Vman

yes, i know...i replied in that post but the topic was geared mostly towards nursing schools. i intend this thread to be geared at the widely possibly assumed nursing shortage in general.

i originally posted this as a reply in another thread, but want to hear opinions from all so i started this topic. i want your opinion.....is the "nursing shortage image" created from under-staffed facilities, making it seem like there are not enough nurses cause they run with skeleton staffing to make more money? ....or, is there really a shortage of nurses in the work-force? here is my reply from another topic... here is my opinion on the nursing shortage.......i am sure some may disagree THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE! the "shortage" is facilities against hiring a nominal nurse-to-patient/resident-staff. most facilities operate under-staffed to save money, the employed nurses are forced to "cut corners" lessening the quality of care because of high numbers of patients/residents they are assigned. many nurses are well-underpaid, but take a position to make "ends-meet", than as soon as a higher paying position becomes available, they quit and take the new position that opens because a nurse left do to finding another higher paying job or being over-worked from high patient assignments and opened his/her eyes and said "i better quit this place before an accident happens and i lose my license".....the new nurse will follow suit over time. so now u see a high turn-around of hiring and nurses leaving their jobs. look in your local paper for nursing jobs everyday for a few months.....how many times do u see openings at the the same facility? why do u think that is? step back and take a good look at this real scenario...the whole picture, i am curious to hear replies. (and i didn't even mention telling facilities what days and hours u are available to work and what days and hours u cannot work, they agree to terms and hire u, u leave your current job for the new one, 30 days later they change your hours and days to ones u are not available to work, so now you must quit this job and look for another one.....while being mad as hell u left your old job for this one.). so all this high-turn-around of nursing positions.....is there really a nursing shortage? i wonder how many nurses apply for one single nursing position listed in the job-classifieds.....none, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50?....think about it. yes, the big picture may make things look like a nursing shortage (the understaffing ect.), but is there really a shortage of nurses??

bump (just wanted to get it back up towards the top to see replies to my post....if anyone does reply)

you recieved 2 replies with great advice. i would add the knowledge u will gain will be priceless. u will see some serious diseases/disorders/conditions first-hand....not read about them in a book. when it comes time during your course when these conditions appear in your studies, u will be familiar with what is being discussed...not in the dark, and u may know more than the info your book. do not be worried about this clinical....look at it as an "added bonus", the more u see and do, the more u will learn.

i have questions reguarding scope of practice.. 1.. can LPNs do a saline flush to a PICC line, than hang an ABT bag, than flush again with saline, than flush with heparin? (SASH method). 2.. can LPNs do ear irrigations? 3.. can LPNs do admissions?

here is my opinion on the nursing shortage.......i am sure some may disagree THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE! the "shortage" is facilities against hiring a nominal nurse-to-patient/resident-staff. most facilities operate under-staffed to save money, the employed nurses are forced to "cut corners" lessening the quality of care because of high numbers of patients/residents they are assigned. many nurses are well-underpaid, but take a position to make "ends-meet", than as soon as a higher paying position becomes available, they quit and take the new position that opens because a nurse left do to finding another higher paying job or being over-worked from high patient assignments and opened his/her eyes and said "i better quit this place before an accident happens and i lose my license".....the new nurse will follow suit over time. so now u see a high turn-around of hiring and nurses leaving their jobs. look in your local paper for nursing jobs everyday for a few months.....how many times do u see openings at the the same facility? why do u think that is? step back and take a good look at this real scenario...the whole picture, i am curious to hear replies. (and i didn't even mention telling facilities what days and hours u are available to work and what days and hours u cannot work, they agree to terms and hire u, u leave your current job for the new one, 30 days later they change your hours and days to ones u are not available to work, so now you must quit this job and look for another one.....while being mad as hell u left your old job for this one.). so all this high-turn-around of nursing positions.....is there really a nursing shortage? i wonder how many nurses apply for one single nursing position listed in the job-classifieds.....none, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50?....think about it. yes, the big picture may make things look like a nursing shortage (the understaffing ect.), but is there really a shortage of nurses??

i have questions reguarding scope of practice.. 1.. can LPNs do a saline flush to a PICC line, than hang an ABT bag, than flush again with saline, than flush with heparin? (SASH method). 2.. can LPNs do ear irrigations? 3.. can LPNs do admissions?

is that 75$ per exam or a package deal? i am looking into excelsior myself. thanks

i agree, it saves 1 injection for the little ones. on the other hand RotaVac/RotaTeq sounded good till we began to use it...it is 2.0CC PO, not IM and given at 2, 4, and 6 months. try getting the little buggers to swallow that stuff without spitting it out!! an IM Rota may have actually been better IMO if they can make it, i feel the PO gets the infants more upset than an IM injection. where in NY are you?

my facility has just added some new ones....though they may not be all new, they were added to our immunization series/schedule. -ProQuad......varicella and MMR in one dose/injection -Hep-A vaccine -RotaVac....new vaccine for rotavirus

thanks for all the replies....but the issue at hand IS NOT getting the cuff on the child and cooperation for taking the BP....but to HEAR the BP as it is not very audible on 3 year old chidren. another issue.......doing a PPD on 1 year olds!!....LOL. what is the best way to keep that arm still to get a good wheal without the parents getting upset with you????

ok, how many of u had someone call u "Doc"? u proceed to tell them u are a nurse, they look at u and say "oh" with a degrading attitude.......or they tell u they think it is great u are a nurse and give u high respect. this morning on my way to work i stopped to get $25 of gas, stepped out of my truck to get a cup of coffee inside, the attendant saw me in my scrubs and said "good morning Doc"....i replied "if i was a Doc i would be able to afford to tell u to 'fill-er-up', not just give me $25 worth!! several people heard me say that and they got a nice early morning laugh.

congrats to you and your sister also...and best of luck!! a good friend of mine just took his today, and his test was totally opposite of mine........it seemed mine was based with the majority of questions on all aspects of 2 topics and his was based on 2 completely different topics. i guess u go in and get 2 main topics, with all the other topics scattered throughout the exam. best of luck to everyone!!

where in NY are you? O/U BOCES by any chance?

thanks!! i have to admit, waiting 2 days for the results had me a nervous wreck. i can't even begin to imagine the people in states that do not have the quick-results and have to wait and wait. i wish everyone the best in achieving their goal! for me, the key in passing was NOT rushing, reading every question several times along with the possible answers, considering the ABC's, ADPIE, and Maslow.

hoooah!! I Passed!!! :)

ok, i took the nclex today and the computer shut off at 85, i walked away and to be honest...i really don't know!! i will be a nervous wreck till friday evening when i can go online and find out. my question is.....has anyone here had the computer shut off at 85 and NOT pass?

yep, we tell them the same and have a good stock of stickers for them....but can u hear the B/P on the little ones(3-5yrs old)? i have a really hard time hearing it sometimes, and occasionally have another nurse double-check the reading i got. should i invest in a cardio littman?

one of the nurses i work with brought in an automatic one time and she was told we cannot use them, they have to be done manually. we only do BP's on children that come in for a PE or Surgical Clearance and are over 3 years old. unless there are any tricks, do u think a cardio stethoscope will help? i do like working with the children so spending a few bucks on a good stethoscope will not bother me as long as it may help.

i got a job as a Floating LPN but have to work as a Medical Assisstant till i pass the nclex. i am scheduled mainly at the Peds office in a very busy community health center. now, i quickly found out that taking a B/P on a 3 yr old is not the easiest thing in the world to hear. WHAT ARE THE TRICKS TO HEAR IT BETTER? i use a Littmann Classic II SE...should i get myself a cardiology stethoscope? BTW, i also take the nclex on wednesday...i average about 70%-75% on my nclex question/study books...i hope i do it!

wow! we were not able to send in our applications until the day after graduation!

i am in NY and a recent grad......if i remember correctly, Admission Assessments are NOT in the LPN Scope of Practice here, is it different there? (if i am wrong, please correct me, thanks)

hi, i am in NY. the ATT comes from the state board of ed, than given to you and pearson-vue respectively. once the state board of ed releases your ATT, than u can get your test date with pearson-vue. it is actually the state board of ed holding this up, not pearson-vue. also, all the LPN's in my area (that actually went to the same school i did) are saying that they had their ATT in 2 weeks after sending in the required paperwork. so now it is 4 weeks past the "norm", and when i called, having them tell me my ATT has been cleared but not processed and it is gonna take another 1-2 weeks to process is quite disturbing.....i mean they have cleared/checked/approved me, but another 1-2weeks to send me a letter? now i wonder how long it will be after i get the ATT to get a test date? 6 weeks ago i was already getting the "pre nclex jitters"...they have gone and i now have the ATT jitters.

i had sent in all my required paperwork to the state board of ed. on Dec 1st and registered with pearson vue on Dec 7th and still have not gotten my ATT. i called the board of ed last week and they told me my info had been cleared and my authorization to test is there but had not been processed yet so it will take another 1-2 weeks till i get it!!! so at this point it is now about 6 weeks i am waiting. the facility i am working for hired me under the pretense that i would be taking the nclex within approx 2 months after they hired me (i began working there right after graduation). now the last 1 1/2 weeks they have been asking me everyday if i heard about my board date yet. i tell them no and get a "not so good" look from the nurse/site manager....kinda as if i am BS'ing them.....and it makes me feel as if my job is in jeopardy. it seems all the other LPNs (some that just took the nclex as recent as 6 months ago) have gotten thier ATT in about 2 weeks. with the time my info was sent it, and being the "board of ed", there was thanksgiving, christmas, and new years...so they had alot of time off, that is the only reason i can see for the long delay......but it seems my job may be "on the line" cause of this.

i had sent in all my required paperwork to the state board of ed. on Dec 1st and registered with pearson vue on Dec 7th and still have not gotten my ATT. i called the board of ed last week and they told me my info had been cleared and my authorization to test is there but had not been processed yet so it will take another 1-2 weeks till i get it!!! so at this point it is now about 6 weeks i am waiting. the facility i am working for hired me under the pretense that i would be taking the nclex within approx 2 months after they hired me (i began working there right after graduation). now the last 1 1/2 weeks they have been asking me everyday if i heard about my board date yet. i tell them no and get a "not so good" look from the nurse/site manager....kinda as if i am BS'ing them.....and it makes me feel as if my job is in jeopardy. it seems all the other LPNs (some that just took the nclex as recent as 6 months ago) have gotten thier ATT in about 2 weeks. with the time my info was sent it, and being the "board of ed", there was thanksgiving, christmas, and new years...so they had alot of time off, that is the only reason i can see for the long delay......but it seems my job may be "on the line" cause of this.