1studentnurse

Please note: your mileage may vary (YMMV) is absolutely true in VA. Some are the best (we have 6 Magnet facilities) and some are not. As a bedside nurse, you'll get great benefits, but you may not be able to use all of them. It all depends on what ...

FYI...from experience: If you are absolutely sure you will do your orientation on xx date, give your notice two weeks in advance. If possible, once you do that, let your current manager know that you'd like to stay PRN because 1) you value your time...

It can take a long time from start to finish to get a job at the VA, but very few places will offer benefits even close. I get a higher rate of pay since I have a BSN. Most other hospitals in my area do not care, since they say an RN is an RN. Not s...

While my userID says student, I am indeed an RN. What I'm talking about is from the perspective of an RN, not a student. I think racist people will be racist no matter who or what color/race person they deal with. I work with everyone equally. I'm no...

True, especially when, on some units, NAs have assignments just like RNs and LPNs. Overall, the RN is responsible if one of the NAs patients goes down and for any of the patients on a unit, since we take report on everybody, not just those to which y...

sonoran: Thanks for the note--shoebuy actually has 20% off today, so those Bastads are under $100. Enter 2009 as your coupon code. I like Danskos, but I'm going to try a pair at this price. They also have free return shipping if you don't like them. ...

I hate to tell you, but it depends. There are a number of factors that determine how fast the background gets done. This time of year, the holidays play a part. I had this happen to me last year when I had applied to the VA. My background information...

Some people think rehab hospitals or rehab centers are a little like nursing homes, but I've never worked in one, so I can't comment on that. I have worked in a private rehab hospital attached to a hospital (with OR, ICU, ER) and it is very much a "...

All I can say is watch the House and Senate bills in your state. Most states require that RNs who do telephonic work be licensed in xx state or commonwealth. I'd suspect most of these foreign nurses would have to be licensed in states where this is n...

Yes, they call them Graduate Nurse Technicians (at least at our VA --in VISN15). My state has a graduate nurse policy for new grads (you can practice as a GN until you take NCLEX). I started somewhere else for eight months and then went to the VA. I ...

I switched from IT after eight years in the trenches doing everything from PC support to web work to application support and technical writing for some Fortune 500s here in town. (I worked the previous seven years in international sales and marketing...

This is so true. I am in the same camp as you, since I had coverage even as a student. I just don't trust someone to take my side if they can possibly get out of it... whether it be a school or a hospital or other corporate entity. They can always go...

If you apply to the VA, there is actually a spot to put your malpractice insurance info. I assume (no one has confirmed) that they check out your record with the malpractice insurance company. Many people will tell you not to get it, but many people ...

I was a rehab nurse in an acute facility, and as a nurse, I never participated in therapy per se outside of having the patient perform ADLs (dressing, tooth brushing, feeding, etc.) In our facility, the OTs actually evaluated all the ADL work and the...

Danskos, with compression socks. I have two pairs I wear all the time for work and rotate (keeps them smelling better). I could not make it without my Danskos. I bought my first pair in nursing school. They are heavy relatively speaking, but they ar...

When I read this letter, I felt exactly the way many posters did when they reacted to what was happening with them. I graduated in May 07 and believe me, I saw it all, including: 1. People trying to sabotage me online, in a class forum, on a project ...

I am a new VA nurse, and another person in my orienting class worked at Jesse Brown in Chicago on telemetry. She told me she loved the VA system there and would have stayed had the winters not been so cold. Hines also has a very good SCI unit (one of...

M&M: It doesn't hurt to ask. I was thrilled to death to go to my new job because the pay was much better. They called me up and asked "Would you like a $3000 bonus?" I almost fell over. I would have taken the job without a bonus, but it was nice ...

My advice, since I just finished the interview process and getting hired is, keep a good record of all your application materials. It took me five months to go from application to interview to job. Find a job you want and apply. Then keep a computer ...

I've never done work in our local ED for the VA, but I just recently finished orientation for our local VA system. Statistically, VA medical systems treat predominately men, who are sicker and have little means (approximately 26-30% have incomes les...

queen: It's very true that not all VA jobs are listed at vacareers. I was interviewed after I sent in an application for a job that was in a neighboring building at my nearby VA. A lot of the recruiters put their phone number on the job postings. If ...

Just say no. Repeat, just say no. One of you need to get going to avoid any conflict of interest.

This can happen in ANY industry, not just healthcare. You may need counseling on this issue with your wife from someone you trust and who both of you respect--be it a member of clergy, formal counselor, etc. You will need to leave the house to be a ...

This page (http://www.medicaledu.com/emails/email_2007_0308.htm) has some info on different wound issues, including Xeroform gauze. In my experience, Xeroform is used along incision lines or over skin grafts (graft area only). It should not be moiste...

It really depends. We're told by our rehab admin that the policy of our hospital is x assessments per 24 hour period (we have to have one every 12 hours documented at minimum). They actually want one every eight hours on our documentation, if we can ...