areeve01

The average LOS I would authorize at my health plan would vary dependant upon many factors. If they require an insulin drip, that usually lengthens the LOS, as they wean off the drip onto ssc/scheduled insulin. Many require 3-5 days total to tweak the insulin doses, but we don't use a set LOS for this. We review based on medical necessity evaluated by endocrine stability. Not much help for your paper! But there is a resource that lists the LOS based on DRG payment. You could probably google it to find it electonically.

I've worked in many different nursing environments and it's the same story different place. There are always going to be those personality types who thrive on making other people's lives miserable. The only job that you get away from this totally is homecare or work from home. I did homecare for a couple of years, doing home infusion (chemo). It felt like I was an independant contractor working for myself. I started from home and went back home. Never really saw anyone unless there was a mtg. Now work from home doing case mgmnt and love it! Avoiding office politics is one of the biggest perks! Just keep your chin up b/c those types will always bury themselves... It's hard at times, but resist the urge to buy-in to their smack talk of others. You peers will respect you deep down that your a loyal dependable co-worker.

I have done UM/CM in the hospital setting and then with health plans and I like the health plan environment alot better. They work more business hours, no holidays, get Christmas eve and Christmas off. Things like that never happened working at the hospital in UM. Also, there's a great opportunity around the Indy area and a couple of other states for someone who does not have CM/UM experience to gain some PRN to see if they like it. Let me know if someone would be interested.

Check into some of your local hospitals in your area, especially the larger ones. Many of them in our area are so short staffed, they sign a contract with students to pay for all their college costs including classes and books in return of a 4yr work commitment. Other then that it's no strings attached. It's a win-win situation when you have no way to pay for college. Also, when I started nursing school, I didn't have a penny to pay for college, I paid for my entire RN degree with student loans. Yeah, I have one hefty of a student loan payment, but when you compare what I was making prior to being a RN to now, it was well worth it! I was also a non-traditional student with a family, who had to work while going thru nursing school. It was really tough, a couple years of 2-4 hrs sleep minimum, but if you have the will, you can do it! Look into the accelerated RN program and my advice is to go straight into the RN program if that's your goal. Once your out, it's hard to go back and the LPN to RN program is just as hard, so you might as well do the RN the first time. Good luck!!

I was completely tired of hospital hours and politics, I went into CM working for Managed Medicaid Health plan. I worked PRN at hospital for a couple years and found I always got assigned the worst possible patients! One of my previous medical directors, just started a new organization here in Indy, where they provide nursing advocates for a couple of different programs. This might provide an excellent opportunity for nurses to work from home with flexible schedule, it's currently in the works, but I feel it's a great opportunity for any nurse who is interested in working PRN or more. Email me if it's something you'd like me to find out more from her about.

I have found it very difficult for newbie nurses to get into a public health nursing position. This is because you have to rely on an array of nursing background, that could include OB, Peds, MedSurg, Endocrine, Neuro, Psych, etc. But I personally would be willing to talk to a nurse who has had 6mth-1yr of Acute experience and pre-cept them in our organization. We are only venturing out into about 4 states though. If I felt that a newer nurse had the drive, ambition and was truly dedicated to learning this field, it would involve a longer training period than seasoned nurses but it is definately an option. I've worked with alot of male nurses in this field. This area of work beats out hospital nursing any day!

I am a RN and found that hospital nursing just did not make me happy. I found myself drawn to more of a community health/public health direction. Those type of jobs are difficult to find and some do not pay well. I am currently working with 2 Physicians about developing a new concept thru a couple different programs. One of them provides nurse advocacy services to others in need. There is no direct medical care given. The nurse educates and helps their clients/their family navigate through the complex health system. A second portion of this, involves working with businesses to manage/decrease their health risk and address growing healthcare costs. If you are in New York, Alabama, Missippi, Indiana or Georgia and are interested or have a background in this type of concept nursing. Please email me, I'd love to hear your ideas! This is such a new exciting way for nurses to provide public health education and feel rewarded, without having to work weekends/holidays!