Kurious RN

I work in the ICU. The patients are very sick and rarely any nurse on my floor take a 30 min break. They all eat sitting at their desk so they can look at the monitors. I feel that eating at the desk is unsanitary and I can't do it. So, it's very hard for me to ask another nurse to look after my patients while I go to the break room to eat my food because none of them do it. So, I basically have to go to the break room and eat my food in 5-7 minutes.

Thank you for all your replies! I was wondering if Endo nurses get to have a 30 min lunch. Any Endo RN in here?

Hi everybody Is there any nursing specialty where you can actually sit down and have a 30 min break? I'm feeling burn out... Please share your specialty or ideas if you're able to have a 30 min lunch every time you go to work.

Thank you for your replies! Have a great day!

Thanks! Mine is a Compact State License, but I thought that I still had to pay to get an Endorsement...?

Hi I currently have a North Carolina License. I've been thinking about moving to Virginia, but every job ask for current VA license. Can I apply for the VA License even if I still live in NC? Thanks

What Are Your Weaknesses? This is the most dreaded question of all. Handle it by minimizing your weakness and emphasizing your strengths. Stay away from personal qualities and concentrate on professional traits. Why Should We Hire You? Summarize your experiences and skills Why Do You Want to Work Here? The interviewer is listening for an answer that indicates you've given this some thought and are not sending out resumes just because there is an opening. Research the hospital statement or record. What Are Your Goals? Sometimes it's best to talk about short-term and intermediate goals rather than locking yourself into the distant future. For example, "My immediate goal is to .......My long-term goal ....... Why Did You Leave (Or Why Are You Leaving) Your Job? If you're unemployed, state your reason for leaving in a positive context. If you are employed, focus on what you want in your next job: "After two years, I made the decision to look for ..........where I can add my experience." What Can You Do for Us That Other Candidates Can't? What makes you unique? This will take an assessment of your experiences, skills and traits. What Are Three Positive Things Your Last Boss Would Say About You? It's time to pull out your old performance appraisals and boss's quotes. This is a great way to brag about yourself through someone else's words. What Salary Are You Seeking? It is to your advantage if the employer tells you the range first. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area, and your bottom line or walk-away point. One possible answer would be: "I am sure when the time comes, we can agree on a reasonable amount. In what range do you typically pay someone with my background?"

Go for the ASN. Most hospitals nowdays are trying to achieve the Magnet status and are not hiring LPNs. Also, when I was in nursing school I knew a few LPNs that were having trouble passing the NCLEX because they were used to do things a different way. Good luck!

I drive 35 minutes to get to work. And I love the fact that on my days off I don't see any patients/people from work because they all live in the other side of town.

Thank you for your replies. I'm in NC now and I have 2 years of experience in Med/Surg. I'm going to look into VCU medical center and see what happens. Thanks again!

Hi everybody! I'm planning on moving to Richmond, VA in a few months and I have a couple of questions. -What hospitals do you think are the best in the Richmond area? -How much is the pay for a night shift RN? Thank you!

Thank you for your responses. Reading some of the replies make me realize that most of the work overload that nurses are experiencing nowdays is in part our own fault. When a new procedure is implemented, we need to speak up and voice our concerns. We need to stop taking extra responsibilities or when is this going to end? For example, starting next year hospitals are not going to get paid for readmissions within 7 days even if the patient comes in with a completely different diagnosis. Lets say a patient comes in with CHF and the same patient has to be readmitted in less than a week with a different diagnosis such as Renal failure, the hospital is not getting paid anything for the second readmission. So, guess what's going to happen. Nurses are going to get more work overload and less pay. The hospital is not going to give you a 3% pay raise if they are not making any money. And even if they tell you "well we'll pay you extra the days that you have to take care of more patients" How is this safe? We need to grow some balls and say enough is enough! Some nurses worry about saving the planet, but ignore what's happening right now in Nursing. Think twice.

I'm so frustated right now. The hospital where I work just implemented a new "policy" in order to keep up with the budget. So, now the 7p-7a shift is not going to have a Charge Nurse on the floor if there are less than 20 patients on the floor. How is this a safe measure on a Med-Surg unit!! I understand this might work on other units, but not on a Med-Surg unit! Our patient ratio at night is 7-8 patients per nurse. And the hospital has "Magnet Status"! Why is everybody always so afraid to speak their minds!!!! Enough is enough! What can be done about this? Is anybody else going through this same ordeal? Thanks!

Thank you for replying to my message. I've been looking at some jobs on USAJOBS and I'm going to send an application :) Have a great day!

I've been thinking about becoming an Army Civilian Nurse, but I don't know anybody who's done it and I have a few questions... -How long is the hiring process- including the interview process, the background check...? (once your application is accepted, how long until you actually get to work) -Do you have to sign a contract like if you were in the military? (where you can't break the contract) -Can you get deploy at any given time? -Do they pay for relocation? Thanks!

Sometimes I feel like moving over there even without a job. I have 2 years of experience in Med-Surg and we don't have any kids yet...The more I think about it, the more I want to do it :)

Thanks for all your replies! I've been looking for a job In HI, but they always require a current Hawaii RN license. My license right now is from NC. So, Can I request a RN License Endorsement for a state where I don't live in? I was thinking about getting endorsement and then applying for jobs in Hawaii...

Hi everybody! I have a question. I live in North Carolina now but I would love to relocate to Hawaii. Is it hard to find a job in Hawaii with just and Associates in Nursing? The only skill I have is that I'm bilingual (spanish) Thanks!

Vespa and his team inserted a catheter into a large vein and began feeding cooling fluid into Jay's body.

USC Marathon Student Better After Cardiac Arrest ...but as Jay reached mile 18, something went terribly wrong. He grabbed his chest and collapsed onto the road. He'd suffered a cardiac arrest. "When he arrived at the medical center, Jay was in a coma and on a ventilator, in very critical condition," Vespa said. "His brain was certainly at risk for permanent injury due to his heart attack, and we had little time to reverse this effect or even assure that he would live." Vespa decided to use a state-of-the-art procedure known as therapeutic hypothermia on Jay to maximize his chances for recovery. "This procedure can be lifesaving in cases like Jay's, where the brain and other organs have been deprived of oxygen for a significant amount of time and the patient is at risk of permanent organ damage or death," Vespa said. "It is not widely used because it requires specialized equipment and trained staff, but it is fully approved." Vespa and his team inserted a catheter into a large vein and began feeding cooling fluid into Jay's body. "The process works much like a radiator cools an engine," Vespa said. "The machine runs 24/7 and lowers the body temperature to 89.6 degrees. The cooling protects the body's organs until the brain has time to reboot. We kept Jay chilled for approximately 72 hours, at which time he awoke from his coma. Follow-up tests showed he has no permanent damage to his brain or other organs. He should have a perfect recovery. Journal of Nursing

In the study, the knee MRI images in patients with anorexia had markedly increased fat content--visualized as "yellow marrow"--and less than half as much healthy red marrow in their knees; this was seen both in the lower thigh bone (femur) and upper shinbone (tibia). "But because of the hormonal alterations induced by malnutrition, the bone marrow stops yielding the needed cells to form bone. Instead the stem cells are pushed toward fat formation." One speculation is that it's the body's attempt to store energy and preserve warmth. Anorexics often develop hypothermia because of a lack of insulating fat, and are often hospitalized with extremely low body temperatures. http://www.asrn.org/newsletter_article.php?journal=jn&issue_id=148&article_id=744

Hi! I need help finding a place close to the beach where there are also good hospitals. Any ideas? I lived in Hampton, VA for a few years and I loved it, but traffic is a nightmare over there. Anybody living in Charleston? North Myrtle Beach? Ocean Isle? Greenville? any other place on the east coast?

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Your friend is either jealous of you or afraid that you would be more successful than her.

I wonder if hospitals have in mind "the cost of living" when they are charging the patients...?