celestlyn

The post on Andrea Yates got me thinking about the subject of depression and specifically, nurses with depression. I'm not sure that nurses have depression more than the general population, but with the stresses of the job; intense working conditions, rapidly changing technologies, high emotions surrounding the sick and dying patients, staffing issues and so very many other factors, I can see how that could be a strong possibility. Not to mention the variety of personal issues we all face in daily living. I know that phycians have a very high rate of depression in the profession. I know so many nurses who are in treatment for depression. Anybody have any thoughts on this situation?

In my opinion, and I admit I do not know the specific facts of the case, Andrea Yates was psychotic. Deeply disturbed and possibly schizophrenic. I can't even imagine a mother having the ability to turn on her own children and systematically kill them one by one unless she had a complete psychotic break. That said, I do not believe that she should be released. Unless she was going to spend the rest of her life in a secure mental hospital, she should remain in jail. Society needs to be protected from her.

Here's the problem. I work as an LPN on a medical unit of a local hospital. There are very few LPN's there and none on the shift and floor I work on. Most RN's haven't worked much with LPN's and so aren't too receptive. Many will not give me a patient assignment and just use me to do aide work and meds. The CCA's on the floor are mad at me because they don't feel that I'm taking my turn 'floating' when someone has to. Last week when one aide had to float for the second time in a week she really got in my face about it. She was told by the charge nurse that I float as a nurse and not as an aide, but she was not satisfied and I'm feeling really stressed over this. I know she is going to go to the floor coordinator and complain. It is causing me to want to quit my job and find a place that accepts LPN's more. It seems like I'm constantly swimming upstream. Any input about a situation like this?

I was a B/C student, too, in school and I had no problem passing the state boards. Too many people put too much emphasis on A grades. An A student does not equal a great nurse. I know many straight A bsn grads who are not good nurses. One of them I worked with was too young (emotionally), scatter-brained and totally disorganized. She was always way behind and asking for help. I also know LPN's who are were average students who are wonderful nurses. Don't panic about stuff ahead of you. Just concentrate on what you need to do for the current semester or quarter you are in.

Yes, enjoy it while it lasts. The easy unchallenging stuff means that you are probably getting straight A's. Use the easy time to enjoy yourself because once it gets hard you will be plenty busy.

I'm not crazy about these positions, either. Anyone can learn to 'pass meds'. However, they lack the science background to really understand the drugs and their pharmaceutical properties. Besides they are taking jobs away from LPN's. The facilities are trying to streamline, but the patient will pay the price. The long-term care facilities in this town use them and I've heard of several situations where the med aid has been accused of stealing some of the patients meds. Not that this couldn't happen anyway, but it does seem to be a problem at some of the places here and I have not heard the same accusation of the nurses.

OMG!! I have to laugh! There's one or two in every crowd! I, too, work with a couple of nurses with this disease. One is a BSN, who goes on and on about her vast experiences and knowledge and the fact that she has written many articles for nursing journals, worked in research, worked in state mental hospital and worked in prison nursing. Geez, there isn't anything this woman hasn't done. We're all tired of hearing about it. There's another nurse who believes that one must be running her feet off every minute that she is on the clock. At the end of the shift when everyone is winding down, she makes a point of going around recruiting anyone who has sat down to clean dirty stuff in the dirty utility room or dump trash containers in the nursing stations, etc..... She hates it when anyone is 'done' and makes sure you know that you aren't being paid to sit around for the last half hour of work. They all drive everyone else nuts!!

I've been an LPN for 20 years and have always considered myself a nurse. Some RN's don't care for LPN's and will do their best to make you feel like and aid. Other's are great and treat you with the respect you are due. As an LPN, it is your job to conduct yourself in a manner that leaves no doubt that you are a nurse. When asked what I do, I say I'm a nurse. If I were an RN I'd probably say I was an RN, but at this point I see no reason to point it out unless I'm asked. Some people will ask me what the difference is between an RN and an LPN and I laugh and say, "About $15. an hour!" I'll tell them that LPN's do meds, but I don't do some IV meds and I don't hang blood or manage central lines. I'll let them know that I do most nursing procedures. It is an irritation to me that the nurses association (the union) in my state does not recognize LPN's. If we want to unionize, we have to join with the kitchen and janitorial staff to do so. At my hospital the kitchen and janitorial staff has chosen not to unionize, so I always feel like my position is vulnerable.

Years ago when I first got my license I went to work in a busy family practice office. It was an invaluable experience. I did the usual back office stuff and that included assisting with minor surgeries like; vasectomies, lesion removals and circumcisions as well as sigmoidoscopies, blood drawing, lots of injections, lots of phone triage and prescription refills. I learned a huge amount at the office. When the office I was at closed, I decided to go for the hospital. I was hired onto a medical floor. It is a perfect place to work and learn. Our medical floor has a little bit of everything. We have people in detox as well as diabetic ketoacidosis. We might have a chest tube or trach. I love the fact that there is such a variety there. It was a great place to get experience. I'm working on my RN and hope to leave the medical floor at some point, but for now it's great. It is true that you need experience at a hospital. If they really need to fill a position you might get hired, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been hired if I hadn't been working in the office for years. You could maybe try a rehab facility. That is a step down from hospital, but a step up from long-term care facility. My daughter has been an RN at a rehab for 2 1/2 years and she recently went to an acute care hospital. She feels a bit overwhelmed right now since she's just starting, but she'll be fine. Good luck to you.

Hi, I've been trying to do Excelsior College self-study program. I started a year ago and haven't progressed very fast. I've passed Nursing Concepts 1&2. I think it works well for those who are very self-disciplined and goal-oriented. I'm not either one, so it is taking me a long time. It isn't that I don't do well on tests. I do fine, I just have a hard time making myself study. I'll read like crazy for a few days and then I get busy with something else and the first thing you know three weeks have gone by and I haven't picked up a book. I expect that it will take me 2-3 years to finish at this rate. Unless something lights a fire under me! If you aren't in a hurry it's a great way to do it. You can study when you want at home. You don't have to have daycare or conflicts with work hours. It's great, but you really have to discipline yourself to do the work. Good luck.

Ok, I finally got my acceptance and paid my money. They sent me a packet with the current catalog. I am now waiting for them to send me a coorifice syllabus and an evaluation of the classes I have already taken. I, too, took Human Growth and Development and I hope they don't make me take Lifespan. I just hate having to retake stuff. My questions are about the books and tests. My daughter graduated a year ago with her RN degree from a local nursing school. She brought over her enormous stack of books. I picked up the beginning book that covers Nursing Fundamentals. Will I be able to use her books or do I have to get EC textbooks to study. Do the tests cover the material in most fundamentals books? I'm anxious to take the first test or two, but not sure if I should wait until I have more information from the school. How hard are the tests? I've been an LPN for 18 years and I work in a hospital. I'm familiar with a lot of stuff, but I really want to be well prepared for the tests as I take them. I'm pretty nervous about it. I want to score high. Thanks for any info you can give me. Celeste :)

I applied to Excelsior in March and send in the $60. and my application. After hearing nothing, I called and was told they were waiting for my transcripts. I sent them and in May I called again to check on the status of my application. This time they were waiting for a transcript from a university where I had taken a single psych class. I told them to process it without that class because it didn't matter anyway, since I had other psych classes on the transcripts. By mid-July I still had heard nothing and when I called again. They said they were still waiting for that same psych class that I had told them to eliminate. Supposedly they are processing it now without the class and I am again waiting....... Is there an end to the waiting. All I want is to get started and get through this! Anyone else have this experience? Celeste

Well, I received a small inheritance when my mother passed last year. I have saved a bit of it to pay for tuition. I plan to save a piece for the clinincal tests and probably will pay for the individual tests out of my paychecks. Books I haven't figured out yet. I'll try to find someone to borrow from, I think.

In my small hospital, we had that policy until about 6-8 months ago. The rest of the floors in the hospital had changed and were no longer requiring 2 nurses to verify doses on insulin. Our floor was the last to change.

I use dorsogluteal most of the time. Will occassionally use vastus lateralis, also, but people say it hurts more.