husker_rn

Please add Clarkson College of Allied Health in Omaha, Nebraska to your list.

One big difference you overlook....those nurses in prestigious jobs have physicians, specialists, available within minutes. LTC nurses don't have that luxury...you had better know what you are seeing and know what to do right away. Not everyone can do what you do. I have been both med-surg and LTC and know that to be very true.

Very true. I graduated with my BSN in Nebraska but took boards in Montana. Arranged testing before I moved to Montana. Same test no matter where you take it.

Nurses week...you mean healthcare week ?? You mean someone appreciates their staff ? Absolutely nothing; however our pharmacy sent a fax that said thank you.

I was 39 when I started. Got my BSN 42. Now at 67 still nursing and loving it. If that is your dream go for it.

Good luck from an old Clarkson grad !!

We have hospital week and we had nurse's day last Wednesday. i sure fell appreciated !!

My school used Watson's carative factors too. It did encourage us to look at our patients as people and not just disease processes; and to realize our priorities were not necessarily those of the people we cared for. Now, having said that, as seniors we HAD to go listen to her live and she did seem a little airy-fairy much of the talk.

Seems like we are good at lip service about caring for kids and the elderly but unfortunately we seem to fall short on actually delivering many times.

Make yourself a to-do list and follow it; make sure you prioritize things on the list. And THE most important piece of advice I can give you is to learn to do it right, then learn to do it fast.

3 weeks. Hired at a SNF that sounded good...but wasn't. Phones turned off because of unpaid bills, no supplies for the same reason. I could go on; I gave my notice 3 days after I started. Never looked back.

Took a class on death and dying in nursing school and read several of Kubler-Ross' books. They were very informative.

I drove 85 miles, one way, 5 days a week for 4 years including summers to earn my degree. Now I wonder how I did it but at the time I just did what I had to do to get where I wanted to go. Now I grumble if I have to drive over 10-15 miles to work. Go figure.

Eggplant, dark purple here. I am sick of it; anyone in any color scrubs is thought to be a nurse by most of my patients.

llg made a really great observation. I am a pre-computer, msg board nurse. We did indeed work together. My class consisted of 17 students. We didn't all like each other but we helped each other out, watched each other's backs, studied together, laughed and cried together. And learned alot from each other as well.

sarjasy, I very much understand how the OP felt. And this IS the place to vent. Only those of us in the trenches really understand the stress and frustration that goes with working med-surg. If our vents have you so incensed, then scroll on to more pleasant posts.

I voted yes. Yes it will cost, but because I have health insurance it already costs me. I { my insurance carrier } am charged more because I AM covered. Easy to look the other way unless you are one who cannot afford coverage and make too much for Medicaid. If we don't do something this healthcare burden will break our backs but I admit I am worried about how the costs will be spread out.

Just the tech Please lose the word " just ". CNAs are just as vital to patient care as nurses. I too worked as a CNA while in school and worked with nurses who looked down their noses at CNAs; and then and there I decided that that would NOT be the way I conducted my nursing practice. You can learn from everyone; in this case you have learned to respect and appreciate the entire team.

Where's this sit at a desk job ?? Count me in !! Seriously, there are times we get paid for what we know. And ultimately the CNAs are always working under some nurse's license.

I love my elders too. Right now I'm back in med/surg but make it known that I will always be glad to take the older, confused, fragile ones. I miss LTC just no job in a decent one open at the moment.

I second your thanks to hospice nurses. I recently got hospice involved in my husband's care { terminal colon cancer }. I am able to be his wife, not his caregiver, and the hospice nurse does a remarkable job of caring for both of us. My hat's off to all of you fantastic hospice nurses !! Thank you !!!!

Blood Bank says 20 minutes between checkout and hanging. We can only get one unit at a time; doesn't bother me since I can only hang one unit at a time anyway.

Silent aspiration ?? Happens sometimes; a patient may aspirate but have no cough afterwords, body doesn't realize he/she has aspirated. Don't beat yourself up, you did your best and as others pointed out, it was his time.

A. No B. No C. Yes D. No E. Nothing F. No G. I would like to feel like my opinions are heard and valued; I wish we were more important than patient survey results, nevermind that the survey is a small sample that doesn't accurately portray the quality of care actually given.

No order, no med. End of story. Absolutely you did the right thing !!