suehp

I asked the NMC that very question and I am in the USA- here is what they told me by email: "•Once you allow your registration with the NMC to lapse for over 3 months, you will be required to make an application for re-admission to the Register. As part of this application you will be required to declare that you have complied with the PREP standards: 750 hours of registered practice in the previous 5 years and 35 hours of learning activity in the previous 3 years."

This is exactly what I do too....we are only allowed to stick twice....I do like to have at least one attempt and I say the same thing with my patients - if I cant find ANYTHING I will not attempt but if there is a slight chance I might get it then I will go for it....I tend to be able to get them on the wrist and hand really well....

I just discharged someone today with Bil TKR's after 3 days. Only one of our Surgeons do the Bil TKR's and most of his are out by day 4

Yes being written up is a favourite hobby for some nurses!!!!!!!!! It does make you watch your back a little!!!

45 isnt old!!!! As everyone suggests - you need to read the stickies first - that will no doubt give you more questions!! Welcome to the board:D (from not so sunny Florida at the moment lol)

Hi Fruit Shoot, I have to say that when I did night shift (I have been on days since May and I am in Florida) that BB's night shift sounds a lot like mine. We get report at 7pm, and the maximum Pt's I got up 11pm was 6 (went up to 8 after that unless I was shift leader then it was 7 - I work on an Ortho floor which is 23 bedded unit) The rest of the night would pretty much go like BB's - checking the Pt's doing the assessment, giving the meds (we get ours from a machine called the Pyxis), checking the Mars (treatment sheets) against the orders etc. Now I am on days - it is pretty much the same but no chart checks. The Pt's here compared to the UK are usually very knowledgeable - but you get the odd clueless one. I dont think they are anymore demanding than UK pt's - yes you get the odd one but it isnt the norm - well not where I work anyway. I do find the english accent has advantages - they all LOVE it and it is a good conversation point. It can be a disadvantage if you **** a doctor off as they would know who you are - but so far that hasnt happened to me - we have lovely doctors here and we have a system if a doctor is not being nice we can report them...but I have been here 3 years and only 2 doctors have been slightly "funny" with me and that was when I first started here and I get on well with them now. On nights if you have to call the doctor - first make sure it is appropriate to call in the middle of the night or is it something that can wait til like 5 or 6am, and if you do have to call - make sure you have everything you need - Vitals, lab results, your assessment and any other info you think you might need.....nothing worse than calling a doctor and having to fumble around for the info he is asking for....

Whereabouts on the east coast? I am on the east coast too! Our quiet season started a little late this year but now the quiet season doesnt seem to end. I work on Orthopedics and we are constantly being called off - once in a while is ok but it seems to be weekly at the moment.

My situation is a little different as my Husband was medically retired before we moved and he has an injury pension paid every month = so not an issue really for him....so we are lucky in that sense.... dont think your husband will have too much difficulty getting a job- if he has a good work ethic and a good resume than he should be able to do ok - but you need to research it well....

I did the old RGN back in 1989... I came out to Florida - originally started out with a small agency (which doesnt exist anymore) but I mostly did the journey by myself with little input from the agency (although I am grateful for her insight into a lot of stuff) At the time for me it took 37 months from start to finish having got here in October 2005 (cant believe I have been here 3 years already) but this was all before Retrogression.... I work Orthopedics in the local hospital and enjoy it there...happy where I live although I dont utilize the beach as much as i could lol

In our hospital there is a job freeze on right now and they have made a lot of people redundant (but not bedside nurses)... I am also planning to go for a second job soon too....

Indian River Medical Center (IRMC) is a Non-Profit hospital.

am not working Stroke Rehab anymore but it was my first job as a staff Nurse and I loved it...very rewarding. We used the Keyworker approach and it worked very well. Just wanted to wish you well....and Welcome to Allnurses!

I looked at this too, but decided against this now. I really want to do my Orthopedic certification instead next year (which is very hard apparently)

We just give report to out Nurse Manager and Case Manager in the morning of what things are going on with out patients...our Nurse Manager is good - if we are a bit snowed with our workload she will call Doctors and help out with Patients when she is able to.... On my worksheet I usually have their admit diagnosis, allergies, age etc and accuchecks...I put down who their medical dr/s are , whther they are DNR, what their P/T status is and I&O's whether they have an IV, what diet they are on, LBM, foley. Also make sure i know their labs too....Dr always ask for that....(if they havent looked it up themselves)usually leave a bit of room for a brief medical history too - found this useful if we have ever had a rapid response and the RRTeam have asked what their medical history is...I have seen someone give the worng history to them as they got their Pt's mixed up...

Hey I am sorry to hear about your back....hope you recover soon... I agree with you aswell about Ortho being intimidating at first...I have worked Ortho for 2.5 yrs now (origianlly on nights but now on days) I love it....I too dont like getting medicals (although they arent as "heavy" and occassionally not as high maintenance) I like the fact you usually have one Ortho Doc to deal with and one medical Doc (unless they have co-morbidities)....ALthough they are usually a lot of meds to pass with the Ortho pt's they are usually vitamins and pain pills!!!!!!!:chuckle