Super Nurf

Anytime you see anything you think is odd, you have to bring it up. You brought it to the charge's attention, where she/he goes with it from there is up to them. Obviously there was a problem which needed to be addressed. What is needed is to find out how it could have happened --not to place blame on anyone, but to make sure that it doesn't happen again in the future.

Not sure but I think most nurses could test out fairly well for an ASS degree!!!!

I personally believe no aide should have the responsibility of doing something another person has to be licensed to do. It surely is a labor cost issue and bothers me when I see an aide doing things like this.(Not the aide personally, but the system behind it). Why bother having any licensure of nurse if you are able to hire someone off the street to do it? It really makes no sense for Drs to be able to hire like this.

I believe any new grad should start out on a med/surg unit. When they say you can do that, you can do anything, it's true! You never know what's going to walk in the door on one of these units and it really does give you a good base for the rest of your career.

You go girl! I get SO tired of hearing "don't you want to be an RN?". You know, if I truly wanted to be an RN that bad, I would be an RN. I really enjoy being an LPN, I am damn good at what I do and I like it. What more could you ask? I do know there are a heck of a lot of RNs out there that are wistfully thinking they should be LPNs, a great number of them have expressed this to me. I don't know where the general idea comes from that an LPN is a lesser person. I suspect it comes from some RNs who need to build themselves up. I don't see it as a competition, I do my job, they do theirs, we work together. I help them when I can, they help me when they can and we all get along. This is the ideal. The bottom line--- do what you want. Don't let anyone tell you what you should be doing. Good Luck!!!

I think it's a great idea, but some course work would be required, and I stress "some" not a ton. I find after all my years as an LPN I am a resource for the RNs, and I think my knowledge and experience should count towards something. I think this is an excellent begninning of an idea that is worthwhile of a look-see to help solve the RN shortage.

We are only scheduled 8 hour shifts where I work, I can't imagine doing 12s on a continual basis, though it probably is something that I could get used to if I could do 3 of them a week, I'd have more time off. I did them once doing the 7p to 7am shift, and that was a bit too much for me as I'm not a night shift person anyway. Wouldn't 10 hour shifts be interesting?

I think if there were as many LPNs as RNs, or more, there really wouldn't be these issues. I still think it's apples and oranges, different titles, different job descriptions, and we all should be working as a team. I have noticed in my lengthy career that the RNs who have to lord it over everyone that they are such are the ones that are very insecure about themselves and are not as able on the floors as other RNs, the ones who just jump in and do their jobs as part of the team. The title is a kind of shield to them. This is not said to inflame anyone, it's just my personal observation.

I didn't realize that 12 hour shifts were posted, where I work we only do 12s in either an emergent situation, if a lot of staff are out on leave, or just if someone on the next shift calls in sick and they can't find a replacement. 12s are hard to do, especially if you have children, and if the ortho floor is anything like the one I've worked on, I'd stay where I was. Could you work there a few days to get a feel for it before you jump in?

Run Run very very fast back to your old job. I wouldn't give notice unless I had to wait a bit to go back to the old position, and then give that time as your notice. How frightening. Good luck to you and let us know what happens.

We could all get along if things were the same across the board all the way around. Then everyone would have the same expectations and thus set their goals accordingly.

I too am a very frustrated LPN. I've been in it for 20 years, have worked many different areas to learn as much as I can, and I'm finding now I am being passed over for certain jobs because I cost too much!!! I've been looking for an office job within the system through which I am employed (it's quite extensive) and I am continually being passed over because I cost more due to my years there. Nursing is definitely not the same as it was when I started.

I see assistants in offices that pretty much function as LPNs, and I've also seen in assisted living where the aides pass meds, which bothers me. Why aren't LPNs as organzed a group as RN's are? ! LPNs have to be licensed to do a lot of things and to have an unlicensed person doing it makes our license that much less important. If LPNs started being trained to do more RN functions, you can bet there'd be an uproar! This is just my opinion and observation.

I would volunteer my time and nursing skills to a free clinic. Definitely.

I looked into home health a while back and was finding that the LPNs were having to do 8 hour shifts with difficult patients, almost a one on one type of thing. That definitely wasn't for me so I didn't accept the job. This type of situation wouldn't be bad in a hospital where you have a lot of backup, but in a home setting it made me a bit uncomfortable.

I have a Palm TX and I use it daily at work. It is handy to look up questions on meds and generic names. There's many other features you can get, I have a dictionary that comes in very handy when I run across something I need to look up.

Saying you are a nurse if you are an LPN is definitely not misleading. I say I am an LPN with pride, I've worked hard at it for many years, if I wanted to be an RN, I would certainly be an RN, but being an LPN does not make me less of a "Nurse", it's apples and oranges really.

I was wondering if anyone here can help me. I purchased the whole cirriculum for Excelsior's associates in nursing degree program from the College Network and I am discovering that I just don't have the time to devote to it, I have one kid in college now and one will be there next year and I'll have to work a lot to help get them through--and I need to sell this whole package. Does anyone have any ideas as to where to go to sell it? I've thought of Ebay but would like at least half or so of what I paid and I don't know how that would go over there. Thanks.

Lovenox is not given IM but SQ. Which brings another question, does anyone know why the instructions for Lovenox state to have the patient lying down? I even contacted the manufacturer, but all they did was send me a package insert.

This is fine if its for yourself. I brought a family member who had a history of CHF into the ED/WalkIn with elevated temps, gurgly, coughing up mucous, etc etc. and the triage nurse said "oh, I think you have an upper respiratory infection". (And when did this triage nurse get her MD license?). Well, that went through the bedside nurse and when the PA came in before doing any type of an assessment he said "Well, sounds like an URI". I said "well, we'll see what the CXray shows and he said "oh I wasn't going to do a chest xray, but I will if you want"!! I couldn't believe it. I had to ask three times for that darn xray, and when it came back the PA was visibly surprised as there was a lower lobe pneumonia, which would have gotten missed had they all gone along with what the triage nurse said it "sounded like" and most likely been treated very differently while the actual problem worsened.

I agree not so much with the wording but the thought on moving patients who are immobile, and we are expected to be superhuman and turn and boost and reposition, what about our backs? Why in the world are we expected to move these massive weights? Why isn't there more our there about protecting ourselves and our backs? I brought up the issue with my employer about this, and got totally blown off. It's like no one cares, and I think this is a very valid issue.

Hello there, I am in the same boat it sounds like. I just did the sociology CLEP test and yes, I got books from the college network, I honest to God thought they were affiliated with Excelsior college and represented what Excelsior wanted me to have. DUH, I feel like such a fool now. But I didn't know, live and learn, I guess. I did not feel their sociology book came close to preparing me for that exam. I had that darn book memorized!!! The wording on the test was different and there were many many questions that I had to guess at that I'd never heard of. I just pray that the rest of the study guides that I do have from them will prepare me better for those course exams. I am working on English Comp right now, then it will be either A&P or microbiology. I would appreciate any suggestions for study materials for A&P, and literature.

not being judgemental or anything but Ewwwww!

I was helping another nurse with her patient who had just come back from hemodialysis who was very sleepy. Too sleepy, we were having to shake him to keep him breathing. I had no idea of this person's history, had never seen him before. He had not been taking any strong pain meds, or anything unusual medication wise, but I had this little intuitive voice in my head say-- "Narcan." It truly didn't even look like narcan would be indicated looking at the medication sheet of this patient, and at the time I wasn't very familiar with it, but we called the nephrologist who said "give him Narcan" and he woke right up. I ponder on this occasionally, it truly was an odd thing.

I have always wondered about the c-spine part. What if you could help by doing compressions, but you would have to move the victim to do them effectively? Is it the lesser of the two evils then?