PLEASE HELP!!! I'm in trouble with a school assignment.

Shazoom · Oct 10, 2011

name - d.k.

age - 27

years of experience - 1.3 years

how was your experience with your studies? - tbh i felt very overwhelmed, was about a year and a half program crammed into a year with no breaks or time off.

how long it took to find a job after graduation? - about 4 months, but i can say i'm one of the few people in my class who works with a fulltime line.

how was your starting salary? - i started off at what i'm still at, 23.70$

where you work at (hospital, home-care)? - i work in ltc facility for people with dementia/ psychiatric/ behavioural issues.

for how long have you worked at this place? - just over a year

what led you to become a lpn/lvn? - the economy, needed a change, needed something more in life then being a welder/ machinist - i have always been a first aid attendant and enjoy helping others

on a normal day, how your workday begins? - report/ rounds/ reminding my hca's of anything going on, any residents that must be up and ready to go for apt's or if labs coming in to draw blood.

what are your duties during a normal day? - running the floor/ medications/ assessments - i have 8 hca's, 50 residents, and any number of family or md's to work with each day

do you apply intravenous and / or med? - iv medications are not within my scope at the moment; while i can hang and change ns i can not start an iv or add medications to an iv

at the end of the workday, what you do? at the end of my shift i make sure i have charted anything pertinent that has happened throughout the day, do my last round to make sure everything is in order for the next shift, then give report to the next nurse coming on.

did you do "double shifts"? - i have, if staffing is short then i stay for the next shift, pretty much just continue with everything listed above

how patients and patient's family treat you? - depends on the situation, and the person. i've had family be extremely rude and then i've had some be kind and understanding. i work with residents who have diminished cognition, so if i upset or a resident disagrees with something at that specific time, i can try again a few min later and generally change the outcome of negative or unhappy behaviour. it's one reason i love working with these people, once i find out what they like i can make every day a great day for them.

how your fellows lpns / lvns treat you? - most of the nursing staff here works very well as a team, since we don't really work side by side there's not much head butting, but during shift or if someone decides to stay after or come in early we bounce ideas around or talk about new things we have learned or heard.

how your fellow rns treat you? - my rn loves me as far as i can tell, always in good spirits, good humour, same as with my fellow lpn's we bounce ideas around and have good communication

what is your personal opinion about your professions? - couldn't ask for anything better, i get to come to work and have fun, make peoples days better, assist family's through everything from med changes to death and dying. deal with doctors on all levels, gp's and psyche mostly

what would you say to a person who study or think to study to become a lpn ? - make sure your inner self understands some medications will need to be administered rectaly lol, but i'd tell them it is a great thing to get into, id never go back, i only plan to move forward. if they want a job that allows them to do good in this world and always learn something new, become a nurse.

do you have any regrets about your profession? - hell no.

hope that helps.

Rios0421 · Oct 11, 2011

WAO, Thanks a lot. It's great. No one tell me all this good thinks about the profession and be so open and specific about it. Many Thanks again; YES it help me a lot.

Cuddleswithpuddles · Oct 11, 2011

Do you still need help? I am a LVN (for another 2 weeks hehe) and I am in home health.

Rios0421 · Oct 11, 2011

yes, JDBinCA the assignment still on, lol. Thanks

ChristinP · Oct 13, 2011

Name (just initials)?: CP

Your age? 38

Years of experience? 5

How was your experience with your studies? Stressful, I worked full time went to school nights and had 3 kids and a husband. It was overwhelming.

How long it took to find a job after graduation? 3 months

How was your starting salary? $26/hr

Where you work at (Hospital, Home-care)? Homecare - Part time (also in a high school health room - part time & prn LTC)

For how long have you worked at this place? 2 years

What led you to become a LPN/LVN? I needed a career change I wasn't happy with what I was doing at the time and I'd always enjoyed the thought of nursing.

On a normal day, how your workday begins? In home care here in Connecticut LPNs cannot be the primary nurse only a RN. I recieve my assignments to visit patients from the Rns/supervisor

What are your duties during a normal day? I work alone. an average of 6 patients in an 8 hour period I have patients who need wound care which could be a skin tears, stage I to IV, amputations and eviserations or wound vacs (yes these patients are home not in a hospital). I prepour and order meds, status checks/change. PRN visits for staus changes. There is lots of teaching and education to patients. Short term and long term illnesses. Lots of calls to PCPs for updates and status changes. chart, chart chart...

Do you apply intravenous and / or med? Homecare nurses in the state of Connecticut cannot do IV meds a seperate nursing company must come in to teach a patient or give med.

At the end of the workday, what you do? make sure supervisor is aware of any f/u or potential after hours issues. If unable to connect with an MD/PCP during the shift send faxes for important updates,

Did you do “Double shifts”? (If the answer is YES) >>>>> NO

What you do when you have to double shift?

How patients and patient’s family treat you? Majority of the time the patients and family members are appreciative to be able to have visits at home. It keeps then out of the hospital or LTC and provides their PCPs/MDs with regular updates. patients can avoid ED visits with one of our PRN visits and are usually grateful. However some patients and their families feel I am intruding on their lives and schedule. This represents a small number of patients.

How your fellows LPNs / LVNs treat you? No problems

How your fellow RNs treat you? I get along great with my RNs they have been wonderful teachers.

What is your personal opinion about your Professions? Most days I love my

job(s) I feel valued and I feel like I make a difference in my patients and their families lives.

What would you say to a person who study or think to study to become a LPN ?

Do you have any regrets about your profession? I went to school to become an LPN because there was no waiting list I was able to start classes right away, and there was an evening program. I'm very happy being an LPN but I want to advance and that means becoming an RN. I would say to a new LPN student ... Try to shadow a LPN and RN to make sure you know what you want. Both programs are hard work, make sure this is what you want.

personal guidance · Oct 13, 2011

A 2 yr LPN program in AB costing $30,000? Well that's better than B.C., because the LPN programs here in B.C. is only 1 year of theory and it costs $20,000. There is only one public college which offers the LPN program for half the price but the waiting list is at least 2 years long. If you think about, you're wiser to pay the 20 or 30 grand, and commence the nrsg program immediately opposed to waiting around for 2 + years until you actually get in. You pay the big bucks, you graduated quicker and you end up making at least the same or a lil more than your tuition fee. Do your research on various colleges, read their reviews, ask around and then contemplate which college would be best suitable for you. One more thing, don't go into nursing because of the money......trust me, you won't last. Go into nrsg because you have a passion to help ill people. Many get into the this field, but only a handful survive. Good luck! Also, when you get hired anywhere, you start off casual meaning on call and sometimes it's for many years until you might get full time or part time work. No trying to scare you off, but to inform you.

Rios0421 · Oct 18, 2011

thank you very much, ChristinP. Nice interview

donna67 · Oct 18, 2011

do you need another interview?