car48

I am an RN - RN follows my name the same as yours (I presume you are, from your posts you intentionally put in 1/2 truths, so it would not surprise me to find out you are in 8th grade or something). Tell you what, I will take your advice and try to learn as much as I can (I do that anyway). What I would ask of you is that you develop some sense of morality that you do not get to force your will on other people just for the pleasure of it. And that is the saddest cop out I have ever heard. "oh, I can't waste my breath". Ya, keep telling yourself that so you can maintain that inflated ego you have. I feel sorry for your COPD patients that you put in 100 degree weather with a wet rag around their face to protect them from a disease that has a 0.4% kill rate. I guess I missed that class in nursing school where that is a good idea. Was it on NCLEX? I probably got that one wrong along with the one where I was supposed to apply leaches to suck out the bad blood. See, you taught me something already. THANKS!

I picked TB because it is airborne. And speaking of "how did you get your license" wrapping a rag around your mouth does not stop any disease. If the masks helped at all (and they really don't) what little help they do provide goes out the window after 5 minutes of you breathing in the thing because it gets wet from breathing. I did say one thing that was incorrect. COVID does not kill 1% of the people that get it, it kills 0.4%. It kills almost no one under the age of 25, and most aren't even aware that they have it. And people are screwed up AFTER getting COVID? Nice half truth there.... you should report the news. The people who get COVID and suffer from it were screwed up BEFORE they got COVID. That is what immune compromised means ya know. You protect the at risk population the same way you would an AIDS or a Chemo patient. You tell little Johnny he is going to have to face time with Grandma - you don't yank him out of school for a disease that even if he gets it he probably wouldn't know, and has almost zero chance of killing him. And the authoritarian outlook you people have - good god. If Grandma (lets say she is immune compromised) wants to see little johnny and does not have dementia and knows the risk who the hell are you or the government to say that she can't? Your selective answers to my questions says it all. How about the Disney World mask thing with heat stroke? And I am sure face rags work wonders for Asthma and COPD... esp. in 100 degree heat. Oh wait, it rains like every other hour in Florida so are you all for having these people putting on a completely useless mask that is wet? Also a nice little lie that is being perpetrated is that the face rag protects the person wearing it. It does not, but that is part of the patient education thing that some of us in the nursing prof. have chosen to not tell people. You protect people who are immune compromised by having them change their habits. You do not change the rest of society, much less shutting down the economy for months. And don't feed me some nonsense about "is it really that big of a deal"? I am not one of the sheeple that is going to do something just to get along. If the government said I needed to pray to Satan to protect me from COVID I wouldn't do that either. Would it hurt anything if I did - no, but I am not doing it because it is stupid.

I agree. The government should make a new task force of men armed with cattle prods to walk the streets and shock people whenever they touch their faces too. Furthermore, we should jail all people who are immune compromised. Sorry John, your wish may have been to go to the Grand Canyon before your died, but you are on Chemo - so you don't get to. And what is it with granny wanting to leave the house when she has arthritis? Everyone knows the best thing for arthritis is to stay sitting in your home doing nothing. And lets not forget the diabtetics. It is about time they got put in their place for eating too many pies. Here is an easy one for you my fellow nurses. When someone has TB do you require the entire hospital to be isolated or just the person who has it? And this nanny state nonsense of killing grandma. Unless grandma has dementia and can't make her own decisions than it is no business of yours to tell her she can't go to the store. Seriously, who do you think you are? If you don't want your grandmother to get it, talk to her and tell her the risks. She can decide to follow your advice or not. And since when did being able to use a sewing machine make someone a PPE provider? If any of us walked into a room with a patient wearing some cloth rag instead of an N95 we would get written up because it does almost nothing. But you know what it does do? Heat injuries! I was going to go to Disney World this year until 'the masters of smart' said that masks were mandatory. OK, lets see what will kill grandma faster. Grandma wearing a mask in 100+ degree weather, or MAYBE getting exposed to a virus that has a lethality rate around 1%. The real sick thing is that you have found it acceptable to have the government enforce your will. The gov. of New York is probably the worst. After forcing COVID patients back into nursing homes to spread the disease he did an about face with his draconian measures. "It is worth it if we save just one life" - what a moron. Lets do the math on this shall we? Forget about COVID for a moment and consider we have locked people in their homes for the past few months. On average 40k people a year die of the plain old flu. I wouldn't doubt if becaause of this quarantine we have saved 10k lives. Why would we ever let people out of their homes? While we are at it since "one life" is worth any sacrifice why don't we lower the speed limit to 10mph and outlaw motorcycles? I bet many of you would be up for that, until it was a vice you liked and than it would be going to far. And for the love of god please stop acting like this is ebola. The vast majority of people who get it never even knew they had it.

I always double check the meds before I give them because in RL the math is not all that hard. 99% of the time in my experience most medication adjustments are nothing more than braking a pill in 1/2. But you have to know the math, because you have to know the math. It is what it is. I am actually really good at math, but I did not get one math question on NCLEX. That annoyed me, but in reality it makes sense because math is not even 1% of our job.

I don't mean this to sound condescending or arrogant. However... Before you went to nursing school did you look at the NCLEX pass rate for your school? The 2 factors I used in determining what school I went to was cost and pass rate. Hind sight being 20/20 I wish I had gone to an 'easier' school because my grades felt more determined by my ability to read the prof's mind and giving the answer they wanted rather than knowledge or judgement decisions. NCLEX was easy for me, and I passed it in 75, because the test asked me relatively straight forward questions. I personally feel cheated out of not getting better grades than what I did. During nursing school when I had a beef with the way a question I got wrong, the response was always "This is what it is like on NCLEX". So I put up with it. If I had to develop psychic powers to read a prof.'s mind than so be it. While psychic powers always eluded me, hours and hours of studying benefited me greatly. I bludgeoned my way through nursing school by sheer weight of effort. I was not a straight 'A' student (or even close). But there were some that were, and many who were had to go the whole distance once NCLEX came around because while they had better psychic abilities than me to read a prof.'s mind, they did not have the knowledge that I had. The best example of a B.S. question that I got on a nursing school test was on liver function and the color of stool. The prof. said what clay colored stool meant, the power points stated what clay colored stool meant, the book read what clay colored stool meant. When the question came up on the test it was phrased as "The patient has grayish/clay colored stool". Why would you throw 'grey' in there? I don't want to hear any BS about 'well, that can happen'. The 'right' answer was determined by whatever the prof wanted the right answer to be. And 'that can happen' is not an excuse to ask deliberately vague questions. Half of nursing school felt like the question of 'what color is this dress' I was about 30 questions into NCLEX when I figured out that I was going to finish in 75. The test was kind of a joke to me to be honest, and because of that I am a bit bitter about nursing school. Whether you are an 'A' student or a 'C' student we all have RN after our names so in the end I guess it doesn't really matter. Still based off of the premise given to me that nursing school was meant to prepare me to pass NCLEX and become a nurse I feel my grades do not reflect on my ability or knowledge.

Just wanted to add, California's regulations are really dumb. If you have an RN license, and they won't let you take a job as a CNA that is like saying "Sorry, you don't have a bike license. I know in your day to day life you drive a semi. But it would be way too dangerous for us to allow you to ride that bike". Stupid is as stupid does, and California is really stupid.

I have never heard that. A CNA or LPN does not have a different skill set than us. We should be able to our job in addition to their job. I don't do their job on a regular basis, but a doctor doesn't do mine either - although going up the educational ladder you need to know the lower stuff. That is not to be disrespectful to LPN's CNA's or RN's. Being good at your job is an awesome thing at whatever educational level you are at. I would much rather have a paramedic start an IV on me than Ben Carson. While Ben is probably one of the smartest people on the planet, when was the last time he started an IV? However, Dr. Carson should know how to do it. My opinion is if the job market is saturated than you should move. Nurses are in demand overall. If they aren't in your area, than move to an area where they are. I make nowhere near what a San Diego nurse makes, but I also don't pay 3k a month for a 2 bedroom apartment. Where I live nurses are in demand. After I graduated I had little problem finding a job. However the market here is flooded with NPs. I may go after my NP some day, but I know if I do I will have to move to where the work is.

I got straight A's in my pre-req's before nursing school. Took my first nursing test that I studied like crazy for and got 58. Everyone does bad on the first test I was told, but failure (esp. of that magnitude) was not something I was going to tolerate so I crept into my office and became the nursing student troll who did nothing but study (between classes and clinical). I spent the entire semester killing myself to get my grade higher, and I did. But again not to the level I was accustomed to. I was getting mid 80's and at the time of the final I was still failing despite making a comeback. Struggling to get a 'C' is not something I ever thought was going to happen to me in any class I ever took. At the time of the 100 question final I had to score an 80 to pass my first semester. I got a 87. The point of the story is this. I used to go into a test with a can of 'Monster' energy drink in one hand, and a bottle of clonidine in my pocket (I have hypertension - guess why lol). I didn't know if I was going to faint from lack of sleep, or stroke out because of the stress. I won't lie and say all excessive amount of time I put into studying isn't what got me through - it is. But the stress was not necessary. I studied like crazy for my final that first semester, but when I walked in I just told myself "either I am smart enough to do this, or I am not". What I do after the test regardless of the outcome is what mattered. None of my following semesters were as bad as that first one, but all entailed the same level of stress and constant study. I now know that the real problem wasn't with my ability to know the material. It was with the stress because after I graduated I put a month aside to study for NCLEX, and honestly didn't care too terribly much if I failed it the first time. It was not an emergency that I work ASAP and the test is more or less pass/fail. And after nursing school - hell I wouldn't even mind having another 6 weeks to relax to take it again. I still studied a ton, but I also got some sleep and *gasp* did things other than study. When NCLEX came around I came in w/o my usual Monster and BP meds and took the test. Passed it in 75. I could not STAND people telling me "All you have to do is relax". Do you tell an alcoholic "Ok, I know what your problem is. All you have to do is stop drinking". So I won't be so ignorant as to say that to you, esp. when I am not capable of that myself. But what I will say is that if you COULD relax it would probably help you enormously.

Do not take $ out of your IRA. If you want to go the entire graduate degree route over lets say 6 years (being optimistic), just not contributing the max amount to your IRA will cost you 142k by the time you retire (at an average rate of 7% return). That's just not contributing, every penny you take out right now will cost you because the market is down, and you lose the ability for that money to compound annually. And lets not forget, IRA money taken out early gets penalized 10% by Uncle Sam. This whole thing will cost you 100's of thousands from your financial description. If it is worth it to you, go for it. But be aware you are downsizing your retirement in a HUGE way.

Not trying to start a gender war here, but would like to get someone to defend the idea that there is a wage gap. This video pretty much sums up why there isn't one to me: It is all about personal choice of the individual. If you make an apples to apples comparison of a man and a woman who make the same life choices, but there is a statistically significant difference in pay I will be all on board for correcting it. But I am a male in my mid 40's who just graduated and started working in nursing. Regardless of the reason I got into nursing so late (other prof., taking care of kids, whatever), I do not deserve, nor am I entitled to making the same $ as a female (or male) nurse who has been in the workforce for 2 decades. Other life decisions count too. For example: Male Nursing Statistics | Fastaff Travel Nursing Highlights from this are: While 3.2 million (91 percent) nurses are female, only 330,000 (9 percent) are male. Men are best represented among nurse anesthetists. In 2011, 41 percent of nurse anesthetists are male. So for the highest paid nursing job men represent more than 4x their general number. In addition to that Men make up 24% of the NPs. Going further, men statistically take off less time from work, and work more overtime. You can chalk that up to child care if you like, but that is a decision made by the mother and father. There is no way to legislate that, nor should there be. I do not buy the societal pressures argument either. My wife supported me when I went to nursing school... so what. That is what we decided. Nobody is putting a gun to anyone head saying what they can or can not do. Hell, I just had someone ask me last week "so what do they call a male nurse?"

To start with, nursing is not my first degree; history is. While that may not be an economics degree I think it qualifies me more than you to speak about things like this esp. when you bring up the history of China. So your contention is that a conservative leaning media has brainwashed American citizens into thinking what exactly? Where has the rich guy ever been made the good guy by glowing media approval, unless (like BUffet) they start making statements like yours? Show me the capitalist in our society who has been made out to be the good guy by 'commercials'. Now what I would really love to know is how you think emulating China is a great thing. I am no fan of Trumps, but I don't know how much he inherited so I can't say how great he is at making $. But I do know how China made its money... slave labor. Communism is the way to prosperity? What in the modern age has China invented? They steal I.P. and than set their slaves off to work. They also sell their slave labor to American companies to make more $. Books have been written about how China has become a world power, but not one of those books says that China should be emulated. And if you don't like Trumpian policies, than why are you complaining that he is putting up trade barriers to China? According to you proectionism is what got China where it is today. That and slave labor, so lets also get rid of the min. wage. And you really don't know how a free market works. Capitalist create goods and services that others want. If I don't provide a good or a service that people want I will go out of business. Why do nurses make higher than the median income... because we can provide a service that people want. Why do starving artist starve? Because their service is not in demand. Not sure how Bill Gates is a crony capitalist. If you know of some subsidy he got I am all ears (I am truly interested). However Musk is a fraud and a charlatan. I just told you I got 12k from buying 2 EV cars (not Tesla though). Why are his cars discounted thousands of dollars right off the shelf? No other car company is given that kind of subsidy. He is the anti-capitalist. He has billions of dollars thrown at him from stock holders with rose colored glasses throwing money into a company that has never had a quarter (much less a year) of having a profit despite the fact he is given additional billions from government subsidies (crony capitalism). His company is worth more than either Ford or GM... and they don't even make 1/100th of the cars. This man has a waiting list of people wanting to buy his cars, but he is so bad at what he does he can't take their money because of his incompetence as far as production goes (6 month waiting. Which is why I took my $ as well as the 12k of tax payer/your $ somewhere else when it came time for me to purchase my EVs). And your metaphor about feces rolling downhill. Whatever. Cream also rises to the top. Lets not joust in metaphors. It is childish. Using myself as anecdotal evidence (which is not strong evidence, but it is strong to me since I have lived it), I don't owe anyone to "Pay it forward" to other than my kids. My wife and I both bring an income into our home, but we only need one. She pays the bills with hers, I invest with mine. Because of the way WE HAVE CHOSEN to live my home is paid off, I have no debt (and never have had debt), and I have enough saved now that I could buy my current home twice more if I had to. To this day I have never made more than 50k a year, but I intend on retiring with a few million. Who are you to tell me I don't deserve what I have earned, or that it is wrong for me to give what I have EARNED to my kids instead of 'paying it forward'.

You are talking about crony capitalism, and I am against that. Telsa, GE, GM should have all been left to die. As should solar and wind power because they are heavily subsidized. I own 2 electric cars because politicians were stupid enough to give me 12k of YOUR money to buy them. I am considering going solar in my home... because YOU will be paying about 25k for an improvement on MY home. Just because it is legal, it doesn't make my theft any less stealing. Your argument holds no water for a very simple reason. 47% of the population does not pay federal income tax. IMO these people should not even be allowed to vote because they have no skin in the game. How about this. We raise all of the top 10% taxes by 20%, BUT the people who contribute nothing now not only do not get their "earned" tax credit, but they have to contribute 5%. So if "paying your dues" is important to you shouldn't the bottom 1/2 of the population pay theirs? If not than it is stealing because while they pay nothing they drive on our roads, go to our schools, call our police and fire department: In addition to the community resources they use daily but do not contribute to they openly steal from the producers in the form of social programs like food stamps and welfare. They are muggers, and they use their vote as the gun. I do not want to "Pay it Forward". I owe those people nothing, and neither do Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. Who btw by nature of their success have improved the world, including the people who contribute nothing but still own a computer or go on facebook. And in terms of me taking out my money from my 401k on an economic downturn... that is not how that works if you know what you are doing. When you get 8 years out from retirement you starting converting your investments to safer things like bonds. Than when retirement hits even if their is a full out depression you are still mostly covered. In the entire history of this country (including the great depression) there has NEVER been a 10 year span where the stock market was down. So ya, I can prosper; because me doing well is not dependent on the people who do not contribute. It is dependent on myself and others that produce. What will stop me from prospering is when I am deemed too rich by the non-producers and my wealth is stolen from me to subsidize their social programs. What is funny about this is that you think this only effects the top hat monopoly guy. Sorry to brake it to you, but you are the top 15%. (Approx) being a nurse. Access to this page has been denied. When they come looking for $ it is not just going to be some rich oil baron who twirls his mustache as he ties a virgin to the railroad tracks.

lol, ok. I stand corrected. Reverse the roles of the insects than.

It's not bias, it is math. The government caps the amount it steals from wealthy people so that they can cap how much they pay out to them (at this point it is continued stealing because they continue to take the money knowing full well they will never pay even the trivial percentage SS pays back.) The baby boomers are going to bankrupt the system. There is no opposing argument to that. SS was unsustainable when it was created in the 30s. The only reason it has lasted so long is because the baby boomers were propping it up. I don't see how the difference in taxes between 1950 and now is relevant. But to that point, no they were not. On paper the taxes were around 90% for the top earners, but no one paid that. If there had actually been a 90% tax rate the whole country would have gone bankrupt. The loopholes provided by the government insured no one paid anywhere close to it. The only relevance I can see for you bringing it up is that you think it is ok to steal other people's money to prop up SS. A wealthy person's money is not the government's piggy bank. The bottom line is this. SS is going to not be able to fulfill its obligations as it currently exists. Even if Trump were an economic genius (and he is not) and the economy boomed at 3.5 percent over the next 20 years it would still go bankrupt. The way that SS will be propped up is by the government stealing from the people who produce and giving it to the people who don't. A lot of people like to talk about paying a "fair share". How about before we talk about raising the taxes on the people who produce in this country why don't we talk about the lower 47% that pay nothing in federal tax? It hardly seems 'fair' that almost half the population contributes nothing. I personally don't care if they get rid of social security. I was warned it was not going to be around so I planned my retirement knowing that. I have a 401k and an IRA I contribute to each year. If they get rid of it, get rid of it for everyone because I will not stand for them saying that I don't deserve the crumbs social security provides because I have been 'means tested' not to need it. If you have not saved for retirement than you work till you die. You made the choice when you decided not to save. Every kid has heard the story about the grasshopper and the ant. Winter is coming ant, and I am the grasshopper; that click you are hearing is me locking my doors. The ant is owed nothing.

Thanks, I was just looking to see if an inverted T wave could be benign. I am going to have it checked out either way, but because I do not present with the usual things that come with a T wave inversion I was curious if this may all be much ado about nothing. So I guess instead of writing a small book about it, I should have just asked if it is possible.