DIVINELYBLESSED

Hi! I live in York which is about 30min. from Harrisburg. Here are some web-sites that may be of interest to you- http://www.harrisburg.com, http://www.visithhc.com, http://www.city-data.com/city/Harrisburg-Pennsylvania.html. I would guess that the average salary for RN's is in the $30-$40,000 range, not sure about LPN's. I would also agree that it is a good area to raise a family. Let me know if you have any other questions, I will answer to the best of my ability :)

When you and your friend are both on medication for high blood pressure, do not decide to have a competiton which involves both of you stopping your medication to see who's pressure will go the highest! (PS. the "winner" ended up in a vegetative state)

This is definitely a big issue. We have one doctor in particular who's writing is so notriously bad that he reads all his orders onto a tape record so the unit secretaries/nurses can decipher and take off the orders. Another problem is with residents and consults- the same doctor doesn't always see the patient from day-day, so when you need to clarify an order you have to first try and dechiper the signature so you know who to call. This is why the hospital requires residents to put their pager number next to their signature. No plans here to go to computer order entering.

My husband had gastric bypass 7 months ago (he was about 160# overweight). He has struggled with his weight all his life ( or at least since very early teens) and has tried lots of different diets and weight loss pills. He did not make the decision to have surgery lightly, he spent over a year researching it and talking to people online that had had it done. I think his biggest reasons for having the surgery were 1. Once we had children he wanted to be able to get down on the floor and play with them 2. quality of life- ie) being 33 yrs. old and already having NIDDM, boderline hypertension, and sleep apnea. I supported his decison to have the surgery because I knew he had given it much thought and that he fully understood all the risks involved. So far everything has been going well. He has lost 133 lbs., blood sugars have been normal, blood pressure is down, sleep apnea is resolved (he also stopped snoring all together), and he has almost completely stopped getting migraines. He has to watch the kinds of foods he eats and stay away from the ones that make him sick but pretty much eats what ever he wants. He tells everyone that he has absolutely no regrets and he feels better and enjoys life so much more. I love the fact that he feels better about himself and all the energy he now has- before surgery he quit his job because of ?stress? and was subsuquently out of work for 9 months because he had no motivation to look for another one & spent his days laying in bed watching TV, now he has a job he loves and is always on the go or involved in some kind of project or activity. LOL he wears me out sometimes. I don't think the surgery is right for everybody- you have to weigh the benefits and risks and you have to be willing to make the lifestyles changes after, but for many people the surgery is a lifesaver.

I will never forget the Halloween that one of our orthopedic doctors came in to round on his patients dressed up like a pilgrim! That was truly interesting.

We don't have to pay for parking, but right now we are dealing with alot of construction limiting already limited parking spaces. The hospital has decided to use an alternative parking area about 5 min. from the hospital and provide shuttle buses. All employees are encouraged to shuttle but seeing as the service only runs from like 6a-6p not everyone is required (because the parking is at a sports and rec area and the spaces are needed for eve. games and activities). I shuttle by choice but it adds about 10-20 min.onto my commute time.

:roll :roll Very cute!

This is not a joke, but wasn't sure the best place to post it. A friend sent me this, probably some of you have seen it already, but I really liked this new version of an old favorite. FOOTPRINTS...A New Version Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles,departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints they have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray: "Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You." "That is correct." "And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely." "Very good. You have understood everything so far." When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way." "Precisely." "So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first." There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. "You didn't know? It was then that we danced!" :)

I hate filling out applications too, you are never quite sure what they are looking for. But, I would simply put down that you provide and oversee nursing care for patients including administring medication (PO,IV,IM,SQ), preforming treatments (maybe list type of tx- like wound care?), identifying key problems, setting goals, and charting the patient's progress. I find the best thing with filling out applications is to just be straightforwared and to the point- don't overthink your answers. I don't know if this helps, but good luck and I hope you get the job!