pyrolady

Huge shortage of nurses out there - shouldn't have any problem. I say walk (I just did...). Good luck !

To retain information for testing you must first UNDERSTAND the information - NOT memorize it. There is a difference. Please try thinking through the information in a logical manner where one thing follows or leads to another. Cramming means memorize - memorize means higher chances of forgetting. Understanding the process and subject matter of what it is you are studying means you have learned it. Once you understand, your grades will go up. Also - HOW do you take a test? You should typically sit AWAY from where everyone has to walk through to get out of the room (ie: sit in front far corner, not back row by exit). When you sit where you can see people leaving it increases your anxiety because you think they have all finished, they are brilliant and you are not (they probably didn't know most answers and so gave up faster perhaps?), and you should be done. Also, don't enter the room until lthe last possible minute (or go in, put something on the seat you want and leave - enter to sit down later). Why? Because everyone is anxious and talking to each other about thoughts on this and that and what will stick in your mind is the last comment you heard about a possible question / subject and it may be the wrong information - but you won't be able to get rid of the thought. Wear a little perfume on your wrist and when you get anxious smell it - it will relax you (ummm, if you're a guy you are on your own!). Make study cards and carry them with you at all times - review them at stop signs, in the park, wherever you may be. Take information in at a leisurely pace whenever possible (ie: always review your notes after class - perhaps retype them in a more orderly fashion for easier understanding). STOP studying after a certain time the night before the test. Put the books away and don't touch them again before the test. If you don't understand and know it by that time, you won't get it. Better luck on the next test - hope this helped !! GOOD LUCK....

I am a DON in a SNF and there is a huge shortage of nurses so you won't have a problem getting hired. HOWEVER, you need to keep this in mind: Hospitals have an approx. ratio of six patients per nurse. Nursing homes have approx. 22 - 28 patients per nurse and don't let anyone kid you - it is NOT what it used to be. Our facility handles stage 3 and 4 wounds, tube feeders, trachs, people in physicala therapy, dementia mixed in with all of the above and people are still coming for IV therapy or recovering from surgery. I honestly believe a SNF nurse can hack it in the hospital with minimum assist - visa versa might be a problem because the rules for SNF's have not changed with the acuity of the patients. LOTS of work and TONS of paper....

What was your first choice of career? If you can't go back and get another degree, perhaps you can use the nursing background for a different career with less stress. Medical transcription, medical billing, case manager or insurance companies, home health, teaching in high schools - there is such a shortage of science teachers that if you have a nursing degree they will let you teach in some states. You might want to be a unit manager in a nursing home, do physicals for insurance companies. Good luck !!!

Might want to try getting into medical billing or medical transcription. It's something you can do from home and don't have physical limitations - can even do the transcription from your laptop at any location. I know I've heard of people making in the $60,000 per year range with this....good luck!

A new career....PLEASE !!

One of my classmates had NINE children going through school. She drove over an hour to get there and was planning to divorce her husband at the time (hence the return to college). I had just gotten a divorce, was raising two children, had no car for four years, my mom and best friend died the day before I started. I hauled laundry and groceries any way I could, worked in a bar, sold shoes and prayed a lot (cried too). But I made it....if you want to you will, if there is no drive then you won't. Good luck to you - there are tons of stories of "survivors of nursing school" out there. Another one of my classmates gave birth to twins the last semester of school :) You'lll make it, don't worry. Have fun !

Our LTC has trachs, tube feeders, wounds (III and IV - NOT facility acquired) up the ying yang, isolation cases, etc. We do IV's, cath's, etc. I just finished managing a hospital unit. They had darn near the exact patients there with a 6:1 ratio. I guarantee that if one of my nurses in the hospital got planted in the LTC with a 24:1 ratio they would have a heart attack!!! They used to scream when it was 6:1 because 3 of them would be post stroke (everyday occurance in LTC) and the other three had more than 7 pills (try the usual 13+ in LTC). You can take a LTC nurse and put her in a hospital and she will survive and thrive. Do the opposite? NO WAY.

Chatter may have a point though - how close were your mom and brother before AD? Lots of sons are close to mom and when something like this comes along they have deep deep problems. Remember, it is a woman's nature to comfort and a man's to "fix" - this is something that he can't fix and perhaps it plain scares the he-- out of him. He may not be able to cope. Different people handle things differently, perhaps you should be his sister and try to probe deeper in an understanding way as to why he is reacting this way. In any case, good luck and hugs to you - it is a very long and frightening road. Make sure to take care of yourself, ok? God bless.

They were kicking that around when I went to nursing school 15 years ago and it's still recycling . I don't think I'd panic about it....they don't have enough instructors to do the ADN and LPN programs, what makes them think they'll have enough to actually train BSN's as the entry level??? Ain't going to happen.... ( and YES, I do have a BSN). Beyond that, each level of nursing serves a different purpose. LPN and ADN are more hands on and BSN is more admn. - we need all of the fields to give proper care.

Sunrise or Sunset? Gulf side is beautiful for it's sunsets, water is more friendly and TONS of intercoastal waterways, islands, beaches, friendly people and lots of culture in the Tampa and St. Pete area. Coming from Minnesota you may get sticker shock in the housing market though. We just bout a house built in 1971 for just shy of $400,000 in St. Pete. It was just remodeled though, on a golf course facing west with a pool (can't wait to move in...). Definately Tampa and St. Pete area - include Sarasota in that as well. Orlando is nice, tourist driven, and not really near the big beaches. Atlantic side is not as user friendly either. Good luck and welcome to paradise, the red tide, hurricanes, alligators and sharks ( no swimming in fresh water here - 'gators have that area) quite unlike the land of lakes in Minnisota (or Michigan where I was from). All in all though, it sure is nice (except July and August....)/ Welcome.

I agree with previous posts - none of your business, stay out of it. There's an old saying, "No good deed goes unpunished..." What purpose would your involvement be? You need to ask yourself, "why do I want to become involved in this (be it whistle blowing or whatever)?" There is no reason why you need to butt in - it will only bring you down in the long run. Hope you stay out of it :)

One more suggestion - if you have a BSN you can test for being a Nursing Home Administrator or an Assisted Living Administrator. Good money, office work not floor, everyone in the bldg. is under you. I have an administrators license and did it in the state I used to live in. Nice - however, I don't like the accounting side of things (I leaned more towards spend spend spend because these people need and deserve the best care). Not too well liked by the corporate world

Mom23RN - how much does a medical transcriptionist make and how do you go about doing it??? Did you have to market yourself? How did you find doctors to transcribe? Charge by page or hour? Different formats for different docs? I have an acquaintance who knows someone in that field - said she even does transcription at the beach on her laptop!! I've thought of it before because you can do it from home and I love secretarial work but I'm afraid I won't make as much as I do now. Any advice is helpful.... Also, one might consider medical coding or billing as it can also be done from home... however, you need to market yourself because most docs who work in hospitals have a signed contract that they will use the hospital for stuff like that. Thanks in advance for the help with above...

yup - a lot of them do. Hopefully you run into some who are professional enough to be a preceptor. Unfortunately you did something that someone reported. My suggestion is the same as a previous post - learn to cover your bottom. How? Well, sometimes I get anal retentive - also remember that you won't get everything all of the time and guess what?? Some of us are actually human. Do your best every day and it's all one can ask.

Ahhhh yes...stress eating. I do so well until about 3:00 and then it's chocolate and anything I'm not supposed to have. Get home and eat while cooking dinner. Like a good little nurse, I haven't been to the doctor in two years - but I CAN say that I've made appointments (just missed 'em). For once I finally went to the dentist Friday, set up an appointment with the neurologist and another with a cardiac guy for later in the month (missed the first ones I made). I will make these and am trying to get to the point where I actually walk or exercise of some kind. Problem is that I drive 1 1/2 hrs. one way to work everyday. However - we are in the process of purchasing a home just 15 minutes from work and I tell myself that I will exercise after we move 'cause I'll have more "time" (meanwhile the treadmill that is brand new and the nice ball I have for "core" exercise as well as my yoga mat goes untouched). Who am I kidding? I'm just overweight and not doing anything about it, even though I know I should and I'd look and feel so much better if I just dropped 15 pounds (alter ego says: 15? That's not too bad, don't worry about it - ya got a pretty face....). Help please ! I seem to have time for everyone but me .

For all people reading posts late (like me) Largo Medical is NOT a good place to work. Been there, done that - and would NEVER consider it again. The stories I could tell would curl your hair. FlwannaB hits it on the head - only I could add soooooooooooo much more to the tale. Actually, read the newspapers and it will tell part of it in print - getting stickers in ER mixed up and having a patient sent home who ended up dying in the parking lot instead of being admitted is just the tip of the iceburg. Then there's always the one who jumped from the fourth floor window after restraints were removed that "weren't needed" - you don't even want to go into staffing, attitudes, unending phone calls and then cancellations - lunch? Yea, right. State was in because of pharmacy mix up last month, had a friend who had surgery there - couldn't control her pain....out of Demerol (ummm....isn't that supposed to be stocked in pharmacy?) Morphine couldn't work so she just got to scream a lot...she was a nurse there - said she'd never do it again. There's more....don't go to Largo, it's slumming.

Check out Chamber of Commerce for Mt. Dora online. Should be able to answer all of your questions. Great place - enjoy!

I live in the Port Richey area and worked just south of Clearwater - It was an hour drive. Spring Hill is north of Port Richey so you can count on a drive of approx. 1 hr. 15 min. to 1 1/2 hours one way each day. Good thing is you'll be going North and traffic is faster. Unfortunately you will probably be traveling US 19 which is a horrible road because everyone on it is nuts. Once you move north to the Spring Hill area you will like it, a lot less hectic than our southern cities. Though propertyis expensive it is a LOT less expensive than Clearwater / St. Pete area. Example: A new home in Spring Hill will run you approximately $300,000 (that's 3 -4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a three car garage, LR, DR, Family room and kitchen). We just bought a place near St. Pete that was built in 1971 for $380,000. Been pricing things from Spring Hill down to Sarasota for the past year. You'll be in the most reasonable area and civilization is moving up that way with new malls and hospitals as you read this. Good luck, and welcome to America.

I went to school and supported two children on my stafford loan....you said you have a loan, a grant, and a scholarship???? How expensive is the school you're going to? You are 21 - if perhaps you are a single mom there is assistance for that when you are going for your first degree and lots of financial help. If you aren't and you are still needing more money I would check out other schools (honestly, I'm not being judgemental - it's just that I worked late into the morning hours and had my stafford loan and went to a university with two children....I'm wondering where you're going to school that costs so much?? Some programs try to soak you....).

Your nursing home has to meet the state ratio r/t the current census. If it doesn't meet the mandated requirement two days in a row then they cannot admit for a certain amount of time (not good for financial flow and definately something they don't want). What shift you work will determine the ratio.

Try home care....if you continue to work in the hospital take your phone off the hook or get an answering machine on days off. Learn to say NO - I know this because I used to tell my nurses who work for me (I was a hospital manager) that the hospital will work you until you fall apart and burn out. If I call you, I expect you to tell me NO - my duty was to call, not to make you work 'til you drop. (stay away from HCA facilities....).

Try one of the home health agencies in your area. You may also try seeing if there is a nurse in your church or placing an ad in the paper (make sure to get references if you do this though). Also, if there is a nursing home in the area you might want to see the Director of Nursing and see if there is a nurse there that might be willing to help. Good luck !!

When I first worked as a nurse in '95 the place I was employed at required us to wear caps. I was sooooooooooo happy !!! My cap was beautiful with the stripe that represented the university I graduated from on it (dark green with a gold overlay) - I was a registered nurse !! My patient's knew automatically that the nurse was there when they saw us and it had an immediate calming effect for them ( a SNF ). I'd give anything to go back to wearing that cap - and NO, I'm not ancient. A cap does not get in the way when you are giving care either - never had a problem with it, and for heaven's sake - bobbypins keep them on, no problem (and I have short hair). My most recent experience with hospital nursing was at a large hospital in Detroit. All RN's are required to wear the same shade of blue scrubs. Doesn't matter what the style is as long as it is the required shade of blue. Scrub jackets had to have that blue as the major color in it as well. All physicians were aware that we were RN's if we were wearing that color. The professionalism there was awesome. My point is, I think nurses should be a certain color and others who are not nurses should be dressed in something else. It's so hard to tell if a nurse is caring for you or not anymore - and nametags aren't that helpful as older people or people in pain don't really look at them or able to read them. The color you are wearing, as long as it's consistent, is what sets you apart in your facility. In any case, I STILL WANT MY CAP !!!

Unfortunately that does happen. However, is your grandmother's roommate of sound mind? At times there are residents who sound perfectly logical and "with it" who actually aren't. Sadly enough though, many people are never visited by family once they are admitted into a SNF. The CNA's and nurses become their family - and yes, we are often the ones holding their hand when they pass onto the next life, we are the ones who cry with them and laugh with them and try to redirect the confused when they are convinced that they have to rush off now because they are late for a flight to Germany. Because, you see, in their mind they work there and need to get back. Please do me a favor - be a visitor for your grandmother's roommate....she too needs someone (whether really or not - in her mind no one is there). Thanks - from a DON