Meriwhen ASN, BSN, MSN, RN

Psych ICU, addictions

Member

All Content by Meriwhen

  1. Meriwhen

    Please be honest!

    Meriwhen replied to kalinka's topic in General Nursing

    I'm in psych nursing: the majority of my patients are self-care and medically stable, so there is very little cleaning up blood, vomit or diarrhea involved :) It does happens on occasion...just...
  2. Meriwhen

    New LPN with a minor misdemeanor on background and can't find a job

    Meriwhen replied to Abby Clark LPN's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    Ah, I thought you meant did the OP ever explain it here. I've bounced a couple of checks when I was younger. Not proud of it, nor did I intend to--I just got caught short when the check was cashed....
  3. Meriwhen

    signing bonus

    Meriwhen replied to Lola77's topic in General Nursing

    If you have experience, you can get about $1,000-$2,000 in cash or gifts as a signing bonus from a couple of the hospitals, depending on what department they're recruiting for...but most places here...
  4. Meriwhen

    Advice needed on job offers

    Meriwhen replied to Cranberrygirl's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Keep in mind that a 2 hour commute is often 2 hours PLUS, given traffic, weather, accidents, etc. Do you really want to spend at least four hours a day in a car, on top of a 12 hour (in actually,...
  5. Meriwhen

    graduating in a year, need advice!

    Meriwhen replied to criticalRN10's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Get that PCA/CNA job, both for the experience and the connections. However, remember that it's no longer the guaranteed "in" for a RN job as it used to be (as several people in my class can tell you,...
  6. Meriwhen

    New LPN with a minor misdemeanor on background and can't find a job

    Meriwhen replied to Abby Clark LPN's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    She bounced a check: that is, she wrote a check but didn't have enough money in her bank account to cover payment when the receipient of the check cashed it. Even though a lot of people bounce checks...
  7. Meriwhen

    Online classes hard?

    Meriwhen replied to Otaybw19's topic in General Students

    Online classes will work for you only if you are disciplined enough to log on daily (or near daily) to do work. It's very easy to fall into the "oh, I'll get some work done tomorrow" trap when you're...
  8. Meriwhen

    New book regarding addiction in nurses

    Meriwhen replied to jackstem's topic in Nurses Recovery

    All right, Jack: you talked me into ordering one...especially since I spent the past week trying to educate a patient--a nurse, no less--about her addiction, with little
  9. Meriwhen

    Gave My Notice, Now Told it Wasn't Enough

    Meriwhen replied to ChristineN's topic in General Nursing

    What is she going to do, go to your house and drag you to work that extra day? :) Copy your schedule, and let your HR/union rep know what's going on. And don't be cowed if your supervisor tries to...
  10. Meriwhen

    Taking a pay cut to work PRN

    Meriwhen replied to fungez's topic in General Nursing

    Where I work, PRNs and permanent staff start off with the same base pay and diffs. However, permanent staff get yearly increases to their base pay based on performance, while the PRN base pay never...
  11. Meriwhen

    What can you do in 7 - 14 days?

    Meriwhen replied to NCindasun21's topic in Psychiatric

    Agreed, that should have been done in a staff area or off the
  12. Meriwhen

    What can you do in 7 - 14 days?

    Meriwhen replied to NCindasun21's topic in Psychiatric

    It's hard to deal with kids because on one hand, we want to treat them like kids. At the same time, this age group is definitely one of the ones that will try to pull one over on staff if they can....
  13. Meriwhen

    Unbelievable!

    Meriwhen replied to dannibee's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Unfortunately, it's an employers' market and they can call the shots: if they want 1 or 2 or 5 years' clinical experience just for giving flu shots, they can do that...and I'll bet they still won't...
  14. Meriwhen

    Do routine, non-controlled meds need to be behind double lock?

    Meriwhen replied to cathyrn01's topic in General Nursing

    Lyrica is a controlled substance: Schedule V. Tramadol may or may not be controlled depending on the state--in my state it is not. But in Kentucky, it's a Schedule IV. But because of the abuse...
  15. Meriwhen

    Un-accepting position one week before start date

    Meriwhen replied to noodles!'s topic in First Year After Licensure

    First, don't even think of giving notice at Job #1 until Job #2 is guaranteed. By this I mean you have received an official job offer from HR, not just a casual "oh, we'd love to have you here" by...
  16. Meriwhen

    Do routine, non-controlled meds need to be behind double lock?

    Meriwhen replied to cathyrn01's topic in General Nursing

    We lock up some of our non-schedule meds because of their abuse
  17. Meriwhen

    Why are some nurses so rude to students?

    Meriwhen replied to kayty2339's topic in General Nursing

    I love having students around! Unfortunately, I'm often too busy to be able to give them all the attention they need--it's psych nursing, so what students can help me with is very limited. I do let...
  18. Meriwhen

    Do I automatically get a CNA after first year in nursing school?

    Meriwhen replied to onlyjesus22's topic in General Students

    In my state, you need to complete a CNA program before you can sit for the CNA test. However you can apply for (for lack of a better word) unlicensed care positions at any
  19. Meriwhen

    Can I work as a PCA/CNA after graduation (while searching for RN residency)?

    Meriwhen replied to twentysomething's topic in First Year After Licensure

    1. Check with your state BON. Some states won't let RNs work as CNAs. However they may be able to work in unlicensed positions... 2. Many employers won't hire RNs as aides/CNAs because they know...
  20. Meriwhen

    Is it okay to be in the same nursing class as a relative?

    Meriwhen replied to happy2learn's topic in General Students

    AFAIK there's nothing that says that you and mom (or any two relatives) can't be in school together. So have
  21. Meriwhen

    Highest INR....

    Meriwhen replied to FiduciaRN's topic in General Nursing

    We had someone who hit 9. Nothing bad came of it, thank
  22. Meriwhen

    How much help?

    Meriwhen replied to LouisVRN's topic in General Nursing

    On our unit, the nurses are great at helping each other out. Now whether I'll actually have a second nurse around to help me out is another story
  23. Meriwhen

    Patient Sitter Job

    Meriwhen replied to thekidisback's topic in General Nursing

    A classmate used to work as a sitter--she was allowed to bring her textbooks with her and could read as long as it didn't interfere with her job (e,g. after the patient was asleep). Not sure what her...
  24. Meriwhen

    Mandatory cut-off age for being a bedside nurse?

    Meriwhen replied to Katie5's topic in General Nursing

    I say as long as they can competently do the job, let them do the job no matter what their age
  25. Meriwhen

    Take your spouse to work day.

    Meriwhen replied to lucylu 777's topic in General Nursing

    Mine would be terrified, especially if we were on the facility's version of the intensive care unit