yummo

cms and cpm are different... cms.. circulation (or color), sensation, movement... after a hip or knee surgery you want to know that the patient can feel and wiggle the toes on the affected (as well as nonsurgical) extremity... its ok if they cant feel or wiggle, its normal due to what anesthesia they had, you need to make sure they are progressing in a timely manner back to positive cms cpm, continuous passive motion, is a machine they use for post op knees so they dont get stiff, better for rehab and recovery

7 patients at night is standard for me.. way hectic... no matter what they say, patients dont sleep

Hey there. Well, I have currently been working bedside with a ptaient load of 7 for the last 11 months, and now its time for me to start looking at my options. I dont think bedside nursing is for me and am interested in seeing what else is out there. This job is my first ever, I value the experience i have had, never would have thought this is what nursing would be like when I was in school. Its been good but hard, and I know I dont LOVE bedside, I just try and get through it. Anyways, main question here... what does it take to be an OR nurse? What is a typical day like? Do you work for a hospital or a doctor? Any info would be great to help me make a decision. No building it up to be what its not, i want the good, the bad, and the ugly.

haha, i couldnt agree more with TheCommuter... I get my greatest sense of passion on payday. My first passion was dolphins... when i graduated highschool and started my pre-reqs, my dad told me to look in the paper and see what kind of living i could make liking dolphins... good idea because i know a few people with bachelors in marine science who spend thier days counting fish or birds. After they go to grad school and work for 5-10 years maybe they will be making the same amount I do. My dad kind of made me do nursing, as a career choice. It was a smart move. I mean I am naturally caring and want to help, and eventhough it is not my passion doesnt mean I wont strive to do the best I possibly can. During nursing school I discovered my passion was cooking. I need to cook to unwind and it brings me the purest of hapiness, I feel like I accomplished something I can share with others and nurture them in that way. I want to be a chef and see it as an art. Parts of me want to be that nurse who says I have been in thier hospital for 30 years, but I also want to go to culinary school in about 5 years. And if it doesnt work out, at least I tried pursueing what is important to me. But definitiely like they said before... nursing is a career choice, a means to pay the bills and not scrape by. I MAY be able to live off my passion one day... but not many people can.

OWWWWWWWWWW.... my first shift on my unit was two days ago, i wore some old sneakers and my feet were sore, but nothing abnormal... when i was wlaking out the door yesterday they delivered my crocs so i put those on and went to work... they were fine, but by the end of the shift my feet were sore and when i got home it was painful! I didnt do anything different from the day before, i dunno what happened, both feet hurt, but my left foot especially feels bruised on the ball of my foot and my like limping and walking on the outside of ny foot and not straight down... i dont know if i should wear my sneakers or crocs today does crocs have a guarantee or warranty?

I just ordered my specialist vents in white a few days ago, i cant wait to get them, i hope they are white enoughf or my unit too

i wasnt an RN yet when i registered to this board, so i thought of my next favorite love.. FOOD, im a food network freak, and rachel ray always says yummo

I skimmed through some of what was said... I started a Versant topic a while back too, before I started... i think that some things have more to do with your actual hospital then with Versant itself. Ive been in Versant orientation for a week. I am getting paid what all new nurses at my hospital get paid WITH my shift differentials. Im getting paid what I would have gotten paid starting at any other hospital in my area without Versant. I guess my hospital put up all the money and didnt tak it out of our paychecks. I think that shows what investments risks they are willing to take for us to be in this program (we are the first cohort in our hospital and area). Also, we have no commitments with our hospital health care system. The policy is the same as it applies to every other position that termination in the 90 day period by either side is a possibility, wether they are not happy with my performance or I dont think that where I am is the right place for me. I think this shows thier trust in Versant lowering turn over rates. So far so good, the first week has been some boring lectures that they have to give due to liability (hippa, infection control, delegation) but also we have had lectures about different tools we can use in patient care (iv skills lab, bs skills lab, infusion pump skills, pbds assessments, a phlebotomy class). We not only have our preceptors, but we have mentors too, and debriefing groups. Its only been a week but I just think we already feel like a family, we feel like our employers care about us and what to help us succeed and not eat thier young and just throw us on the floor. A lot of people dont like the idea of the many hours of class time, I however, think its a good refresher because I graduated a year ago. I'll come back and update my thoughts on the program, but the first week as been great.

Im looking for credit cards now too, I have been working a week so far and want to get a credit card. I have one with my parents but now that I am making my first paycheck, I can only use thiers for groceries and dry cleaning and things for them (I help out a lot since my mom is disabled). But now I have my own job finally and want to have my finances in order. I get what you all are saying about credit cards being bad, but I also need to BUILD credit so I can tink about buying a house one day and all that type of stuff. Im looking at an ANA credit card, RN magazine Mastercard, or one through my bank at Wachovia to keep all my money in one place.. I have a checking account that my paycheck goes into, but I also want to set up a savings account. Although after my first 90 days or something my hospital will have some sort of matching program on savings.

Thanks guys... every nurse i have talked to of various ages all say that they initially "never felt ready" so i think this program might be a big help, i got an invite for a receptoin for the program, so i hope to learn more about it before i start, but im excited that this is available

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone has been a part of teh Versant program for RN residency. I will be starting that program in August and wanted to know what people thought of it who have been in it or if anyone else will be starting this program. Thanks.

Baptist is still offering 21.60 with the 4 and 6 differential for new nurses, I start there in august... as far as NJ offering 29, there are a lot of things that may go into that, maybe they have higher health insurance rates that requires you to make more money, i dunno, but making more an hour doesnt necesarily mean after health insurance and taxes you will make more a year?

Thanks for the encouragement. I took my test last Wednesday the 20th and found out I passed on Friday. Yesterday (Monday) I wrote my resume and began making phone calls for meeting with recruitment and applied to a lot of jobs online. No one has asked me yet why it took so long. My mom is disabled and with my dads work schedule there were a lot of things I needed to do to help out after graduation that had been put off for years. After that I did not work to concentrate on passing my test (which took longer than I expected) but now I'm ready. I'm regretting not being a care tech per diem. Like you said, we will both do fine. I guess it is the normal worry everyone gets, no matter the field, when job hunting. At least for nurses there are more opportunities and stability.

Same thing with me. I graduated May2006, between family and trying to pass the NClex it is now June2007 and I am an RN looking for my first job. I am very worried about getting a job, some programs start in August but I realized I just missed one at a hospital I want to work at. Im worried because I also dont have any experience as a care tech or anything else in a hospital. I have been applying so many places. I really liked the flu clinic idea, at least to DO something while I wait on finding a job and maybe it will help me make connections for future opportunities.

I looked it up... my Kaplan NCLEX book says... Ionized serum Calcium 4.5-5.1 Total serum Calcium 8.5-10.5 looks like everyone is "right"... now which one do I memorize for the NCLEX? I guess just know both.