Meriwhen ASN, BSN, MSN, RN

Psych ICU, addictions

Member

All Content by Meriwhen

  1. Meriwhen

    Dilemma: Wait for RN Residency or Take Job Offer?

    Meriwhen replied to maridepe's topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    Go on the interview. And keep interviewing until you either a. have a job offer, or b. have an acceptance letter for the residency. Let's be realistic: you are now an old new grad. Few things are...
  2. Meriwhen

    Eating ice cream and getting nervous -- offered Neuro-ICU job, now a psych nurse

    Meriwhen replied to pixierose's topic in General Nursing

    Nah, you're not nuts: you're just looking at quite the specialty change. Well, they are related in a way... I agree about requesting to shadow first before taking the job. It's one thing to see...
  3. Meriwhen

    how to get endorsement

    Meriwhen replied to mamcy's topic in General Nursing

    You shouldn't need anything from the NY Board. CA requires all its nurses to have fingerprints on file. If you live in CA, you can do it electronically. If you live outside of CA, you need to...
  4. Meriwhen

    how to get endorsement

    Meriwhen replied to mamcy's topic in General Nursing

    RN: 1. Go to Licensure by Endorsement 2. Read what to do. LPN: 0. Understand we call them LVNs here. Same practice, different name. Don't let the difference throw you :) 1. Go to Application for...
  5. Meriwhen

    Stupid Med Error

    Meriwhen replied to newgradRN34's topic in General Nursing

    My first medication mistake involved incompatible IV solutions and a central line...in nursing school no less. The patient was OK. I was OK at the time too. The gravity of it didn't hit until I got...
  6. Meriwhen

    Which shift do you prefer and why? 7-3 or 3-11?

    Meriwhen replied to kingvonnBSN2017's topic in Psychiatric

    Before I discovered the joy of 11-7, I preferred 3-11. Management was on its way out the door, the patients would be settling down, and things generally ran fairly smoothly. If I had to contact a...
  7. Meriwhen

    Microbiology with lab

    Meriwhen replied to lck8119's topic in California Nursing

    The problem is that the lab part can't be online--otherwise, how can it be a lab class? IMO, you're going to have to suck it up and find a local CC that offers microbio. It may be possible to find...
  8. Meriwhen

    Moving to area, job advice

    Meriwhen replied to gigles713's topic in Virginia Nursing

    After living there for 13 years, I think I can also vouch for the salaries not being too hot in the Hampton Roads area. A lot of it is because as a PP said, it's a military area and there's often a...
  9. Meriwhen

    Psych nurses all have a mental illness

    Meriwhen replied to WinterLilac's topic in Psychiatric

    Warped sense of humor? IMO, it can definitely help when working psych, especially inpatient. There are things that happen in psych that sometimes you just have to smile at to deal with them. Being...
  10. Meriwhen

    Medication disqualification

    Meriwhen replied to Vanvelzor's topic in Oklahoma Nursing

    The way it came across, it read as though you were using it for seizures as well. Thanks for the clarification. The advice I gave above still stands though: it's not so much what medications you are...
  11. Meriwhen

    Medication disqualification

    Meriwhen replied to Vanvelzor's topic in Oklahoma Nursing

    I'll ignore the "hahaha" and presume you're being serious. It's not so much what medications you are on that will affect your chances of a successful nursing career, as it is whether your psychiatric...
  12. Meriwhen

    Is this normal practice-my unit feels unsafe.

    Meriwhen replied to krissyycupcake's topic in General Nursing

    You technically can't be a sitter while carrying a patient load, as a sitter is not supposed to leave the bedside/room of the person being minded. The hospital screwed up there. IMO, brush up the...
  13. Meriwhen

    Just........no.

    Meriwhen replied to roser13's topic in Nursing News

    To answer the question posed in the thread title, it's because neither nursing schools nor the NCLEX evaluate someone's personal beliefs, especially if she had kept her attitude and beliefs to...
  14. Meriwhen

    Do you consider it helpful or not to be given a Pt’s attitude during a report?

    Meriwhen replied to DesiDani's topic in General Nursing

    Knowing the current attitude and behaviors of the patient and family members is very valuable information. It gives me an idea of how I should approach things, and what I should look out for. It...
  15. Meriwhen

    Is all hope lost?

    Meriwhen replied to 6573's topic in General Nursing

    It does. I started in a for-profit facility myself and know all about the cost-cutting, profit-maximizing, under-the-bus throwing... The good news is that not every facility is like this. Keep...
  16. Meriwhen

    Thank you gift for unit that hosted my student clinicals

    Meriwhen replied to dura.mater's topic in General Students

    A lot of facilities have policies & procedures in place that restrict what gifts (if any) employees may receive from patients, vendors, and others--which would include nursing students. However,...
  17. Meriwhen

    Th, BSN, MSN

    Meriwhen replied to Lmd9570's topic in Government, Military

    I also remember the age cutoffs to be around the 40s (I was looking for myself at one point). But definitely ask the recruiters for each of the services. If a service has a particular nursing need...
  18. Meriwhen

    Coworker wanted to trade shifts

    Meriwhen replied to NurseDisneyPrincess's topic in General Nursing

    My personal nightmare was that I'd go into labor on Super Bowl Sunday, because it was a high-risk pregnancy and I knew the place would be staffed bare-bones that day. As for myself, I'll pick up...
  19. Meriwhen

    Do you think I have a case? HIPAA

    Meriwhen replied to msoncnurse17's topic in HIPAA Challenges

    Also, as others have mentioned, review your facility's policies on social media. Some are fairly lenient about what their employees post online, while others like to keep a tighter reign. None of...
  20. Meriwhen

    Do you think I have a case? HIPAA

    Meriwhen replied to msoncnurse17's topic in HIPAA Challenges

    HIPAA isn't necessarily just posting name, MRN and/or SSN. A HIPAA violation can occur if you share enough of ANY information about a patient, that someone could use it to identify said patient. And...
  21. Meriwhen

    What Do You Think? Can You Be A Nurse If You Can't Do Bedside Care?

    Meriwhen replied to Kooky Korky's topic in General Nursing

    This. Couldn't have said it better
  22. Meriwhen

    Working Weeknds

    Meriwhen replied to MJ48's topic in General Nursing

    Emphasis mine. By making yourself available on certain days, you are essentially agreeing to work on those days. They may choose not to use you those days, but until they specifically tell you...
  23. Meriwhen

    being called off..

    Meriwhen replied to SaltySarcasticSally's topic in General Nursing

    It seems to go in waves in my facility. Right now, staffing is so good that call offs happen pretty much every week. But I'm sure in a few months things will shift again and we'll go back to being...
  24. Meriwhen

    My husband wakes me up!

    Meriwhen replied to BabyRN_nights's topic in General Nursing

    I told my family that the only times they were allowed to wake me during the day was if the house was on fire or if copious amounts of blood were involved. Otherwise, enter at their own risk, because...
  25. Meriwhen

    Going to color coded scrubs.

    Meriwhen replied to mmc51264's topic in General Nursing

    I've never worked at a place where color-coded scrubs were required. But I know others who have, and from what I'm told, they received a stipend to purchase their initial sets; after that,...