island40

I miss it so much - stuck here in Iowa I would really love to come back.

Originally Posted by hiddencatRN If you're that sensitive to cigarette smoke, maybe you should wear a gas mask? No, I should have the right to NOT...thank you! Why do you think you should have more rights than me?? What make you more important?

NO!!! Why don't you just have big brother ban trans-fat, plastic containers, roller skates and cover children's rooms with pillows instead of wallpaper. Better not have beer in front of those under 21's either, you might corrupt them since you are a parent and can talk with them - unlike the TV, Movies, Magazines and UTube which just corrupts them period!!

you can do a lot of nursing jobs that have nothing to do with patient care- look into part time work for insurance companies (I have done temp medical record review jobs that pay really good and don't use any "skills" other than my medical knowledge, nursing practice act knowledge and reading) Think outside the box - ask your local lawyers if they could use the cheap services of medical record review for malpractice cases - you will charge a lot less than an MD or experienced consultant but can still deliver the goods.

I thought your answer was great!! K.L.C MSN, RN-BC

I have an MSN in nursing ed from U of IA and have looked into California State University at Dominquez Hills cert program because it has an apprenticeship semester that would really help land a job. The classes that they offer for the cert are usual inservice courses that community colleges offer to their new faculty - took them from KCC when I was an instructor there but not official cert from it. Sometimes I think that the faculty shortage is as non-existent as the nursing shortage.

I would try really hard to negotiate the trip into the training - don't know the job market there though. If they don't then I would not plan on working for them for very long - not more than 3 years since it would show them to be not family/employee friendly- wish you the best

All things fluid & electrolyte is a good starting point. I hope that you will be given orientation for at least a couple of months (6-10 weeks) to learn the machines and dialysate washes. Medications that are used are fairly limited: all antibiotics that are IV, sedatives, antiemetics, antihistamines, hypertonic solution, epogen or equivalent, calcium by injection, sometimes antihypertensives, sometimes drugs that raise the BP.... Assessment is the main thing - clients crash fast so you have to recognize low BP, low o2, allergic reaction and fluid shift difficulty symptoms really well to fix it before it becomes a code. Good luck.

Interesting, I worked at a facility where inpatient acute dialysis was done in a room set up for 4 clients with 2 nurses. For ICU or more critical clients it was 1:1 (no tech to set up or anything the RN did it all from start to finish - water testing, everything)

I did dialysis from '01-'04 and the facility policy was change the heparin with every dressing change. If you don't and it gets plugged they it is useless. The only reason we kept them was during the maturation process of the permanent access as an emergency back up - their lifeline if the surgical fistula or graft didn't work out.

Wow! Been a long time since I did Med-surg nursing and they were updated every month :)

I've been looking for a new position since January. I have been an RN for 17 years, have an AAS (nursing), BSN, MSN in nursing ed and have been looking for everything from ed jobs to dialysis (have 3 years experience) and when I finally got my first offer this month it was for a mental health floor position on PM shift. I wish I could have taken it because it paid about $750 more a month than the job I have right now. Still looking...

I'm inclined to think that the facts of this policy got muddled in the translation from administration to employee. The way it is explained here will not work - just try getting a hold of me when I am scheduled off - and unless they are providing it I don't see how they can make me get a cell phone - Good grief, big brother taken to a whole new level.

nothing special that doesn't happen to other people. Your employer might not like seeing their employees act like this if you are in a customer service position and a right to work state. Even nurses are allowed to act stupid in America

The only bonus that i see is that you could do a post-master's certification program for your APRN. There are few schools still providing these programs [u of IA just stopped, Rush in Chicago is discussing, U of Pheonix still has it for now.]

I got hired by a hemodiaylsis provider and they trained me to set up and use the machines after I proved to them in the interview that I could recognize and react to emergency situations involving fluid and electrolyte imbalance. the advantage of dialysis nursing is that unless you are providing acute treatment you always get newyears day, christmas, thanksgiving and every Sunday off.

you have to look at these posts are from people who moved from liberal CA to conservative TX! Don't just look at the jobs that are available - you have to look at your own personal value system and determine if it fits with the local culture. i live in IA and miss the true conservatism of TX. You also have to look at the culture of the facility you are going to work for - the difference between Keizer-P and Houston medical are astounding!

Take a look at the information that can be found at USAJOBS website. There are plenty of openings both stateside and abroad.

There is so much research supporting a ban to rotating shifts and yet employers continue to enforce these shift agreements in order to fill the lower desired evening and night shifts. When are they going to wake up and realize that providing incentives for employees to work these shifts - without rotation - increases positive patient outcomes and worker satisfaction. We need sleep and you can't change your circadian rhythm every 2 weeks - I've done a 12 hour pm/noc rotating shift and hated it more than straight pm or straight nights by far!

I work in a community based psychiatric care company. When I go into the home of a client with schizophrenia to assess their mental status and medication compliance it is not always 'easy.' And many a day I would love to return to the NON SMOKING wards of the hospital, but if you really want to spend your days doing therapeutic communication then I suggest you look for community based, outpatient psychiatric care of the chronically mentally ill. Go to Dept. of Human Svc if you don't see anything in the phone book. They are usually hiring because it is a low paying job with little chance for advancement.

The problem might arise if you are ever laid off or terminated from the one employer and then went to ask for a position at the place you left after a short time. They might not be interested in considering you for a position with a fickle employment history - been there, done that and survived but it really hurt my career. SMALL town is the key

We have had a couple of problems with clients getting pulled over by police and having their unlabeled cassettes in the car - quite a tangle with the cop thinking they were hauling drugs - if they have controlled substances (ritalin, ms...) in a large enough quantity in an unlabeled cassette it is a night in the pokey here in IA.

When I set up a cassette for a client in their home I have to make a label for the cassette just like the label that a pharmacy makes - describe the pill, directions for taking, prescriber information and everything and tape it to the cassette. If my clients go to in-patient care they get medication filled in new bottles for use there. I wonder if your client does not have medicaid/medicare and that is why they were not refilled in labeled?

When I get the hours (177 days a year) and the benefits (fully funded retirement at 80% of base salary) that teachers get, I will gladly take the pay cut! P.S. I loved working in the school system as a school nurse in AZ!! and it is unfortunately few and far between that teachers spent the kind of time and energy preparing for their classes that this person describes - after teaching the course once the instructor only need to review it and update as needed.

P.S forget retiring in 20 years - it has been 30 for quite some time. Go see a recruiter!