MT RN

I was a police officer for 23 years before I retired and went to nursing school, and for many different reasons, the jobs are more similar than you might think. Being a cop is far more than just getting the bad guys. You often see people at the worst moments of their lives and believe it or not, you do learn compassion and empathy. Although many people think that cops are just out to get them, they do a lot of things to help people that are often overlooked in the big scheme of things. Trust me when I say that some of my best days as a cop were those in which I was able to have a positive influence on someone or help them in some way. But the bottom line is, as many others have pointed out, that the decision ultimately belongs to your son. If he decides to go into law enforcement with the idea that all he will be doing is getting the bad guys he won't get very far. By the same token, compassion and empathy are things that have to be learned, and pushing him to be nurse will not automatically instill these traits in him. If it were my son, I take a step back and let him make his own decision, that's the only way he will learn.

Don't whine about it, swallow that male pride and use the situation to your advantage! I took up nursing as a second career, my wife has been a nurse for 25 years. I honestly don't know how I would have made it through nursing school without her input. I know that I drove her crazy sometimes with my questions, but I knew I could always count on her to clear up things that I didn't understand. I've been a nurse for a few years now, and although she will always have more experience and knowledge about nursing than I do, we can at least now talk about nursing on a somewhat equal footing. Give it time, the more you learn the easier it will get to relate to her.

thanks for the info hospicepalliativern. and the reasons that you state are exactly why i am interested in hospice to begin with. working med-surg i never feel that i have enough time to give the patients all of the care that they deserve, and i am looking for a nursing specialty that might answer that need. i have seen the wonderful work that hospice does many times over the years with various family and friends that were under the care of hospice. i also spent a few days shadowing a visiting hospice nurse while in nursing school. i really don't feel that i want to do the visiting nurse aspect, but the inpatient facility sounds interesting. the reason behind my original question was to get an idea as to where these units stand regarding nurse-patient ratios. don't get me wrong, i'm a very hard worker and i love being busy at work, it helps the time go faster. i am just tired of being so overwhelmingly busy that i seem to never have time to stop, and going home every day with the feeling that my patients didn't get all of the care that they deserved because i simply didn't have the time to provide it. all of the hospice nurses that i have encountered over the years seem to always have the extra time to answer questions and provide comfort to both patients and family members, and i would love to be able to do just that, but never seem to have adequate time in my present position. i know i'm rambling so i'll close, but thanks again for the info...

I am thinking of applying for a hospice position. My local hospice has two large inpatient facilities, and I am wondering what the staffing is like in such facilities. In other words, are they generally run like a hospital floor with several RN's and a set patient assignment, or are they more like a ALF with one RN responsible for a very large group of patients?

OK, let's try again...don't worry, you'll get it! Again, try not to think of the two things together, they're two completely separate things. A reduction is either open or closed. It is open if there is an incision made in order to repair the fracture. Think of a comminuted fracture possibly from a crushing type injury in which the bone is severely damaged and has to be pieced back together. A closed reduction would be done on a simple fracture in which the bones can be put back in place by simply manipulating them back together without making any kind of incision. Placement is confirmed by x-ray and the area of the fracture is immobilized until healed. Fixation is, as the name implies, the act of fixing or holding the bones together, and can be either internal or external. Both types of fixation involve the use of screws, rods, pins, ect. to repair the bone and hold it in place. Internal fixation is just that...the pins or screws are inside and not visible and are usually left in place permanently. External fixation involves pins or rods that extend out through the skin and are removed once the bone has healed. As for the question that you are researching, you are to define an open reduction. I don't see anything in the question about fixation, either internal or external, so I think you are focusing on the wrong thing altogether. You can have an open reduction with either internal fixation or external fixation, but it's still an open reduction. Again, hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more!

I think the problem you're having is that you are talking about two different things. The reduction, either open or closed, is the process of putting the bone back together. Fixation is the process of anchoring the bone in place. This is done either with internal screws, rods. etc., or with an external fixator. In other words, you can have a reduction with or without fixation. A good example of a closed reduction is manipulating a hip or shoulder back in place when it is out of the socket. As for a closed reduction/external fixation, you will often see it with a tib-fib fracture. The bones are manipulated back together manually without an incision, and the external fixator is placed to ensure that the bones are held together properly until they have set. Hope this helps.

As far as I know, the RNI/RNII designation is not set in stone, the requirements are up to the individual institution. Where I work, a new grad is at RNI status for the first year and is then promoted to RNII. It doesn't matter if he/she is an ADN or BSN. My institution also has a RNIII designation which can be attained by getting certain specialty designations, joining committees, etc. So at my institution with 5 years experience you would start at RNII level. Hope this helps, and welcome to the Sunshine State! I'm originally from NW Indiana so I can personally guarantee that unless you will miss the snow, cold and ice that you will LOVE the winters here!

I agree with swtooth, I would suspect medications. I've seen this happen numerous times to older folks. They come in to the hospital and are put on a bunch of new meds and before you know it, they are showing signs of delirium. If she has gone downhill that quickly, that would be the first place I would look.

Another thing to consider is if you ever want to relocate to another state, as a nurse it's fairly easy to get licensed anywhere once you have your initial license. As a cop, you generally would have to go through extensive training at a different department in order to switch, regardless of your experience. For example, when I moved from Indiana to Florida I would have had to go through several weeks of training to re-enter law enforcement here, even with all of my years of experience.

I don't know where you're going to be a cop, but I was one for 23 years before I retired and went into nursing. At least in my situation, nursing pays A LOT better than law enforcement...and it's much less dangerous, at least most of the time!

Do you have a source for this story? I did a quick google search and nothing came up. I'm curious as I'm licensed in Indiana as well.

I'll second the orthotics, I've had the same problem on and off for about the last 20 years. When it first came on, I stubbornly waited until it was so bad that I could barely walk. I found a great podiatrist who spent a lot of time with me and custom fitted a pair of orthotics for me. It made an amazing difference almost immediately, I was pain free within about 2 days. I think the key is custom made orthotics, some podiatrists will try to push a standard orthotic that isn't really any different than what you can buy in the drug store, just more expensive. Get some that are custom made for your feet and you should be happy.

My wife and I are both RN's. Nursing is a second career for me, but my wife has been an ER/Trauma nurse for 25 years. No kids, she works days and I work nights by choice. Of course, being the newbie nurse in the family, I have to defer to her medical knowledge most of the time, :) but as I gain more experience I find that I can hold my own with her much more often! I will admit that I drove her crazy while I was in school, but her insight was invaluable and I'm truly not sure I would have made it without her.

First, the disclaimer...I'm not asking for medical advice, just looking for someone who might have had this procedure and can give me some first hand knowledge of the results. That being said, I have had two surgeries on my right great toe in the last 6 months. I won't make this long by going in to great detail, but I am left with a toe that is flaccid and malaligned, and very painful when I walk any distance at all. The doc that did the first two surgeries basically told me he was stumped and did not know what else to do for me. Two new docs later and I have one that is recommending the arthrodesis. I understand the procedure, but I'm worried about being able to walk properly, to squat, to reach overhead, etc. after the joint is fused. All the literature says that this surgery is the gold standard, but I still have some concerns, there's obviously no going back from it. I've been unable to work since the second surgery due to not being able handle all the walking required on my busy floor and my employer not having any accommodation for light duty. My fear is that even though the surgery is supposed to help ease the pain, that the function will still not be adequate for the requirements of my job. Again, just wondering if anyone has had this procedure and what the outcome was. Thanks!!

Yes, that's EXACTLY what you should have said...NO!!...You're a nurse now, you're not a tech anymore, and it's not your place to fill in when your floor is short staffed. They should have floated another tech to your floor or just run short.