IseeU_rn

Enjoy your work..... play often. I know most came here to earn money so they can send some to their families back home. But don't forget to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Do the things you weren't able to do back home, buy things that you like with your hard earned money (even if it's $500 Prada shoes.. hey, you're entitled) .Take time off to recharge, see the country where you now live in. Do this before you get sucked into the system of working double or triple jobs or even working 16 hour shifts. I know money is important, but you gotta do something for yourself once in a while... without feeling guilty.

I think it depends. The nurses that I work with, work nights if you count the differential and the years of experience they have.. it might be more than what they will make as NPs

Goodluck! I remembered when I worked with the big people (ie, adults) I used to gown up, double glove and wear a mask when I had to perform a "code brown"... talk about contact precautions, huh?! :chuckle

Hi I'm not a nurse practitioner, but work with some and have (still am) been considering going back to school for one. A nurse practitioner degree can be obtained by going back to school for 2+ years and applying depending on which specialty you want. you'd have to have a number of years experience in that specialty (years depending on school), as well. The job description varies, but basically if you work in an acute setting you function like a resident MD, ie, you do the MD's dirty work (ie, paperwork, write orders, start arterial lines, be on call, talk to families, etc). Fun part is, you get to intubate and you're not constantly at the bedside. With outpatient NPs, you basically get your own clients, write orders, but you still work under an MD. I know I've missed some aspects, but these are some that I have experienced (some may have a different experience). Oh and I forgot, NPs get paid less than bedside RNs so it is not as appealing right now. A lot of the people that I work with have the degree, but don't function as NPs because of the pay cut.

I am currently doing research on End of life care and cultural sensitivity and how nurses can provide culturally sensitive care here in the Neonatal ICU. Some of the researches that I have looked at are accuracy of pain assessments in non-verbal patients or accuracy of family-reported pain assessments, heparin vs saline flushes, etc. If you need more information visit www.pubmed.com or the cochranelibrary (you can google it) they have a lot of researches and would even give you trial methods so you can replicate the experiment. Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, and here I am complaining that I had to work a 12 hour night shift. I hope that you get paid for all your overtimes and for carrying the slack that your other co-workers have left behind. One question, does your hospital have unions or do you have a contract that says that you can only work so much hours in a week? It seems like they are overworking you People get burnt out with nursing that way...

The grass is ALWAYS greener at the other side of the fence. We always want what we can't have and when we obtain it, we want more. It's human nature. I have never worked in the Philippines as a nurse, but grew up and still have family there. In other aspects, like family, comfort (i.e, helpers, drivers, etc), cheaper shopping (clothes! ) , great vacation spots, good friends, etc for me, the grass is greener in Pinas. However, money-wise and employment-wise, I think that if I work there as a nurse, that I wouldn't be earning as much (salary vs standard of living) and wouldn't be able to support myself and be independent as I am now. I would probably still be living with my dad and asking money for my commute or whatever. In this case, I think it is greener here in the US. So it depends, i guess, on how you look at things.

Blood is easier to deal with compared to other fluids, i think. With body fluids and blood, tissue, bone, and/or fat that are exposed (wait until you take care of patients with decubitus ulcers) when I'm looking at a wound or whatever it is, I don't think of it like it belongs to a person. I kinda just deal with whatever is in front of me and focus on that. I think this is how surgeons deal with all the cutting and bloody mess,as well (besides the sterility issue) they cover everything and expose only the area they are dealing with. As with poops, it still makes my stomach churn, it's something i have never learned to deal with adults so i switched to babies... Poops are either meconium or from breastmilk... no veggies floating, yaddamean?!

1) pick the lesser of two evils. you can put that iv or listen to your doctor's and oncoming nurse's loud, shouting voice and causing harm to your patient because you didn't put that iv so he can get his iv meds. 2) explain what you're going to do and how you'll do it. studies show that pain can increase from not knowing what's going to happen. tell ur patients the steps you'll take and what he/she can expect. i don't agree telling your patients it's like an ant's bite because to some it could be a gimongous ant like what nursewnabe said! pain is subjective, so don't downplay it. be honest and maybe say, it will be painful, but i will try to be as gentle as possible. 3) premedicate. you can use emla or a sq lidocaine. or if they can get a touch of morphine or any pain meds or ativan for anxiety, then give it. 4) ask someone to be with you. ask your charge to be with you when you do the procedure. tell her/him how you feel and ask if they could be there, even for moral support. they can stand there and maybe talk to your patient as you do the procedure. my advice is to use your fear to your and your patient's advantage. leave some of that fear so you can advocate for your patient. for example, if they don't really need a fourth iv, you can save them a lot more of pokes or if they really don't need that foley and strong enough to use the bathroom or a bed pan then don't put it in. if it's not really needed save them the pain and talk to the md. hope this helps.

Never too old to be a new nurse. I went to nursing school with 3 -40 yr olds and they had old careers before they jumped into nursing. Plus, I work with nurses who have been in nursing for a while and they're like wine. Aged to perfection :) Some of them are in their 60s and they still do a good job. Good luck!

John, I know you meant well, however I feel like you didn't have to apologize or even ask for mercy for the sake of others. You didn't do anything wrong. I don't think anyone did anything wrong, it's all miscommunication and it happens in everyday life. And I don't think we all should worry, Suzanne has a kind heart. She doesn't know all of us, I don't even know if she's Filipina or not, but she's helping people that she doesn't even know or have seen. Let's just not abuse the help that she's giving and treat every response with respect. I know you all know, but that's key to therapeutic communication we all learned in nursing school.

I've seen issues with online conversations a million times: miscommunication. Yes, the internet is a good way to communicate but it's not the best way. I've learned not to take everything too seriously and don't see it as an attack to you or the group you're representing. I've learned in online chats or boards like this to NEVER ASSUME and don't go on the defensive right away. Online conversations are NOT the same as physically seeing and interacting with the other person, you can't have the same attitude or assumptions as you would in any "normal" conversation. Attitudes like this will never get you far in nursing and for sure there wiil be many instances at the bedside (or wherever u decide to work) where you will hear things coming from your colleagues that will make your ears prick, but bite that tongue... think things through before you assume and say something you'll regret. Pick your battles. The downside of this board is that you can't really see facial expressions and body languages of people you're talking to. But we have to make the most of our resources and I believe this chatroom has a wealth of information to all the Filipino nurses wherever they may be and whatever level of nursing they are in. This board has served as a watchful eye to nurses all over. Suzanne, your honesty is much appreciated and I don't think you have to apologize that you had to be honest. You're doing a great job in helping Filipino nurses.

Are you talking about the Foster City in the bay area?? If you are I live pretty close (Palo Alto). It's a nice area, windy at times especially if you live close to the bridge (San Mateo Bridge). Housing is slightly expensive compared to neighboring cities such as Union City or Hayward. Don't hang out much over there so I don't know of any restaurants. Welcome, though!

Hi beautifullady, I'm sorry to hear the news, but hang in there! You're not the only one who has experienced this, a lot of nurses have and believe me, you will pull through! Check this site out, http://caring4you.net/advice.html I understand that you're frustrated and anxious to move on, but remember, this too shall pass. Keep your head up :) Just take this time to relearn and review things. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to your question. Suzanne probably would have an idea. Goodluck!

One more, My sister's keeper by Jodi Picoult is a very good one. It's fiction but it deals with the ethical issues of "cloning" and selective conception. A young girl was conceived for the purpose of having to donate blood for her sister with cancer (since both parents' blood were incompatible) and in the end she grows tired and wants control of her body. It's really good. If it's not available in Manila, you can try something online and maybe they can FedEx it.