WYDiceDancer

I,too, work for Corizon in Wyoming and part of the delay from the state. In addition to checking your background for Corizon, you also have to pass a state background check for security clearance. Some state agencies are not as efficiant as we would like them to be . You may actually get more information by contacting the site's Health Services Administrator (HSA) to get more information regarding the progress of your application. Hope this helps, we always need more correctional nurses.

:yeah::yeah:

How nice for you that this works. Unfortunatly, most of the patients that came into my hospital (before I went back to corrections) were full of entitlement. There is nothing like worrying about "customer service" when the "customers" are drunks and drug addicts. Nothing in their world is right, and they do their best to make the rest of humanity around them miserable, cause you know, their problems are SOCIETY'S fault. :angryfire Let me rant, doing so in a safe environment such as this is what keep me from working at Mini-Mart.

Love those "concerned" family members. The best part of correctional nursing is no call lights and ALMOST no families!!! "Calling the Governor" is my favorite, like the Governor would do anything.

You worry to much. I worked in primarily LTC/AL for better than 10 years when I went back to the hospital via an agency and they usually asked for me over several other RN's. Since you are in school, you will be refining your skills, not letting them "rust" so go forth and get that ol' RN and be proud that you did. BTW, don't let work be your priority or else you could be doing the whole thing over. It's easier to pay off one set of student loans than it is 2 (or 3 like me).

Hey, congrats on finding it in you to go back for that old "RN" after so many years. I was an LPN for 16 years when I took the NCLEX for the second time (first time was paper and pencil so the whole computer thing kinda freaked me out). I went to Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY and couldn't have been more pleased with the whole experience. I don't know what your LPN year was like, mine was nothing but a nightmare. The "second year" was SO MUCH BETTER!!!! Most of the instructors treated me like a equal or a co-worker, not like an "idiot student". Last time I heard, they have 4 classes going, so you can usually get in within 6 months or so. Check them out, I can't say enough good things about that program. http://www.lccc.cc.wy.us/

hey, canuckstudent, this thread is for ranting and venting so we don't say these things to docs and disrepect them to their faces. without places like this, the nursing profession would soon be refered to like the post office, as in "going postal". let the rants continue, i'm loving every one of them.

about nursing school? the only thing that most of the instuctors want to hear is "yes ma'am, no ma'am, i don't know ma'am and i'd love to learn that from you ma'am". if you find a really good, caring instructor, take them for ever course that you can and let them know how much you appreciate them. about nclex? don't cram the night before. if you didn't learn it in the last 1/2/4 years, one more night isn't going to help. a good nights sleep will serve you much better. about getting that first job? you won't stay long. and don't beat yourself up if you discover that you don't like your "chosen specialty". you may love kids, but not everyone is cut out to take care of sick kids. about knowing when to "move on"? when you plan every waking minute how to tell your boss to go to hell, better start looking for a change. about time management? get your "boring" thing done early in the shift, you never know what will come down the pike 15 minutes before shift change. about medication administration? everyone makes med errors, just own up to yours and learn from it. about iv therapy? can't get in that peripheral line? ask for help, don't keep digging and making your patient miserable. about patient assessment? do it the same way every time and you won't forget anything, and start with the feet because they are the least seen item and usually "missed" by others. about critical thinking? remember all those care plans? they were not just an exercise in frustration. about work-life balance? everyone needs a certain amount of "couch time", you are not the only one that can pick up the extra shifts. about stress relief? get a dog, walk that dog, love that dog, stress reduction without medication. about safety? you only have one back, and if you lose that, you can't pay your bills. about documentation? if it's worth reporting on, it's worth documenting. about knowing your limits? we all have them, it's not a character fault. about doctors? most are good, few are bad, all have a bigger ego. about self care? refer to "stress relief", i haven't had more than a headcold in years because of that one. about conflict resolution? good question, let me know when you figure out how to make everyone happy all the time. about management? working nights and weekends has it's perks. about "customer" service? press-ganey scores are (fill in your own 4 letter word here). about ancillary support? they can make or break you shift. make sure the cna's love you or you will be most unhappy. about patients? "house" is right, everybody lies. part of your job is to sift through their bs so they can receive appropriate care. about families? most need to be sent to their rooms without their supper. about the b.o.n.? do what you can to avoid them. about getting involved in nurse forward organizations? do it if you want, but i don't see any advantage to it. about anything that you would like to have known!!!! just because the coffee is free doesn't mean it's worth drinking. keep a "no refridgeration needed" lunch in your locker, you never know if your food will be left alone in the fridge. keep up on your ceu's, it's no fun having to cram them all in the last week. even if you are "well" take a "sick" day every 3 or 4 months, mental health is at least as important as physical health.

On the same thread, I have a friend tell the administrator (when he ATTEMPTED to write her up for an imagined infraction)"You can take that and shove it up your @$$, and maybe on the way up it will lance the hemorroid that is keeping the blood from reaching your brain!" Ten years later it STILL cracks me up.

Some of the most shallow folks on this planet are the ones you find in a "church". Go ahead, flame away, but my experiences have been they shake your hand in the sanctuary and flip you off in the parking lot. I hope you will look into calling adult protective services, as these folks may have more "reasons" to scare off caregivers than meets the eye.

Remember telling the admitting nurse at the nursing home that you "don't have any standing orders"? THAT'S why you are getting the call at 0200 for Tylenol. Next time, think about it! ASK THE NURSE WHAT SHE WANTS ORDERS FOR!

SO TRUE!! Years ago I had the instructor that was handing out the diplomas tell me AS SHE WAS HANDING ME MY SHEEPSKIN "We never thought you would make it through." With that hunk of paper firmly in my hand my reply to her was "And it was no thanks to you." Still makes me laugh to this day.

Some people don't like to be in the spotlight, pure and simple. I've gone to MY graduations only because of family pressure, nothing more. When I got my LPN, pinning was during graduation, thank goodness I didn't have to go and deal with those instructors a SECOND time!! When I got my RN, I went to pinning but not to graduation. Who wants to go and sit around waiting for your name to be called when you are in your mid-40's? NOT ME!!! I did promise my family that I would walk WHEN I got my BSN, wonder how long I can procrastinate?

I've worked plenty of places that treat the CNA's like ambulatory chunks of gold and LPN's and RN's like dime a dozen pound mutts. Good luck on getting her out the door permanently. She's toxic and to much time around toxins will REALLY make you sick.

Another female here to agree with the "to much drama" aspects of both nursing school AND nursing. Just be aware, that as long as you continue to be in a human business (vs building computers or snaking drains) you will have LOTS of drama. A suggestion, Humpty, is go for the CRNA. Your lack of understanding of others proves that you will be most successful if those you are "caring" for are asleep.

This thinking is why nurses are treated badly today. Being sick is not a license to bully others. It's high time nurses expect professional treatment and quit letting docs, patients and the general public walk all over us.

Have you thought about "sharing" with someone that works your opposite nights? I don't have kids, but reliable child care is important to EVERYONE that works nights. Can't tell you how many times we ran short (and we were bare bones staffing anyway:dzed:) because someone's sitter "call off". I'm all about the barter system.

Geriatrics present many times with atypical s/sx of infection, so your WBC's are your best bet.

Once upon a time, when I worked in the hospital, I delegated other duties to the CNAs/techs and got my OWN vitals. I never wanted to be responsible for something so important without doing it myself. That being said, I can't begin to imagine what I would have done without the CNAs. Most of them thought I was great to work with because I got my own vitals while doing my initial assessments for the night. That left them open to do the baths, get water, turn and "fluff", etc. It's all about team work, and the best way to lead is by example.

Thank you, Press-Ganey scores! :flmngmd: Administrators are so afraid of getting even one bad survey, they give this type of patient anything they want, usually to the detriment of the facility, staff and other patients. Positive reinforcement for negative behavior is why society is in the nasty shape it's in now.

I feel for you! About a million (or 18) years ago, I worked as an LPN in a AL/IL facility that had specific criteria for dealing with incontinence. If a potential resident was incont. they had to either be able to self manage their "depends" or pay for someone else to do it (read hire private duty care). They had to be ambulatory with the only assistance being a walker or cane. They were NOT to be lifted in any way at any time (OSHA regs I think). The AL area was a seperate but connected part of the building with their own dining room and the CNA's were 90% med tech that gave out only scheduled meds from cards, NEVER PRN's. The CNA/Med techs were responsible for doing the meds, LIGHT housekeeping (emptying trash, making beds, etc.) reminding residents to go to meals, serving the meals and helping with the meals (opening jelly packets, cutting meat, getting resisdents seconds, NOT FEEDING!!) and running the activities in the AL unit. The remainder of the building was IL and they were to need NO ADL's AT ALL!!! An RN or LPN was on duty 24/7 for EMERGENCIES ONLY and to supervise the CNA's in AL. It sounds like your company is running a LTC facility, NOT a AL/IL facility and they are calling it that to skirt around the regulations regarding LTC. PLEASE, for the sake of your license, find out what the criteria for admitting are. If you are the only license in the building, it's all you when the facal material hits the ventilation system. I also suggest you look into your specific states regulation regarding AL/IL facilities to make sure your employer is in compliance. I doubt you will find out anything good. Please keep us updated, very curious to know what you find out.

So THAT'S how C-diff gets spread, thanks for the clarification. :wink2:

"Do Nurses have to clean up after patients'? For instance, if a patient throws up all over themselves or poops on themselves, do Nurses have to clean them up? What is the most disgusting thing that you have done for a patient? Give me the dirty 'lowdown' on the gritty work that some Nurses are forced to endure." Hey, folks, sounds like this original poster is making a 21st century version of an obscene phone call. :barf01:There, hope that makes your day, omgodzilla.

All this concern about the med pass times in LTC boil down to "to many medications". Now, that being said, is that to many meds to GIVE or just to many meds IN GENERAL? The buckets of pills that these residents get is mind blowing. It's no wonder that these folks don't want to eat, they are full of PILLS!! How do you think we can better serve our residents and get some of these meds discontinued? I don't mean insulin, BP meds, antibiotics, etc. I'm talking about the vitamins or minerals more than once a day, the QID glucometer checks when the residents on metformin, you know the rest. The orders we get from the docs need to be reviewed and meds/treatments/checks of all sorts need to be DISCONTINUED WHEN NO LONGER NEEDED!! Everyone is so busy trying to get done what's on the med/tx sheets that they have little time to think about if this actually is something that is still needed by the resident (let alone call and get a D/C order). You out there in LTC land know what I'm talking about. How many residents refuse the same meds day after day or never have a BP/pulse/BS that is within the parameters for medicating? How many hours would be saved if you didn't have to do these and then the charting that goes along with it? The busy work is what's killing me, how about you?

Don't go to school together unless you are also looking to get a divorce. Nursing school is the most stressful thing you can do, and to have both partners doing it together is a sure recipe for marriage disaster.