stutl2ep

One would think if "The flu is such a bad virus when you get it and there are so many different strains you can get," and it is such a hot button issue with health officials who require us to wear masks if we aren't imminized each and every year" as they mandate. Wouldn't it be better for us all if we were immunized against more than just one measly strain that the CDC ecpects to hit this upcoming season? Oh wait a second that too would make more sense and might make this even more of a hot button issue with even more regulations. Immunizing for just one whatever strain is expected for all this regulation is a bit much considering how many strains there are out there. We are all succeptable to the flu regardless of whether we are wearing a mask or not. Or whether we received our shot or not.

In 2002 I acquired the miserable Flu. Since then I have not missed getting a shot every Fall when my employer starts giving shots. This season like others since 2002, I received my shot in October as I should and ended up getting the Flu again. So all this Hype about getting a shot OR else....from Hospitals, CDC, Local & State Health officials is just bologna. When you get the shot you are getting immunized for what is expected to come. You can still get a different strain. As many patients and staff members including myself have found out this year. The shot literally is a stab in the Dark or Roll of the Dice so to speak. There are no guarantees whatsoever. Only guarantee is the older you are..the more ill you'll be when you get the Flu. Mandatory masks are merely a put on/pretend mechanism against this awful virus. This requirement makes them look as if what they say is the gospel and they know whats really going on. After falling ill again this year to whatever strain of the flu it was. I no longer have much faith in the shot that our employers and health officials swear by. Too many regulations. Really we all should just do a better job of handwashing and hygeine practices especially if we have what is deemed "common cold" symptoms or if we are out in public and we or another family member are ill, be more respectful of others and not spread our germs all over creation.

You're not always going to have a CNA, or a female colleague. If you were dirty/soiled would you really care whether a male or a female cleaned when you could not clean yourself? Of course not!!! Just get in there and do it, give the best care. There are not that many patients who will refuse to be cleaned when they are dirty based on the gender of the person who is taking care of them, but when they do you must make sure to get help and document it appropriately in a non-judgemental way. As nurses we must adapt to our patients needs in all ways, it's our job, our duty, and for most of us... it's our passion to be the best and give the best care to all of our patients. Always treat your patients as if they are your loved one or as you would like to be treated.

Does your facility have a Nursing Supervisor to notify if the floor RN's do not resolve the arrhythmia issues with patients? Most Facilities have a Nursing Supervisor for these types of Issues. If your facility does not then I would be looking for another place to work. The NCLEX is definitely not a quiz!!! If LPN's are the better Nurses then how come you became a RN instead of an LPN? PLEASE!!!

Passed the final!!! Yes...now on to the last semester, finally...whew I'm so glad that's over with for now anyway. Thanks to each of you for your help. stutl2ep

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who responded and helped. I took the final today, whether I passed or not only GOD knows. The results are supposed to be posted tomorrow, I'm praying that I did not miss more than 24 questions on this miserable test. This test was tough. I did get some help from a website that I'd like to share with other students(www.prenhall.com/hogan). I got that from another classmate who did well last semster by using it. There are alot of questions on that site for all aspects of nursing. In order to get on, you must purchase a book out of their series but it was very very helpful. I recommend the site to anyone who is having difficulty w/any aspect of nursing. Thanks again for all your help. stutl2ep

On this Telemetry floor we try to keep a 1:5 nurse/patient ratio, we consider ourselves lucky if we have 2 CNA's. Sometimes if/when someone calls in the ratio may be as high as 1:6 but never no more than that. Telemetry isn't exactly a place where a nurse will enjoy high ratios that might jeopardize a patient's life, waiting in turn can turn into a CODE situation!! In order to receive adequate care, all states should adopt a policy for ratios so no patient goes without the proper standard of care. Besides, who wants to work where they feel like they may lose a patient or risk losing their license due to being overloaded/overwhelmed? The lower the ratio...the better the care, the better response we get from our patients: physiologically, and psychologically. Just a few ideas.... stutl2ep

Thank you both for your replies...Thunder, I'll see what I can do to get some example questions. And Nurse Ratched, the areas that tend to give me the most problems are Depression, Schizophrenia, and Anxiety those three areas seem gray and confusing. Especially when choosing the most therapeutic response, or those questions that are the most therapeutic intervention. When we are given a Dx, and a list of prioritized interventions with 10 or more choices to do for the patient, the professors will put the 4 answers that are usually at the bottom of the list and not the most important interventions on our test for the answers. We aren't told to study the interventions in order/priority, we are just told to understand/know them.

In Spring of 2005 I took Psychiatric Nursing for the 1st time and ended up with an average of 75 in the theory portion. I passed clinical portion without any problems. I am now repeating the theory and I'm still struggling w/these questions on our tests. I've reviewed care plans and read my text and even bought the book "Psychiatric Nursing Made Easy", but it just doesn't seem to be clicking for me. The final is on December 5th and I must get at least a 69 or I will be forced to apply at another college and start nursing all over again. I'm looking for a site or a book w/rationales about why certain answers are correct so I can try to change my way of thinking when it comes to psychiatric-mental health patients and choose the MOST therapeutic interventions. Pls Help, Thnks, stutl2ep