MauraRN

Elizabeth Warren is ******* crazy. i live in Massachusetts.

If I had to do it over, I would become a Physician’s Assistant.

I am a veteran of the IVF wars - 7 tries, 7 failures. We adopted a 2 year old from Russia who is the light of my life, he is 27 now. We moved from CT to MA in 1989 because MA has health insurance mandate infertility treatment. I did home care for several years while my husband was sick and dying, it gave me just enough flexibility in my life to care for him and our teenage son. I would end up documenting until midnight then be up at 4 am to prep for days visits. The stress that this profession dumps on us is not conducive to trying to conceive. Home care nursing can be hell on earth. Maybe consider a paper pushing position and give getting pregnant the old fashioned way? Or move to a star that has IVF coverage? Or get your spouse to work a second job? Try to get out from under the stress

Have you thought about home health? The RN is the CM or the team usually consisting of some combo of home health aide, PT, OT, SLP, medical social worker. You will learn all about Medicare regulations, discharge planning, case mix, etc.

Panasonic or Omron are good. I don't use them often because most of my patients are cardiac/heart failure. Sound and quality of BP and HR are important in these patients, lots of stuff gets missed in the hospital because they use nurse on a stick or CNA's for vitals. I can often pick up impending fluid overload by the muffled BP sounds even if the numbers are still ok.

Lately, I have seen a lot of marketing by Integrative Nurses, AHNCC and other organizations trying to get on board the Holistic bandwagon. I studied for, and passed all of the pre-testing for HN-BC but ended up not taking it. Something about the Nursing profession hijacking the fruits of the Holistic movement is annoying to me. Why take such awesome modalities and twist them with crazy NANDA language?

This is a snarky comment about Holistic practices. I did not miss the sarcasm "wheatgrass juice and Reiki". If getting a patient to drink less soda is all that you accomplish with that patient, you have not helped much at all. If we Holistic Nurses weren't out here making a difference and a living, the ANA and the FDA would not be so interested in us.

We would though make sure we check all equipment and ourselves to make sure we don't have any "hitchhikers". We've put ambulances out of service to allow crews to shower and change after exiting certain residences. Yeah, Paramedics and EMT's are further up the food chain than RN's,(LOL) It would be a cold day in hell before a Home Health manager allowed the RN to "go out of service" to clean up equipment, car, go for a shower, change clothes. Pity the next patient when the hitchhikers find themselves a new home. BTW, the night I was mugged in a drug infested project building, and it was at night, my manager said that if I didnt go see the next 2 psych patients on my schedule that I would be fired for "abandonment". I took a good punch to the side of my face which broke my glasses and knocked my jaw out of alignment but I kept working. Had rent to pay, food for my child.

I have often asked the same question: why is this specialty not on fire?? I have been the recipient of CAM measures for 20 years, acupunture, massage therapy, herbals, essential oils, yoga. Three years ago my husband died of a massive MI, I was 54 years old and had a child still in high school, I was doing cardiac/palliative home care. I have had to work a lot of hours to make ends meet for the last three years but soon after my husband died I took a Reiki class and loved it!!! Since then I have become a Reiki Master Teacher, Crystal Therapist, Herbalist, and now I am working on Clinical Aromatherapy, focusing on therapeutic uses of essential oils. I feel as if this is my true path, combining Nursing with Holistics. I recently gave up my job and am going to take the financial risk to get an Holistic practice off the ground. I was so discouraged with nursing in the last few years, now I feel alive with knowledge that can help clients directly.

Do not access a port a cath without inservice. Some states do not allow IV starts in the home, you need to check your Scope of Practice. If you know what the med is you might be able to "guess" at what kind of line it is. If your agency does not get you an answer pronto, call infusion company or MD to get the answer.

To RN-DC: I disagree with most of the comments to your question. I have done home health for several years in inner city an suburbs, have done psych, hospice and cardiac home care. Hoarders are no problem for home health nurses. Drugs, guns, dogs, etc. are not a problem. Bringing disease and bugs home to my family is a problem. I have been the lucky recipient of fleas, scabies, crabs, bedbugs. My PPD now shows positive, cxr negative. Been mugged and got through an attempted carjack. Been chased by dogs and wild turkeys. My husband died suddenly and I still have a child to raise, I have decided I will not take any more chances with my health and life. Only you can decide what you will tolerate. Risking your health is NOT a requirement for any nursing job.

I will let you know in a few months. I am just starting up my business.

To answer your question: YES!!! But I was a home health cardiac nurse, working 80 hours weekly, getting paid for 40 hours. And I am 57 years old. Nursing is a tough gig

My body can't take floor nursing anymore, even though I am in good shape for my age (58). Love patient care, talking with, teaching them, love solving the medical mystery of s/sx. Can not stand the amateur hour politics, backstabbing crap that goes on, piling on more and more mundane clerical work onto nurses who are stretched thin to begin with. I agree with the above posts. Some of the negatives associated with our profession won't change until it reaches critical mass.

Loved this post!! A day in the life of a home care nurse. I may go back to it someday soon, I totally was due for a break.

In a word, NO

You must be my long lost sibling because that is MY mother that you are describing, LOL!

I have this strange intuitive sense of being sure something is up with a patient, which prompts me to assess in a 'detective' way. When I get that intuitive feeling, I have learned to act on it, whether it is getting a CXR, labs, looking at meds for adverse reaction, there is always proof that I was right on. It took a while to trust that intuition, now I never ignore it. I guess that counts as a nursing skill/talent?

Great food and great nutrition!!! Sounds like a career plan.

That is one special commute!!! I have a towel bib that a LTC nurse gave to me, used it all of the time in home care. My truck is covered with coffee spills that won't come out, I frequently find my missing silverware under the passenger seat. I had a tough home care gig where I went from the Sagamore bridge to Waltham, Brockton, Middleboro, Taunton in a day. In a 5 speed stick shift with a crappy clutch, LOL.

you could try having someone who speaks her dialect of Portugues (there are several) use a digital tape recorder and record some words or phrases that will be easier for you to remember and speak them to your patients. I did that a few years ago because I knew a few phrases of Brazilian Portuguese but I was working in a predominantly Azores Portuguese area.

Too many facilities are trying to get away without the expensive lifting equipment. And a 250 pounder is a lightweight, even for a woman my age (57). When the patient is over 400 lb and there is no lift equipment available, or they are immobile, your back will give you trouble no matter how good your body mechanics are.

None of the gross out stuff bothers me; poop, urine, mrsa, c-diff, vomit, snot, etc. What had done me in are the obese ones. Lifting, rolling, toileting, ass scratching, leg lifting 500lb people has destroyed my back.

Loved Healthwyse, hated, REALLY hated Roadnotes/Cerner.