nursejane236

congratulations on passing your boards and on your career choice! as a lpn, and a mds coordinator (which many of my peers don't know exactly what it is that i do) i can tell you that you can set your sights to whatever you desire. it is much harder as a lpn since many medical institutions don't give fair recognition to lpn vs rn. however, i know many lpn's that can run circles around many rns. i am very appreciative for this forum so that many lpns can get together and vent, share and detail their experiences. you are on your way to being the best nurse you can be and that is the most important part not the initials behind your name! good luck to you.

Had a 22 year old end stage dialysis patient that was waiting for transplant and was a DNR living at our facility. Patient was competent and signed her own DNR. Mother came to visit from Germany and patient collapsed. Mother who was POA screamed to begin CPR which of course was done. EMT's arrived saw the DNR and stopped the code despite the mother's POA. EMT's acted as if we did something wrong and while in the hearts of many it too felt that way, the mother as listed POA was calling the shots.

I am a LPN that functions as MDS coordinator, however, my official title is Resident Care Coordinator (because I am a LPN). I work for 120 bed facility with medicare skilled patients averaging 20-30 and manager care another 10-15; average skilled is 45 pts, however every bed is certified. Census usually runs about 118 averaging with 1-2 admissions and 1-2 discharges per day. I am the only MDS coordinator for over 3-1/2 years. Thinking about doing MDS maybe travel. Does anyone have any info on salary and assignments. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a great day!

Hate to admit it but am not the most "compliant" nurse. Collapsed my lung from a fall earlier this year and was asymptomatic (O2 sats 98 on r/a and little pain and not even a bruise) went to hospital thinking I broke a rib and was stunned to learn I needed a chest tube. Of course I reluctantly was admitted and my cynical side wondered just how necessary that chest tube really was. When they realized I was a nurse all of the teaching, bedside manner, and professionalism seemed to go out the window. When MD found out I was nurse his comment was oh I get to put a chest tube in young, thin nurse. I am going to enjoy this. I was somewhat sedated with demerol but I will tell you I could hear all the inappropriate comments they were making that I don't believe would have been said if I wasn't a nurse. Oh and when you have a chest tube patient that tells you they are in pain. Believe them! The actual insertion and removal was something I couldn't describe. And I have gone through a root canal without novacaine!

It appears that your facility is choosing the RN to be in compliance. It is a sad fact that when a facility chooses an RN to be a unit manager (newly hired) over an experienced LPN that they don't value their employees. The worst part about it is the continuity of care of the patients and the morale of the staff. I don't wish the RN to fail but as experience has taught me changes such as this never work out for the best unless there has been a whole change of management as well. The real question will be if the LPN will return to her former role?

Couldn't have been said better!

First and foremost patient safety and welfare. Report them. Not an easy task. Takes a lot of courage. If using the various tiplines such as BON, state agencies and local authorities get you nowhere. You might want to try a local news channel. Choose another facility because once it all comes out in the wash you will not want to have your nursing career tarnished by the wrongdoings of others at the expense of patients.

Incident reports in my facility are about anything out of the ordinary. Consequently, there are several incidents from everything such as skin tears to medication errors. Every incident that happens to a patient is investigated, careplanned and all appropriate personnel notified. Do they help? the jury is still out on that. Sometimes I see changes that are beneficial and other times I see them as a way to document compliance, non-compliance and create a paper trail for the powers that be!

You have a guardian angel that will always be by your side!

Ok so quite frankly the wage scale in Florida for nurses is not what it should be. But there is no human service field that ever measures up. (For example, teachers, police officers, firefighters, etc.) People do it because they love it and they feel the need to help someone. People are drawn to Florida for various reasons as well. (lifestyle, family, warm weather) Whatever the reasons, a career choice and a location choice are generated by our emotions and we can never be paid enough for our emotions. Philosophical? Maybe. Yes housing has risen faster than Florida can keep up. The cost of living is climbing faster than some big cities. Yet we either adjust to it or we choose to try it out somewhere else. You have entered a career that is about personal reward and hopefully financial reward will come to you. The best thing about nursing is the opportunity. The opportunity to do something you love almost anywhere in the country and to diversify yourself when you get burnt, bored or tired. Long term care, hospitals, specialty, administrative and even government nursing are all available to you. There are not many careers that can offer that type of variety.

I finished nursing school at 35. At first I too thought wow is this a young person's career. But after going through it and realizing that more than half my class was 30 or older with at least 4 women who were in their 50's, I soon recognized that nursing is a career where your age can work for you. Life experiences can certainly help you with critical thinking. Good luck to you.

The commuter said it best. Having worked in several different professions prior to my nursing career, I have learned that corporate politics is not reserved for the white collar world, cattiness is not reserved for the office and backstabbing isn't always meant for sales associates. Unfortunately, it is a society. Nursing like any other profession is made up of a society. I believe we hold a value that nursing is made up of the "golden rule" do unto others. Know that it happens no matter where you work or what profession you are part of and that as long as you are respectful to your patients first, co-workers second and most of all respectful of yourself and your own priniciples. At the end of the day, you have cared for another human being and that in itself is noble.

I work in a LTC with acute rehab. Most acute rehabs are skilled nursing faciity which have federal and state guidelines that they have to abide by. One of the most important is the cna/patient and nurse/patient ratio. As an LPN I am a unit manager and I am the MDS coordinator. I can tell you that finding RN for LTC in Florida can be very challenging. Skilled nursing facilities in Florida require 8 hours of RN supervision regardless of how many LPNS are on staff. The 8 hours of RN coverage cannot be the Director of Nursing and/or anyone that does not have direct patient care. It is quite possible that they saw you as the warm body RN needed for their coverage. Possibly that is why pool was presented. Pool typically means you fill the need or open slot. For example, they have no RN coverage for that day then you are called in. It also warrants the higher pay since you have to usually be readily available. Pool might also mean on call coverage. Turnover ratio, staffing census ratio with nursing and CNA coverage are important facts to get out in the open. I am not sure how it is in your state but as a nurse in a florida with a sister who is an RN that works in a hospital, her ratio on a med surg floor can be 8:1 with 1 PCT for a med surg floor of 20-24 patients. On a good day in a PCU unit she has 5:1 and typically ICU for her 3:1 with no PCT. There are variables to every nursing situation and the best thing for you to do is ask all the questions you can such as agency usage, number of admission/discharges per day, orientation policy, etc. Good luck.

I got started in my nursing career later in life in my 30's. One of my reasons was to use all of my nuturing energy towards people that would benefit and appreciate it. I have used nuturing energy towards people my whole life (mainly family) and generally there was a lackluster of appreciation or sense of reward. Now that I am a nurse I see that appreciation in the small things. I work in geriatric care and many people consider the elderly to be toss away and when I get a smile from one of my patients it makes my day. My family is still dysfunctional (as is everyone's I believe) but I feel as if I get back what I need which is helping people that for the most part appreciate it.