stkittprincess

The worse reasons for going to nursing school: You want to look cute in a white cap......... You want to make the big bucks You love working week-ends and short staffed Free flu shots................. Just kidding. Do it because you care about people and love working with medicine. It becomes a part of who you are. If you find out it is not a good fit, please give yourself permission to change your mind. Respectfully Kitt

I paid my own way throught nursing school. I went to LPN school first, worked and saved and then went on. I worked while going to school. I also had 4 children at home and a wonderful hubby.

About the only thing the online CPR course from any of the offshoot companies would be good for is CEUs in my opinion. They are good for studying if you want to spend the money as the tests are good. Otherwise nothing really takes the place of hands-on and in the classroom you can ask questions. Communication face to face is important in learning. Just my 2 cents :) Stkitt

Hello, I am not sure about the wages at Fairview Southdale as they are union but I do not have any info on their wages. I am from a small suburban town 22 miles from Twin Cities and a RN @ 25 years makes 38.50/hour not including shift diff, charge pay and good benefits. We always tried to stay as close to Twins Cities contract as possible. You also get a pay increase when you move up to next step and the once a year contract raise on a 3 year contract. Hope that gives you some info. Sincerely Kitt

Hello This is Kitt and I am in the Twin Cities area. I am not sure where your living in the 7 county area but here are three for you to consider. I am not endorsing any of the three but providing you with information to look at for your own opinion. You mentioned Lakeview in Stillwater, I don't have a lot of information on their Long Term Care Opportunities. Lakeview Hospital Stillwater MN http://www.lakeview.org/aboutus.aspx I have been told by friends who have worked at this Woodbury facility that they were happy with thir jobs. Again that is just their personal comments WOODBURY HEALTH CARE CENTER 7012 LAKE ROAD WOODBURY, MN 55125 651-735-6000 And the last one is connected to Regina Medical Center in Hastings. They have acute nursing home, memory care center plus assissted living units. Large campus. Company: Regina Medical Center Facility: Regina Medical Center at Hastings Department: Nursing Home http://www.reginamedical.org/ There are many more Nursing Homes and I hope you find one that meets yours and the residents needs. Good Luck Kitt

Hi. This is Kitt. The Minnesota Department of Health reported three deaths of children with influenza who became ill between 01/08/2007 and 02/01/2007. None of the children had received the vaccine for the current infuenza season. Our clinics were overrun with people wanting the vaccine after the report of deaths and we had to scarmble to get the vaccine in stock. I believe that it is an individual decision but must be an informed decision based on values and undertanding of the purpose of the vaccines. Respectfully Kitt

Hello, This is Kitt and the info and the links posted here were fantastic. Many clinics now run a Coumadin Clinic or Anticoagulation Management Service and see their patients on a regular basis by a RN or NP. It is proving to be very beneficial to the patients in keeping thier levels in control. Also there is a huge emphasis on patient education when the patient comes into the clinic to be seen and evaluate their lab results. This provides the patient with a one on one monitoring by a trained person that deals only with Anticoagulation management. It is important to have regular INR (International Normalized Ratio) done to to ensure optimal therapy. Respectfully, Kitt

Well they all get their surverys now and can name the nurse's but do not say who they are. I would try to locate them in the ER log but if no name I could not respond to the patient.................only, once again talk to the harried nurse that was giving her/his all. Kitt

Hi, I agree with the very wise person that posted before me. I was an LPN but our class was the test pilot class for using some of your LPN credits towards an ADN. I took all my prerequistes in the mornings or evenings. I would have to switch hours to do it as I maintained a full-time position. When we did get into the accelerated portion of the ADN which was12 months I did need to cut back to every other week-end Fri, Sat and Sun. I had 4 children at home at the same time:roll What was I thinking? I think there are a lot of good online courses but many wanted you to commit to the complete program and one I looked at wanted $24,000 for 2 years to get BSN. Keep searching as your dreams can come true. I admire your grit. Respectfully Kitt

I have a question, are you the charge nurse in the ER or Manager? If you are staff nurse, follow the chain of command, go to your Manager and he/she will want documentation, dates, facts outcomes, but not personal opinions, ok, keep to the facts. I would suggest you try talking to him, but he doesn't sound real reseptive to conversation. If you are union, also notify your union steward. Now if your manager blows you off and you have said "Hostile" Then you can take it right to Human Resource, the union and the Patient Care Administrator/DON or whatever title is used in yur stte. Remember to stay calm when you are talking to manager or whoever. You have your rights, and abusive behvior by anyone toward you is uneceptable. Sincerely Kitt

Hi All This is Kitt. someday I will figure out how to do the auto signature:D I worked all my career in a union hospital and the contract requires 30 day notice for contract nurses. I have been on both sides of the table as the co-chairperon of the negotiation committee and the last 10 years as a manager. We hold to the 30 day rule but do everything we can to entice the nurse to stay with us. If they have aready taken aother job we do allow the to use their personal time and vacation time to count toward the 30 days so they can start their new position. Working together we have had many nurses return to us, so we keep the door open and don't act like little generals.......................not that anyone would. Sincerely Kitt

Hi Student Nurse I am not against it completely, it depends on the type of unit and size of hospital. I do feel the best solid basis for new nurses is a medical-surgical unit in a small hospital as you learn to take care of all kinds of patients. Our Crit Care unit was a 3 bed one nurse unit and we put in Swans and patient on respirators............................I went to the ICU coronary class and then into ICU. It was baptism by fire. But I discovered I loved it. I loved getting to know the patients and the families, working with internal med Docs. I did get that one year of med-surg first which helped me to make quick assessments and know when to call for assistance. Good Luck to you. ((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))) Kitt

Hi This is Kitt. Wow, I was way off on my guess. Telephonic nursing is an innovative approach to providing prevention-focused care to patients at risk for preterm birth. That is all I know about it but I am sure you could find more info on the net or right here on this site:saint: Good Luck Kitt

HI, this is Kitt. I am not sure what you are referring to? Do you mean when the nurse calls patients at home and checks their pace maker over the phone line? Sorry...:smiletea: Respectfullly Kitt

HI, This is Kitt I am in MN and here most of our new LPN's start in LTC or in assisted living. Our smaller hospitals use all RN staff. I started as an LPN and got right on a Med-surg station but at that time there was a shortage. I would continue to send out apps, resumes, make cold calls and call back. If you get the interview, send the thank you note. As a nurse manager I always appreciated hearing from the candidates. Don't give up. Respectfully Kitt