anticoagulationurse

Our agency uses Cerner RoadNotes and it is terrible! The opposite of user friendly/intuitive. Crashes frequently, etc. Bad, bad juju.

I have learned to not ask Him for patience or He will give me a means and a reason to learn it.

Emergency Nurse - I don't think your sentiment matches what the OP is trying to suggest and lacks the very sensitivity that you are insisting the OP have. Not all nursing is bedside nursing, and maybe their gifts and interests are elsewhere. He/she is a new nurse and still getting the feel, give them a break! I bet you would not be doing your job for free. We all work for a paycheck, we just hope we are able to find more meaning to it than that alone... which is why we are nurses and I think what the OP may have been expressing.

Go2WorkSource.com - Search Jobs, Post Rs, Career Resources This covers all of WA (but of course not all jobs are listed here) but many are since it is a free site. Best wishes!

Scary! I have a patient who had a normal little paper cut. She worked in a medical records department. Two weeks later her arm was being eaten alive from the inside out by necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria). Yikes! (She had a fasciotomy and is fine now).

Well, in the beginning I too, worked for my paycheck. I was not only bored with certain jobs but HATED them and cried most days, despite the fact I was still learning and had the challenges I craved at work. You just might have to do your time and shift from job to job until you settle in to your area of interest. I thought I would never feel satisfied as a nurse until I found my niche, which fits me perfectly and I love it so much. And it pays well, so now, I REALLY do not even know when my pay day is (direct deposit). :) Hang in there!

Home Health nurse for the last 2 years. Intermittent visits. I LOVE it, but it's not for everybody. This was after 5 years of nursing jobs I did not love. I went into Nursing because I took a college job compatibility quiz that listed nursing as one of the top few and it is a stable profession with many career opportunities and choices.

My agency does not allow this.

I would call the lab and find out. But our lab requires us to deliver them within 4 hours so they can be centrifuged if needed. Otherwise, the specimens themselves are always kept at our lab for 7 days before discarded in case the doc wants to add on any tests later.

Scrub-a-dub-dubs here. There's not really too much of a dress code (no jeans no shorts, no tanks), but I am lazy about fashion and scrubs are easy.

First let me assure you I was kind of (unnecessarily) terrified of phlebotomy. I had never attempted a phlebotomy until I was in HH. I knew the principles, had IV training (but no real experience), and I was terrified. I avoided it for a long time, watched a few during my training. But, finally I just bit the bullet and tried one, and succeeded on the second poke. Same for the next several phlebotomies, took a couple of attempts. If I couldn't get it by the third try I was surely flustered by then and it's no use torturing the patient with more pokes if I hadn't got it by then, so I would send another nurse. I do draws once maybe every 2-3 weeks so it made it hard to get a good feel and really learn the skill. I would say by the 10th poke I was starting to feel confident and since the 15 or 20th poke (maybe about 6 months into my HH job), I was golden. Haven't missed one since and nearly always on the first poke since then.

Yes, but being an RN automatically imbibes more responsibility as per the nature of the licensure. I could work at Starbucks as a barista and would still expect more than a starting wage because of the nature of my education and general working responsibility even though I would not be working as an RN in that position. I would expect it, but it does not mean I would be offered it, and does not mean I would accept any less.

Well, I know my company certainly hires travel positions for everything else... except nursing for some reason. Not to say the jobs aren't out there, just don't tend to need travel nurses in my agency. Not sure why.

Ok, this is something I have wondered about for a loooong time. Keep in mind I DO understand that cases of illness/surgery related hyperglycemia are transiently related to the physiological stresses of said conditions. But, I suspect that some of these hyperglycemic complications are directly linked to the diabetic being served a regular diet in these facilities. I have seen/heard so many diabetic patients complain about the carbs and HS snacks when they NEVER eat such an amount at home. Prior to admission they are possibly insulin dependent or not, but end up on sliding scale insulin while an inpatient, and then are able to go off it when they get back home. I realize the timing of such episodes are linked with admissions and henceforth illnesses/injuries which further complicates my theory. Some people are not even diabetic and suddenly they are managed with insulin during an inpatient stay. What gives? I realize diabetic diets cost more and this is one way a facility can reduce costs, by serving cheap food and white bread and fillers. However, I wonder if the sudden "need" for sliding scale insulin may somehow affect reimbursement since it may mean a higher acuity level and more nursing needs? So it is a win win for the facility to have a patient who "requires" insulin during their stay... Just a theory, an unethical one. Am I way off track?

Here ya go! http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/Professions/Nursing/documents/RN_byEnd.pdf page 5 will give you the specifics for international licensure.