Orca ADN, ASN, RN

Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC

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All Content by Orca

  1. Orca

    Psychiatric-Mental Health Certification

    I have taken (and passed) the exam. I thought it was worse than the nursing board exam. IMO they ask many questions that are outside the scope of practice of an RN (questions about steps to be taken...
  2. A lot of it depends upon your specific assignment, and whether the facility you will be working in is an intake facility. Our nurses work 12-hour shifts. Some are assigned to work the clinic desk....
  3. I have a Facebook account, but only for the communication aspect. My page has no photos on it. I agree with Gooey - don't add patients as friends unless you knew them beforehand. I work for a criminal...
  4. Orca

    Jail psych nurse ethics question

    Having worked in mental health for a long time, to me it seems very irresponsible to have protocol orders for psychiatric medications. I would also be nervous about the doctor automatically signing...
  5. Another thing to consider is that Texas doesn't have a state income tax, so the money you make will go farther. I believe you're paying about nine percent in
  6. Your attitude is admirable, but you have more important issues to address. You may well have the chance to reciprocate in the future for the coverage your coworkers are providing
  7. Orca

    Psychiatric Nursing with a Mental Illness?

    If your condition is well controlled, I see no reason that you should not practice psychiatric nursing. I have worked with several nurses with psychiatric conditions who were able to offer insights to...
  8. Sustaining life processes is not the same as living. This man doesn't have what most of us would call a life. His day consists of continuous monitoring, medications, medical procedures and machines....
  9. Orca

    Is it a sin to want a day off?

    When I went through a divorce several years ago I volunteered for extra shifts and usually covered when my unit had a call-off on another shift. When I started to develop a social life again and...
  10. Orca

    Can CPR renewal be done online?!

    My agency requires hands-on CPR classes. Even if an employee renews online they must attend the CPR class the agency provides for the hands-on demonstration. Given those regulations there is little...
  11. I thought that the test was worse than the nursing board exam. Some of the questions they asked seemed more appropriate for a Ph. D. psychologist or therapist. Some of the issues they asked about were...
  12. Orca

    Jail psych nurse ethics question

    To clarify, the vast majority of the medications we give from protocol orders would not require a prescription if the inmate were in the community (diphenhydramine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc.)....
  13. Orca

    Interview next week for inpatient psych unit!

    Be prepared for a question about side effects of psychiatric medications. One popular question concerns extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). These consist of tardive dyskinesia (involuntary irregular muscle...
  14. I carried ANCC Psychiatric Nurse certification for five years. To be truthful I found it pretty useless. One potential employer - who did not offer me a job - saw it on my resume, commented on it and...
  15. Orca

    Psych patient teaching for class assignment..HELP

    We used to run relaxation groups. We had relaxation tapes that we would put on, turn the lights down and have the patients either lie down or relax in chairs. A word of warning, though: Review any...
  16. Orca

    question about psych nursing

    This hits very close to home for me. When I finished nursing school I went straight to work on a hospital adult mental health unit. Four years later I relocated and I hired on with a stand-alone...
  17. Orca

    GREAT Interview

    Understand that most employers don't offer jobs on the spot. In our case we do interviews (sometimes for two days), and there is a process that must be followed in order to hire someone. We are a...
  18. I went to visit a cousin in a hospital in Canada several years ago. He had just had surgery, and he was asking me about recovery, medications, etc. I gave him some general information about how things...
  19. Orca

    NEED HELP PLEASE!!!

    I doubt that this is something that will have serious consequences. The hospital will probably issue a warning about it, but I wouldn't expect much more. I haven't seen the photo in question so I...
  20. Orca

    NEED HELP PLEASE!!!

    I'm not sure about HIPAA violations, but I believe that it was bad judgment to have put a picture like this on a personal webpage. This was a picture taken of a patient in a work setting. Think about...
  21. Orca

    Jail psych nurse ethics question

    I work for a state prison system. We have numerous protocols for dealing with various situations, which have been approved by the appropriate physicians. The purpose is to allow nurses to deal with...
  22. Orca

    Correctional Nursing Questionnaire.

    1. Using the common nursing stereotypes (battle ax, angel of mercy, etc) describe your relationship with inmates. My relationship with inmates is little different than my relationship with patients...
  23. Orca

    my first job- per diem in a jail

    The time frame for going from per diem to full time depends entirely on the employer. Two things have to happen: they have to be satisfied with your work, and they have to have a vacant position. The...
  24. Orca

    Should I even get my ADN?

    At the very least go for your ADN. Since I had a BA in another field I could have finished either program with an approximately equal number of hours, but I chose an ADN program because I couldn't...
  25. Orca

    Image Conscious

    I worked in a place where there was in effect a ruling clique. Members of said clique got the choice assignments and all the promotions while the rest of us (read: the people who made things happen)...