kcw74

I am currently pursuing my BSN via an online course, if were taking the classes full time, I would finish in one year. However 2 small children and working doesn't allow for that kind of time. There are also programs available that you can do RN to MSN, although I'm not sure about the yrs involved with that one.

I worked my way through nursing school at a Kroger in Charleston and currently my sister was doing the same. From what I understand, the insurance is provided through the union and is paid for by Union dues. WV is not a right to work state and therefore everyone hired into the store is forced to join the union and pay dues. Right off I can't remember how much the dues were a week, but when you only worked 15 hours a week, it was money that was noticibly missed. A majority of employees at a Kroger store are high school and college students that are wage capped around $7-8 an hour. I worked at Kroger for 5 yrs and met maximum wage potential after 2 yrs. Older employees have seen wage cuts in the past yrs so that they may make a whopping $14-15 an hour. Pretty sad when you consider a employee may have worked there for 15-20 yrs or more. Something more specialized like a meat cutter may make more, but I'm sure not much. What many people also do not realize is that there is a difference in the benefits between the "younger" hired employee and the more "veteran" employees. Depending on the contract they were hired under is how well the benefits and pay are. I agree in that Kroger employees may have to suck it up a little and pay a small amount for their insurance, but also doubt that Kroger is really hurting for money either. I work in healthcare and I pay a stupid amount of money for some crappy insurance that doesn't even cover child immunizations. Kroger employees are fortunate that the employer pays into medical benefits, because I don't think Wal mart offers such a thing, although I may be wrong on that. As for the strike itself, most employees I know really wish that the union and Kroger could get it together and come to an agreement. Christmas time is a horrible time to be out of a job, especially in WV where unemployment is already so high.

Hey everyone, I just had a quick question and wanted to see what everbody else may have to say. I have recently drafted my brother into home health and he is really enjoying it. Last week he was scheduled to do routine foley catheter changes on 2 of our female patients. The visits were completed without incident but he did have a little difficulty with changing one of the caths out and said he felt uncomfortable that it had taken him so long to do the cath change. When he worked in the hospital the males assumed responsibility for male cath patients and the females did likewise. What I am wondering is if this may leave him exposed for a lawsuit of some sort. Whenever I have been to my OB/Gyn a female nurse is always present during a pelvic exam. Let's face it, society sucks sometimes and I was thinking that a male nurse should probably try to avoid such situations whenever possible. What do you guys think?

I have worked as a home health nurse for the past 6 yrs, mostly in WV. My agency covers 3 counties and parts of 3 others and primarily alot of rural areas. I have good days and bad days, if I'm lucky most of my visits can be in a 30 mile radius around Charleston, but there are other days that I may travel 100 miles between 2 patients and can spend up to 3-4 hours in travel time while only seeing 5 patients. I work contract so I am paid per visit and have very little reimbursement for mileage, but my branch director is pretty understanding and will add extra money to the visit rate to make it worth the extra time and mileage. I would say on the average, travel tie between patients is about 15-20 min.