PralineLPN

What's so wrong with being 20 and a BSN?? Are you jealous or something? I finished a BS in chemistry 2 years out of high school. I could be done with med school and halfway through residency by 25 if I wanted, is that OK by your standards?? PMD

What is reporting them to the State Board of Nursing going to do, exactly? Are they breaking any laws?

What?? Sounds like you're making life a little too complex.

I don't know if you are kiddding about these mistakes or not. If you are being serious, this thread makes me nervous. I handle narcotics with utmost care. I stop and clear my mind, breath for a second or two, do 3-4 checks on my narcotics, then check my narc documents twice, I don't care how busy I am. Leaving a Tums in a pts room is one thing, but 2 vials of Dilaudid left in the room is not good.Not knowing the generic name for Dilaudid is hydromorphone, as the other nurse pointed out is scary in itself. These powerful narcotics will literally kill a person if you mess up the doses and names. You'll lose you license over that kind of carelessness. Pick up a drug book. Don't take this personally, but just stop and think about what you do first.

These devices are very simple to operate-don't be worried about them. The o2 tanks have a knob that controls flow (rated in Liters/min), usually set around 2-3, no more than 4. Be careful with the tubing, when you move the tank or the pt, make sure you have enough slack, or you'll wind up with a strangled pt. I wouldn't recommend taking it off, check with nurse first, as some pts sats drop -suprisingly- rapidly. Don't adjust o2 levels unless specifically instructed to do so. Also in use are o2 concentrators, look like a box on wheels with a tube coming out of it. Same concept as tanks, but don't need to be refilled. Most have a water bubbler that humidifiesbthe o2. Pevents nasal drying. Nebulizers-the machine just has a tube coming out of it, with a resevoir that liquid medicine is poured into. A face mask or "pipe" is then attached. The nebulizer mists the medication, and the pt inhales it. You can see the mist when it is functioning. If there is no liquid in the chamber and no mist, it's done, you can turn it off. If there is liquid and no mist, the machine is malfunctioning, tell the nurse. CPAP/BiPAP- for sleep apena and other respiratory disorders, forces air into the lungs-just put the mask on the pt and turn it on. some units have a water resevoir that humidifies the o2. It should be set properly, but check with the nurse or resp therapist first. Check with your nurse before doing anything if you are not sure. You'll get used to the stuff in a month or so.

If your facility has in-house laundering for the residents, you could check their "orphan" clothes box for some that fit. Tight fitting clothes, espically shoes, are an issue for some patients, skin tears and breakdown are more likely to occur, good job for noticing! Paul

This is what we do, too-Works fine, sometimes the sounds are a little diminished, but just turn off the TV and listen really hard. Paul

This is entirely false. There is only a re-distribution of the labor and skill sets. I don't know where this rumor started, or why, for that matter. The facts are-LPN/LVN usually work in LTC/rehab/dementia/nursing homes. RN/BSN's do the hospitals and management. There are exceptions, of course, but this is generally true. Do you have any idea of how many LPN's there are? Do you know how hard it would be the phase us out? I hate to say it, but is LTC going to pay for several RN's (say, at $30/hour), when they can have a few LPNs (around $24/hour in my area),a few med techs and a few GNA's handle the entire floor?? I don't think I have the skill set necessary for a very acute floor. I could do a med-surg floor, but ICU, no way. That is why there is the division of labor. Why pay for a skill set you don't need? Anyways, I do not believe LPNs will be phased out. If you are in school to be a LPN, get used to the fact LTC and rehab is pretty much your only option. Believe me, as a LPN on a transitional care unit, or acute rehab, you will have your hands full, be using every skill you learned, and then some. Paul

I had this same exact thing happen to me in Dec 2006. I woke up feeling like the room was spinning, threw up several hours later, it lessened over 10 hours, then resolved. Scared the double-hades out of me, whatever it was. Some weird flu or something. What geographic location are you? I'm Baltimore, Maryland. Paul

Make sure you eat. I don't care how busy you are, bring a sandwich or something to keep your sugars at a decent level. Yesterday, I had 8 thousand things to do, and I went to lunch anyways. Still got done by 3pm, some of my treatments had to wait a while, but it wasn't critical. Paul

All I can say, is that being a CNA/GNA (geriatric NA) was horrible and a hard, no-thanks, low paying, crappy (literally) job. But it payed off in dividends while in school. Also, as a LPN, I am easily able to transfer pts, and I learned a lot about talking to folks as a CNA. At school the non-cna's had an obviously harder time than the cna's with at least a few months experience. Just do it for a couple of months, you'll be glad you did. It also made me appreciate my cna's and treat them right. And furthermore, I think being a LPN will definately ease my transition to BSN/MS degrees. What with knowing procedures, sterile technique, Dx, meds etc. Paul

I would like to do LPN-BSN online, but I am very leery. I would like concrete evidence I can work in Maryland as a BSN with a degree from Indiana State U. I don't know, I think I'll just stick with brick and mortar for the actual nursing portion of the program, and take pre-reqs on-line. I haven't called MDBON yet, but Indiana State says they are accepted here. Make me nervous, still. Paul

I've worked with European (Poland, Germany, Czech, etc) as well as African nurses before, and I have absolutely no problem with it. I find other cultures fascination, and I'm always willing to teach as long as you're willing to learn! Paul PS- about the speaking same lanuage thing, It's a facility thing. Ours doesn't care what you speak to each other, as long as you can communicate in English with the Patient. We have spanish, french, and a few other languages being spoken amongst our co-workers. I agree it would be discrimination. After all, It's a free country!

Report it. The anti-biotic issue alone needs to be taken care of. This is why we have lovely strains of MRSA, VRE and who knows what else brewing. As I'm sure you all know.

I don't like the fact I don't get the "hand-on" aspect of autos. I like to feel my pulses and hear my sounds, I also get a chance to check skin moisture and temp. Autos are kind of dehumanizing, I think. I've also had pts complain of pain from the cuff squeezing too tight, I never get that doing it manually. The OR is different, it's not reasonable to take vitals q10min. And their machines are calibrated (hopefully) and the operators should be skilled in their use.