BerryHappy

Thanks for the support you guys! Your words bring tears to my eyes. And YES, I feel as if I had accepted the assignment, I FOR SURE would have made a med error, and would have felt even worse for hurting that patient, than I did for walking out. If nurses just keep acquiesing, corporations will just keep walking all over us. I live in a "Right To Work" state (non union), so the for profit facilities do the best they can to squeeze the most out of just a few. BTW, this very well known LTC facility refuses to bring in agency so much that our DON has had to start working a cart fairly regularly. SMH

Well, I finally did it. I refused to take report/keys in a LTC/Rehab facility that is critically understaffed. Here's the deal. I was hired as a night shift RN supervisor. Almost immediately after I started the DON who hired me was fired. That left no DON for two months, also no administrator. By the third month, with all the call out's, no shows, and people quitting, I was floating between all carts full time. And STILL expected to be supervisor when needed. So last night was the final straw. This is what I was set up for: 30 pts on THREE halls 5 IV's 2 med passes 4 skin checks 30 full assessments (no one actually does these they just copy the previous) 30 nsg notes 30 chart checks pain pills all night and by the way CHANGEOVER so 30 MARs and TARs. All in an 8 hour shift. The two regular nurses both called out so that left me (totally unfamiliar with the pts, and the MARs), and a day shift nurse helping out, to do the work. The company REFUSES to call in agency, and no one else was willing to come in and help. So, I called the new DON, left a message, hugged all the nurses I enjoyed working with, and left. That was 8 hours ago and I am still STEAMING. How is anyone expected to get good nursing care under those conditions? How is a nurse supposed to make safe decisions under those circumstances? Still so angry I could SCREAM! But sad because I loved my job. sniff.

When I was a LPN in Miami, FL: LPN, agency Bedside continuous care 12 hour shifts $20/hr federal mileage rate only over 15 miles travel time over 1 hour ($20) Don't forget people, Florida has no INCOME TAX!

Yup, my worst have been hepatic related. Lung has been pretty bad too, but for some reason the hepatic encaphaly makes all palliative measures pretty much moot. Either we knock them out so they just sleep until the end, or they are tormented (as well as the family) until they finally go.

OMG you guys are HILARIOUS!!! I once watched a patient drink the VOMIT she had vomited into a cup!!! By the time I processed what I was watching, vomit was gone! Poof! Back to where it came from! I retched all the way back to the nurses station.

Hey ctcpete! I am in southwest Florida. Because of the "pete" in your online name, I actually have wondered if you might be in St. Petersburg, FL just a bit north of me. Are you?

Things have only been this bad since the end of last year. I worked as a night shift crisis/continuous care hospice LPN for many years. My first job was through an agency and I averaged 3-4 nights per week. My second job was with a hospice company full time so I was guaranteed 36 hours per week no matter what (even during the winter when things slow down). Towards the end of my working for the hospice company (beginning of this year), some really scary changes started to happen because of Medicare cutbacks. Our poor PRN's were lucky to work TWO nights per MONTH! We also COMPLETELY stopped using agency nurses. Even us full-timer's would have to sometimes go to the hospice house and work as a cna if the census was low. Medicare is making it harder to qualify as a hospice patient, and are recommending the family provide a lot of the care we were doing which means we stay only 2-3 days instead of until the end. I recommend you either add another PRN position, or work for a hospice company full-time. HOSPICE is my HEART but as with any other job, budget issues can make it unbearable.

A FORTUNE but it took me 4 years, and I had to take the CPNE TWICE !!! Now that I am finished, and have MULTIPLE RN job offers, it was worth every penny! THANK YOU EXCELSIOR!!! (btw, during those 4 years I worked and successfully raised twin teenage girls ) THANK YOU EXCELSIOR!!!

Ok, I graduated from EC 5/17/13. Passed NCLEX 7/5/13. Just got my first job offer 7/12/13 making $30/hour as a night shift charge nurse at a sub acute facility. I have 2 more company's to call back next week, and of the other interviews I've done, not ONE has asked about clinicals! It does help that I have been a LPN for 5 years in the same field, but so does almost EVERYONE who graduates from EC. I feel completely competent in the position offered, and I don't talk around anything. I have been a great floor nurse and plan on continuing. Good luck!

I KNOW!!! RIGHT!!! I felt EXACTLY the same way!!! 75 questions, 1.5 hours of my life and it was over? HUH? I am thrilled I passed but I guess this is why sometimes the journey is better than actually arriving!

I kept my online account active until I passed my CPNE. The most valuable part of having it, I think, was that on the night after I got my first PCS assignment (Fri night), I was able to go back to my room and watch Sherri do Resp Assess and a Neuro Assess and the quick review was a lifesaver! I felt like I had her there with me! It calmed my nerves and gave me great confidence for my first PCS on Sat morning. Don't keep it if money is tight, but if you can it is a godsend!

Girl you passed! Go and scream it to the WORLD! Congratulations on all your hard work!

I had a ridiculously easy EKG strip. It was only 1 question and the question was which of the strips showed probable near death. And honestly 3 of the choices varied just a little bit and the 4th choice looked EXACTLY like a crazy scribble line from the children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon! The correct answer was so obvious I truly thought it might have been a trick question and took the longest to answer that one question. Luckily, somewhere I read that there are no "trick questions" on the NCLEX. I must have gotten it right because it was my only EKG question and I passed! Good luck!

My link also came up about 40 hours after I finished AND that was over a Sat/Sun. Once you get past the 40 hour mark or so I would check the sucker every hour!!! And I agree, the PVT worked for me but I didn't totally believe it until I saw the "unofficial" results. Good luck!

Omg no no no!!! Do not do it! You stated that the patient died unexpectedly so even though right now the family is feeling all kind and nice towards you that could change on a moments notice. What you could end up with is a lawyer trying to use your kind words in return as admission of guilt for either you or your facility. I have spent most of my career in hospice and I have come to (almost) fall in love with some of the families I have worked with, even though they have knowingly put their loved one on hospice there is almost always that one bad apple who see's me as the angel of death and would love to sue me or my company if given the chance. Please do not open yourself to the possibilities. Sometimes for my closure I look for my dear patient's obit, and I have even heard of nurses quietly attending funeral services but DO NOT put anything in writing! I am sorry for your loss but you must protect yourself.

Yep ctcpete, the best thing about the EC program I think might be just that you become well conditioned from all the studying. The NCLEX is a final celebration of the studying. Kinda like the race is a celebration for the training, in runner's terms! Anyway, yes, WHEN you pass your CPNE, it will most likely fall between two possible graduation dates. For example, I passed the CPNE on the weekend of March 15th, 2013. EC's next graduation date was not until May 17th, 2013. So, even though I had completed and passed ALL of EC requirements, I was not officially a GRN until May 17. My diploma did not get mailed to me until that date, and my transcripts were not mailed to neither my BON nor me, until that date. I like to think of March 17-May 17 as "dead air". I could not do anything as far as my RN except study for the NCLEX. Also, I was not clear on this until I waited 2 weeks but it is up to YOU to request EC mail your transcripts to your BON. I incorrectly assumed upon graduation, EC mailed the transcripts automatically. Once I realized it was taking more than a few days for my BON to receive my records I wrote to EC and was notified that I had not yet requested the transcripts be sent. Duh! So I ended up paying the "expedite" fee just to try and make up some time. Thanks for asking that question. These are the little nuances of EC that are missed unless someone directly asks. One more thing! When you pass your CPNE, your Clinical Associate (CA is the boss!) will give you a congratulatory letter. On the letter it states what your official date will be. No need to wonder. I hope this helps!

Thank you for your advice! Please give us details of how you got the position. Did you apply online or go in person to HR? Did you create your resume, or use a service? What type of questions did they ask and what was your response? Day shift, or night? All that info is probably crumbs to you, but to us GRN's looking for work those crumbs look like CAKE! Thank you!

UPDATE! I gave in and paid the $7.95...Pass! Oh heck yeah I studied like a fiend since one week AFTER my second CPNE. So I guess that means I studied 15 weeks. My actual graduation date was 2 months after my CPNE so it took FOREVER to get my diploma and for my transcripts to get to my BON. I finally got my ATT at the end of June and studied about 2 hours per day (on average) from CPNE until test date. I was feeling really weary and finding it difficult to stay motivated the last month or so. I did ALL of Kaplan's Q Bank, all their exams, and made my own flash cards. I also had a few app's that helped. And to Allnurses, I cannot say thank you all enough! I have finally arrived! I feel like I won Wimbledon, NBA Championships, Superbowl, and NASCAR!!!! Whoot Whoot!!!!

Took NCLEX RN 7/5/13 at 1300 hours. Got the "Successful Delivery" and "Good Pop Up" at 2000. Got the PASS on 7/7/13. IT WORKS!!!!

After completing DOZENS (feels like dozens anyway) of EC exams, nearly FAILING my FCCA, doing the CPNE TWICE, is it me or did the NCLEX RN feel...I'm only whispering this but...easy? I know, I know, it's blasphamous to say the RN exam was anything but TORTURE but really after allllll that I've been through, and some of it TWICE, plus LPN school, plus actually being a nurse, I was really expecting a much more difficult exam. Now, I must mention that I just took my exam yesterday. I got the good pop up and I have spent SO MUCH MONEY trying to get this darn thing finished that I REFUSE to pay the additional $7.95 for the quick results, so I am still waiting. But, it took me 1.5 hours to finish the tutorial, 75 questions, and the survey, so I am feeling pretty confident. I got about 8 SATA, 5 put in order, NO math, 1 EKG, and most of the rest were med surge pick one. I think my point to anyone reading this is, if you completed EC, and you have studied, YOU ARE READY. Don't second guess yourself, don't doubt yourself, go in there confident with a smile, and DO WHAT YOU DO! You know this!

Me too! This Friday 7/5/13 at 2pm! Sooo excited! Your scores look good. Too late to worry about that anyway! Let's work on memorizing our lab numbers and RELAXING! :sleep: Ommmmmmmm....that's us meditating....

Just so you know, when I was using the online workshop it would go down usually about once per month. It drove me CRAZY because I had figured out a workable study schedule and if the site was down my study routine got all messed up! Be SURE to send a "just wondering" email to the site, and then one directly to Sherri if you don't get a response. They were almost always back up within a day or two but if your CPNE date is arriving it can feel like forever. Good luck!

Here is my experience. During my FIRST CPNE, I passed on my care plan, passed my first patient, and then failed that patient on my nursing notes. I then never even got into the rooms of my second and third patient's. All failed on care planning. I totally underestimated what was expected on the documentation. On my second go round, I took both the EC Documentation class, the EC Nursing Notes class, AND submitted nsg notes to Sherri Taylor EVERY DAY. I probably provided too much information but I passed. Thank GOD I passed! I learned so much that I realized that failing my first CPNE attempt was really a blessing. I had no idea what I was doing, and had no clue as to what the Examiner's were expecting. You have only ONE chance to get your Care Plan, 20 minute check paperwork, and nsg notes done CORRECTLY. So do everything you can to get into that class and get that paperwork RIGHT! Most likely you will be pressed for time, so every second you can save by knowing that paperwork backwards and forwards ahead of time will help you be successful. I don't know of any other documentation class for the CPNE because only EC knows what the Examiner's are looking for. Also, be sure to utilize the weekly phone calls you can make to a nsg advisor at EC. Those are allowed once you have your CPNE date. I learned little nuance's with each phone call that helped me during my second CPNE attempt. Good luck!

OMG this is soooo good! Thank you!

Hey! Check out the response I just left for you on that other post! OMG it took two months?!! Ugh!