jade-athyst

Yep, that's me to a T. First born, alcoholic father, family "caretaker".

That would be me!

Yes. Thank you so much.

Yes, definitely. Thank you.

It's up to the college you're applying to to decide which credits to accept. Some are more leinient tha others. I atended Franklin Pierce in NH in 1995. Whn I applied at Cape Cod Community College in 2003, I found out they would accept my English and Sociology credits. Not my Math, because they didn't accept anything below a C. The reason you may not be getting a straight answer right away is because schols usually won't accept any crdits until you "matriculate", a fancy word that basicaly meas you've become a student ad are tking classes there. The they'll decide which credits to take, depending on their standards. It's really all about the money. They don't want to give you credits until they're sure their gonna be getting some money out of you! The way I got around this was by talking ro the admissions counselor. She couldn't promise anything, but she was able to give me a good idea of what credits they'd take. She ended up being right on the money.

OK, let's see.... I graduated last year with a 3.8, so I should be able to do this. The pain would be 2 diagnoses: Acute pain R/T surical incision as manifested by........ And Chronic pain R/T joint deterioration as manifested by...... (remember, you can never use an actual medical diagnosis (like arthritis) in a nursing diagnosis. ) The order part has always been tricky for me, lets see... The first one would have to be 4, because that's the only ABC one, Circulation. Then the acute pain. Then the immobility, since it is really the root of the skin problems. Then skin integrity. The knowledge deficit "wiping" is a nursing diagnosis, but I'm wondering if it would fit better here as a D/T. You know, Skin integrity, impaired D/T knowledge deficit wiping, as manifested by excoriated skin...... So that would give you four. You could put chronic pain either here or right after acute pain. This is where your nursing judgement comes in, (and your professor's preferences :) Risk for falls does have to go last, as it is not a "real" nursing diagnosis. I hope this helps, I could help you with the other five, if I knew the situation. Feel free to PM me and I'll give you contact info. if you need more help. ( I used to tutor the other students in my class, at the professor's reccomendation. To tell you the truth, I kind miss it!)

Do any of you guys work at Children's Hospital? I applied there after graduating last May, but didn't get in. I have since worked in another hospital and been Critically Care trained. From what I've heard, the only way to get in is to know someone. Yes, I am actually that desperate to work there that I'm asking for help from total strangers on the internet. It's just that I have dreamed of working there since I was 12. It's pretty much the whole reason I went to nursing school. I graduated with honors, have excellent references and, as I metioned, am now critical care trained. If there's anyone out there who could help me, even if it's just to give me a name of a contact, I would be extremely grateful. Thank you in advance for your response.

I was wondering if anxiety is a problem for you. Some people can go into a test practically knowing all the answers and fail. Having said that, I pased the NCLEX last July. I had studied some of the Kaplan book and Lippincott's online course (which I would NOT reccomend), but after taking the test I didn't feel that either was very helpful. Most of the questions were things you just can't study for: prioritizing, beyond the ABC's and accuity, picking the least harmful diet out of 4 that seemed equally bad etc. So I guess what I'm saying is, anxiety can get in the way of the complex thinking process you need to answer these questions. When stressed, we can usually still come up with facts we've memorized, but but any "higher" level of thinking becomes nearly impossible. If you do have a problem with test anxiety you'd probably get more out of learning how to handle that than you would answering sample questions.

Graduated in May. Took a position on a cardiac step down unit at a busy hospital in July. Completed critical care course and orientation. Had to resign becuase we had to moe unexpectedly. Have been looking for similar position in this area and not having much luck. Finances are desperate and this offer is the only one I've gotten in two months. I realize the final descision would be up to me, but I was hoping to make it a somehwat more informed decision. Thank you for the quick reply.

Fairly new nurse here. I was just offered a position at a long term care facility. I would have the long term care unit of the facility, with forty patients. I was told I would be passing meds, answering doctors calls and charting for these 40 patients. The shift is 3-11, and apparently there will be an LPN with me from 3-9. There are no trachs on this unit and only one feeding tube. There would be dressings, but not many. I've never done LTC before, so I was wondering if this seems like a realistic expectation. Just passing meds to 40 patients seems a little daunting to me, but I really have no idea. The pay is above average, but nothing would be worth taking on a job I can't handle. So I was hoping for some opinions here, does this sound like something I could do?

Job Search Update: 11/30/06. Well, still nothing yet. Although someone from this forum did offer me the name of a contact at one of my "dream hospitals". This was just yesterday, so I don't know how that'll end up. So any positive thoughtss, please send them my way! And thanks for checking up on me;)

Hi, I'm in a bit of a mess. I graduated last May, passed the boards in July and started working at my first job then. It had taken me three months to find that job. I had sent out over 10 resumes and literally got only one call back. I did some followup work that led to a dead end and ended up taking a job at a hospital 50 miles from my home. The job didn't work out. I was "asked to resign" after completing a Critical Care Course and a 6 week orientation. This had very little to do with my performance and skills, it was more of a personal issue. So here I am on a job hunt again. I got help with my 1'st resume from some pretty qualified people, but it must have been lacking something. So I'm wondering if it would be worth the $200.00 to have one done for me by a professional resume writer. This may seem extreme, and $200.00 is A LOT of money for us right now, but there is also a lot riding on my getting a job ASAP. We have been working towards adopting our foster child for the past year, and we finally have a court date in January. I though things would be better financially by then since I would have been working for over 6 months. If we can't prove we have the means of supporting this child, we may be denied the right to adopt him. So, like I said, there's a lot riding on this. Do you guys think it's worth the investment? Thanks so much for listening (reading :)).

Gracie, I'm so glad you got it back. It's horrible when you lose something sentimental. Now go out and get it engraved as a Christmas present to yourself. :)

Dr.s are known for stethescope "theft". I think they do it absentmindedly, without even realizing it. You should ask the doctor who took your seat that day. He may have picked it up accidentally. Finding just the right way to word it might be tough, but it would be worth it to get such a sentimental gift back.

"Do nurses eat their young" Yep, and it's called lateral violence.

Ummm, I think she said she has a license. Geeez:mad:

Right now, yes I do. There is just so much that's wrong with the profession these days. If I could work in a nurturing environment, take the time to give each of my patients all the care they need, had the support of peers, management, MD's.....then that would be a different story. If nursing was what I'd thought it would be, and the way it should be.... well I guess so may nurses wouldn't be answering yes to this question.

Two words for you Lena- you will. ((((((((((hugs)))))))))))!

I had been under the impression that nursing home RN's get paid less than hospital RN's. I have a friend who keeps telling me it's the opposite. I was just curious if anyone had any input.

Magnet is a huge joke. The hospital I worked for was just concluding their "journeyto Magnet". It was rediculous. I have never seen such unhappy, backbiting nurses and crooked management in my life. They came around with these "Magnet Moment" carts and liteterally give candy out to people who correctly answered questions the magnet people might ask. The only time I ever saw my unit adequately staffed was our "mock magnet" day. I didn't know it was the "special day," and actually asked some co-workers, "Why's there so many people on today?" Yeah, the letters PR and BS definitely come to mind when I think of Magnet now.

"No, I'm not a doctor, but I am a nurse with a doctor's order."

Ha, I've got her beat, had a 12 pounder of my own, 24 inches long to boot.1Emergecy C-section (thank God for that), but he was, still is perfectly fine.

Can I have one too? Been crying for the last two days straight. Got fired from my first nursing job after just a couple months, due to extremely unfair situation. I didn't do anything wrong! And now I may lose the chance to adopt my foster son because I don't have a job. Loooong story, but yeah, hugs would definitely be appreciated.

Yeah Lena! I am so happy for you! See, good things really do come to those who wait! Now we just have to get me out of my hellish situation and into BIDMC with you! I s'pose it's a little early to be asking you to pull strings;) But really, congrats! You deserve it. :cheers: :yelclap: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :flowersfo :flowersfo :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

A very experienced nurse mentor of mine once said "if your'e not a drug addict when you come into the hospital, we won't give you enough to get addicted, anf if you are already an addict, we could never give you enough to make you happy." My take on the whole issue is, so what if we get "taken" now and then. It will soon become obvious if they're drug seeking (for example, if they keep coming back without trying to address the pain in other ways). And if they are a true addict, is that one shot of dilaudid going to make them more of an addict? I think it's much more important for us to avoid not treating someone with "real" pain. It's like some people say about the death penalty, it's better to let a few guilty one's off than put one innocent person to death. Also, speaking from personal experience, people can have pain that can't be proven by any tests. I have very real chronic pain that doctors can't figure out, but I'm not a drug seeker. I've actually opted not to take narcotics when they were offered because I don't like the way they make me feel, and I wouldn't be able to safely practice as a nurse on them. Yet I have had a doctor dismiss my pain as drug seeking, I suspect because he didn't want to admit that I he couldn't figure out the cause.