not content to remain a floor nurse long term; I'll work it for a few years, get some experience, then will be look at a DNP program or moving into education or management within the facility. To do the RN-to-BSN bridge program is 2 years. 1 month and a little more debt made more sense to me than 2 years later, especially when I know I'm not stopping with my BSN.

I'm graduating with my BSN next month, and on my resume, I added a section of "Clinical Rotations" before my actual work experience, since my work experience does not relate to nursing. I listed the areas I'd covered, where I'd done them, and how many hours in each. I had a call for an interview within 2 hours of submitting an application for a GN position. Granted, you've already passed boards so you could be looking at RN positions, but it seemed to work for the GN spot I was applying for. I have never, ever used a cover letter. I spoke with my management in nursing instructor, who critiqued our resumes, and she said the same. She's never written a cover letter and has never had an issue. Facilities understand that you may or may not have nursing experience as a recent grad, but a long history with a single employer looks excellent on a resume.

I don't know anything about the TEASE, but I wanted to toss out a caution about going for your LPN. If you want to work in long-term care, great. However, a lot of hospitals are no longer hiring LPNs. If you've already passed the NET and have the option to go right for your RN, it'd be a better route. You're going to have difficulty in finding a position as an LPN. Some community college programs will let you test for your LPN half-way through their program, and you have the option to exit then, though I don't think many do, and you could then work as an LPN while finishing the RN program, if you can find a position.

Honestly, nursing school isn't as bad as they make it out to be. I'm in my last semester of an accelerated BSN program, and I worked 15-30 hours per week during the entire program. I have a child that was 2.5 when I started, single parent (divorced, have custody 5 days/week, sometimes more when the ex bails), low income. We made some sacrifices, but I also utilized things like daycare assistance and found an apartment based on income. It just depends on your level of commitment. For me, I could get the BSN in only a month or two longer than the ADN was going to take......when RN-BSN programs are generally 2 years in length. I wanted to be DONE, and having one bachelor's already, I knew I could juggle it. I'm so ready to be done now that I'm REALLY glad I did the BSN route.

Well, I did as suggested, but they refused to take another application. They called me the next day and said, "When an application is turned in, the first thing that happens is that it gets entered into our online system. Yours is not there." Basically...they accused me of not turning it in and it ends there. Resolution: I am transferring to a different school and reapplying next year. Sidenote: the original application was delivered IN PERSON...and they still lost it.

So, I've had the ultimate horror happen to me this week. I had applied for the traditional nursing program earlier this year, though my points were not really up there for it, but it was sort of an "eh, might as well." They sent a letter shortly thereafter to say they got my application and to tell me how they tallied my points. Did not get in, which I knew I wouldn't. I turned in my application for the accelerated program, which I had an excellent shot of being admitted to, and which I really wanted anyway. It was due June 1, and I hadn't received a similar letter, so I called today. She said they don't send out letters for teh accelerated to say they got the application...but she did some digging and can't even find my application! They found the traditional, but not the accelerated. I asked if I could turn one in again now, because I had turned one in back in May, ahead of the deadline, and they had all my important info from the traditional application on file still. But her boss doesn't get back until next WEDNESDAY to make that decision! I got off the phone and just started crying.

Are you talking about the EZ-Stand machine? We use those a great deal in the facility where I work, and I've never had an issue with one. I have had one ALMOST fall, but it was a regular transfer, not the EZ Stand...and it was when transferring a woman from w/c to bed and she was wearing this silky nightgown. I got her onto the bed, removed teh gait belt and she started to lay down (she's able to arrange herself in bed, just not stand up alone), and slipped off the edge of the bed. I was still right there and caught her bottom in my hands to keep her from going to the floor. As to teamwork...somedays I work with good CNAs, other days I work with bad ones. We recently had one fired, thankfully, who had refused to even SPEAK to me, let alone help me out. However, I've had others that liked company and wanted to team up. We were able to do our two sections together faster than either of us could have done one section alone, and it was safer.

Don't despair yet. I turned in tons of applications before I was hired, and discovered that they are just HORRENDOUSLY slow to call to schedule interviews for CNAs. I think I waited at least a month between submitting my resume and getting teh call for an interview. Then, I got hired, and on my second day of work, heard from another place I'd applied. If you're looking at LTC, they just move at a glacial pace for everything.

In regards to dentures, here's the process we were taught, which is easy once you get used to doing it: prep your toothbrush with cleaning agent place top denture in one hand, scrub it, rinse it, keep in palm hold bottom denture with one or two fingers of other hand add water to denture cup, holding with unused fingers of bottom denture hand place top denture in cup scrub bottom denture, rinse, place in cup we were told to never put the dentures down anywhere but in the cup

I disagree on putting the new shirt on the arm you just took the dirty one off. Strong side comes out first, goes in last. If you have a stroke patient, you're going to have a heck of a time getting them redressed with that method. I'm also in Michigan, and we were taught to just use a bath blanket to cover them.

You shouldn't generalize. This is NOT AT ALL true in my area. The PCT class is the same length as the CNA class and you do NOT have to be a CNA for it. Hospitals around here will take either skill set without preference. In my area, CNA=LTC, PCT=acute care. Our classes are 6-8 weeks for CNA or 6-8 weeks for PCT, depending on how long your class runs when you meet and how many days a week you attend.

I'm finishing up my clinicals for my CNA class, and with them half over, I have to agree with my instructor - in a nursing home, take it for a full minute because most of the residents do not have a steady rate of respirations. Also, we were taught to focus your eyes on a point just past the person (I usually look just past their shoulder, across their body - if that makes sense), so that you can peripherally see their clothing shift with each respiration. It's less invasive than laying their arm across their body for it - that would freak many of our residents out and they'd get agitated, but then, I'm on a primarily dementia area and little things set them off in the evening. I do respirations just after radial pulse, continuing to hold the wrist so that they don't realize I'm not just taking their pulse.

About gait belts: I'm doing my clinicals to complete my CNA class right now, and we were taught that gaitbelts ARE for ambulation. If that person starts to fall, you don't want to grab their clothes or limbs to stop them...you want to have one hand on that gaitbelt the ENTIRE time they're walking. They're more important for transfers, yes, but they are DEFINITELY to be used for ambulating! Also...in Michigan, you almost certainly WILL NOT get workers comp if you hurt yourself assisting a resident and weren't using a gaitbelt. That is a stipulation here - the first thing they ask about the injury is if you were using the proper equipment. If not, bye-bye workers comp. I will argee, though, that I have spent two nights in clinicals and have never seen one of the staff CNAs use their gait belt. Some of them have them handy, but never use them. Our instructors told us specifically not to watch how the staff CNAs work, even though some of them are their former students, because they get lazy and so much of what they do is wrong. I saw one my first night assisting a resident to toilet without washing his hands or gloving!