dacryocystitis

Hello everyone, I have recently started interviewing for NP jobs, as a graduate this May. My most recent offer was to work part-time in an internal med clinic (26 to 30 hours per week) and take call every 3rd weekend. Call would consist of taking any calls from clinic patients who call in, rounding in the hospital on current inpatients on Saturday and Sunday for 2 docs, doing any new admissions, and taking calls from the RNs on inpatients. Call would start Friday at 5 pm and would end Monday at 7 a.m. How does this work where you practice? Are you paid on an hourly basis for both your clinic and hospital/call hours? Do you get a base salary and then additional compensation (flat rate) for weekend call? Or do you get a base salary for your clinic hours and then are paid hourly for the weekends you take call? If so, how much are you compensated--flat rate or otherwise? Also, let's say you work 28 hours per week in clinic--considered part-time. If you took call every 3rd weekend, would that make you full- time then (and therefore eligible for full-time benefits), since there are 62 hours between Friday at 5 and Monday at 7 a.m.? The physician with whom I interviewed had not worked out all the logistics of how this would work yet, so I was hoping to get some advice so I know what would be considered a "fair offer". I want to be compensated for the work I am doing and not be taken advantage of. Thanks in advance...

I know the feeling of waiting! I got accepted to UIC (adult/geriatric NP program) and started last January and will be done one year from now. It's a tough program, but we all get through it! Good luck!

I would try these sites for starters: http://www.cdc.gov http://www.niaid.nih.gov http://www.shea-online.org http://www.idsociety.org I'm not an infection control nurse....sorry I can't help you out more. You can probably contact the National Institues on Allergy and Infectious Diseases (phone or email) and they can possibly direct you further. You could also contact some other area hospitals to see where they find their information. I also would imagine the ID department in a university hospital would have some answers for you.

I always thought of the ABC's first and Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs. Physiological needs always come first: breathing, food, water, sleep, excretion. Think of things needed for survival. Everything else comes after that....safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization. As you learn more and become more experienced, prioritizing needs will become much easier.

sorry i misspoke. the 0.03% chance is for mucocutaneous transmission risk. (when i replied before, I thought this was the percutaneous risk). Percutaneous expsoures to blood contaminated sharp objects is 0.32%. for hepatitis C: "most studies place the transmission rate below 3%". All of this was just taken from: Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. Sixth Edition. Pages 3393 (HIV) and 3383 (Hepatitis C). Copyright date 2005. of course this is 2006, so maybe the numbers has changed slightly.....but this is the most recent edition I have. sorry for the incorrect information above. I should have looked it up before I spoke. lesson learned.

I believe the chance of getting HIV from a needle stick (with a patient who actually has been confirmed HIV+) is 0.03%. I think the change of getting Hepatitis C from a needle stick (again from a patient who has been dx'd with Hep C) is 3%. I could be slightly wrong on these numbers....but I'm pretty sure it's close to what I said. Tell her to contact the ID physician or occupational health.

I don't know of any specific schools with that focus BUT there is an "up and coming" field in nursing--transcultural nursing. Dr. Madeleine Leininger is a nurse-anthropologist who proposed similarities between nursing and anthropology. She is famous in nursing for her theory-generated model (The Sunrise Model) which depicts cultural care. nurses can become a certified transcultural nurse, so this may be something you would like to do. check out these websites for more information: http://www.madeleine-leininger.com and http://www.tcns.org

I also agree with the above poster. The essay sounds more like a cover letter for a job to which you are applying. The section where you discuss all the tasks you have completed in the ICU (reformating flow sheets, reformatting insulin drip protocol, etc) especially makes the essay sound like a cover letter. I think you are trying to show how you are motivated and goal oriented; however, I think there are ways to portray that without having it sound too much like a cover letter. I also think you should avoid saying things like "nursing is blah blah blah and nursing is blah blah blah" The admissions committee is more than likely comprised of nurses, and I would imagine they are doctorally and master's prepared nurses......so they already know what nursing is. And please don't take that the wrong way because I didn't mean for it to be rude. I'm just trying to help. Does the application just say "write an essay for us" or do they give you specific questions to which you must respond? If you give us the actual questions, we might be able to help you change your essay a bit to make it sound more like an essay for a nursing program rather than a cover letter for a job.

i agree with nursecherlove. If you are taking the classes concurrently, bring out both books when you start to study. When you read about the pathophysiology of HTN, look up the drugs that are used to treat it (diuretics, beta blockers, ace inhibitors, etc etc). When you understand the pathophysiology of HTN, you will also better comprehend how each drug works to treat it and also how they work synergistically. Also....I wouldn't try to remember each and every small side effect of the drugs. You need to know the major side effects .....not the ones that "0.1% of people will develop xyz side effect"

I see you are applying to the nursing program at UIC!!?? I applied to the grad school at UIC (Adult Nurse Practioner program), and I was formally invited to an interview this Thursday!! With that being said, I want to offer some suggestions that helped me get an interview. Maybe it wasn't just the essay that secured an interview but rather a combination of grades, recommendation letters, essay, etc etc. In any case I'm sure the essay helped significantly. Anyway....here it goes: The admissions committee reads hundreds of these responses, so you need to make yourself "stand out". Instead of answering each of the six questions as you did, I would suggest incorporating your responses to the questions in an essay type format. It would be similar to telling a story. I would also begin with an eye catching intro! Make the reader WANT to continue learning more about you. BSN programs involve A LOT of writing, so I would assume the admissions committee is looking at your writing skills....grammar, creativity, ability to incorporate the questions, level of thinking, etc etc. A story with a unique intro and conclusion would, in my opinion, be much more interesting to read than responses to each question. Telling a story also allows you to transition between the questions/topics more gracefully. I would also avoid discussing other schools, even if you are telling why you did not choose those schools. Just focus on UIC. I hope this helps!!!

Is your clinical instructor around during clinicals? If something needs immediate attention and the nurse will not listen to you, then you should direct your concerns to the instructor. If the matter is not urgent and could possibly wait 5 minutes then let it wait. I know this is difficult to hear, but they just want to make you sweat a little. They want to have the power!! I don't know why...but it always seems to be the case. For some reason the floor nurses and students just don't seem to mesh very well....at least from my experiences. Try not to let it bother you too much. It happens to everyone! Ultimately, your instructor will pass/fail you not the floor nurse. Go to him/her with your concerns first.

I agree that we need a bit more information. What exactly was she admitted for? the constipation? did she have an obstruction? or was she admitted for the bipolar disorder being out of control? or was it because of the low sodium? labs (anemia): can you give us some numbers? How severe is it? What type of anemia is it? How is this being treated? She has NO s/s of it?.....fatigue/pallor, etc etc labs: low sodium.....how low? she wasn't showing any s/s of low sodium and fluid volume deficit?? if the sodium becomes TOO low, they can become confused? fluid volume: what was her actual I & O? how was her renal function? constipation: how much pain medication is she on? if she is an abuser, she's probably on a hefty dose. Narcotics are notorious for causing constipation. Is she on stool softeners? high fiber diet? laxatives? bipolar disorder: is she on meds? is she in the manic stage or the depressed stage? pain: acute or chronic? what pains meds is she on? why did she start the pain meds? i think we'll be able to help you more if you can give us some more information.....

thanks for the replies. Yes, miko014, the reason they do not want to hire another nurse is because they don't want to pay a nurse's wages! They feel they can get by how they are. I've also been telling my mom she should resign if they are not willing to listen to her, but sshe really likes the staff and the patients. She has been looking for other office nursing jobs, but the jobs in the area are sporifice and most places are not willing to pay her salary due to her years of experience! I will tell her to contact the state board of nursing to see if she can get some answers. She certainly does not want to lose her license over something that could easily be prevented!! The physician she works for is just cheap. plain and simple.

Rush is an excellent school for both undergrad and grad school!! Most of the professors have doctorates (either PhD's, DNSc's, DNPs many of them are fellows of the american academy of nurses as well. Some of the prof's don't have doctorates, but they are working towards them. I did not attend Rush but I did attend another BSN program in Chicago. Three of my professors actually left and went to Rush and seem to be happy there. One is a Adult nsg faculty, another is in Community and Mental Health and the other is in Maternal-Child Health. If you are looking at other BSN programs in Chicago with presitigous academia, Loyola and UIC are also notorious.

I would love to hear all of your opinions on this issue.... My mom has been a nurse for 25+ years and has worked in a very busy family practice office for the past 12-13 years. For the majority of this time the office has had two full time nurses, however last year, after the other nurse quit, the physician moved the CNA into the "nurse position". My mom has been extremely stressed about this the past year for several reasons. She is the only licensed nurse for 3 providers. Her responsibilities are calling test results and explaining them, educating patients about medications, diet, etc, and most of the "typical" office nurse responsibilities. She also does triage. The problem she has with having a CNA assuming the role of a nurse (calling lab results, explaining test results with whatever the doc wrote down, triaging, etc) is that ultimately she is responsible for whatever she delegates to the CNA. My mom has tried training her in certain aspects with which she feels comfortable, but the CNA is constantly asking her questions that my mom has answered over and over again. Mom feels this CNA just is not paying attention to what she teaches her, so she always has to keep one eye and ear open to whatever the CNA is doing or telling patients. She has caught many errors the CNA has made (whether is be in documenation or what she has told a patient). Furthermore, she doesn't have the critical thinking skills or nursing knowledge/judgment required for the job. I told mom that if I was in her position, I would only allow the CNA to call completely normal results. Mom said if I did that, I would be there until 10 o clock at night (she already comes in early and never leaves until 630 or 7--when she is "supposed" to be done at 5). But she is in a catch 22 because she is so stressed about having to worry about her own job AND worry about what the CNA is doing or saying. She has brought this to the attention of the physician many times and tried to explain her reasoning of why they need to hire another nurse and how this is her license on the line and she cannot be there 24 hours a day calling patients back because there is so much work! His response has continually been "ultimately it is my responsibility and will go on my malpractice because I am responsible for you". and to that my mom says "in a court of law, if I delegate something to a UAP and she messes up, I am ALSO responsible and in jeopardy of losing my nursing license". i have looked at the IL nurse practice act, but can't find anything specifically that discusses this. I remember learning all of this in school though! If she had something to show him that states all of this, maybe it would sink in. Anyone know of a website or book that defines this situation? Your thoughts are appreciated....and sorry this was so long! PS...i'm not trying to bash CNAs or MA's. They are VERY helpful and greatly appreciated, but in this setting I find the job responsibilities she is assuming to be inappropriate.