jaacosmom

Your sister should mind her own business. For you to do whats best for your family is very important and that includes having a life of your own. Should you decide to stay at home with your children is ultimately between you and your husband no one else. Try to think into the future and think of what you will be able to live with yourself most. I have 3 children and went to school for LPN partime and worked full time. It was alot of work but I am proud of myself for gaining my LPN and I know that if I had stayed home and raised my children I may have gone crazy. I love my children dearly and miss them terribly while I am at work. But I need that time for myself to interact with people older than 2, 8, and 11. I need that time to be a good mom. Good luck.

Mike start with the classifications and then stick to the prototypes to each classification. You need to know what they are for, how they work, therapeutic effect, contraindications, administration, adverse reactions, drug interactions, nursing implications, and pt/family education. It helps to know trade names. This is probably one of the toughest classes, but don't freak. They have drug books for a reason. No one can possibly remember them all. Just do the best you can.

I think there alot of hospitals that are trying to phase out LPN/LVNs. And our main work places do tend to be LTC facilities, DRs offices, prisons, etc.However, there is to big of a demand for nurses tp completely phase out LPN/LVNs. We may not be able to do as much as RNs but we can take alot of the work load an RN does have. We are less expensive than RNs to hire and are there for more cost effective. Basically I think there are too many places we can be utilized for us to be phased out. I think hospitals would be smart to start utilizing LPN/LVNs in a more patient care/ cost effective manner. For instance why not have one RN over over a couple of LPNs who have an aide or two working with them. Each RN could have say 6-10 patients with each LPN having 3-6. IN my state the only thing a LPN can't do is like the others. No IVs, no pronouncing dead,and that is about it. So the main thing the RN would have to do is the IVs, care plans. What do you all think?? Does that not make any sense?? Ideas, thoughts, criticisms (be gentle I bruise) welcome.

thats just sad for her but good for you.

In northern Michigan LPNs make from $12.50 (DRs office) to $22 (hospital contigent with no benes)

My CNA course was 11 days. You got 6 days of orientation on the floor then you were on your own. The course was not to hard - lots of stuff to remember. Afterwards you could get your certfication. You should be able to get your certfication after you take your med/surg course. I forgot to mention I took this course at a LTC, got paid for going after the fist two days of class. Got a pay raise after finishing the course and another after I recieved my certification.

Just as a side note I have always felt that the worst boody fluid was spit or vomit. Blood next especially fresh and that only because of the smell. Spit is just plain old nasty if something were to make me gag it would be the spit. Ugh!!! As for urine and feces well they can be gross to but usually you tend to get over those ones. Especially if you have had children.

Please remember that LPN and RN nursing is not the same as CNA nursing. First clinical experience is generally a taste of CNA nursing. Most hospitals or LTC facilities do not employ their RNs and LPNs to do primary or direct care nursing although LPNs do more that RNs. DRs offices and walk in clinics would probably be the "easyiest" work for an LPN. But really if your are looking to get into a health care field job with easy work and limited hands on patient care you should try for sonographer or x-ray tech. I believe these are in high demand and pay just as well if not more and schooling requirements aren't any longer than PN.

Really what a LPN does is limited only by what your state and facility allows. In Michigan LPNs can't initially hang an IV unless they take additional education. They can maintain an IV line however. Depending on your facility LPNs can do blood draws. I don't know of any meds an LPN can't administer. There are courses aides can take to be allowed to give meds and phelbotomists usually recieve in house training. You should probably check out your states board of nursing to see what is allowed in your state for the LPNs scope of practice.

To me 25 pts sounds about right. But where I worked as an aide you had 6 weeks of orientation as a new LPN or RN hired there. 3 does not seem nearly enough especially as a new nurse. I agree with KAT7AP. How supportive are the other nurses and the DON also. Don't let yourself be put in a position were you might be cited for neglect. This is your career and future and you have to stand up for yourself and for the pts you are in charge of. Check out your states nursing staff to pt ratio quotas. Are they in-line with what you are experiencing? Your patients are entittle to recieve they care they are paying for and you are their advocate it is your responsibility to see that they have the appropriate care. If this facility is not providing it then you may want to report this to your state board. You might want to find yourself a new job first. Watch out for yourself. If this is only a one time occurance then it might actually turn out to be a good place to work. Good luck and keep your chin up.

As far as nursing people CNAs are rather at the bottom of the pile; however getting aide experience is a very good idea. You will learn your most basic nursing skills here and probably know them well by the time you graduate with your PN degree. You will also learn to appreciate what hard work the people you may eventually be in charge of do. Aides at nursing homes usually have to be certified (in Michigan this is so). They assisted residents with ther activities of daily living (ADLs). A very polite way of saying washing, bathing, toileting, walking, feeding, doing hair, brushing teeth, making beds, changing soiled undergarments (yes, I mean poop and pee), doing pericare (cleaning dirty butts), and any other activity that would be considered an everyday kind of thing. At some places it may mean giving bowel care (that's enemas or suppositories) or doing vital signs (temperature, pulse, and blood pressure). It is hard work and usually you're short staffed. I recommend finding out what the facility's you are considering working at aide to patient ratio is. That will give you some kind of work load you will be loking at. For instance an aide to patient ratio for the day time of 1 aide to 15 residents is bad. 1 aide to 6-8 is much better. 1 aide to 15 residents on a night shift however isn't to bad. Also talk to the aides working their especially if you know one of them. You'll get a better idea of the working conditions. The demand for aides is usually high so you can kind of interview the places you want to work at to.

It sounds like the same thing to me. CNA does stand for certified nurses aid and in some places its CENA (competency evaluated nurse aide). When I worked as a CNA there was lots of debate on what title to give the nurse aides. It seems that they like to call everyone some sort of tech. They call porters where I work surgical tech II and mostly they bring in house patients around to various departments for various tests or surgery.

I work in a hospital in Northern Michigan. LPNs do not get sign on bonuses. Our community is small and there isn't a much of a demand for LPNs. The hospital does give sign on bonuses to new RN grads but not to experienced RNs who are new hires which really makes absolutely no sense at all. I mean really would you perfer a experienced nurse or not!!?? I have no understanding as to why our community does not use LPNs more. We are a small community and the rate of pay for RNs even is low. I know an RN who drives an hour and a half to work in the lower state, works two twelve hour shifts a pay period and makes nearly as much as she did working in a management nursing position 80 hours a pay period. That's bad.

I did my Suanders N-Clex-PN study guide. Any time I had difficulty I wrote the topic down and then looked it up after I had finished that section (i.e. renal and urinary, pediatric, maternity, etc.). I passed on the first time. Just remember with all this studying you need to have some fun too. Good luck.

When I took mine it cut off at 85 too. I was so convinced that I failed so, so badly that I went home and started studying again. I passed and everyone I have talked to that only had 85 questions passed.