gonzo1224

"I had an experience that literally changed the way I think about our souls and afterlife. I saw my residents deceased husband standing beside her as she lay on the floor crying from her fall. No one else saw him, not my unit coordinator, my aides, nor my charge nurse. I heard him speak and I thought he was real, I watched him walk past me and leave the room. I was so concerned about his sadness that I tried to locate him after to comfort him and that is when I found out no one saw him but me. I never forgot what he looked like, later I identified him as the grandfather of a fellow nurse by the fact that the daughter of my resident looked just like him. I found out then that my resident was the grandmother to one of the nurses. The deceased husband looked as real as us, and spoke too. I will never forget this, and now to this day when I encounter a family group around a resident, I wonder which if them is a deceased spirit. I now believe our soul lives on. " You MUST read "Many Lives Many Masters" by Brian Weiss. You can find it on Amazon or any other book site. IT IS AMAZING! It changed the way I look at death and dying. You will for sure finish it in two days. Keep these stories coming!

What you think are hallucinations are, in fact, angels gathering to assist the almost-dead to cross over. It's quite a party -- the trip of a lifetime! Read the book, "Many Lives, Many Masters" by Brian Weiss, M.D. YOU WILL FLY THROUGH THE BOOK IN MAXIMUM TWO DAYS! You will look at life and death differently by the time you read the last page.

When you have family in such a facility, visit a minimum of three times a week! This is extremely important. The staff knows who has family visiting regularly and will make sure your mom or dad is very well taken care of.

"Doctor, With all due respect, the next time you have to relieve yourself, please use the puppy pads, I mean chux!"

Try Sassy Scrubs (sassyscrubs.com). They will customize everything they offer. You can add as many inches as you need, plus they will make scrubs with your own fabric, or you can choose one of theirs! I love that place. The quality is very good.

Thank you so much for all the information!

Father: "When is her stomach going to get back to normal?" And this is said right in front of his wife!

If it's money you're after, consider finding a job in a law firm. Or, I just saw an advertisement recently that ALDI grocery store cashiers start at more than $12 an hour. :flwrhrts:THis might sound crazy, but write out your greatest wishes on a piece of paper. Be specific about what you want. Fold it in half, and sleep with this piece of paper under your pillow every night. Read it before you drift off to sleep. You will be delighted at how your wishes start to materialize! How can the universe possibly give you what you want and need unless you specifically ask for it? People say I'm the luckiest person they know. TRY IT! BE PATIENT, IT WORKS!:heartbeat

Ooooh, you sound like me! I quit my fancy Chicago paralegal job 7 years ago. I was making 56K a year back then. Now I'm a CNA making a fraction of that. Granted, I could afford to make this drastic change. I had almost ZERO job satisfaction before, and now I love what I do. I LOVE DIRECT PATIENT CARE! You need to be sure you can afford to take the plunge. Can you take CNA night classes? You could try working alternate weekends as a CNA before you quit your well-paying job. It's very soul-satisfying, but NOT glamorous work. You will get confused, elderly, combative patients who will get their poop & pee on you. I guess that's why God made gloves and gowns! For every horrendous day, you will get 10 rewarding days. There is nothing like a little frail grandma taking your hand in her two hands, looking you straight in the eyes saying, "Honey, thank you for keeping me so clean!" You are probably the only person who touches these people anymore. Anyway, think it through and find a way to make it work. Good luck to you!

I did my cna class through College of DuPage (COD) in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and all my classes and all my clinicals were at an area hospital. Yes, depending on where you go, you can do your clinicals in a hospital setting.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! I'm 50 and have been a tech for almost three years now. The first nine months I was in an assisted living facility. The next year I spent as a tech on the cardiac/stroke floor at a major Chicago area hospital (HARD, CHALLENGING WORK), and as of January of 2010 I transferred to the mother/baby unit of my hospital. THEY LOVE MATURE TECHS! Maturity and solid work ethics are priceless! GO FOR IT!

Once these hospital jobs are posted, they go fast. My hospital has a policy of interviewing all qualified candidates in the order in which their electronic resume is received. Triple check everything to eliminate typos and misspellings. Whatever you submit, make sure it is PERFECT. Hurry up and sumit your application and have a friend proofread it!

This looks really good. If I were applying, I would change the following: CNAs are certified, not licensed, so change it to "certification"; Under education it sounds like you already have your BS in nursing and then it talks about a projected graduation date of 2014. Simply state that you are currently enrolled in the BS in nursing program and will graduate in 2014. Instead of saying that you went on a service trip with 5 girls, say that you went on a service trip with five students. When typing numbers, any number nine and below should be spelled out with the exception of dates and GPAs in the case of your resume. Also, somewhere (in the cover letter?), stress that you work well under pressure and can juggle many tasks at the same time with ease. Say that you are good at prioritizing your workload. Also state that you are flexible and are willing to help out however you can to ensure a smooth workflow on the unit. They might ask if you would consider a dual role of CNA/UIC. You might also want to say that you are especially interested in specializing in telemetry once you become an RN. Find out who the manager of that unit is and follow up with him or her about every four days until you get an answer. Be positive and enthusiastic when calling. You don't want to sound desperate or naggy. I'm curious why you wouldn't prefer a hands-on job such as a CNA on the tele unit. Good luck! I hope you get the job!

What happens when you have that bassinett in tow and a mom cries out that her baby is blue?! Do you abandon healthy baby to work on blue baby? What about the teenage moms who are fresh sections with no support person spending the night? This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Word is going to get out about your hospital's policies and people will start having their babies in other hospitals leading to a constant low census resulting in inevitable job loss. Your manager needs to wake up before it's too late.

Find out who the manager of L&D is, write her a letter, attach your resume, and ask for an appointment to see her. Follow up witha phone call. You have to think outside of the box and get get noticed. Be assertive and get yourself hired!

The advocate system is FANTASTIC! Benefits are outstanding. I work as a PCT at Good Sam in Downers Grove. They are very picky who gets in now and are firing the slackers and troublemakers. You must set up your resume/application on-line initially and then check their job openings daily and apply ASAP when you see a new opening. In fact, check several times a day and apply for everything. Once you get in, you can always move around.

This place will make your scrub pants in custom lengths (Pulse Uniform)! Here's the direct link: http://www.pulseuniform.com/styleshopmto.asp?styledefault=PU-2000 They are pricey, but you won't look like Urkel anymore! My prayers have been answered!

"Honestly, there are so many demands, I feel I need a personal tech for each patient! " Our hospital is in the midst of switching to a new model whereby one nurse will be teamed up with one tech. The nurse and his/her tech will have no more than five patients. I am SOOOO excited about this change! Can you imagine how much more efficient such a set up will be and how much happier patients, nurses and techs will be?!

Holy Crap! I find that six or seven is heavy! At our hospital, a tech only has 12 if a lot of people call in sick and there end up with only two techs. Try another hospital or another department within your own hospital.

Good point! If a nurse helps me with ANYTHING, I thank her. I even thanked a nurse who pulled me aside in private and said, "May I critique you on your technique..." I thanked her for not doing so in front of the patient and her family, and I thanked her for the opportunity to learn. Yes, we are all paid to come in and do our shift, but acknowledgement of a job well done is important. However, I think it would sound condescending of me to thank a nurse for doing her job. So, the answer is yes and no and I do so when it feels right.

ChristineN, I agree that actions (such as always being willing to help) is HUGE! The other day I answered a call light for a patient for whom I was not assigned. While I had a new admission just arrive, I thought that getting a woman off of a bed pan and cleaning poop off her butt, back and bed was more important. The poopy patient's nurse was outside of the room charting on the portable computer when the call light went on. She came in to help me only when I called for help 10 minutes into the clean-up. This patient was bedridden and obese. Not only did the nurse not thank me, but she told me that I "totally had the clean diaper in the wrong position (sigh!)" 75% of the nurses I help are grateful and helpful too! Passive aggressive comments and sarcasm just annoy me to no end! God, I appreciate good nurses!

In the past six weeks, only two nurses have thanked me sincerely for doing a good job for them at the end of our shifts together. I stopped in my tracks and was so pleased and moved that I almost cried. Do you thank your nursing assistant at the end of the day? If not, start now and watch the difference it makes. Look him or her right in the eye and mean it! Your assistant will go home that night feeling it was all worth it. She'll probably tell her husband and kids that she had a great day all because of your sincere gratitude. "Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the gratefully and appreciating heart." Henry Clay Thank you for reading this! Christine

Has anyone else had trouble doing simple BP with this stethoscope? Only one person who posted here mentioned this problem. I'm about to buy a new stethoscope and am considering the Littmann 3000. Thank you!

ABSOLUTELY NOT! My cousin is 50 and less than five years ago she got her nursing degree and is not employed full-time in NICU somewhere in Northern Virginia (Fairfax??). This was her dream always and she did it! I'm 49 and am starting a job as a nursing assistant at an area hospital and am considering furthering my education and becoming a nurse. It is NEVER too late! Go for it!

I did it! I start January 19, 2009 at one of the area's finest hospitals! I will work three 8-hour days in Cardiac/Telemetry. Never say "Never." I was persistent and it paid off! One nurse told me that she would work for no other manager in the entire hospital so I feel blessed. I just wanted to share my good news with everyone! Thank you!