woknblues

Why is it acceptable for nurses to work sick? In my facility, we don't want you here if you are sick. Yeah, we are short, etc. So what does that have to do with working when sick? Why are hospitals staffed so lean? I think your management team has been neglectful in getting travelers or more prn nurses to cover during season. When I get a call off from someone, I only ever say, "OK, I'll take you off". It's not my job to investigate whether or not you are lying, or check to see if you have the PTO hours to cover it. If you can't meet your pointage/call out too much, HR will be calling you, not me. Any other profession that requires a person to be present working no matter what (as opposed to an office job or what have you) would never be having this discussion. Embarrassing for the profession, IMO. If you are too sick to work at your best, what are you going to do when you get there? Substandard work.

Not a hospice RN, but I can help with some questions. 1. What are the nursing jobs like in general in NM? In demand? No demand? Luke warm? Don't bother looking? Lots of need with the Presbyterian system. (the 800lb gorilla insurance and healthcare system in the state) 2. Any one know how Hospice nursing jobs are in NM? I don't personally, but there are a lot of aging populations here for the relatively nice weather, and we have a half dozen retirement / assisted living and hospice facilities around the area. 3. Any parts of the state more employable than others for nursing jobs/Hospice? Low population state means you really get to pick from a few areas if you are looking to land a quick job. ABQ/Rio Rancho, a very distant 2nd would probably be Santa Fe. 4. Places to AVOID working at? Can't help you. Lovelace has had problems that may be getting worked out. 5. I am leaning toward the Albuquerque area to live in, would rent at first then eventually buy a place. How are the Crime rates? Places to AVOID living in? Always a hot topic for many. My comfort level may be more or less than yours, etc. If you ever watch COPS, many, many episodes are filmed in ABQ. Some areas are more rough than others, like any good sized city. I live in Rio Rancho, and am very happy, good schools, jobs, hospital and yes, crime rate. I did have my truck opened and rummaged through and a breast pump stolen (it was in a high tech camera bag type case) and then RETURNED ON MY DOORSTEP TWO DAYS LATER in the seemingly quiet safe neighborhood of Cabezon. IRR is just north of ABQ. Kinda suburbia in parts, like my part. I personally would not want to live in the South Valley area from what I have seen, etc. YMMV. 6. I would like to live out in more of a country/quiet setting, what would 125k buy , housing wise? 125K should get you plenty of house, especially if more remote, etc. My house was 135K 4 bed 3 bath. built in 2008.

"Pitting edema on ankle (WHY does she have low sodium and K if she has edema? wouldn't here sodium and K be elevated bc of fluid retention?)" getting lasix, is CHF, so bilat edema. She is peeing out her electrolytes. Is the afib a new DX?

Listen up! Usually, as in my case anyway, new nurses are followed around by little angels, protecting them from making huge errors. Keep looking stuff up, eventually you will be comfortable, and know what to expect. You can only be an experienced know it all nurse after you get more experience. I look stuff up all the time in my hospital job that you think you can't handle. You could, believe me.

If I may add my advice, if you think aesthetic nursing is not what you got into nursing to do, take it from me, correctional nursing may not be your cup of tea, either. And as I stated in my last post, even then, you can and will move on. Best of luck.

You did the right thing. I also took a non traditional route for my first nursing job. When I could, I moved on. You will too.

At first I thought this too. But the truth is, it isn't probably the guards that pointed you out. It is the full time "residents". Remember everyone, it is their home, they just let us work there.

Is there any other way? I couldn't imagine pulling it as they walk up. It is all about moving the line, and watching the pills go down. Going out to do confinement with a cart would be the slowest dumbest most dangerous thing I could think of. Get in, get out.

My goodness, someone was considering themselves broken for not holding it for 8 hours? I have no problem asking to use a toilet. I am shocked to hear certain agencies frown upon it.

I always wrote it as whiners. As in, a person who complains a lot. I think whingers is the British spelling v. of a whiner. I agree with the rant here. I don't blame people for leaving due to the high price of gasoline though. Nothing to "whine" about however, just leave. :)

The mantra for a long time has been "exercise more", etc. Problem is when people are heavy, they end up hurting themselves. People get into shape fairly quickly(not in the clinical setting, BTW) almost exclusively through diet. Basically, our diets are complete crap in the US (and most other western countries) The most critical thing we can change is to stop eating "fast" (think white and grain based) carbohydrates. Simply, our bodies don't really "need" to eat fast carbs, especially not those types. We use glucose for energy, yes. Our brain runs on it. That is why we have gluconeogenisis, so we never run out. People seem to get fat over insulin and cortisol issues, much more so than actual dietary fats. (see the masai or inuit who eat 90% meat, milk, blubber, cows blood, etc). Even more interesting is research showing cholesterol problems clear up when you manipulate the carbs in the diet more than the protein/fats. Also, nearly everyone has a grain allergy of some degree. Grains are built to resist digestion. Inflammed bowels hinder absorption, kick out lots of bad stuff, effect other parts of our bodies, etc.. You can never completely remove all refined carbs here in the US, for example, but you can get close. It takes will, and tenacity. It takes patience, and it takes effort to cook most your meals. I follow a "paleo" type diet that essentially eliminates grains and starchy carbs and fruits from my diet. I am left with meat/ proteins, low sugar vegetables (think peppers, celery, radishes, artichokes, tomatoes, etc) to cover most of my diet. You can actually make an amazing number of dishes with some creative brainstorming. Anyone interested should look into these things more. I am no dietician, YMMV. Weight kinda falls off easy when you are doing the right thing.

"...hospital nursing, but I realize that this is the gateway " A gateway that has been pretty well blocked for the past 2-3 years. If whatever you try doesn't work out work out, try something else. Nobody starts off being super nurse. Those are not born, they are made.

Pretty straight forward I think. Either in contemplation mode, or taking prerequisites. ___________________________________________________________________ OP, I feel ya. One thing overlooked today is that primary care Docs and some specialties are really getting squeezed. Physicians are not necessarily the end all be all for financial compensation. Usually on call 24/7, cost of malpractice insurance, etc. Then the 10+ years of school. And not just classes at the CC here. Most Docs catch up eventually, but delayed gratification, to be sure. Just sayin': I'll take my 36hr/work week lifestyle, thank you very much. School loans are paid, rode out the housing bubble, saving money, setting my own schedule at work, taking time off to enjoy life, learn new things.

I don't see how a year in LTC could hurt. Plenty of new grads flowing in to corrections where I live. Hospitals will not hire, so how to make a buck? I would scour here and other places on the internet to get a feel for the job of correctional nursing first. Typically, you will be expected to consider your own safety first, then to your coworkers, and finally to the health of the I/M. If you don't, you will be a threat to the safety of the staff. There are also very good books out there on corrections. This one gets a lot of good reviews, almost a "bible" to corrections work http://www.amazon.com/Games-Criminals-Play-Profit-Knowing/product-reviews/0960522603/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 Bottom line: Your experience would be very helpful, IMO.

Not to killjoy this hilarious thread, but most of my I/M requests are just to inform the medical department that we owe them their $4 copay, or that they have a medical problem (that needs to be addressed by sick call). The spelling is usually horrid, but even more funny is that when I respond, I forget how to spell and have to look everything up in a dictionary. I don't know why that is.