pirituba

This week was my first week in the floor and I really like, my preceptors are excellent. I gave IV push Lasix, I did the TPN thing, flushed lines, and much more. But still I remind myself that I am still learning and I am not scared to ask questions! Thank You, Raquel:nurse:

I don't think you've to worry about drip rate unless you don't have a pump! Give an example and I will try to solve for you! Raquel

I'm scared as you're, I've been a nurse for about 9months but I have only worked in LTC. Tomorrow is my first day of work in medical acute floor. Everybody is stable but I had some experience with IV, but still when I look at the IV pump I just blank. I did have IV training but when you don't use you loose it. I am a little scared, they're going to train me, but the fact that I will have a preceptor it scares me. For having problems with math, i try to think clear and I usually bring withme my nurse calculation hand book (pocket size)for a quick look up. And make sure to check your calculations twice for accuracy. The hand book is "Math for Nurses: A pocket Guide to Dosage Calculation and Drug Preparation" by Mary JO Boyer and it is a 6th edition. I hope that helps and good luck!!! Raquel:nurse:

This is an Old thread!!!

I've been a nurse for about 9 months in LTC (nursing home). This has been a experience for me. On Sept 8th I am starting my new job in a Rehabilitation Hospital in acute wing of the hospital. I feel anxious to the point that I wake up q 2hrs with a Medical nightmare. What do you think? How was your experience when you got your hospital job, and how was your preceptor???? Please give me any advice if you have or wish me good luck!!!! thank you, Raquel:nurse:

get comfortable with anxiety, the day I entered nursing I think I automaticaly became anxious. July 31 2007 past nclex (exciting moment)!!!! 10/01/07 got a job in community health center (pediatrics) all my confidence flushed down the toilet(got fired). 11/06/07 got hired in Nursing Home, but very scared and dobted my skills as a nurse(I still work there gave my noticed Aug 11 2008. Aug 1 2008 got hired in Rehabilitation Hospital in Acute area, I will start there on Sept 8th, and I am starting to feel anxious, I wake up q 2hrs with a medical nightmare, I am so anxious that I have back pain, cold sore and I haven't even started. So you're not the only anxious, I am going to take my deep breath as much as I need. I can do it!!!! Before nursing school I never had any medical experience what so ever!!! So be confident and just be yourself!!! Good Luck Raquel RN (Lol)

culture change idea is to make nursing home amd assissted living feeling more like home than just a nursing home or assisted living. May you can do a little research on the internet, there are tons of stuff. I hope you find what you're looking for? best wishes

I am very good when it comes to filling in MAR holes at the end of the night (specially meals), but yesterday I had such a horrible night 2 days in a row that, I came to conclusion I had go home and what ever it was missing was going to be completed on Monday! I know I gave everybody their meds, meals, and etc because as I finish giving meds to one patient I highlight their name on my report sheet (it means I'm done with him or her in regards to MAR):)

I was just reading a Thread fo Hourly rates for LPN's and realized that it was from 2000. I could not believe how low they were! So I'm from MA, I currently work in a Nursing Home I have Associate Degree in Nursing. My hourly rate for a shift 3-11 is 24.50/hr, On weekend is 25.25 as new grad. For LPN is 19.00/HR new grad. On Sep 8th I will be working in a Hospital and I will be making 28.50/hr 3-11shift and after 6months it goes up .50cents/hr. I think is pretty good considering that I will be considered as a new grad in Acute medical floor. I graduated in june of 2007, so I don't have any experience at all when it comes to acute. let me know your hourly rate and your state! Just curious!!!

in the nursing home that i work they have 2 cats, they resident love the animals (i think this idea is a good one). another one is meals, showers. in the place i work they have scheduled showers once a week. if i was living like that i will die, because i take 2 showers a day, in the summer more than. what ever they do i still think is not going to make a difference, a nursing home is a nursing home that is a fact!!! raquel:nurse:

Believe me some residents that are A+OX3 love some attention, and they will go a zillion times to the bathroom for attention, if that is the only way they will get attention that way!

I would call his Dr. to see if you can get an appoitment with a GI Dr. Have pt evaluate him. May be he needs to be seen by psych. You know your patient best, sometimes it could be that there is something wrong with him and that needs to be addressed

OncologyRN23, When you work in a Nursing Home/geriatric the patient to nurse ratio is High, My ratio is 24:1 so when you have anything like the CnA comes in Hand. The CNA's in my facility cannot do vital signs, CBS., The nurse does it all. In my facility the CNA's sit on the dinning watching TV and waits for a call, but sometimes they don't even answer a call light. Mean while I don't even get a chance to have my break. Last night I ate my supper at 12:30am. I had 10 patients that need immeadiate attention, from neb tx, toilet, neuro assessment q 15 minutes for the first hour, 3 people that had pain (prn narcotics), One Patient lost eye glasses, the other one lost upper denture, With all that I had 3 skilled patients that I had to have the vital signs with the firts hour of work, so I can assess them. The other patient has the G-tube and needs to go on and we do have to do patient teaching with hime because he is being discharged. This happen in the first hour of work. I also have to give scheduled meds to 24 residents before the meal truck arrives at 5pm when the meal truck arrives we cannot give any meds except for prns. So don't emidiatly think because is not only a CNA's job because we do have full plate in our hands when we come in to work. Raquel

Today, It was a horrible day at work. My shift 3-11, at 3:30, I found my patient on the bathroom floor. He is on chair alarm. The worst of all is when the 7-3 Cna puts patient on the toilet and takes off without informing anyone. Even if she informed anyone, still she should not have left him alone. I had do neuro because we were not sure if banged his head. I also to do inservice because of that. It was 4:45 and another ten people to medicate. The food truck comes up at 5pm and then we cannot give any meds except PRN. The lights were blinking like a Christmas tree. Nurse here, nurse there, nurse everywhere I heard. It gets worst from here, but that is o.k. I'm glad I'm home. Raquel

well i work in a nursing home and if is scheduled at hs, i will ask the patient what time is there bed time. if there is no other indication, i should not give, i give. if it is a sleeping like ambien, i only can give that after 9:30 pm, if there other meds that are scheduled around the same time, and there are o.k to give together, will give them all together. i usually i know if they're going to get a sleeping pill or not. after dinner at some point at stop by and assess them and will ask if they may think they are going to get a sleeping pill or not, if they usually gets them. raquel

mo2b1 very busy, I am only one nurse to 24 patient and only 2 CNA. I feel sometimes I should be in roller bladdes. Some patients take a really long time to take their meds and their are like 12 meds. My patient goes thourhg the roof. I can't give meds while residents are eating. so I have 15 resident to give meds in 1hour! Meals are at 5pm, and if we get caught giving meds during meal we will get written up. I hate when I have to float to 2nd floor. I don't know their routine and I have start from the beginning. I sometimes don't get out until later at night. Now that I'm starting my new job in hospital it is scary but I think i can do it. It does not mean will be easy. Got to go to sleep Raquel

I'm with you! The other day patient that has a G-tube disconnect everything and everything was everywhre. I asked my CNA to assist him on getting him changed and bed clean. I went to pass meds 30 minutes later Patient still was in the same condition. I went to the cna and asked againg and she took another 15 minutes because she was doing the books. I have 24 patients 2 Cna and another zillion things to do and nobody helps. Everybody takes breaks and do not let me know. Yesterday i had zero CNA on my side. The other side heard the belt but did not move an inch to check it out, Mean while I am in the middle of something. I felt like should be 3 instead of one. 3 weeks ago I asked the CNA put my patient in bed, she didn't do it. I know that she tired and once you put her in bed with a bed alarn she will relax. So I was writing some notes with my patient view, turn around to get a paper in the fax look at the dinning and saw nobody. I got there my patient had slid of the wheelchair, now I had to feel out an accident report and do neuro assessment q 15 for a hour. Next time the cna did a similar thing like I told her if she wanted to file the accident report and immediatly she took my patient to her bed. Boy, boy, boy is tough!! thanks for letting me vent Raquel:wink2:

I graduated from nursing school in 2007, I've been working in a Nursing Home. I finally going to work in a Hospital in acute medical area, and now I'm a little scared. A nursing home is very different from an in-patient acute care setting. Please give me some advices and what was your experience when you were in Orientation. I scared of labs (interpreting them) and IV calculation and how to deal with IV machines. I'm basically scared!!! I scared of what kind of preceptor I will get and if we are compatible. please respond to my posting I really would appreciate Thank You Raquel:wink2:

I graduated from nursing school in 2007, I've been working in a Nursing Home. I finally going to work in a Hospital in acute medical area, and now I'm a little scared. A nursing home is very different from an in-patient acute hospital setting. Please give me some advices and what was your experience while you were in orientation Thank You Raquel

I'm scared about labs (interpreting them) and other things that are different from a nursing home. I never had any experience except for my clinical in the medical/hospital field. Raquel:wink2:

I've been a nurse for about 9 months, When I graduated I got a job in Nursing home. On Sep 8th I will be starting a new job in a Rehabilitation Hospital in acute section of the hospital. I'm scared about! p.s. what is GN (geriatric nursing?):wink2:

I graduated from nursing school in 2007 and have been working in a Nursing home. In Sept 8th I will be starting my new job in a rehabilation hospital in acute area. I'm so scared of being in orientation and having a preceptor. A nursing home and a hospital are quite different. Labs for me are big blur and how to interpret them. I need to brush up this info! In the nursing home I was in orientation for a long time I thought. So I can understand how you feel. I just hope i didn't forget what learned in nursing school. IV's and the IV machine are scariest to me. But I'm trying to be calm, relax and wait until Sep 8th. Thank you, Raquel

I'm working in MASS and we only have 6 skilled residents! I have no Idea how i'm going to remember how I'm going to handle this situation. Wed I was doing an admission with my preceptor and I took forever and forever to complete paper work! In the back of my mind I was thinking how I am going to gives meds, and do tx and do the admission at the same time, since admission took 3 1/2 hours to complete paper work!

I am a new grad and just got a job in a Skilled and Rehabilitation LTC facility. On my floor We have 2 nurses for 47 patients. I have not started the meds yet, but I did treatments and vitals which took me forever. I was all over the floor looking for the residents, which half them I could not find. I was thinking about how can I manage to give meds, treatments, and all of the other stuff I have to do in couple of hours? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Raquel:uhoh3:

I'm a new grad and I just got a Job in a LTC facility, in my floor the ratio is 22:1. I did not give meds yet, but I'm thinking what is going to be like (I will probably will take the whole day) Do you have any sugestion?