jrivers

I totally believe that, Lala!

No, but that's a good thing to remember. Thank you!

Thank you for the info. Wasn't familiar with that!

Anyone have experience with scrotal wounds? I have a patient with a sizeable (4x3x0) anterior scrotal wound with significant slough, induration to the "west" of that wound with tiny areas of oozing and slough and a perineal area near a gluteal fold that is raised, indurated and opens and closes with exudative purulence. I have not received any diagnoses other than ulcer. I believe there is something more going on. Thanks for any insite.

Get your year in med/surg first. It will serve you very well for a career as a field nurse! I've been doing it for a few months now and LOVE it!

Wow...I live in New Jersey and just started with a great home health care agency. We have to have "X" amount of credits each week, with the kind of visit we do tied to the number of credits. For instance, an admission is worth more than a revisit. If I have six patients, which is the maximum we could have, and am done at 1pm I am outa there. Also, we get paid for anything above the number of credits we are required to do each week, plus are paid extra for weekends. You are getting screwed. Find another place!

Wow...I live in New Jersey and just started with a great home health care agency. We have to have "X" amount of credits each week, with the kind of visit we do tied to the number of credits. For instance, an admission is worth more than a revisit. If I have six patients, which is the maximum we could have, and am done at 1pm I am outa there. Also, we get paid for anything above the number of credits we are required to do each week, plus are paid extra for weekends. You are getting screwed. Find another place!

Someone who is venally abusive, critical, nasty and puts their ego above patient care. Someone who is so insecure they feel the need to put ores down around them so they might feel better. Sometimes it is cultural. I have experienced many foreign nurses that are very aggressive...perhaps it comes from the culture of e schools they went to.

A woman came in with a zit in her ear and was afraid it would pop and "go to her brain"

...and some blunt draw needles

Try getting as many certifications in skills that you would need in a med surg setting...also perhaps jumping up the ladder from nh to sar and then the a hospital might help.

AA vs BSN: what to do I'm in my 4th semester of an AA RN program and am employed as a PD ERT with Med Surg NA experience. I've just found out my employer is going for magnet status and is no longer hiring AA RNs. I am trying to decide if it would be better for me to continue teching and work on a BSN before doing all the applying? I love what I do. Or is it better to take a job in an area that I don't want, such as in a nursing home or assisted living facility...or working in rehab and trying to get them to reimburse me? Any thoughts out there?

I thought that you're not supposed to take blood pressures on little ones unless it is absolutely necessary or you are taking the neonatal baseline immediately s/p birth. I could be wrong. Otherwise, check the cuff size, wait for a quiet time and have Mom help you.

I'm a tech in nursing school but I may offer some insight as I've worked on a med-surg floor and have a sense of things. Are the respiratory therapists taking her out to check her O2 Sats? I often see that. It is necessary to ambulate, for obvious reasons, and they may want to see if her therapy is effective by getting a sense of her status on room air. Pain meds late? The only thing I see is that the patient-nurse ratio is so high on floors the nurses give themselves (so we're taught in nursing school) a two-hour med dispensary window. The squeaky wheel often gets the grease but may create attitude problems with those nurses who haven't learned how to be more understanding and empathetic. They are the ones who should question what the hell they are doing in nursing to begin with! I respectfully beg to differ with the suggestion to document everything, at least out in the open. If someone knows you're doing that, it creates a very negative atmosphere and will not help Mum. By offering to help with the ADL things, getting snacks, water or other things like helping to clean her if she needs it will go A LONG WAY towards a team/family approach to care. I know I find it galling that the son who's mother lives with him suddenly has a back problem when he's asked to help with a boost at the hospital. And many people, especially older women, act like they are at a hotel: where's lunch, the food sucks, I hate red jello, where's the sugar (and I'm a diabetic)". You know the types? These days, it seems like cuts and staffing issues have forced us all to be more collaborative in our care. It does make positive outcomes feel a lot more fulfilling when everyone finds a way to make things work. This is just what I've learned so far. I hope it helps. J