catlover5

I had a pt recently that had a big drop in bp, another nurse came so I could have another set of eyes, we called a rapid response and while the team was in there with the house supervisor, I was on the phone with the dr who was covering for the pt's usual dr.....the dr is saying to send pt to the units and I repeat that out loud to everyone present. The house supervisor quickly says NO, pt is staying here, this dr just wants to avoid dealing with it since it isn't dr's pt...... ?????? Man was I scared through the rest of the shift! The only person to check in with me on that pt was a nurse who was on the RR team. Charge or house supervisor never asked a thing about the pt. Where I used to work, the charge had 2-3 pts during a shift (they don't here) and would always check with a nurse throughout the shift if there was any issue with a pt. Our house supervisors would too. We worked as a team and if we had a float from another unit, everyone, especially the charge, would be so helpful with that nurse. Nursing makes me very uncomfortable in this state (Fl). So very different than Indiana.....

My being so tired just officially got to me.....I work for an agency (because I can't seem to find anything permanent here). I book 3 nights a week and if they have needs on other nights, they call. *I was cancelled 2 out of 3 shifts last week* So I slept all day today, got up at 4:30pm, got ready, and waited for the call on where to go. At 5:15pm I got a call saying I was cancelled and there was "absolutely nothing else open." So, I changed and was out the door to take care of some things. I've wasted too many days so I'm thinking things were meant to work that way........NOT*... I soon had 3 voicemails saying the hospital that cancelled me changed their mind. Well, I called back to say I'm not home, in fact I'm already up the highway in the opposite direction and was told I "should always wait until 6:30 to know for sure that I'm not working." ???What??? This is new to me. Didn't read it in any of my handbooks that I'm on-call until 6:30pm and I recall asking during orientation about being on-call and was told they don't do that. Needless to say I didn't go in and I'm sure I'm in trouble now.... I really thought working five 8hr days was just awful, only having the weekends off, but 12hr night shifts (especially prn) is becoming less worth the extra days off since they seem to be wasted on sleeping just to be cancelled......gonna start putting resume's out to some clinics and offices starting now!!

You are not alone!! I thought working 8hr days 5 days a week was just AWFUL.....so I went to 12's....and since we've moved to another state where I find nursing to be very disheartening-I can't bring myself to do 3 in a row. I am literally sucked dry mentally and emotionally so I work every other night:eek: I'm back to looking for something else, without much luck:confused:

Ever since I was little, I have had an overwhelming fear of myself getting injections, having blodd drawn, having an iv started......and to add to it, my other big fear was having a male dr!! I had a crippling fear of having male dr's!! I couldn't even handle getting my finger stick for accucheck practice!! I just think about my fear of being "stuck" and am very aware of what my patient is feeling when I have to "stick" someone!! I've been an LPN for 4yrs and have given shots and started iv's and I have to say, I still cringe when I'm the patient, but it has gotten better with time! AND, after working in different settings with different dr's, I have been able to see a male obgyn and a male surgeon--and I survived every visit!! Give it time, it will get easier

just keep applying....someone will hire you and even if it isn't your dream job, you will have that to add to your resume and eventually you will get more responses to your applications:up:

I've been called a "let's pretend" nurse and a "low paid" nurse. I've worked with some RN's who come running to me & other LPN's for help. Why are there Practical Nursing programs offered anymore if so many area's are phasing us out?? I saw it happen in hospitals in my home town-didn't work so well and LPN's are being hired there again. We relocted to Fl and they are doing the same thing here. Sad thing is the hospitals use staffing agencies and the pay us alot more than they would pay a regular staff member. I don't get it. I want to go back to school but the RN openings advertised all want someone experienced, not hiring new grads. I've been looking at different program/degree options based on the job openings that seem to be consistently listed. So, until I decide, I'm going to be the best Low paid, pretend nurse I can be!

Been licensed since 2/08. Left a hospital in Indiana making $17.46base w/ $1.50 more for nights and $1.75 more for wknds. Moved to Florida (north of Tampa area) and they are getting rid of LPN's in hospitals. Worked for a short time in ltc facility for 17.80 base w/ $1 for evening shift. Now working for a staffing agency that staffs only hospitals and it $26 for wknights, $28 for wkends. Not worth it though since there is no work in late spring/summer/fall because all the snowbirds go back north! Dr's offices are advertising anywhere form $12-$17/hr.

I recently relocated to Florida with my fiance' for his job, and the area we're in (Tampa Area) is getting rid of LPN's in the hospitals. If you already work as an LPN in a hospital, you have to be in a program to become an RN......the state we moved from tried to do this but it didn't work, so I had a great job in a hospital with no threats of HAVING to get back into school. Now I work for an agency and I can't believe what I see in these hospitals. They use LPN's because of major staffing shortages. In fact, I've worked on units that have been staffed by more agency nurses than actual hospital employees. Sad, really, because some of these agency nurses (L's & R's) have a horrible attitude about how many pt's they'll take or they refuse to take admissions when it gets close to shift change time. And bullies....wow. Funny part is where I came from, nurses bullying or "horizontal violence" became an issue and the hospital wouldn't tolerate it (took losing alot of staff first). Here, no one seems to know what horizontal or lateral violence is and denies nurses bullying being an issue in Florida. I love my work but it's becoming less worth the stress of hurrying to get into a program to be an RN. I enjoy working 3 nights a week and being in control of my schedule, but I'm looking into a physicians office or clinic job. Agencies have no problem working you 5 12hr shifts A WEEK!! Too unsafe if you ask me. I was a hairdresser for 12 years and did what I said I would never do...be the hairdresser that becomes a nurse. I don't want to go back to that but I atleast have that to fall back on. Sorry I rambled again......

I agree with everyone.... I relocated to to another state recently and have had a HARD time finding anything except ALF's and LTC's. Tried some and that just isn't the area for me. Started with an agency that books exclusively in hospitals.....showed up for a shift and a very encouraging house supervisor gave me advice on how certain managers WOULD hire me as an LPN and not to give up. That being said, I got to my assigned floor and was told by the charge nurse "Oh, you're an LPN. This company DOESN'T hire LPN's." Then I'm told agency nurses aren't well liked here. Great. I'm thinking. It's junior high pecking order all over again. I would like to get my associates, but not because I'm considered too low on the nursing food chain. This state offers a lot of certification classes for L's and I've taken 2 so far and look forward to taking more. For now, this agency hired me, and I will learn something new with every shift at each different facility I get sent to! :thankya: If there weren't needs for LPN's, there wouldn't be programs that are full of students. The trends of needing us and not needing will continue to go up and down and all around depending on geographical area. Continue your education for yourself, not because everyone else thinks you should. (sorry, I seem to have rambled!!)

what about an anonymous report to the state or the corporate office about possible unsafe things going on.....ever wonder who makes the calls that alert state to just "drop in" other than there annual visit?? I was told once by a former LTC DON that in the DON position, you can either take the "corporate way" of doing things, or the "safe/caring" way......she took the safe/caring way and made the place awesome for pts/employees with all kinds of perks, better conflict resolution, doing things the right way ALL the time instead of flipping out when state showed up because no one was prepared, etc. but that person stepped down because the administration/corporation was all about the almighty $$......... just a thought

NurseFrustrated, I've been an LPN just over 2 yrs (2nd career for me) and I totally agree.....and it helps soooooooo much to be able to vent, even it it's typing til your fingers are sore on a message site like this because there's no one around to actually listen to it!! I had a bad review recently and after a week of 2nd/3rd/4th guessing everything little thing I do, I had a talk with our NCM (the assistant ncm wrote the review) and she told me to switch the thought process of "what did I do wrong" and "oh, did I do it" (I tend to take accountability for things that I WASN'T responsible for) and instead just ask "what DID I do right today??" I wasn't the nurse who graduated and is still at the first nursing job right out of school....it's taken me a few jobs to find my niche and where I am now isn't--I knew that going in--but I thought the experience would be good. SO, as hard as it's going to be, I'm going to try my hardest to clock in, do my job, ask for help if I need it, keep my mouth shut, and clock out. And I'm a totally social person, so not talking is a HUGE challenge for me. BUT, I think if I can get through 1 shift not giving any coworker the power to treat me like crap, then I can get through the next, and the next. Then there's my 3 shifts and after a few days off, I can start the next week the same. Hopefully before I know it, the power I've given them will be MINE and I can put it to good use by being better at my job. When your coworkers suck you dry, you don't stand a chance with pts/families/drs who suck you dry. I never realized just how powerful others feel when they make shift suck... So, deliver the best care to your patients and who gives a crap what anyone else thinks. I like to start yelling and cussing when I get to my car after a shift....and sometimes I rant (to myself) all the way home, sometimes it's over after I get a block away. This site helps too....Hang in there, one day you will find the position that doesn't come with all the BS......Best of luck!

Sugarcoma, we must be twins because I feel this way after nearly EVERY shift, but the kicker is.....I've been an LPN for 2 1/2yrs, worked a short time in a few LTC facilities and in a hospital, and I've not had a pt pass away on my shift...(knock on wood). I haven't done post-mortem care, not even during clinicals! Now, that being said, I'm not scared of HOW/WHAT to do when a pt passes, but will I know what to do if I'm there for the code?? It was pointed about by my units asst ncm on nights that since I have poor time-management skills and she feels that I lack in quality care, "who would want me to help in a code?" Her words. I think its safe to say even Florence Nightingale went through some rough times, but this "person" and her "observations" (I've worked with her only a handful of sifts) has given me such a complex, I feel defined by all the negative things that she points out. That being said, I own the things I know I could've/should've done differently. Its a surgical maximum (postop) unit and I had only worked a hodge-podge med/surg unit at one of our companies smaller hospitals. Now it's been said they "thought I had more experience than I did." What are reference checks for?? I worked for the same company, all of my reviews,etc were available. I said to begin with, my negative/positive qualities tend to be the same; I'm a people-person so I talk too much, I'm detail oriented, I'm organizationally disorganized and consistently inconsistent! I have even been told by a nurse that I can be too accountable for things, taking crap for something that wasn't my fault!! My exact words during my interview. Now I've had 2 bad reviews (in 6 months!)and its this same person writing the reviews. And I was told they think I'm ocd (becaseu I use post-it notes??) and I was told to go to our EAP counselor before "it was made a condition of my next review and any information would NOT be confidential"....yes, my appt dates/times/progress among other things would be available to my unit manager. No pt has been hurt, only 1pt complained the pca pump wasn't available soon enough (as an LPN, I can't initiate those, RN's have to, but guess who the RN was that finally hooked up the pca for that pt???) When I mentioned going back to school in January for my RN, this was the response..."you shouldn't even think about that..." WOW, I was a hairstylist for years and I thought they were a bunch of mean girls......they don't even hold a candle!! I am beyond second-guessing during and after my shifts, I'm now into the quadruple possibilities....and they can be preposterous, but with co-workers who will throw anyone under a bus, I can't help it. This unit is not my niche, I knew that going in. I just wanted to get back in with this company in hopes of 6 months--1 year on this unit and then transfer to another area of interest. Unfortunately, I have "1 month to show huge improvement" or I may not have a job. It really sucks that there is a 1year review from the other facility in my file that was EXCELLENT! No issues (except a few absences). And we get thank you cards when a pt mentions our name and I had 3 different pts in my last thank you card. It's like that part means nothing. I don't know what patients and coworkers are allegedly making complaints about me and I still find myself trying to figure it out constantly. I soooo feel your pain. Its mentally and emotionally a rewarding career, yet I am mentally and emotionally BANKRUPT at this point. I feel like I am being set up to fail. I WILL be going to our EAP counselor (I used them last year during my divorce) and my advice is for you to do the same. And if I don't get canned, I'm going to keep going until I can transfer to another unit or find another job altogether :0( Wish you the best!

I know of an RN in an ICU, great nurse, but had to take the NCLEX like 6 TIMES!!! Some people just aren't good test takers so keep going!! You'll get it and before you know it, you'll have it all behind you! Best of luck! Robin:up:

hey ivanh3, I'm hoping you can give me some advice. Here is my situation in a nutshell: ~I graduated in Dec 08-licensed 2/08 and work as an LPN in a small hospital (med/surg). ~In March, I enrolled w/College Network and haven't enrolled yet in Exscelsior but plan to for and Associate's. ~I have pretty much finished the first book/semester (Nursing Safety) and should be ready to test out of it soon..... after I test out of the first one, I am really freaked out about the rest!! ESPECIALLY the CPNE! I guess I want some words of wisdom and encouragement from someone who made it through a distance ed program. I don't have alot of support---people are thinking I made a mistake not going into another campus program... What sort of routine did you go by for completing your test-outs? Did you get it done in 2 yrs? Any advice is welcome! Thanks alot Robin (catlover5)

As a new LPN myself who left a job and went through a few bad jobs that paid well to end up BACK where I started, trust me when I say THE GRASS IS NEVER GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE (it only seems that way because of all the MANURE fertilizing it!!) Catlover5