ehooper80

As a nurse who previously worked in long term care, I chose to leave the field because I felt that the nurse-resident ratio was too high to provide quality care. I'm sure not all facilities are like the ones I am familiar with, but I was given 24-28 ...

yeah, you really have to watch your belongings in the hospital. there are so many people in and out all day long, it's a very easy environment for people to steal in. there is so much hustle and bustle, no one really pays attention to what anyone els...

This sounds familiar too... I heard the same "not that bad" stuff from some nurses. IMO, these were probably the people that documented things that had never been done, etc. It always seemed funny to me too that when the state surveyors were there, i...

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your position. When you're employer said "possible felony charges", did they mention any specifics, like they were pressing charges, etc? I would guess the more information you had, the better. I would suggest seeing ...

You are right. Psychiatric nursing is very different from medical nursing. Instead of dealing primarily with a patient's medical/physical issues, you are assessing and treating problems with their emotions, behaviors, cognition, personality, coping s...

What you describe is exactly why I RAN AWAY from long term care. Although I'm sure there are some good LTC facilities out there, unfortunately some of them aren't. I worked for a 110-bed nursing home/sub-acute rehab facility owned by a major national...

Wow, it sounds like you really have a lot of complex emotions going on. It sounds like you have a history of depression and maybe your new job is bringing all that out again. Nursing is a stressful job... no bones about that. I would suggest seeing y...

A 20:1 ratio for a psychiatric hospital sounds about right. I currently work at a psych hospital 7P-7A. The 7A-7P nurse usually has an LPN to pass the medications, but night shift does not. I actually prefer to pass my own medications because it give...

I agree with everyone else... salary for a floor nurse sounds very suspicious. I've worked in several different settings as a nurse and in all of them, there is a big likelihood you will not get off on time.

I think several previous commentators got it perfectly: outsiders don't understand what all nurses really do. And in my experience, hospital patients are the worst. It was long before my time (does anyone else remember exactly when?) that nurses got ...

Hi Michelle!... and welcome. I'm sorry to hear about all the problems you are having struggling with your alcohol addiction, but now is time and present. Have you returned to your groups and meetings? Have you gone to see a therapist/counselor? If so...

Your state could be totally different, but I hope that gives you a general idea of how it works. Some other words of advice that I can give is: :redbeathe Keep a positive attitude about the whole experience. Yes, you will have to do things you don'...

Well, I was going to write out my whole experience, but I live in Indiana (ISNAP) and mine is basically the same as RN4HUGS was :). I self-reported in December, had an intake assessment by an addiction therapist in January and signed my RMA (contr...

I live in Indiana and Jack is correct that they also enforce the same restrictions: shifts 12 hrs max/week 40 hrs max, no night shift, no home health/agency, narcotic restriction for a minimum of at least 6 months. BUT... ISNAP does personalize rules...

Although I no longer live in Michigan and never practiced nursing there, I can tell you that most employers have some nurse employees in recovery. Most employers have no problem with a nurse being in recovery/monitoring program, HOWEVER many WILL NOT...

Yes, nurses in recovery can and do get jobs. I am an RN in recovery and I work full-time at an acute psychiatric hospital. This was the first RN position I applied for after having the narcotic restriction lifted by my nurses' monitoring program, so ...

Yes, the Indiana program says basically the same thing... that if you require long-term narcotics use you will be discharges as non-compliant from the program, because taking narcotics is not compatible with safe nursing practice.

CONGRATULATIONS(!!!!!) on 5 years of sobriety!!!! That is an awesome accomplishment, and for that alone you should be proud! And as for the boards, I'm sure you remember the jitters we all had the first time around. Don't jump the gun and assume you ...

I would HIGHLY suggest bringing it up early in the interview. I wouldn't mention it the very first thing, but I have always mentioned it early enough in the interview so that I did not waste their time or my time if they were not interested. I don't...

Of course I am no expert on the issue, but it sounds like what happened to you with the first and second state will also happen with Florida. I do know it is the policy of boards of nursing (who have to approve a license endorsement to another state)...

I know all charges that have EVER been against you show up on background checks, even those that have been dismissed. I just have some major traffic violations from when I was 18 (driving w/o insurance, expired tags, and another one along those lines...

I'm assuming because the RN thought the pt was possibly having Sundowner's that this was an elderly patient w/ a prior Hx of dementia? If this is the case, the RN and yourself were not wrong to assume his behavior was dementia related... even the MD ...

I had to switch preceptors with my first job out of school too. The first was a nice enough person, but she gave me tasks to do all day instead of letting me figure out what needed to be done. She didn't let me call doctors or do the charting or lear...

Also, in the situation of your rude lady, our charge nurse or nurse manager would go talk to her. If that did not resolve the problem, security would be called to escort her out. Thankfully, the hospital does not give in to ridiculous demands of craz...

On intermediate/med-surg floor, visitors cannot stay the night in a double room... period. There are hotels/motels within walking distance that give discounts for patient families, and there are couches in the waiting room. It's disturbing and disres...