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I'm not sure which video it is that they are referring to that they want you to watch, and maybe this reply is too late, but here is a little bit of info anyway. If you have any questions about the video, try calling the HR department at 610-402-3103. Let me just say quickly that LVH is awesome! I have definitely had a good experience there since starting in December, 2007. It's the best experience I've had in healthcare anywhere yet. They invest in resources, and it shows. LVH hires people to work as nurse assistants under two titles: PSNA and Technical Partner. As far as I know, either one pays 11.00/hr to start. The difference between the two is whether or not you are in nursing school. If you are in nursing school and have gotten at least two semesters of clinical, they will hire you as a PSNA (Professional Student Nurse Assistant), or if you are not in nursing school they will hire you as a Technical Partner, and give you the same job description, but your orientation is a little longer. Basically, they expect nursing students to already know some things from college that the Tech Partners who aren't in college might not know. In the department that I work in, it really flows quite smoothly with the folks I work with. Besides the RN's and Physicians, on a typical unit there are PSNA's and Tech Partners (who work directly with the RN's and Physicians), and also Support Partners (who do janatorial type of stuff), and there are also Administrative Partners (who do registration and clerical things, sort of like a unit clerk). Of course there are other folks there, but that gives you a little bit of an idea how they assign assistive duties. I think it works great. If you have more questions, just ask, or contact Human Resources.

Not sure where you live, but here's something that I thought you might find interesting, even if it's just for the "what-it's-worth-department." Check this out: http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/emergencymedicine/patientcare/services/lifelion/ground Even though the picture is small, try to take a close look at that truck. I've seen it up close, and it is imacculate! They can tranport two PICU or NICU patients in there at once along with a full care team. They even have DVD players for the kids to watch on long transports! :-) I guess that doesn't answer your question though, but it sounds like something that would be right along your line of interests. I know you don't really want to do a whole lot of adult EMS, but unfortunately it's all part of the deal. Unless you can find a specialty unit like the one I showed you here, you are likely to transport just about any kind of patient in EMS, including those old guys having MI's. But even they do some adult transports too. It's not so bad though. EMS in general really is quite enjoyable. Given your interests though, I would look for a specialty unit like this one, where they don't run emergency calls in the community, but rather they do specialized scheduled transports, or maybe find a team in a local hospital that accompanies ambulance crews on specialty transports like that. I know those units are sometimes hard to find depending on where you live. I know you said your hospital doesn't have a specialty PIC/NIC transport team of their own, but possibly one of the other hosptials in your area does? There are some agencies who do just that; they staff special prepared ICU RN's to accompany flight teams and ground crews on transports like that. I know of a hospital in my state who has sent their flight team to other hospitals in my area to pick up patients, and they sent along another nurse who does only that - he accompanies flight teams on both helicopter and airplane to transport very critical patients. Anyway, just some ideas.... If all else fails, move to Hershey, PA, and fly with LifeLion. :-)

Hi folks! I know online forums are not always be the best way to get advice, but it's not the only way I'm going about getting input from other nurses. I've been asking this question for quite some time to all sorts of nurses. The question at hand is intended for nurses who have experience in ER, flight nursing, and/or ICU, and that is: Would you recommend taking a job in the Emergency Department straight out of college. Before you jump to a hasty answer, consider some background info. If all goes as planned, I will be graduating from a BSN program this coming spring, and by that time I will have also been an EMT-B for 6 years. I have experience in PHTLS, firefighting, I'm Vehicle Rescue Tech, and I have long list of other EMS con-ed. I took an additional nursing class in collge on emergency preparedness (coincidentally, along with the guy who is now my unit manager in the ED; he took the class for con-ed, I took it for one college credit, and he recruited me then & there, but that's a different story), and I minored in Biology. My goal is to become a PHRN (Pre-Hospital RN - an ALS provider title recognized EMS system here in PA), possibly a CEN, and hopefully/eventually a flight nurse. Right now I work as an assistant in the ER of a very large Level I trauma center, and it is a really great work environment. I have a history of being critical of some of my previous jobs, so for me to say that this is a great work environment is no understatement. Presently, my role as an assistant in the ER allows me to do basically anything in the ER that an EMT, CNA, & phlebotomist would do, plus a few things, so I have been learning quite a bit on the job. This hospital offers a Critical Care Internship for new graduate nurses that lasts about 6 months, and all those nurses going to the ER or any of the ICU's takes this internship as part of their orientation. From what I've heard, the Internship is a really good program. I'm definitely planning on going through the Critical Care Internship, no doubt about it, but then I was thinking about going to one of the ICU's first (like maybe SICU, Trauma-Neuro ICU, or Acute Coronary Unit) for at least 2 or 3 years, and then going back to the ER. Here's the catch, I applied for the Critical Care Internship (CCI), but didn't specify yet which unit I want to go to, because I haven't even made up my own mind yet. Meanwhile, the management in the ER wants me to come work there right out of college, and do the CCI through that department. I know there are some folks who would reccomend getting a year or two of Med-Surg first, but I'm not even going to consider that, given the opportunity I have to go through the CCI as a new grad. So basically, to sum it up in a nutshell, if you have experience in Flight Nursing, ER, ICU, or any combination of those, then tell me, would you recommend going to the ER during my rookie year, or going to one of the ICU's first? Even if I do go to the ER right away, I still plan to work in one of the ICU's at some point, maybe part time on the side or something, because I'm sure it would be good experience to have for flight nursing.

Well, that's similar to what a few people are trying to tell me, but I guess it just isn't sinking in. A lot of what most of these theorists say, and the people who critique their work, is so abstract and full of "good sounding words" and elaborate jabber-jaw stuff that I miss the basic idea of what they are trying to communicate. I can study the theories of theology, psychology, philosophy, physical sciences, and a whole lot of other subjects, and they all make a lot more sense, (in fact, I discovered that I quite enjoy studying philosophy) but these nurse theorists are just way out there in la-la land somewhere. I'm not trying to be overly sarcastic here, but I must be honest, I really don't get the point most of the time. I think if I were to develop nursing theories, I could do it in a lot simpler language and get to the point already in far fewer words. llg: I do appreciate your perspective from a teaching position, so maybe you could help me understand this all a little better. I've had others try to tell me that nursing is more than "just" a "technical" position, just as you are saying. I understand that, and I know we are supposed to be professsionals, but that is no cause to be condescending, superscilious, or down-right snooty to those who are technicians in their respective fields. I hold a great appreciation for those various technicians as valuable colleagues and try to recognize their individual expertise. I do not look down on them and do not consider them unprofessional. While we are being taught as nursing students to be professionals, I'm afraid that ingranes into some students' minds that they are "above" their technical partners, but I am seeing first-hand that there are plenty of technicians out there who could run circles around certain nurses in select areas, even professional areas. We are being taught about how nurses are professionals, but I am convinced that professionals are only professionals after they have mastered all the technical skills necessary for their profession, plus have also learned how to apply research to our practice, and all that other stuff that makes us autonomous. I'm not sure what it's like in other schools of nursing across the country, but I get the impression that we are spending too much time in the abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical, and not enough time in the concrete, realistic, and hands on. In EMT class our curriculum was designed by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and all of the domains of Bloom's Taxonomy were used extensively as a teaching style. I have to say that even though the teaching was at a technical level, it was the best and most well rounded training I ever got, and the class was taught mostly by a female Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse (PHRN here in PA) and a male Paramedic. We were taught to use the cognitive and affective domains as critical thinking while in the process of performing and perfecting psychomoter functions, and I walked away from that training with a better understanding of what I wanted and needed to know more than any other fire training, high school education, or otherwise since or before. So, I'm a junior right now. Does some of this stuff fall into place a little better during senior year for your students? Right now I feel like I'm missing out several of those aspects or domains of learning in a college education that I am paying dearly for.

Thanks for your help everyone. I guess I eventually found some info on my own then, but still appreciate your help. Maybe this thread will be helpful to someone else in the future (hopefully). I found some info at the website for Orem's Self Care Deficit Nursing Theory which is at http://www.scdnt.com/. If there's one thing that I don't understand it is this: Why would someone spend this amount of time and effort designing something like this? It just seems like there was so much time, effort, and inteligence wasted here. This is my theory: I am coming into nursing from an EMS background, and when there is a very sick or badly injured patient in front of me there is no time to mess around with this stuff, and there is no nurse theorist in the world whose theories I am going to knowingly apply to the treatment/care of my patient. All of their time and effort will fly out the window during the "Golden Hour" as far as I'm concerned. A patient with an emergency needs to be treated NOW, and I don't have time to waste figuring out this stuff. It's all about keeping that patient alive and as well as possible. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm already getting a bad impression of nursing if theorizing is what it's all about. I want to treat trauma patients as a flight nurse and PHRN. So why do we study this stuff in college? Wouldn't our time be more wisely spent studying things like fine tuning assessment techniques, treatments, case studies, and sciences like pharmacology, and more biology and chemistry? Thoughts anyone?

Does anyone know where I can find biographical information about Dorothea Orem? I have plenty of information about her theory, more than I really care to know, but I can't find much info about her. Any place online that would have information about who she was, where she came from, where she earned her degree, etc. Please help!! I've been searching for quite a while, but I just don't know where to look anymore. Everything I find is about her theory.

Here is a website that might help a little bit: http://www.discovernursing.com/ Maybe you have already seen that one. It's really up to you, but if you are sure you want to be a nurse, then go for it as soon as possible rather than finishing your general studies degree - that is, if you can get into a nursing program before finishing the general studies degree. Long waiting lists for nursing schools are common. Of course, don't let me talk you out of that general studies degree if you have your heart set on it; there's nothing wrong with that. Different schools vary on what they require for their nursing students. Some require biology 1, others do not. Like Tweety said, you will definitely need A&P I and II, and Microbiology. Usually they don't require a really high level of Chemistry, usually only Chem 1, but sometimes more. When you are checking out a school, see if you can set up an appointment with an advisor or somebody from that school. They are the best source to be able to tell you what you need for their program. Also, you can often find out by checking out the school's website what they require. You say that you want to transfer from community college; does that mean that you want to get into a 4 year school? If so, that's definitely a good thing, however they require more general studies than associates degree schools do, but all of those additional general studies really do prepare you better. As for the waiting list, again, it depends on the school, but not every one of them requires a 4.0, however, you definitely want to keep your grades up above a 3.0. Better yet, above a 3.5. I transferred from a community college to a 4 year school without a 4.0. The community college I transferred from had about 750 people applying for 90 openings - the waiting list was unreal. Since transferring, my GPA has improved; the teaching is better in this case. Good luck! Don't quit trying.

I am a firefighter, EMT, and junior nursing student in Pennsylvania. Someone recently tried to talk me into moving to Oregon after I graduate, and I'll admit that the thought did slightly intrigue me. Sometimes I wouldn't mind moving away from Pennsylvania; possibly to the west coast or to the midwest somewhere, but I'm not too sure about it. What I mostly want to know is if there are any big level 1 trauma centers in Oregon, and where are they? What about emergency medevac crews? My goal is to get at least several years of experience in the E.R. and/or I.C.U. of a highly advanced trauma center somewhere, then eventually try to get a job as a flight nurse on a medevac helicopter, and continue volunteering with the fire department and ambulance. I know. We do have some really good trauma centers and flight crews here in PA, but I want to consider more options before getting too settled in one location while developing as a professional. Whichever facility I start out at as a G.N., I'll probably stay at for at least several years, if not permanently. Most of the major hospitals here have flight crews associated with them. For example, Hershey Medical Center has LifeLion, Lehigh Valley Hospital has University Medevac, Geisinger has Geisinger Life Flight, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has Jeffstat. Is that similar to how it is in Oregon? Also, I have several other questions. Does the Department of Health in Oregon recognize PHRN's (pre-hospital registered nurses)? I think PA is one of the few states that does. Do any of the nurses there provide care as ALS providers in the EMS system, or does that require a seperate certification as a paramedic in Oregon? Does the Department of Health in Oregon allow paramedics to transfer their certification from other states? What about graduate nurses who want to transfer? I would just need to take the board examinations in Oregon, right? Do any of the trauma centers in Oregon offer critical care internships for new graduate nurses? Are some of those larger hospitals unionized or non-union? What is the climate, the countryside, and the economy like there? Here, in southeast PA, I am used to having really really really hazy hot and humid summers :angryfire and all kinds of pollen/dust allergies in the spring and fall. I've heard that in Oregon it rains continually all winter and is really nice the rest of the year with moderate temperatures and low humidity. Is that so? Any better descriptions of the climate? Also, I'm used to a fairly heavy popluation even though I live out in the country. Any time you even want to go to one of our smaller east coast cities, the traffic is terrible, and New York, Philly, and Baltimore are even worse than the smaller cities. What is it like in the countryside surrounding the cities that have trauma centers in Oregon - at least the countryside within about 30-45 minute commute from those trauma centers? Wide open country? Are there plenty of places there to go fishing, camping, hiking, boating, hunting, and other outdoor stuff like that? What else do people do out there for liesure? Go skiing on Mt. Hood? How far apart are some of the small towns dispersed. Do you have to drive far to get some of your basic needs such as groceries and so on? Here in PA, we are spoiled; we are accustomed to having almost everything we need within 10-20 minutes drive away, but my sister, in Ohio, has to drive something like about 45 minutes just to find a Wal-Mart or some of the other common stores. What about the economy? What is the cost of living vs. the average income like? What is the price of land? I think it would be nice to own a small "farmette" or mini ranch as a little side hobby. I'm sure I could come up with more questions, but not all of these are related to nursing, and this is a nursing forum. You don't have to be able to answer all of my questions, but if you can answer any of them at all, even one of them, or provide some links to some helpful info, please do. Some of this info might be helpful for more people than myself alone. In advance - thank you!

While I was a Nurse Extern this summer, it was customary to write the names of the RN, CNA, and Extern assigned to each patient on the marker board in each patient's room at the beginning of each shift. The CNA wrote my name with the initials N.E. after it. Upon asking, the patient was told that N.E. is short for Nurse Extern, but then later to verify she asked, "Now what does NE stand for again? Nurse Extra?"