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Penguin67

Penguin67

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Penguin67's Latest Activity

  1. Penguin67

    Nurses are Not Doctors

    Penguin67 replied to Brian's topic in Nursing

    The title of this article is wrong from the start "Nurses Are Not Doctors", because, in fact many ARE, having earned a doctorate in nursing, the title "DOCTOR" comes along with that. For example: Phd and DNP degree holders are called "Dr.". However, these folks are NOT asking to be called "physician", which is where the confusion may be. NPs practice withing a scope of practice for their area. If there is a complication, then they have to refer to a specialist. It boils down to practicing within the specified guidelines of a particular state, many of which are similar, but there are also many differences across state lines. The Institute of Medicine's report, The Future of Nursing, has a recommendation to expand the role of the nurse practitioner to include the fullest practice in the scope of practice. This article did nothing to promote that collaboration.I am hoping that someone writes a strong rebuttal piece back, representing the nursing profession, particularly NPs, as the professionals that they are.
  2. Penguin67

    CHOP hiring process

    Penguin67 replied to lhpadden's topic in Pennsylvania

    Can you clarify the acronym? Could be Children's of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
  3. Penguin67

    What do you say when calling out sick?

    Penguin67 replied to Kitty Hawk's topic in Nursing

    Ok, I have read the above discussion, but still the question looms in my head..."If you have X number of sick days, why can't those sick days be used, as long as the call off is done as per policy? Why are we making nurses feel terrible about using their sick days that they have earned?" I feel like we are killing ourselves with this issue, insisting that nurses work when we don't feel good, regardless of the illness or condition. If you feel crappy, it's hard to work. This is one issue in nursing that has been around forever that I wish we could find a solution for. It would have to begin with better staffing by management, to be able to absorb call-ins. (OK, rant over, thanks for listening.)
  4. Penguin67

    Accreditation question ...

    Penguin67 replied to Devon Rex's topic in ADN/BSN

    NLN does not accredit doctoral programs.
  5. Penguin67

    Nursing in the Third World

    Penguin67 replied to rpcvVanuatu's topic in Nursing

    Just a quick FYI..."third world" is not considered to be PC. Instead use "developing country" as a term. Good luck with the Peace Cprps!
  6. Penguin67
    So agree with you, especially that last line!
  7. Penguin67
  8. Penguin67
    I'm sorry, but if the family member knew the difference then why did they ask in the first place? Were they baiting to see what the response would be? And in reality, this person did not say they were a nurse No, she was not "baiting" them. She heard a title that she did nto know and asked what it was. She does, however, know what a nurse is.
  9. Penguin67
    A family member was recently seen in an ER. One of her care providers introduced himself as a "med tech" and the family member asked "What does that mean?" and the response was " it is the same thing as a nurse". My family member went on to watch everything this person did while she was there, and saw vital signs, linen changes, positioning changes, paperwork, and things in the scope of a nurse assistant. This family member happened to know the difference, and we talked about this when she came home from the ER. Is there a way to handle this, as I know this post is not the first one to discuss unlicensed assistive personnel representing themselves as nurses. The family member asked a nurse about it, and she just smiled and said that there was a difference and they did really need the help of med techs. (Which is nice, but doesn't solve the issue of representing oneself as a nurse when in fact they are not.) Should she mention this in the patient comment survey that she will most likely receive or not? Thoughts?
  10. Penguin67

    Manager mad RN followed policy and procedure!

    Penguin67 replied to elfinM's topic in Safety

    OK, I have read the issue and all of the responses. I am left asking, "Why would you ever put a unit of blood into a tube system?" Everywhere that I ever worked, blood was never to be tubed, as it could potentially break and contaminate the entire tube system. I understand that your tube system is new, and perhaps this should ba policy where you work. Just my two cents here.
  11. Penguin67

    Help! Pre-employment nicotine test!

    Penguin67 replied to noviceRN22's topic in Nursing

    I had to sign a statement at work indicating one of two things...either that I was not a smokeror that I was a smoker. smokers are now charged $50.00 more per month for health insurance premiums. If you are found to be smoker and you lied on your statement, you willmbe required to pay the extra premium amounts to date and are subject to a state fine. I have lost many friends and family to cancer, caused by smoking, and I think the policy is fine and have no problem at all with it. it is a drug and it's use causes folks to have many more associated health problems, causing higher premiums for those who don't smoke. Unfair? Not at all. With all of the direct correlation of smoking and cancer and other major health problems, I do not see any reason why anyone would continue to smoke. That said, I do realize that smoking is an addiction, and is hard to quit and those who are quitting need much support from family and friends.
  12. Penguin67

    NCSBN 2011 New Nurse Survey "Thank you" Letters

    Penguin67 replied to listener's topic in Nursing

    Those surveys are done by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing in order to determine what entry level new graduate nurses are doing. That data is used, in part, to help decide upon appropriate level and content of questions for the NCLEX, which is revised every three years, partly in response to data generated by those surveys. I filled one out, not as a new grad, but as a practicing nurse, and was asked what the new grad would be doing in my area. I think that your employer and state Board of Nursing might be interested in knowing that some of the survey data was generated from their institution or their state. I never knew of anyone who completed one of those surveys, but after I filled one out, I realized the importance of it. Take it seriously, as it helps your profession out more than you know.
  13. Penguin67

    Sickle Cell Policy

    Penguin67 replied to seatkin's topic in Nursing

    Is this a pediatric or adult client?
  14. Penguin67

    Is nursing shortage a myth?

    Penguin67 replied to Angitia's topic in General Students

    FYI...not everyone with an active license is working, or even looking for work. For example, I am licensed in the state that I currently work in, but I have maintained licensure in the state where I was originally licensed when I graduated two decades ago. I have used it occasionally to work as a camp nurse over the years in that state, but haven't practiced in that state for almost 8 years now. Also, there is the issue of traveler nurses, who might have 3-6 month contracts, and who obtain licenses for each state that they work in. If they do 3 month contracts, sometimes that is the minimum time for a contract, that nurse could potentially have 4 different state licenses per year and potentially 8 licenses in a two year licensing period. There are also retired nurses who maintain licenses because it is often simpler, cheaper and frankly less red tape to do that than to have an inactive license that they may later want to reinstate. The OP raised some good points, but to simply calculate the numbers of active nurses in the states based upon current number of active licenses can result in a misleading number without fleshing out some of the above confounding factors, and I suspect there could possible be more than I mentioned above.
  15. Penguin67

    has anyone ever made the switch to MD?

    Penguin67 replied to aznbaby's topic in Nursing

    One more little thing to discuss on this thread that I think is quite important... There is a difference in the terms "doctor" and "physician". Anyone who holds a doctorate degree is referred to as a "doctor". (EX: Your nursing professors who completed their doctoral degree are called Dr. So and so. They achieved the terminal training in their field and as academia has done for hundreds of years, a doctoral degree is awarded.) However, not all doctors are physicians. (I like to share this because it was on my MAT test as a practice problem. I thought I got it right, but found out I was wrong when I checked my answers. Ouch.) A "physician" is one who has specialized in the study of medicine and has graduated from medical school. Some of the posts in this thread speak about "becoming a doctor" and probably should specify "want to become a physician or medical doctor". Many professions have doctorate degrees, including nursing, and can use the title "doctor" that they earned. However, "physician" and "medical doctor" are protected titles and refer to graduates of medical school. Yes, I did earn a doctorate in nursing and am proud of it. I often have to explain that I am a nurse who has earned a doctorate in nursing, and I am not a physician. (Even my grandmother thought I was going to medical school when I was in the doctoral program for nursing. Tried explaining that to her a few times, and didn't have much success.) :) So, I'm off my soapbox here. Sorry for the diatribe, but this thread was a spring board opportunity for me. Thanks for listening if you did read this far!
  16. Penguin67

    has anyone ever made the switch to MD?

    Penguin67 replied to aznbaby's topic in Nursing

    I am quite curious to know what medical school requires a masters degree in a scientific field in order to be eligible to apply. I have spent much time immersed (student and faculty) in nurisig programs that are housed within top medical centers in the United States in the past 20 years and have never heard of that requirement. Most medical schools require a science based bachelors degree (chem, physics) and some programs will accept bachelors degrees from other fields, esp if the MCAT scores are high. All medical school applicants that I have known have had to have the years of organic chem, some extra inorganic chem, some physics and calculus. But I have never heard of anyone needing a masters in a scientific field to apply to medical school. Not saying it couldn't happen, just saying I've been around the block a few times, and haven't heard of or seen that requirement.