quitor1moretry

Is this normal for a first semester nursing program. The first skills check off was three weeks from the start of the program. It was a head to toe assessment. The skills assessment included heart and lung sounds, and we were told to place our stethoscope over the heart and lungs and pretend to listen. We got a brief tutorial on taking a blood pressure, and using the correct cuff size, half the class didn't know how to use the cuff markers for proper placement, nothing was said how tight the cough should be, how to prevent over inflating of the cuff, or positioning patients arm at heart level. There had been no discussion in ranges on blood pressure, other conditions commonly seen with HBP, and how that effects their numbers. However, arterial pulse differences seemed to be a big focus that week. I've been in the biz for awhile, and I've never had a doctor request it. I'm sure cardiologist are very interested in a patients MAP, but I imagine they are using heart monitors, imaging, and tracings to assess it. The nurses in this class were so wet behind the ears they wouldn't be able to correlate it to other symptoms and determine if it is a urgent finding or if the doctor could be notified by fax...FYI

I did quit that particular program, and I applied to Indiana State University. I have two more prerequisites to complete, and I can apply for admission into the LPN to BSN program this fall. I will graduate, but I will never forget my roots as a LPN.

And the nurse doesn't have to tell. I am sure I have been given a flu shot or two by nurses who didn't believe in immunizations. Nurses do not have to live by the care they provide. Unless a nurse is delivering care in opposition to the hospital policy and/or a patients beliefs I would not support a patient refusing their care .

These patients, are just like cancer survivors. Why on-line nursing? Isolating could cause or add to depression.

I was trying to fly so far under the radar my wings were dragging on the ground. Thanks for the thoughtful response.

I'm not giving up. I started at a community college in Minnesota that had a great reputation in the community. Many medical groups will take a grad from this school over some of the expensive private. When my mom was in the hospitals I saw a group of these students come through with their instructor. I was really impressed by his knowledge base, and how respectful he talked to the students. He had a positive energy about him. It is so competitive to get into a good program that doesn't cost 50,000.00. When I applied in the Twin Cities my GPA was 3.6, and I was in the 80th percentile for the TEAS. I was number sixty-six out of two hundred an sixty, and there were only forty spots. So I moved to Wisc, applied, and got in. No waiting list, no TEAS. I felt it was poorly organized and the syllabus was a mess. The instructors didn't even realize the text books were a new edition. The first two weeks every student brought every book everyday to class because we were not told hat half the books we wouldn't tart using until the following semester, The was so small and most of the floor was covered by huge bags/ suitcases. The first week I caught several errors they were teaching. One instructor used an example f her nursing note, that she wrote as students ( I hope) None of the doctors I have ever worked would read 2 pages of information that is not important I was never one to be a know it all, and answer every question first. I didn't point out instructor errors. the class, as to embarrass the instructors, but even when I questioned it after class, or in an e-mail it was met with defense. As far as I can remember the LPN instructors 25 yrs ago were all nice. I understand the critical thinking part of nursing that is so important. Nurses need to consider so many different factor. How much of what a RN/BSN does a nurse learn in school verses on the job? I was very disappointed to see one of the BSN nurses on this site, in a forum tell a second year nursing student from Germany that his mentor wasn't there to teach him. She suggested he refer to the policy and procedure manual. A good nurse can only learn some things from other nurses. Nothing in medicine is black and white. I wonder if the instructors at some of these more affluent colleges have this attitude. I some how doubt it. Could imagine if the govornor daughter went to a school where the instructors wielded their power like I am fearful many do. I want to go to a school where I am treated with respect, I don't expect to be respected, and this is the difference. A quick example is when I went to an orientation for a nsg program at a pilot college. The ones where your two year degree wont transfer to a four year degree. During the orientation the nursing Instructors, and even the director of nursing stood in front of 150 perspective students, and spoke in a reprimanding tone, never smiled, and told us this is how it is, we wont work with you, you need to make it work , or you'll be done. I left and and never went back. Thank you for not yelling at me for having a higher expectation. I wonder how some of these teachers would act if they had a television camera on them. I'm getting up there, so this next university is my last chance my chips are all in! I really think it has become an issue because many young girls will do anything to make it through, but I' m not. I know this is a lot of complaining, and If there was even one redeeming quality of that program I would mention it, bu I honestly can't think of one. I will say this; the microbiology instructor was really good. She knew her stuff. I learned a lot from her.

Its about reimbursement. Hospitals will contract with different insurance companies how much money they get for a a lap chole. Aetna will pay 5,000.00. The fastwr the patient is discharged, the more profit the hospital makes. This is why we don't check vitals, and especially temps, right before a patient is discharged. If the patients returns to the ER with a fever malaise n/v... New insurance dollars.

I think it showed your passion for nursing. I would have cried listening to you. You are an inspiration to others.

Me too! But as soon as you make a co-worker mad, the first thing out of her mouth will be, "Are you an RN." Not all RN's are this way. Now that the 2 year RN is fastly becoming the new LPN. Hospitals do not want to hire a nurse with an A.S. degree. Because studies show patients have better outcomes when they receive care from a nurse with their bachelors degree, Insurance companies will pay higher reimbursement for hospitals with pilot status. This means 90% of the nurses performing patient care need their BSN. The sad thing is if a nurse received her R.N. from a school like Argossy for example, their degree will not transfer to a four year program. I guess I'd be pissed too. But they are not rude, it is the LPN who is thin skinned, and has a chip on her shoulder...so I have been told. Doctors in the clinic love LPN's. and not because we are cheap. If an R.N. walks in they expect you to know your stuff, but they are much kinder to LPN's and even teach us things that are not taught in many nursing programs. Recently I told a R.N. that the patient was a nurse her self, and we needed to use her medical knowledge to explain why we wanted her to be compliant with a treatment. Her response was well she's not an R.N. ANYMORE, now she is a patient, and she needs to listen to us. Being a patient in this nursing home did not define her. Of coorifice she is still a nurse, not licensed, but she was a nurse. Thanks for letting me rant!

All you have to e is happy with your job. Please do not sell your self short. Look up the nursing act of 1950. We are valued. The medical community recognizes many LPN's are critical thinkers, and are under utilized. I worked with central lines after taking additional training. I gave IV pushes under the supervision of an MD. The only thing I haven't done is create a care plan. Any organization with a halfway descent electronic medical record wiill make this as easy as ordering an ultrasound. The care plans at the last facility I worked had goals like, "Pt will verbalize they like their living arrangement. They had goals Alzheimer patients hadn't meant in months, but felt they were appropriate. Don't feel like you are doomed to push around a med cart eight hours a day seven days a week unless hat is what you are truly happy doing.

Most cna's see their job separate from the nurse she is working with. I am going to copy and paste your post to my personal notes. Thanks for sharing this.

He probably needs his meds adjusted. what ever dose he was an needs to be increased I have only given z trac for iron, but sometimes a small amt of the drug does leak out if the needle is pulled out immediately after the medication is administered. but usually it wouldn't be enough to cause a patient to revert into a full psychotic state. Tell our doctor about your fears. He will probably feel sorry that you had a conniption over this, and give you a little mini in service, and a perspective we don't get in nursing school. Never fear admitting to an employer if you feel this way. Even if something was not done correctly this is how hospitals are learning why mistakes happen, and we can prevent them from happening again.

There is wiggle room. Where are you attending nursing school? Isn't Hep A typically to prevent food born illness? well your set for travel to less developed countries anyway. Every school has their own standards. Good luck with school! Hepatitis B is typically what schools recommend. While most schools encourage students receive this vaccination because it protects against blood born pathogens. I haven't heard of too many requiring it. Again wiggle room with the hepatitis B is usually no problem. Don't make a point of telling your school it was early. Give them the administration record. The dates are clearly documented. Don't give somebody the opportunity to over think it. In reality about a forth of all people who get immunized for Hep B will never produce enough antibodies to reach full immunity. It wouldn't matter if you got three series.

Well, here is one for the books. On my OB rotation a student, from another country, who didn't quite grasp the difference between Medical Jargon and slang. The patient was agreeable to having a student, and had no problem with that student being male. That is until he entered her room, lifted up her gown, completely exposed her, and said to her, "I have to check your tits now." Needless to say she refused to have a student nurse the following day.

Many nursing schools no longer require nursing students to take a CNA coorifice. I have mixed feelings about this, but it takes a lot of nerve to try to knock this guy when he is in a program, and you are in the second semester of your general courses. Just you wait my pretty. It is hard... mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Wow, that is not how I feel about nursing. If it was just a matter of reading policy and procedures why have clinical rotation. Physicians don't give these types of responses to interns, and certainly would never speak to a colleague in this manner. Medicine perpetually changes. It is every nurses responsibility to ensure the highest quality of patient care is achieved. Remember folks these are the nurses who may be taking care of your parents, husband or maybe even you! So, I guess if this is truly what nursing school is like. Get what you can out of it, and look for a ASN, a MD, or anybody who can offer a little more guidance than what you have been given, but don't give up. The best nurses sometimes struggle the most.

Plead to her sense of compassion. A very smart person, who is vice-president of a major company in the U.S. told me, "If someone doesn't respond with a helping hand after you humbly ask for their help had no intention of helping you in the first place. At least you will know where you stand. Keep us posted. I know you can do this!!

Hello Tiff47, How was work this week? Hang in there, and just remember in 10 years, when the next scared kid comes through, and needs a mentor. Pay it forward.

I worked in-patient psych for two years. If a patient is off their meds, and is psychotic, they can react physically, and amazingly very quickly. Never come up to a patient from behind, and certainly don't touch them. A friendly tap on the shoulder can cause chaos. In reality they are more likely to hurt themselves. Heroin addicts can become angry once the realize they will not get what they were seeking, and their behavior can escalate once determine they are on a locked unit. I never felt I was in danger.

Several cases of patients who aattacked nurses was well publicized in the Minneapolis St Paul area. It is not just mentally ill patients, but older confused patients coming out of anesthesia. The nurses want more security, and who can blame them. Of coorifice hospital administrators say it is not in the budget. Provide RPR training to staff already working a shift, and give them an extra buck or two an hour. So the night janitor responds to RPR requested, and he gets greater job satisfaction, and earns more money. WIN/WIN

I need some honest advise. From nursing students, nurses working in the field or nursing instructors. I have been a LPN for over twenty-five years. I never thought I would get the chance to go back to school to get my R.N. My biggest barrier was me because I thought I wasn't smart enough. I started taking college courses when I quit my full-time job to care for my mother with end stage Alzheimer's disease. I needed an outlet from the disease that ravaged my mom's brain, and made her anxious and fearful of everyone and everything she loved most of her life, and all of mine. My mother died a few months later, but I wanted to continue my education and was hopeful I would have my ASN degree without completely breaking my bank. That was three years ago. The community colleges in my area are inundated with prospective nursing students, who are much smarter than I am. I remained hopeful, and applied for one of the available 40 seats. My GPA was 3.6 and my TEAS score was descent or so I thought. I was number 56 out of 260 students. It was only going to get harder, so I looked for other options. My choices were to apply to an expensive private nursing school, where I lived, or Move to a rural area in Wisconsin. I chose the latter, and it was the worst decision of my life. I was accepted into the program, but I was not accepted at the school. I am not speaking about the students, but the nursing instructors . I am not a thin skinned person. I mean, I started this journey taking classes that were below college level. The first day was a lecture on ethics, and one of the instructors went into a rant about LPN's working out of their scope of practice, and pointed out my home state exclaiming the doctors there were only looking to get cheap help. I guess they didn't read the first chapter of our text book, or they didn't expect the students to read it, but it went into detail describing the nursing act of 1950 and it recognized that many LPN's were exceptional workers, capable of critical thinking and under utilized in the profession. I have several more examples of personal attacks, but I think everybody gets the point. I also listened quietly in the back row as the instructors gave misinformation to the students. None of it was life threatening but incorrect all the same. I did not undermine their authority, and simply made a mental note to my self. The last straw for me occurred when a student stood up and told of an incident that recently occurred at her work. She thought the hospice nurse intentionally ended a patient life to make her job easier. The student believed what she was saying because she was near tears and trembling as she spoke. I held my breath waiting for the instructor to offer this poor girl a clearer perspective of hospice. If not that, at least ask her who she reported this too atrocity to. Not that either. Instead the instructor said, "morphine can ease a patients breathing. Physiologically this is incorrect. Sure Patients with lung cancer or COPD do breath easier when given a medication with a sedating effect, but it certainly doesn't act open the lungs. I thought to my self... "That's it?" I was appalled. The rest of the hour was spent telling stories about the awful nurse they encountered at some point in their lives. Not only did the nursing student feel vindicated, but all the students left feeling justified and self righteous. I heard several students proclaim they would never be a nurse like "that." By the way, did I mention where the hospice nurse worked? It was a local nursing home which would be our first clinical rotation site. All I could think of was the poor hospice nurse, and how fifteen wide eyed nursing student would be looking at her as if she were the grim reaper. I am sorry I went into this amount of detail, but I have been told that I was thin skinned, and needed to get that chip off my shoulder. Is this typical of nursing schools today?, or is it typical in nursing schools? If I am the problem, I will accept that, and return to the work force, happy with the knowledge I have gained, and finish my career as a LPN.