lynnintn

I let my CCM certification expire like an idiot and am retaking in a week. For those who have tested this year, is there much on the Affordable Care Act on the exam? Am hoping not as that just means one more thing I will need to review Thanks!

In my experience, a timely email or snail mail is best.

I believe you are mistaking a positive for a negative. I takes a special person to work with burn patients, people in terrible pain whose lives have been changed forever. I worked PICU for 2 years and it just about killed me...I wasn't strong enough. Kudos to you for working with this population of patients. Lynn

I believe her post was meant to be satirical.

MBarn, After sending out another round of resumes/applications, I got a job offer as a medical reviewer for Medicare on Friday! I was not working, by choice, for 3 years and half-heartedly looking until a year ago.It has taken a solid year of job searching to get an offer. And I did get my job through Kelly Healthcare, so your advice was great and maybe will help others in the same boat as I was in. Thx for the feedback! Lynn

Following a 5 year break from CM (W/C anf Life care planning), I have recently decided to return to work. Every single resume/application I have submitted has been a bust...no one wants me or wants to talk @ my qualifications! Granted, I allowed my CCM to expire but plan to take a CM refresher and retest. In the meantime, I need some low cost ideas on how to make myself more desirable to those screening CM resumes...I am SO upset, discouraged. I know it is a tough job market, but I have good references and over 10 years of CM and LCPing experience. HELP!

Amen! The public does NOT understand what universal health care really is. Due to disability and unemployment, my children and I have had to go on TNCARE, Tennessee's Medicaid program. I am thankful to have some type of coverage, but the reality is that preventive care/services are covered and specialist care barely is...it took 3 months to get my son in to see a dermatologist after getting the run around w/his PCP for 6 months and I finally got my rheumatologist referral, after waiting 3 months to get my PCP physical, and I cannot be seen until June, 5 months away! Mind you, I have RA and have been under the care of a rheumatologist 4-6 times per year for 6 years-I haven't seen one in 11 months as I lost my COBRA coverage a year ago. I imagine Universal Health Care will be something like what I have...and it sucks!

I used to use Burts Bees but am now a fan of Palmers Concentrated Cream for less than $3.00 at Walmart or Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream for @ $7.00 at Walmart. The Palmers smells like cocoa and I love it-the Palmers Lip Butter is also great and tastes good enough to eat.

No, I would choose another profession. I am still likely to do so, as I am only 47 (that is what I keep telling myself) and once my "baby" graduates from high school in 2 years, I am hoping to have a plan in place for a new career. Good luck. No advice other than find something you enjoy and try to make a living doing it.

No, I don't believe you are wrong. In fact, I believe you are correct on so many different levels in your post. You definitely have a lot of guts posting this essay on allnurses as you will certainly ruffle some feathers here...I am not offended in the least, as I too have often asked myself the following question: If nursing is really a profession and not a "skilled job", then why are we treated so poorly by our primary employer, hospitals? Nurses are taught in college that nursing is a profession, but nurses are the only ones who truly believe it. Now I am not going to say much here due to all of the responses already, but I too wish more nurses would embrace the truth and unionize nationally...I guarantee working conditions, salaries and benefits would improve. The hospitals are so accustomed to bullying us and getting away with it and the only way it will stop it through collective bargaining on a national level. There was a time I did not think this way...a lifetime ago. All of the time and energy that has gone into college classes such as "Professionalism in Nursing" or Professional Development:Politics and Public Policy" which are more about advocating for your patients than for yourself as a nurse, should be spent learning how nursing can stop being this "altruistic profession" that looks out for everyone but ourselves...We need to look out for ourselves first and foremost...that is not selfish at all. I am sure that happy nurses = happy patients! The time for change is NOW, while the health care system is in flux, in turmoil, yes?

this may be illegal. i just don't know.that said, i must say that if you have already missed 2-3 days of work and you are only into your 4th week of orientation, then i can see why your supervisor is concerned. nurses are expected to be at work no matter what the weather or their health. it sounds mean, but this is the real world. i would not miss any more work unless i was absolutely dying with a fever of 103+. on the other hand, employers do questionable things all the time re: hiring and firing and know how to skirt around the laws so they do not get in trouble. therefore, if you want to keep your job, i would try to re-schedule my appointment for one of my days off or before or after work. i know it stinks, but jobs are just too scarce right now. also, i would advise you not to quit just yet even though you are having doubts about your abilities. all new nurses go through this and question themselves. if you know, without a doubt, that med-surg is something you just are not cut out for, then start looking for a new position on your days off. good luck. i am so sorry your first nursing job is not going as anticipated. lynn

Almost fell out of my chair after reading this! Thanks for the laugh Lynn

I am a BSN RN and have never seen employers care whether or not an RN has a diploma, ASN or BSN, at least for entry-level staff nurse positions. Is this a new trend? Aren't there some LPN to RN (ASN) programs that work somewhat like a MSN-bridge program? This might be the quickest pasth to become an RN for an LPN.

You will need your MSN before becoming a psych NP; since you have your A.S. in Nursing and your BS in Psychology, you might just need to look at a "Bridge" program in which you essentially skip getting your BSN and go straight into a MSN program. I know it sounds confusing but my alma mater has one I am linking you to that can explain it better. There is also a link on this page describing the scope of practice for a Psych. NP. I know an NP who works with a psychiatric group and she primarily sees patients in the office for medication management, which is what psychiatrists tend to do now, due to insurance reimbursement issues. Here is the link to Vanderbilt's Psych NP program; look at the bridge option for RNs without a BSN. Good luck! http://http://www.nursing.vanderbilt.edu/msn/pmhnp.html Lynn

i am in the process of trying to work for a national company doing hedis reviews. the pre-employment screening/vetting process is brutal and extremely invasive in my opinion! before my interview, they had already verified my nursing license. the paperwork i received today to move forward includes requests for the following, and i quote verbatim: "the company may obtain information about you for contract purposes from a third party consumer reporting agency. thus, you may be the subject of a "consumer report" and an "investigative consumer report" which may include information about your character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and/or mode of living, and which can involve personal interviews with sources such as your neighbors, friends, or associates. these reports may contain information regarding your credit history, criminal history, social security verification, motor vehicle records ("driving records"), verification of your education or employment history, or other background checks. i hereby authorize the obtaining of "consumer reports" and/or "investigative consumer reports" by the company at any time after receipt of this authorization and throughout my agreement if applicable. to this end, i hereby authorize, without reservation, any law enforcement agency, administrator, state or federal agency, institution, school or university (public or private), information service bureau, employer, or insurance company to furnish any and all background information requested by lexis nexis screening solutions inc., p.o. box 105108, atlanta, ga 30348-5108, 1-800-845-6004, another outside organization acting on behalf of the company, and/or the company itself. the scope of this notice and authorization is all encompassing, however, allowing the company to obtain from any outside organization all manner of consumer reports and investigative consumer reports now and throughout the course of your agreement with company to the extent permitted by law. as a result, you should carefully consider whether to exercise your right to request disclosure of the nature and scope of any investigative consumer report. " i also must forward copies of my college transcripts with grades from the 1980s, submit to a drug screen, and give them my firstborn child. all of this, for an 11-week assignment with no long-term employment prospects. but, i need a job, any job, even if it is only for a few months while looking for something more permanent! the only thing i am afraid of are problems on my credit report in the last 7 years (home foreclosure) and medical issues (rheu. arthritis and fibromyalgia), as it looks like they are wanting to look at applicant's medical information bureau records, but maybe i am worrying too much. i thought background checks like this were reserved for positions that require handling of large sums of cash or highly sensitive government jobs. i am really taken aback by this process with this company and was wondering if this is now the norm in the nursing job market? i have not had to look for a job in 9 years!:confused:

Umeed, I think nursing school may be difficult IF your RA is not well-controlled. The thing about RA is you can be cruising along fine and then "WHAM", a flare hits you. I have my BSN and although it was not that difficult academically, it was VERY time consuming and took me 5 years (I was working and did have a baby when I started. Also, I was 20 when starting). Only you can decide if you want to chance starting something you may/may not be able to finish. I am having a HARD time finding a job at this point, which is partially due to the economy and mostly due to my physical limitations. My options are very limited and I am not going to chance catching opportunistic infections with my history of MRSA infections, which is something to think about if you take immunosuppressants. Also, you will be required to participate in hospital clinicals during school, which will expose you to lots of bugs. I am NOT trying to discourage you, but give you a realistic picture of what nursing school is like. Good luck in whatever decision/path you decide to follow, Lynn

I appreciate this thread SO much! I am an RN living with RA, OA, Fibromyalgia (and depression now, duh?) and severe cervical arthritis. I have worked in case management since 1992, have been unemployed for 3 years and looking for 6 mos. I cannot find a job I can do. I take Methadone for pain at the moment, along w/Neurontin, Tylenol, and Relafin. I am allergic to Tramadol, which would be a better choice if I were to get drug-tested for a new job. I had to stop MTX and Humira in 2010 due to recurrent MRSA infections. I have been turned down for SSD 3 times and have had my case in appeal for 11 months. I WANT to work and know I have a lot to offer if someone would give me a chance. I obviously cannot work full time, but feel part-time is very doable. I have sent out probably 50 resumes/applications in the past 6 months and have gotten a tepid response at best. Very frustrating, as I also have applied for jobs for which I am overqualified (LPN, MA positions). This is a terrible time to be unemployed and disabled in the US!

OB/GYN Professor & Nurse Practitioner: Nurse Beavers (True)

I have not worked in about 2 1/2 years as I took time off to care for a sick relative. I have been interviewing for some case management jobs, all of which I am qualified for, but these behavioral/situational interviews are exhausting and seeming a huge waste of time! I mean 3-5 job interviews with different folks, all asking almost the same idiotic questions for each position? I think the canned questions I am being asked are so stupid and irrelevant to the positions I'm interviewing for. Employers/Nurse Recruiters, Nursing is not rocket science! I do have my BSN and have continued my education throughout my nursing career (I do have 12 years of insurance CM experience, but let my CCM expire-dumb I guess, but I was battling about 70+ceus with CMSA). I will likely re-test for my CM certification in the spring, but at the rate I am going, if I don't get hired soon, I may have to change careers-LOL! Is anyone else out there getting frustrated with "the hunt" for a new job?

It depends on what area of case management you are interested in. For Worker's Comp and Insurance case management you do NOT need a MSN. To work in a hospital setting, it depends on your location and the hospital. Some teaching hospitals require an MSN; smaller hospitals will take a BSN. You need experience in the area of CM in which you will be working. For W/C neuro and ortho is good, but for disease management (like Healthways, HMC, BCBS), strong med-surg or home health is necessary. I know in Nashville, some MSN CNS's are working as case managers.Hope this helps a little. For example, since I have tons of W/C CM exp., I really am not a good candidate for a hospital CM position, unless I finish my MSN

Lynn, The Cigna job is in Memphis and I am in NAshville, but the Bunch and assoc looks like a good prospect, so I fill out their online app this weekend. If anyone else hears of anyone hiring W/C case managers, please reply to this post or PM me. Thanks! Lynn in TN

Listmates, I have 10+ years in work comp CM, 5 yrs of LCPing experience and cannot find a job. I have applied for numerous jobs in insurance CM as well as other types of CM and no interviews. I did interview for a shot clinic job against 25 RNs-no health benefits at all and I did not get the job. I need to find a job and cannot work in a hospital due to rheumatoid arthritis and immunosuppression. Any suggestions? Is my 2 years of independent contracting experience hurting me? i don't want to ever work for myself again-too hard to collect the money from the insurance companies and attorneys. Thanks for any advice, insight.... Lynn:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Hi all! I am a Life Care Planner and Certified Case Manager thinking about returning for my M.S.N. Is anyone aware of an M.S.N. in Rehabilitation Nursing program out there? I thought Rush had one at one time but cannot find any info on it while looking through the school website. You mail email me privately (are we allowed to do that?) at [email protected] if you do not want to clog up the list. Thanks a bunch! Kim Warden, RN, BSN, CCM Nursing & Rehab Solutions Certified Case Manager, Life Care Planner

I see no reason why not. We have male OB physicians, although I personally prefer a female OB/GYN. So long as a nurse is qualified, sex does not really matter. Kim RN, BSN

Hospital/clinical nursing are NOT your only options. Look under the different specialty forum and read up on your options, which are many. For instance, afert 5 yrs. of peds/adult ICU, I became a workers comp case manager. I was home-based and traveled during the day, but no overnights. Now I work as an expert witness as a Life Care Planner in catastrophic med mal/personal injury cases, which I really enjoy. It is stressfull, just as hospital nursing is due to constant last-minute, due last week referrals, but I enjoyit and continue to be be home based. Don't give up on nursing yet until you take the time to really explore your options;looks like you just haven't found your niche yet. Good luck, Kim