drumwhacker

I agree that you need/deserve an orientation. Let your employer know that you're uncomfortable with the current state of things. Whether you work FT, PT, or PRN, you are still responsible for the unit when you are there. It's obviously stressful and perhaps even dangerous being in charge if you're clueless about how things work. By all means, keep your patients and yourself safe. As far as patient load, 10 will most likely be quite commonplace. I've worked shifts on our adult/geri psych unit where I've been the only RN for 20+ patients. Fortunately, I've had at least one skillful LPN and a couple of great techs. Hope it all works out for you...... :monkeydance: (me on the unit at times!)

Well..... All of my daily notes are individualized, but I always include something about monitoring for safety, encouraging verbalization, patient affect/mood/specific comments and behaviors, and education. We also have a daily MSE form that's completed by an RN. Since my primary job at the moment is nursing groups, it's usually relatively easy to come up with relevant info to chart. It's important to include specific things the patient says or does, especially as they relate to his/her medical/nursing diagnoses. Your interventions and patient response to them are also essential. Best Wishes!

I wear my "Professionals" to work most of the time and my New Balance running shoes the rest of the time. The Crocs are the best for longer shifts and I do wear them with socks...the padded ankle type. I have had zero foot-fatigue or pain while wearing the Crocs. I've also found that I wear the same size as my regular shoes. Keep On Truckin! :monkeydance:

And...yet another BIG congrats to you! I just passed it on the 17th and got my license in the mail on the 22nd. Feels awesome :balloons: drumwhacker, RN

Here's one for you guys to ponder: I worked as a cd/psych counselor for about 7 years after I finished my M.A. in Counseling in 1990. I always signed "MA" after my name during that period since the degree was a requisite for the job. Now I've finished my ADN, passed the Nclex, and am working as a psych nurse/group therapy facilitator in an inpatient setting. I'll actually have the opportunity to utilize my previous experience and develop my psych nursing skills. What would you guys put on your name badges if in my position and given a choice? Just a thought..... and I'm honestly grateful to finally be an RN! Thanks a bunch :)

A PDA is a "personal digital Assistant", a generic term for many handheld computers used to store data, run software, etc. See this site for tons of info and related links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant I've been using an HP hx4700 Pocket PC (now discontinued) since I started nursing school. I used it to take notes in class (with a bluetooth keyboard) and as a replacement for a boatload of reference books. In addition to those uses, I am also able to use it to wirelessly access the 'net both at home and at work. For my purposes, it basically serves as a laptop computer replacement. The most useful feature at work has been all the drug references that I've loaded. My favorite software site is www.skyscape.com, but there are many others. I believe that anyone who is reasonably computer-literate (or is simply willing to learn) will be able to benefit from a PDA. Best Wishes :)

FYI.... My best friend/study partner from school is working at Cabrini ER. Let me know if I can get more specific info for you.

Long time since your post, but..... I think many of my fellow new-grads/RN's are starting at around $18/hr @ Cabrini. That seems to be about the average non-state RN starting pay these days. You didn't specify, but if you're an RN I'm sure your experience would command significantly more. Best Wishes

I've had my Ipaq since before I started clinicals. Some of the reactions from fellow students and teachers were quite interesting. A few actually seemed resentful, but many wanted to know where they could get one. Interestingly, I've actually had more teachers ask about it than students. One of my "old school" teachers was rather rude to me about it and made the comment "we should use the brain God gave us" .... egad! I have no doubt that I'd rather have references at my fingertips than go into a patient care situation clueless. The doctors are using them; why not nurses?? Current, concise, and readily available information has been a godsend during clinicals. I have 3 drug guides, some medical references, Merck Manual, lab manuals, Harrison's, Stedman's, some care plan stuff, DSM-IV-TR, etc... I'll also say that I've easily learned as much from those references as I learned in class. Oh... FYI: Here's a link to probably the most useful medical guide I've found (and that I actually paid good $$$ for). http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=17445 OR download it from the author/editor for $10 less: http://www.clinicalmedconsult.com/ May 18th is the eagerly anticipated graduation day here... woohooooo! :monkeydance:

The book will be referenced once at the end. Each reference within the body of the paper will list the author(s) name(s) followed by a comma and the year. Here's a great resource to help clarify things. The site will actually format your references, but also explains the process as it does. http://www.citationmachine.net/index.php?new_style=2 Have fun, dw

I'll be graduating from the Louisiana State University at Alexandria ADN program next month. The campus is about an hour away from Ft. Polk, similar to the distance to the NSU campus. As another poster mentioned, NSU does offer some LPN - RN/ADN/BSN distance learning courses at Ft. Polk, but some must be taken in Natchitoches. We have quite a few LPN - RN students in our graduating class. They started on the accelerated track during the summer of '05 and will finish with us ... 3 semesters later. The only obstacle for your getting into either the NSU or LSU-A programs is that both require at least a year of practice as a licensed LPN for admission to the accelerated programs. Considering that you already have a B.A., you may actually have a number of the prerequisites for admission to a standard ADN (or BSN) program. I had a B.A. and an M.A. when I began my ADN program and It's taken me 5 semesters to finish. Only 2 of them were primarily prerequisites. Your mileage may vary. If you've taken intro. chemistry and lab, college algebra, and the first anatomy/physiology class/lab - then you are eligible to apply for clinicals. Here's a link to the LSU-A Nursing page: http://nursing.lsua.edu/ I suggest that you review the links on that page and see if it's something you might consider. The "Application for Nursing 1016" lists the prerequisites for admission to the clinical component. And: Here's a link to the NSU nursing page: http://www.nsula.edu/nursing You can review all your options at that school with the drop-down menus at the top of that page. NSU, as you'll see, offers a BSN degree as well as an ADN. They also offer classes at Ft. Polk, Alexandria, and Shreveport. Now.... hopefully this at least leaves you a little less in the dark about what might be available to you down here. Give a yell if there's anything I can clarify. Best Wishes

Great to hear! And I hope you realize that my rant wasn't an indictment of the folks like you who are out there doing everything within their power to rear a healthy/happy child. My frustration is with the ones who do nothing and expect perfection. Also, I was talking more about simple violence and impulse control than issues that have a definable origin in psychiatric/neurological/physical disorders. I apologize for not clarifying myself better. People like you are the ones who actually restore a bit of my hope for our society. Thanks for your comments :) And...sorry for deviating from the original thread.. I hope we haven't thrown you for too much of a loop, Brittney :flowersfo Let me know if I can help you further. dw

Well.... you touched on two of the current hot button drug classes. The use of stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin for treating ADHD in children will likely be an ongoing controversy for many years. Additionally, the use of SSRI's in children and their potential for actually increasing depressive/suicidal thoughts has been widely discussed in the media; both in the news and entertainment programming. RANT ALERT***As the research on the origins of childhood behavioral/emotional disorders grows, perhaps some of the misinformation will be clarified. I recently saw a documentary that suggested many behavioral deficits in chidren are established by the age of 2. More specifically, violent behaviors either become engrained or are resolved at a very young age. Imagine the sociocultural implications this would have if it became mainstream! While we attempt to "fix" our kids with the latest wonder drug, the focus on prevention/early intervention gets pushed to the side. Sorry for the rant, but what ever happened to parental responsibility in teaching children appropriate social behavior??? I consider myself an open-minded, free-thinking person and I'm still awestruck by our culture of thinking there's a "quick fix" and "there's a pill for everything" (I worked as an adolescent counselor for several years after my master's degree and intend to work as a psychiatric RN). ***END OF RANT. OK... whew..... :selfbonk: : Another drug class that continues to receive considerable attention, albeit outside of the psychiatric community, is the Cox-2 inhibitor NSAID's. Vioxx has been pulled off the market and the others are very seldom used. Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, has been forced to pay several settlements to people who died of cardiac problems while taking the drug (example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4932722.stm). Finally, if I were to venture a guess on another potential drug class of controversy, it would be the "Statins". While these drugs seem to be an excellent adjunct to other conventional anti-platelet therapies, their touted (by the drug companies) benefits as anti-cholesterol agents are beginning to draw some ire from physicians. I've spoken to some who have noted that the whole "good cholesterol vs. bad cholesterol" argument seems to have been started by drug companies in order to benefit sales. Some current research shows little if any correlation between using statins to alter cholesterol levels and a decreased risk of cardiac events. Some of the second-generation antipsychotics, such as Abilify, have apparently increased the risk of hyperglycemia in the elderly population. While no definite correlation has been specified due to the tendency of the population to be at high risk for diabetes anyway, a plausible relationship has been noted (www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2004/safety04.htm). The last two drug classes have seen little controversy in the media at this point, but they seemed worthy of discussion since drugs that are over-hyped or that have catastrophic side-effects are the ones on which the media will eventually focus. Good Luck! dw