Cmatt13

RN I is a new grad. RN II has a few years and usually a BSN and a RN III is both a BSN as well as a preceptor/resource/active in committees/volunteer--extensive experience. It's *usually* (in my experience) a designation by hospitals that are either Magnet, or on a "Magnet Journey", the RN III has a portfolio, works on committees, is heavily involved in organizational nursing things at the facility. I've noticed that too in job listings, but I rarely see beyond "RN II". The distinction, I think, is mainly experience. If you're a new grad, they won't hire you to an RN II position, I reckon.

Agreed! I often advocate for people to at least do some research for themselves before deciding that the "Devil's Weed" is some sort of evil entity that exists to erode the morals of this "great country", particularly if they ask me their opinion. I've done so as a bedside nurse, as well as in my role as a primary care provider. Clearly there are some situations in which I won't suggest it, but by letting common sense guide the conversation (and knowing a little of the history and effects of weed), that can be managed. One of the only reasons it's still federally illegal is because of some BS back in the earlier part of last century that involved Mexicans and African Americans, and then again when Reagan started waging War on Drugs, which (unsurprisingly) affected minorities in greater numbers. What a crock. Don't believe anything the government tells you...they aren't always right or looking out for the people's best interest. Think and investigate for yourself. That's the only way we grow and learn.

Well, we all know the AMA has the money to squash any opinions that are logical and money saving for patients (and the government).

Thanks--for the record, my degrees are from here in the states. Just out of curiosity, since I can't seem to find the answer anywhere else, do you happen to know which information I should include on my forms for the BON? It says put down your nursing school, but do I need to put both my BSN and my ADN schools down??

Yeah...no on the fingerprinting front, which I find kind of irritating since I had to have my prints run through the DOJ and Interpol to get my spouse visa to live here to begin with!! They're pretty useless here. I've emailed the California BON, though. I'm sure I'll have about as much luck with them as I am having via the state of Illinois (ugh). All I wanted was to cut my wait time down a bit so I can start applying when I get out there!

Also, I'm wondering on my application if I need to send in both my BSN qualifications as well as my ADN information--there's only room for one on the form. I'm assuming they want the information from where I got my RN initially. It's all so confusing.

No no no...sorry for being unclear, I'm from the states--licensed in Illinois. I live here with my partner and we're moving to California. I have my BSN, my SSN, my RN etc etc. I'm really just wondering about timing of my prints relative to my application packet. As an interesting/annoying aside, I was unable to work here--I just this month finished my BSN completion courses and the UK doesn't recognize an associates degree!

I would look into getting it expunged from your record. Usually there's a statute of limitations as to how long something like that stays with you. Speak to a lawyer--I have a friend who had his DUI expunged from his record--it cost him, but it's not there anymore. It had been around 7 years since he got it.

So I'm in the UK but licensed in Illinois (long story). I'm applying for endorsement. I already sent the paperwork in to IL for endorsement, but was going to bring the rest of the paperwork in to Sacramento to do it in person because I thought it might be faster. However, I won't have my fingerprints done til the first week of June when I get to LA. Will they just hold my file until then? I can't seem to find the answer to that burning question...frustrating to try to get things done from so far away...

Thanks everyone! I thought I might be ok, but it's kind of overwhelming to move cross-country, much less overseas *and* cross country...guess I just keep freaking myself out because of the seeming enormity of the task!

I worked in a peds ER as a tech for a long time before I became a nurse, now I work in an all purpose ER and I get stuck with the dehydrated babies all the time! I agree with all of those who say warm packs are the way to go, and if you can get it approved on your unit, EMLA cream is very useful but must be applied prior to the IV start. On kids who were super-duper dehydrated, I've seen them put in an I/O (equally as horrible to watch, but somehow ends up being quicker). The peds docs (and nurses) always told me no baby ever cried himself or herself to death--which is hard to remember when the kid is screaming in your ear during the 5th attempt and the parents are breathing down your neck. If it's any consolation, I've seen kids scream themselves hoorifice/asleep just from being restrained during an IV start--no needles even involved.

So... I'm a nurse who is licensed in Illinois, currently living in the UK, and moving to central California in June. While here in the UK, I've been unable to work because of the difference in degrees--I'm just now (this week!) finishing my BSN completion. I've been off since last September. I have 8 years of nursing experience and about 12 years of experience as a medic and ED/ICU care tech prior to that. I keep reading all of these posts about how horrible the nursing job market is in California and I'm wondering if anyone there would venture to guess how long I'll be looking for a job? I'm heading out there a month or two before my move to sort out my license (Illinois is notoriously slow about endorsing and it seems like California might be equally as frustrating) and look at some hospitals. Any suggestions to make my application shine? I have all the usual ED certifications, and they're current (ACLS, PALS). I'm hoping that the situation is better for someone with experience than for someone who is just out of school, but I also haven't worked since last fall (as a nurse), so I'm a little nervous about it...

Where did you send your form? I can't even find that on the IDPR website--it's so disorganized!! I'm trying to apply in California.

Hello, This thread is quite old--the last entry was in 2010. I'm going to be applying for my CA license (I'm currently licensed in IL). I'm also applying right after my BSN completion--I'm an ADN now. My question is this--is the initial information on the "sticky" still accurate? Also, do you happen to know if I need to submit transcripts from both my ADN program as well as my BSN program? And do I have to submit an official copy of my NCLEX results?? Thanks for your time!

I've often wondered the same thing. You know, we're the largest group of employed professionals IN THE COUNTRY. If all 2.6 million of us (as of 2009) worked as one entity, and came together into collective bargaining (in one form or another) we could move mountains. Unions are like the bogeyman, though. Much of it is disinformation rather than people actually investigating it themselves, and some of it is cultural. I know many nurses who have moved to the states from other countries that don't see the point, and feel that to challenge the basis on which they have emigrated to the US, ie nursing jobs, may cause them trouble in more areas of their lives than just employment. Fair enough, but until we all band together, we will be but 2.6 million individuals. And it's much easier to control the masses if they aren't all on the same page.

Hahaha...not to laugh at your situation, but I'll be about $100,000 in debt when all is said and done--just finishing up my BSN now and then moving on to my masters. School is expensive, full stop, especially here in the states where we demand higher education but don't provide reasonable resources to pay for it!! My advice? Keep taking classes part time while working, defer your loans, get your masters and then work in an underserved area/facility and get involved in the NHSC (National Health Service Corps) where you will not only received debt forgiveness, but you will also be giving back and providing care to those who are most vulnerable and in need. Or move back with your parents. I guess I'm biased because at the age of 41, I could never, ever, ever, ever do that. I'd rather be in debt. Good luck!

I understand that this is a forum for ranting--I've done quite a bit myself here. But the bottom line is that nobody ever said it would be easy or fun. At least, nobody ever said that to me. I went in with somewhat low expectations (my mom was a nurse) and have yet to be disappointed. I work ED as a staff/registry nurse at a community hospital that it part of one of the largest health care systems in my city. The management is crap. The administration is unquestionably the worst I've ever seen. The patients are...ok. They're ED patients...90% of them not emergencies but rather in need of the safety net the ED provides. I will pay lip service to the administration. I will toe the company line...to their faces. But in reality, my nursing is not defined by whatever corporate plan they have. It is how I care for my patients that defines me as a nurse, not how many patients call and tell the nursing office I'm great. It's a JOB. Jobs are inherently lame. If jobs were fun, they'd be called something else, like, I don't know, vacation? Holiday? Work to live, people, don't live to work...

Hi everyone. I'm currently working on a program through an LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) health care center to provide cultural competency training to LGBT older adults. We are federally funded and our program provides CEU's to nurses who complete the program, which is a 6 module (6 hour) educational offering that provides information about LGBT needs, HIV and aging, legal concerns, sex and sexuality and transgender health issues. It's offered free of charge to interested facilities. My question is this: what populations do you think are most in need of this kind of training, if any? Would you take a course of this kind? What would be your motivation? At the moment we are targeting both staff nurses at local hospitals and LTC facilities, public health nurses and clinic nurses. We piloted the program with nursing students initially, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Our main barriers to getting it more widely disbursed have been mostly having to do with staff time. Any feedback on interest would be greatly appreciated.

LTC is a tough place to cut your nursing teeth, for sure. I couldn't do it, and I admire anyone who can stick with it for any length of time. I worked on the ambulance prior to becoming a nurse and--I was in and out of LTC facilities all the time so I knew ahead of time that it wasn't for me. Fortunately for me, when I graduated I was able to find a place in a hospital. I hated the hospital I ended up at the first time! I ended up going into research at a clinic to save my sanity. Did that for a few years and when I came out of that job, it was again a difficult task to find a hospital job because I had no clinical experience. I finally found a place at an extremely difficult hospital/unit where I had to grin and bear it until I could make my way into critical care. Ugh! My point being, stick it out. The survival skills you learn while you're there will serve you well when you finally do get a job in an area that you enjoy. It sounds like you are in it for the right reasons, just maybe in the wrong place at the moment. It'll get better!!

Interestingly, it all goes back to something my professional issues instructor (as an ADN student) and my health care policy instructor (in my BSN program) said over and over again; nurses, as professionals, will not be treated as such until there is a base level of education obtained by those of us in the field and until that becomes standard. How they explained it was that doctors, lawyers, accountants all are considered "professional" because they all attain "equal" degrees, whereas nurses don't. We have diploma, ADN, and BSN nurses all doing the same job more or less. Ultimately the difference is in the critical thinking and patient outcomes. That being said, however, I know a few diploma nurses that could run circles around a few of the BSN nurses I've come across, especially ones who enter it as a second career and possibly are motivated by money and job security more so than anything else. I think that bringing nurses to the same level (relatively speaking) as each other and acknowledging the differences in education is an important step in the continued trend of recognizing our contributions to health care and our advancement as a true "profession".

At the risk of stirring the pot (which clearly does not need stirring), legally there is nothing wrong with posting pics of yourself with a placenta or any other *unidentified* tissue or body fluid on Facebook or any of the other social sites. Where the problem comes in is when you identify yourself as a professional (whether you're a student or not is irrelevant) of ANY profession and expect there to not be a backlash. You have the right to do stupid things like take pictures of horrible disfigurement, digits, placentas, body fat obtained from liposuction, etc (as long as they aren't identifiable and therefore subject to HIPAA laws). You have the right to post them online. But your school has the right to point out what an ass you are and throw you out of school for misconduct and besmirching their good name. School is not the government (obviously). The government may well grant you your first amendment rights (for the moment anyways), but nursing school is not obligated to mind your civil rights. If you must post content like that on your Facebook page, perhaps you should think about whether or not you are mature enough to enter a profession at all.

I would guess that it won't be handled any differently than alcohol. That isn't illegal for nurses. As long as nurses aren't working "impaired" I don't see the issue. There's such a stigma attached to it though, who knows.

To anyone attempting to get an IL license...keep in mind that there are between 1 and 3 people staffing the nursing license office *for the entire state*. No, really. This means that if you are applying for reciprocity from out of state, you will be pushed back behind those who have taken the exam in IL (or so the dude who used to work in that office told me once) and are waiting. IL has a horrible record relative to time between application and approval, mostly because of it being one person.