tjb6929

I also think that nursing research sounds very interesting. I do know that if you work for a pharmaceutical company, the pay is very good. I have checked into a few compaines (lily is one of them) and the pay is great! i thought all nursing research jobs were more lucrative...hmmm...i will have to look into that one- haha! but let me know if you have success- i would eventually like to go that route someday myself.

natalie, do you know for sure that you even have to calculate your IV drip rates? we all learn this in nursing school, however i have worked in a hospital for 4 years now on a pediatric floor and we never calculate our own IV rates. Usually the pediatrician will tell you what rate to set the IV pump at- based on the child's weight- usually all we figure out for them is the child's weight in kg...there are times that we do drug conversion and such, but not drip rates! all pediatric patients should be on an IV pump, because it is the most accurate way. Other than that i am sure that you will be okay and get used to the floor in no time. if you really feel not ready to be off orientation though, i would speak to your supervisor and just ask for another week or two in orientation...just let her know how you are feeling, they should be willing to accomodate you. hope this helped!

I am currently enrolled in a LPN-RN transition program. there are only licensed LPNs in this class, so we are seperated from the students going straight for their RN degree. I think it is actually more beneficial this way, because you are already expected to have a solid knowledge base and then they go from there- which is very nice. We still have clinicals but we are expected to already know the basics- so they skip to the important things that as RN we will be doing that perhaps as LPNs we didn't- for example hanging blood, or IV pushes- etc. However every LPN is different and are coming from different places. Some LPN's in the class routinely do IV pushes and hang blood- just depends on the hospital you work for. At the hospital that i am working for, we are allowed to do everything a RN does, except hang blood and IV pushes. hope this was helpful!:nuke:

Wow this is very unfortuante, but is the reality of nursing home care. i would definitely hold a meeting, although it may not be the answer, these nurses need a refresher course in handling patients pain, and signs and symptoms of elderly in pain- since this is also different from younger individuals. the older adult may become more confused, combative, yelling out- etc. all because they are in a lot of pain, but unable to express their pain effectively and obviously being ignored by staff only adds fuel to the fire. i realize burn out in nursing homes is much of the reality too. nurses have many patients and very little staff and it is the same thing everyday, however i agree it takes a special nurse to do LTC, but if they have no compassion left for the patients then it is time they move on. what if it was their loved one, left to sit there in pain everyday- suffering?! i would address all of this (in a professional- yet direct manner) in a meeting, also i would try to think of some new documentation way that will monitor every patients pain and it should be required for all nurses to do- every shift...no excuses that clearly shows if the patient was in pain and what that nurse did to take care of it. however, if you are worried about nurses actually documenting correctly, then i would try to get the doctors to write around-the-clock orders as kellienurse06 stated. maybe someone from a pain clinic or a pain specialist could come in a talk to your nurses about the significance of pain and how pain is what the patient says it is- we are not here to judge and make assumptions, we are here to care for patients and make sure their needs are met. hope this was helpful!

sharann, i agree with yoga crna- we frequently use morphine or dilaudid in PCA form to help control post-op pain. Both are very strong opiates that usually are very helpful even to long-term narcotic users. Toradol is excellent as well, since much of the pain is caused by swelling. there is usually a 6 day limit on toradol, however it is helpful during the initial post-op period which is usually the most painful. hope this was helpful.

i have worked on a pediatric unit in a hospital for 4 years now. i enjoy it very much, however it is more difficult in many ways, in my opinion, than caring for adults- which i also do. i work on a medical/pediatric floor, when the peds census in down, i work the medical side and have all adults. both have pros and cons, some cons of the peds patients are parents!!! it can be very difficult to work with the parents, also the children are very frigtened to be in the hospital and any treatment that you need to perform can become a nightmare for everyone involved...you feel like you are torturing the poor child. for example, starting IV's on the patients, holding the patient in proper position for a lumbar puncture, etc. even giving their daily PO medication can become challenging- haha. but it is rewarding as well, most kids get better and go home, rarely do i run into peds patients dying, but it depends on the hospital that you work at and how sick the patients are that you deal with. at my hopsital we do not have a pediatric ICU, we have ICU's but they are for adults, occasionally we send older children there- but all babies that are going bad are flown out ASAP. I kinda like it that way, because i don't want to see any babies/children dying. i would assume that if you worked at a hopsital that was an all children's hospital you would care for chronically ill children, cancer patients, etc. and dying would be more common. i have dealt with really sick babies, but we get them transferred in a very short amount of time. mainly we deal with RSV and rotavirus and appendicitis, resp. problems, asthma exacerbations, stomach issues, dehydration, broken extremities, etc. it is great experience, yet i must say since i had my daughter in march of '05 it has changed being a pediatric nurse...i guess it affects me more- i hate having to hold the patients down for IV sticks and such...but it is helpful just to remember that it is important for this child to have antibiotic therapy, etc etc. ok well i hope this was helpful!

bean 76, when i first got my nursing license i originally wanted L&D as well...however i was kinda thrown into medical/pediatric nursing. When our pediatric census is down, i work the medical side which is everything from 18 years and up, all different mediacl problems ranging from ESRD to COPD. But i will tell you i have been exposed to so much working with all age groups that i feel fortunate to have this experience. i would still like to some day try L&D, but i am glad when i was starting out i was exposed to more than that. I think you would gain lots of knowledge and experience on either of those floors. hope this was helpful.

I work in northwest indiana at a hospital. i am registry there- which means i do not get benefits or paid time off, however i get much more an hour than base staff make. I am currently an LPN, will have my Rn in may '07. I make $23/hr. when i worked midnights i made $25/hr for shift differential. i believe staff LPn make around $15/hr...to me it is worth it to make more an hour. When i get my RN i will be making $34-36/hr. I love registry, i would recommend it to anyone that can go without benefits through work, like if you can get on your husbands- or even if you can purchase your own for cheaper. My friend works in a physicians office (cardiac doctors) and she only makes $13.75/hr. Unfortunately offic positions are not that high paying, at least in this area. hope this was helpful.

txspadequeen921, this is not normal for a child to have 106 temps. i ahve been a pediatric nurse for only 4 years in a hospital and i know that temps over 101 consistently are not "normal" and do have cause for concern. as a matter of fact in the hospital we can not discharge a pediatric patient that is consistently running high fevers, low grad maybe..but not higher or equal to 101. blood cultures and urine cultures would have been one of the first things that would have been done on your daughter. especially with her sister having a history of chronic UTI's leading to needing a ureters implant! as a parent myself this situation upsets me, because there is no reason to allow high fevers to continue on with out proper treatment and care. low grade temps are helpful and should not be treated, because it is a sign that there is an infection that the body is trying to fight off..however very high temps over 104 are dangerous and should be taken seriously. just thought i would share my knowledge. i am PALS certified and have attended many seminars and training events in which top pediatris doctors in our hospital host and fevers are one of the topics discussed. hope your daughter is doing better!

Hi, this is very strange for a fever to last that long with no known origin. i am just wondering when his fever would reach 101 were there ever blood cultures drawn on him? because this would help to figure out the type of bacteria that is causes the fever/infection. what kind of stomach pain was he having? nausea? or just pain? i am sure they long since ruled out appendicitis.well if he is having a lot of emotional stress, stomach issues woud not be surprising. hmmm...interesting. let me know about those blood cultures.