Apollorn

This is definitely not a drama queen post. Alcoholism is a mean disease and it is awesome he has the support he needs.

Waht do I wish for in my break room? Natalie Portman. Though in a more semi-realistic way, I'd like to have a cocktail bar... that'd be nice. It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Absolutely not. Depression is a clinically diagnosed syndrome. Unless it affects the safety and well-being of others, you should not be impeded. If it does, appeal it. Depression is a syndrome. They wouldn't exclude you if you had ACS would they? :)

I'm an RN student that challenged, and successfuly, passed my LPN exam. We have the opportunity to challenge the LPN exam after our second year of the BSN, which is kind of nice to gain some experience and much needed money. I find myself using all of my BSN assessments and skills (without the odd psychomotor skills LPNs are not permitted to do) as I work as an LPN. I enjoy learning a lot more and therefore I chose to complete a BSN. In BC, Canada, it's hard to differentiate who's the LPN and RN in a hospital. They're both full scope. RNs, however, work in the speciality areas and act in the resource role. So, if you don't want to read all that, basically here it's like: LPN have the assessments and psychomotor skills. RN have the in-depth assessments, more complicated psychomotor skills, and the ability to work in specialties.

I guess I should shave my legs. lol PS. I'm a guy.

Wow! Thank you for the overwhelming response. One of the main reasons I love this community. Thank you to everyone that shared their stories - they are definintely not easy to talk about. It was interesting to hear some stories from nurses talking about medications, particularly orientation-affecting drugs (eg. narcotics). I've discharged many patients with hydromorphone, oxycodone, and percocet prescriptions but have never talked about driving whilst on these drugs. I think I'm going to start doing this now because I see under-the-influence driving as an umbrella term that includes alcohol, drugs, and anythign that affects your orientation. Nonetheless, thank you again for the response!

I'm still in school and I work as an LPN on the weekends. So I work roughly 24 hours per week while taking four classes and a practicum this semester. I can't say it's too stressful considering I'm posting here right now, can I? :)

I work as an LPN now whilst I finish my RN degree (we can challenge the LPN exam in our 2nd year of the BSN). It's tough to really see the difference between scopes of LPN and RN besides the IV and critical care stuff. Although, RNs do get a lot of theory which is priceless. A lot of students say the "touchy-feely" classes are useless, but in my short LPN career I've come to realize those classes are essential in being a great nurse. Back to topic here, I think it'd be worth it to upgrade to an RN role. It definitely opens up alot more opportunies - specifically to the critical care areas, maternity, and possibly even into graduate programs if you'd like.

This is a rant. [rant: on]So a 20 year old girl was admitted to my ward yesterday with a fractured tibia sustained in an MVA. She was t-boned by a drunk driver. She had emergency surgery to fix it (forgot the name of the surgery). Anyway, she developed compartment syndrome. We spotted it right away and the surgeon was informed and she came back to our ward from surgery with four fasciotomies. Over the course of an hour she became very dyspneac: 25 resps/min, 92 sats. Not fifteen minutes later her sats dropped to 64%. Gave her 10L oxygen which brought her up to 92%. Chest pain was noted on inspiration, so I suspected an emboli. Sent her down for a CXR and CT on 10L oxygen, full tank. She returned to ward with no tank and no mask with cyanosis up the ying yang. Got her back onto oxygen and more concious. Results of her CXR and CT came back and were positive for a fat embolus. I reiterate, this patient is 20 years old. [rant: off] Maybe I have thin skin (still a student, practicing as an LPN on days off) but boy was I mad. Soooo young and all this crap happening to her... all because of a drunk driver. I HATE drunk drivers. Thanks for letting me rant.:bowingpur

According to BCNU, they foresee RNs adopting a more administrative/education/resource/advanced practice (coming soon: suturing) role in the future.

I lol'd quite loudly.

Group projects are awful when other members don't pull their share. I'm going through it now and was fortunate to have a good group. My previous 3 were absolutely atrocious. Grit your teeth and perservere!

Not necessarily a funny phrase, but this is my ice breaker with patients: Pt. wakes up in his room after surgery with the blinds closed. Pt. asks the surgeon: "Why are my blinds closed?" Surgeon says: "There's a fire outside your window, and we didn't want you to wake up and think you were somewhere else."

It's a sad reality that nurses are overworked, underappreciated, and used. But it shows our character when we perservere and still are there for our patients. Kudos to us! PS. At the hospital I work at, nurses scold other nurses for not taking breaks. I like that :)

$22.94/hr as a 3rd year nursing student.

Good question. As a student, I find that preceptors enjoy someone that have open channels of communication. Basically updating your nurses on the status of your patient throughout the day, etc. I've found some preceptors really enjoy it if you let them know your plan for the day and what skills are on the team and if you can join/do them. Also, using a team approach you will learn amazing things from your preceptors. Last but definitely not least, have fun. Having a good time with your preceptor while in clinical makes learning and teaching that much more fun.

I'm a 3rd year BSN student. I was going to post this question under the student forums, but I figured I'd like to have a healthy mix of student & senior nurse feedback on my charting :) Please be as critical or brutally honest as you can be. I think it'd be helpful to everyone. This case study is based off of a patient I had on the weekend, it is about as accurate as I can remember. CASE STUDY: 55 yo Pt. was admitted to your medical ward yesterday at 0800 for exacerbation of COPD. Pt. Hx: Type 2 NIDDM, CHF, HTN, MI '99 & 02, Asthma, Cirrhosis, Renal Failure. My charting, head-to-toe (notes in parenthesis are just the systems so it's easier for you to critique me): Mar 18/08 - 1015 (resp) Chest sounds reveal coorifice crackles to upper lobes bilaterally, decreased air entry to bases bilaterally. R 30/min, shallow, laboured, O2 Sats 85% on 5L NP. Cough productive of white, frothy sputum. Strong use of accessory muscles upon inspiration. (neuro) Pt. orientated x2 to person and place, could not verbalize date. Responds appropriately to verbal questioning and prompting. Denies headaches or confusion. (cv) Cap refill brisk to upper extremeties. Presents with pale, cool skin. BP 151/86, Apex 110 irregular and bounding. Pitting edema +2 to ankles bilaterally. (gi) BSx4, nontender, passing flatus, LBM stated Mar 17. (gu) Urine dark amber, foul smelling. (integ) Skin dry, pale, cool to touch, turgor +2. 2x2 dime-sized black wound noted to medial aspect of Rt. heel, pain 0/5 (0=no pain, 5=excruciating). (musculoskeletal) Fatigue+++ upon dangling at bedside. (psychosocial) Family into visit, pleasant.-------------------------T.Anthalas, RN I'm not the best charter and I'm not the best with the medical lingo so all and any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Please don't laugh too much at my suckiness!

SpookyCat, can you give me your verdict on that book once you get a chance to read through it? I'm interested in buying that exact same book but I am definitely short on the funds!

In BC, Interior Health usually goes by the team system: x amount of patients, 1 RN and LPN. RN takes unstable and LPN takes the stable patients. MARs are handwritten if the med is a new order from the doc, or pharmacy has them printable. Charting is done by hand. Health care is still in the public sector in BC but it is rapidly going private. BCNU (the major RN union) is currently spearheading the anti-privitization of health care. If you want to have job opportunities, BC is so blatantly short of nurses. We have the oldest mean age of nurses and the biggest shortage.

Thanks for sharing. I understand how awful it feels to make a med error. You get that rush of emotions: surprise, embarassment, shame, anger, and sickness. Don't sweat it, take what you learned, apply it for the next time and you will be okay. Accidents happen and it's great you caught it :) Keep your head high and remember: if you feel awful that means you're one damn good, caring nurse. I'd love to have you caring for me if I was in the hospital!

The answer is hells yeah!

Excellent question. I dug through the CRNBC (regulating body for nurses in British Columbia) website but could not find any comprehensvie information for you. If you plan on getting into BC I recommend you contact CRNBC directly: 1.800.565.6505 or [email protected].

Yes, the above poster is correct: there is no CRNBC exam for nursing. It is one, nationwide, comprehensive exam. There will be a 3-year, accelerated baccularette nursing degree at BCIT soon. It may be starting in the next year or two.

Nursing isn't for everyone. Unfortunately Nursing is one of those specialized programs where if you try it out for a couple of years and quit, some of those classes probably won't transfer over into, say a B.Sc. Assess (even though it may be hard at grade 12, it took me until I was 22 to decide I wanted to do nursing) what you like to do, what your goals are, what type of person you are, and what you aspire to be. Be okay with yourself if you cannot answer those questions already. Good luck :)

Do you think they'll ever stop screening for MRSA in hospitals what with its prevelance in the community?