LibraSunCNM

No, I've never heard of a relocation package or providing for travel/accommodations for interviews for a new grad staff nurse.

I have no idea why you think posting this again will "further the discussion," it's obvious you and the poster you've been back and forth with are not in agreement on this issue and we are beating a dead horse here. Re: the topic of LTCs, I have a grandmother with dementia which has worsened in the last 5 years, requiring her to move from her house to a senior-living community with some home health aide assistance, to an assisted living facility, to the memory care unit in an LTC where she will be from now on. My experience was that the assisted living facilities are the worst of all, keeping residents who have no business on the AL side from moving to the memory care unit to keep their beds filled. The staff was threadbare and poorly trained, and my grandma fell multiple times before we moved her. I listened in disbelief when I went to the daily "happy hour" with her one day and the activities director was trying to talk to the residents about a promotion for referring in new residents to get a discount on rent!!! Half of the residents had no cognitive ability to grasp this, and the other half should not have had to listen to a sales pitch. It's really sickening. I'm grateful she's now in a pretty well-run LTC, which is not fancy or new or pretty but relatively well-staffed and CLEAN. The staff knows her and cares for her well. I shudder to think that what happened in the LTC case we're talking about happens elsewhere and goes unreported.

There's nothing wrong with a vegan/vegetarian diet if you're educated about it and find adequate protein sources. Sure, some vegans are holier-than-thou, but most aren't. I've never understood some meat-eaters' utter disdain for vegetarians and find it equally obnoxious as a condescending vegetarian. If it doesn't affect your life personally, what do you care what someone else chooses to do with their diet? I could never give up meat or dairy but I'm in awe of people who can and who enjoy/find health benefits in that lifestyle. As far as educating patients about nutrition as a nurse, I see no reason why you'd need to refer to a dietician unless you're truly at a loss about what they're asking. Nutrition was a pre-requisite for my nursing program and I assume most competent nurses can have at least a basic conversation about it.

Wow, so you allow some elective inductions before 39 weeks even???

The Golden Girls rule!

Good luck! I'd be curious to hear how different midwifery is here vs. the UK from your perspective once you start clinicals.

No problem, I figured as much. Generally speaking, in the hospital, each patient has a nurse who performs their bedside care---gets them on and off the monitor, starts their IV, gives meds, puts in a catheter, gives postpartum nursing care, etc. The CNM would order the meds and do vaginal exams since they're the provider---although in small enough hospitals the RN may do vaginal exams or even insert internal monitors if the CNM isn't in house all the time. The CNM delivers the baby, obviously. The nurse is the one with the patient the majority of the time and the CNM will be in and out depending on how much labor support they do---some practices, CNMs do none, some are really hands-on. On postpartum, you're correct---the CNM does daily rounds and discharges but the postpartum nurse does the bedside care. Make sense?

Are you from overseas?

The descriptions remind me of the "Goofus and Gallant" comic strip in Highlights magazine . I think most of us aim to be the best nurses we can be but end up closer to the middle of these two extremes.

I'm curious what you mean when you say "Sexual behaviors of gay men have changed over the past decade." Do you have evidence that gay men are primarily behind the increased rates of syphilis?

That sounds awful. My first job as a nurse was on a heavy surgical floor that had 8 step-down beds, with patients about as sick as the ones you're describing. We never had more than 4, and the goal was to not have more than 3. You're dealing with double stress---the normal stress of being a new grad as well as the stress of being understaffed. You are human, and can only handle and accomplish so much. Hugs, deep breaths. I agree with the advice to delegate whatever possible and SPEAK UP when you need help. Even if no one else can, it's important to assert your needs. You are not crazy or deficient in some way for struggling to take good care of that many sick patients. Try to squeak it out to the 1 year mark, if you can do that you'll 1.) have a set of skills that will be marketable ANYWHERE, and should be able to find another job, and 2.) be able to look back on this experience for the rest of your life and say, "That sucked but I survived!"

From what I understand this is becoming more and more common, which I think is pretty cool too.

As a midwife who has dealt a little in lobbying for APRN-friendly laws, and whose profession in general is plagued with turf wars with physicians, you're absolutely right. This has nothing to do with actual patient safety, it is an effort to exert a little extra control over NPs. Grant this law, then there will be another one coming down the pike revoking prescriptive privileges, or something to that effect. It SUCKS to have to spend time and money lobbying, but it's a necessary evil in our professions.

I did wrestle with that paranoid fear as well, juan! At least it was a Christmas gift

I did an Ancestry kit two Christmases ago for fun, just for the knowledge of my genealogy, I haven't done health testing. To echo Sour Lemon, I honestly don't care to have that information. I know enough about my health and my family's health to get by . The genealogy info was cool to learn about, and my account has since updated itself a couple times as more and more people have done kits and they've been able to fine-tune their data. I listened to an Audible original series about the search for the Golden State Killer, and it was so fascinating learning about how they finally caught him because of these DNA databases. I know it's made some people feel like Big Brother is watching and all that, which I understand, but in that case, they wouldn't have ever found this guy without the help of these genealogy kits. Interesting stuff for sure.