soxfan80

Is anyone a coumadin nurse? If so can you share your likes/dislikes about the position as well as a description of your daily duties?

I am a med/surg nurse with an inpatient psych interview. Can anyone tell me what sort of interview questions I might be asked....

Hi all, I am intersted in learning more about school nursing in Massachusetts. Could any school nurses answer a couple questions? How stressful is your job? What are you hours? What do you do during the summer? Do you have any other responsibilities within your school (lunch duty, etc?) What state do you work in, and what is the salary? And for Massachusetts school nurses, can you tell me about the salary scale in MA? Thanks!

Where can I find information about becoming a CDE? Is it true that you have to have 2 years of practice as a nurse before becoming certified? Are these jobs usually hourly pay or salary? What is the average rate of pay? (I live in Massachusetts). Thanks!!!

Were any of you with Short Term Disability insurance able to use it for your maternity time off? If so, were there any hoops to jump through? I am not pregnant yet, and I also don't have short term disability, but I am planning ahead. If you have any experience with this, please share!! Did you get a percentage? When did it kick in? Did you get the insurace through your facility or an outside place? Thanks!

I love this idea. Thanks!

Family-centered care is the model that my hospital follows. We don't have visiting hours; families can stay all night if they'd like. For the most part, I like the model and appreciate the information and relationship with patient's families, but some times, it can a nightmare. Is it ever ok to tell patient's family member that they are being inappropriate and unrealistic? I admitted a pt at 1930 and left her room only 3 times. Once was to get meds for her and the other 2 times were to check on my other patients. Each time, the daughter would call the nurese's station or come looking for me. Once she called my wireless directly and said I had to come back because her mom needed the bathroom. It took me about 90 seconds to get there and then the daughter starts yelling about how I took too long and never should leave in the first place. The mother was so anxious that I called for ativan for her, and the daughter refused to let me give it to her so the patient refused it based on the daughter. The mother was so anxious an hour later that the covering MD had to come up to the unit and tell her that the mom needed ativan right away. It worked too. Imagine that! The pt was also in RAF so I need to push IV lopressor twice and although I told the pt and dtr that bedrest was required with such a fast HR, they demanded that she be able to walk to the bathroom. The pt ended up throwing a fit like 5 year old (which is why she needed ativan), and even refused a bedside commode. The situation was out of hand and they were incredibly uncooperative. I'll stop ranting, but how are difficult famililes best handled. Am I really supposed to endure 4 hours of this with a smile on my face? What are the best ways to respond to demanding families who clearly don't understand how hospitals work even after you try to explain it?

"resident writing orders":

Does your hospital have a certified diabetic educator?

Hi all, Do any of you work at a hospital that has a committee of nurses and others who coordinate hospital-wide activities as well as outings for staff? Or, are you a member of a committee like this. If so, what kind of activities have you planned? Does it help with morale? Is it fun?! My hospital has a committee that specifically plans according to a certain event (i.e) Nurse's Week, but we do not have 1 group that plans a variety of things.

I teach BLS for the AHA. When you go to the AHA website and view the course catalog, the original poster is correct...there is an option for "Heartsaver" CPR and AED. This is intended for the general community...not for medical professionals. You should find an AHA class that is BLS (basic life support) for Healthcare Providers. This course includes Adult, Child, and Infant CPR as well as choking and use of the AED. Check your local hospital's offerings of community classes.

Try a few categries, and assign numbers. The higher the number, the greater the acuity. Here's what I could think of.... Stable? 1 Stable rhythm 2 recent rate/rhythm issue etc Mental status 1 alert and oriented x3 2 confused 3 sundowns...dementia etc Level of Assistance 1 independent 2 min assist 3 max assist 4 frequent use of call bell Meds 1 Po 2 frequent pain meds, IV abx 3 drips (dilt, lasix, etc)

New grad jobs are definitely hard to come by! I think a better question might be "For ADNs with several years of experience, are you finding it difficult to get a job at a Magnet Hospital"? I am an LMRC grad, and I got a new grad job at a Magnet Hospital. The other few new grads were all BSNs. I also know that the magnet hospital where I work hires lots of diploma nurses and ADNs with experience. If you are interested in working in Boston, you should ask nurses who work there if they know other nurses on their floor with ADNs. If you call HR, they will probably tell you that they like BSNs only (my hospital's HR dept would probably say that too), but from what I hear (and from experience), I think once you have experience, it gets much easier! LMRC was a great (but expensive program)...it worked for me, because it gave me time to work as a nursing assistant while in school. Had I done an accelerated program, I'm not sure how much time I would have had to work.... Keep in mind too, that LMRC now has a bridge program. You can use classes that you take for the ADN toward a higher degree at regis.

Very helpful, thanks :)