GreenvilleRN

Yes but be prepared for the reality and sacrifices....I am living proof! My husband left me with two babies, one 3 months old and another a year and a half this and a 600 per month mortgage! I knew that I needed to act and act quickly or we would sink. I applied to the nearest nursing school to my home 70 miles away and worked with my bank to put off payments. Lucky for me I had liberal arts classes mostly out of the way and the nursing school was a community college with a day care center that accepted my babies. I arose each morning with the kids at 4am, drove the 70 miles to school where we went our separate ways for the day, I picked them up at 4pm and we drove the 70 miles home. Made supper, put the kids to bed, studied until midnight to get up the next day and do it all again. After the first semester I was placed on the State C.N.A. Registry and began working 16 hour shifts every weekend too...as my bank was patient but not that patient. Bottom line, my kids didn't see much of me for the 2 years I did this but upon my graduation they were three and four and a half we had a predictable and secure life. My kids are now 20 and 23 and both tell me how proud they are of me to have worked so hard and give them the life they have. They are self sufficient, secure and have a great work ethic. Ironically enough both are now pursuing their college education in Nursing!! My eldest is working full time as a C.N.A. in the ER of our hospital and is approaching his last year of nursing school my youngest is also a C.N.A. in the Hospital and is in his first year....both are driving 70 miles to attend the same school I graduated from. It can be done and it is worth it!!!!

I have worked per diem for major for profit chains in Maine, can't really say anything negative about either one...I have also worked full time for a small hospital based Not for profit and by far prefer this situation. Very rural, community needs focused. Financially we are obligated to meet a break even budget so any extra monies are turned back to the facility. Our wages tend to be higher than average for the area, the benefits are great as we are part of a larger hospital health system and we the residents have what they need to have needs met. All residents have electric low beds with low profile safety mats available, pressure reduction mattresses, w/c cushions etc. The focus is very different.

There may be state to state differences but here it is by facility policy and common sense. Our organization is hospital based but still allows pets in but requires vet documentation of current shots and certifying health. I raise West Highland White Terriers, the adults all take turns coming to work with me and wandering the halls visiting. Our medical director brings in his Cairn Terriers as well from time to time. Residents and patients alike enjoy the visits! We often arrange pet based "activities" such as our recent Halloween parade. We even had goats brought in on leashes dressed all up. The key is to assure all animals are well behaved, under control and healthy and that someone is ultimately responsible to assure the animals are provided the attention they need but when all bases are covered it makes life a whole lot more enjoyable for the residents, and the staff seem to like it too.

I think you need to look at the specifics in your state. Eastern Maine Medical Center employes FNP with geriatic specialization to assist in providing continuity of care across the acute care/SNF/NF/Homecare settings. They are utilized as geriatric specialists by inpatient staff with questions/concerns and assist with coordination of services across the spectrum. Also FNP in Maine working with some physicians to assist with nursing home and home visit responsibilities. After two years of working with a physician FNP - geriatric specialties form independant practices as well. The what you can do and where really depends state to state.

We require consents/declination to be signed each year by resident/responsible party on this form it states that vaccination information has been provided to the resident/responsible party. The signature of the resident/responsible party indicates they have received the information. Consent/declination form is filed in medical record and VIS is sent with resident/responsible party. All paperwork is prepared prior to administration of vaccine.

Hi, I am a C.N.A. instructor in Northern Maine, before spending money on the New Hampshire course call the Maine C.N.A. registry to check if they will accept certification from NH. I say this because Maine has significantly requirements to be on the registry than do other states (not sure about NH). I have a number of students in my classes who have been working as a C.N.A. in other states but Maine will not recognize their classes due to the limited number of hours. Other places to look for C.N.A. classes in Southern Maine would be to call area High School Adult Education programs as well as the community colleges. Good Luck!

Scheduled III and IV medications are double locked in med cart....in Maine C.N.A.-M (Med Techs) can pass these under a RN direction. Scheduled II Narcotics are locked in double locked wall box that only Licensed Staff have access to. This is governed by regulation. I know in some larger facilities they also lock up other medications that are more highly sought after or with "unintended/off label uses"

Recognition programs are a good idea...a suggestion is to start with a more local view as many may be in place already. In Maine the Long Term Care Ombudsman offer an annual recognition for "Outstanding Caregivers" from around the state. Facilities are encouraged to nominate an outstanding care giver in their orgainization. Submitting with the nomination an essay to outline the reasons the individual deserves the award. The Ombudsman have a panel of judges who meet and select winners from around the state. The winners, a guest and the nominating organization's representative attend a ceremony at the State Capital attended by the governor and key legislators/senators involved with healthcare. The Maine Health Care Association offers a similar reward program with similiar criteria. The winners and a guest are given the opportunity to attend the annual MHCA conference and are part of a recognition progra there. These recognition programs of course are beyond those specific to the organization they are employed by. Since their implementation and as a part of C.N.A. education there has been great emphasis placed on recognizing and rewarding the exceptional and to increase self esteem and self respect among these important member of the health care team.

Things I use include: 1. Hand written thank you notes that I mail to their homes...and place a copy in their H/R file. 2. I have a communication board in our nurses station where we communicate QI info, Education, etc. One column on this board is for all staff to post Thank you notes to each other....C.N.A.-C.N.A., Charge Nurse to C.N.A. and C.N.A. to Charge Nurse. The under performers who never get thanked tend to step it up a bit and those that provide the thank you's seem to get as much appreciation out of it at those who are thanked. (WORDY...Sorry). 3. Our organization has a RROAR committee...(Recognize & Reward Outstanding Actions Regularly) A committee meets monthly to review nominations based on pre-established criteria. Nominations can come from any employee, family or resident...awards range from High Honors - nice fleece jackets with company logo, Honors - pick of Coffee Mug, Umbrella, Lunch Bag. During NH/Hospital Week all people with Honors have their name placed in for a drawing for $1000.00 4. I bring in goodies for staff meetings and if there has been a particularly difficult shift have pizza delivered for the staff as an immediate reward. 5. The Charge Nurses (RN, LPN) are involved in immediate recognition for jobs well done, never underestimate the meaning of recognizing how well a resident looks, how well they are positioned or the approach a C.N.A. has taken that achieves positive results. The correct words used at the correct time has a powerful impact on staff behavior. Too often we as nurses criticize what is wrong but don't stop to praise what is right. Hope this provides some ideas

I would check your policy....most facilities I've worked with require the employee (not family member) to call the facility AND speak with the charge nurse. Equipment could fail...what if you had the device turned off... I would explore your H/R policy.... if it was not followed your answer is there. Unexcused call outs or excessive absenteeism drags down morale of other staff and causes great disruption to the organization. I think texting you at home is quite inappropriate, unless this is the way these situations are handled in your organization. A "funny" story....I am the DON at our small facility and happened to be at our facility late one Friday evening working. The telephone rang at 9:30pm, it was a per diem C.N.A. that was due in to work at 9:45pm she was very surprised to hear me answer the phone. She was calling in sick, I probed her a bit more as we had problems with call outs and this gal in the past. Our policy requires staff to call in 2 hours in the advance of scheduled shifts. In the end, she was out "sick". I was able to cover her with one of our evening shift staff who agreed to stay over until 2am and a day shift staff member who agreed to come in early at 2am. I left to drive home when I noticed the staff member who had called out drive by our entrance. HMMMMMM....I decided to follow her.....to the local bar. I followed her in and had the bartender buy her a beer, waved and left. I fired her Monday morning... multiple unexcused absences. When she was removed from our schedule the rest of my C.N.A. staff sent me flowers.

I would feel absolutely comfortable placing a loved one in a nursing home in my area of Maine. I am not in a position to give up my job to meet the 24 hour care that would be required and I have found in my experience that many people flourish in the NH setting once adjusted. People who had otherwise sat at home for hours staring at the television or out windows begin to participate in exercise programs, attend group activities and become quite social. While there are good and bad nursing homes...there is good and bad home care and hospital care as well. I have seen many an admission arrive from their homes through our ER and transition to our LTC unit with Large Stage IV pressure ulcers that our LTC unit healed despite being told they would likely never do so. The people who provide care to our elders treat them as though they are a part of their family. I also want to praise the nurses and staff of our LTC unit for achieving two back to back zero Federal/State Deficiency Surveys!! There is much negative publicity of nursing home and the care delivered there but no one celebrates the good...I for one thank all the wonderful nurses and C.N.A. staff who meet the needs of our elders.