e-dice

i was reading this online about public service loan forgiveness on federal student loans. nurses are included in their description of what constitutes public service, but i am not sure if they mean nurses working in community health or non-profit hospitals or public service type of nursing?? or does any rn qualify to this public service loan forgiveness benefit. does anybody have an answer? their description isn't specific on what type of nursing is included. the website and description are below. http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml [color=#336699]public service loan forgiveness the college cost reduction and access act of 2007 established a new public service loan forgiveness program. this program discharges any remaining debt after 10 years of full-time employment in public service. the borrower must have made 120 payments as part of the direct loan program in order to obtain this benefit. only payments made on or after october 1, 2007 count toward the required 120 monthly payments. (borrowers may consolidate into direct lending in order to qualify for this loan forgiveness program starting july 1, 2008.) this contrasts with the loan forgiveness of the remaining balance after 25 years of repayment under the income-contingent and income-based repayment plans for borrowers who are not employed full time in public service jobs. [color=#990000]eligibility the public service loan forgiveness program has several restrictions: term: the forgiveness occurs after 120 monthly payments made on or after october 1, 2007 on an eligible federal direct loan. periods of deferment and forbearance are not counted toward the 120 payments. payments made before october 1, 2007 do not count. likewise, only payments on a federal direct loan are counted. what is forgiven? the remaining interest and principal are forgiven. employment: the borrower must be employed full-time in a public service job for each of the 120 monthly payments. public service jobs include, among other positions, emergency management, government (excluding time served as a member of congress), military service, public safety and law enforcement (police and fire), public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations), public education, early childhood education (including licensed or regulated childcare, head start, and state-funded prekindergarten), social work in a public child or family service agency, public services for individuals with disabilities or the elderly, public interest legal services (including prosecutors, public defenders and legal advocacy on behalf of low-income communities at a nonprofit organization), public librarians, school librarians and other school-based services, and employees of tax exempt 501©(3) organizations. full-time faculty at tribal colleges and universities, as well as faculty teaching in high-need subject areas and shortage areas (including nurse faculty, foreign language faculty, and part-time faculty at community colleges), also qualify. eligible loans: eligible loans include federal direct stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), federal direct plus loans, and federal direct consolidation loans. borrowers in the direct loan program do not need to consolidate in order to qualify for loan forgiveness. borrowers in the ffel program will need to consolidate into direct loans. (beginning on july 1, 2008, ffel borrowers may obtain a federal direct consolidation loan in order to qualify for public service loan forgiveness even if they had previously consolidated in the ffel program. such borrowers will be restricted to the income-based repayment, income-contingent repayment and standard repayment plans. before july 1, 2008, ffel borrowers who have not yet consolidated may obtain a federal direct consolidation loan in order to obtain income contingent repayment by stating that they are unable to obtain income sensitive repayment terms acceptable to the borrower. before july 1, 2008, ffel borrowers who have already consolidated in the ffel program are only able to obtain a federal direct consolidation loan with income-contingent repayment terms if their loans have been selected by a guarantee agency for default aversion. note that borrowers who took advantage of the early repayment status loophole have already consolidated their loans and so are subject to the more stringent requirements for a subsequent consolidation into the direct loan program.) although perkins loans are not eligible for public service loan forgiveness, if they are included in a federal direct consolidation loan the entire consolidation loan, including the perkins loans, is eligible for public service loan forgiveness. one may use income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment on such a consolidation loan. perkins loan borrowers will need to consider the tradeoffs of including the perkins loans in a federal direct consolidation loan. when perkins loans are consolidated, they lose several favorable benefits, such as subsidized interest, a 9 month grace period, and a generous loan forgiveness program. although parent plus loans are nominally eligible for forgiveness, since the definition of eligible federal direct loan in section 455(m)(3)(a) of the higher education act does not preclude parent plus, such loans are not eligible for income-based repayment (section 493c(a)(1)) or income-contingent repayment (section 455(d)(1)(d)), so there will be no financial benefit to seeking forgiveness for such loans. however, if a parent plus loan is included in a federal direct consolidation loan, it will be eligible for income-contingent repayment (but not income-based repayment), making it possible to obtain forgiveness. (however, income contingent repayment is not available for federal direct consolidation loans that include plus loans for borrowers who entered repayment before july 1, 2006, per 34 cfr 685.208(a)(1)(ii). income contingent repayment is available for federal direct consolidation loans that include plus loans for borrowers who entered repayment on or after july 1, 2006, per 34 cfr 685.208(a)(2)(iii).) grad plus loans are eligible for forgiveness. however, the language in section 455(d)(1)(d) of the higher education act of 1965 precludes the use of income-contingent repayment for plus loans. this is fixed by section 493c(b)(3), which amends the exclusion to apply to just parent plus loans. but that amendment is effective july 1, 2009. so until july 1, 2009, income-contingent repayment cannot be used for grad plus loans. on or after july 1, 2009, one can use income-contingent repayment for grad plus loans. (income-based repayment also becomes available for all direct loans except parent plus and perkins loans on july 1, 2009.) however, as with parent plus loans, grad plus loans can become eligible for income-contingent repayment provided that they are included in a federal direct consolidation loan and the borrower did not enter repayment before july 1, 2006. consolidation loans that include a grad plus loan are also eligible for income-based repayment starting july 1, 2009. note that borrowers who took advantage of the early repayment status loophole to consolidate their loans during the in-school period technically entered repayment before july 1, 2006. eligible repayment plans: borrowers may use income-based repayment, income contingent repayment, standard repayment or a combination of these repayment plans. payments made under other repayment plans (e.g., extended repayment and graduated repayment) do not count. to maximize the amount of forgiveness, borrowers should use income-based repayment. when income-based repayment is not available (e.g., prior to july 1, 2009), they should use income-contingent repayment. if a borrower were to use only standard repayment for repaying their loans there would be no balance remaining after 10 years and so no debt to cancel. standard repayment is only provided as an option to address situations when a borrower is unable to continue under income-based repayment because they no longer have a partial financial hardship and the payments under income-contingent repayment exceed standard repayment. in such a situation the borrower would use standard repayment for the remaining payments and obtain some loan forgiveness at the end of the ten years of payments. taxability: public service loan forgiveness is not taxable under section 108(f) of the internal revenue code. see taxability of student loan forgiveness for additional details. [color=#990000]bottom line advice although the details may seem complicated, the advice for taking advantage of this program is more straightforward. borrowers who will be employed in public service jobs and who have loans under the ffel program should obtain a federal direct consolidation loan as soon as possible. (before july 1, 2008, they will need to consolidate into direct loans by stating that they were unable to obtain acceptable income-sensitive repayment terms. on or after july 1, 2008, they will be able to consolidate into direct loans to obtain public service loan forgiveness.) parent plus borrowers who entered repayment on or after july 1, 2006 will need to consolidate their plus loans even if they are already in the direct loan program. borrowers should start off with income-contingent repayment, if they can. they should switch to income-based repayment as soon as it becomes available on july 1, 2009, if they can. (consolidation loans that include parent plus loans are not eligible for income-based repayment.)

I recently started in the OR. I was talking with a coworker today and talking about how tired I am some days when I go home. I just figured it's because it's a new job and I'm learning alot each day at work. She said no, it's because of the gas anesthesia uses in the rooms. She said she experiences it all the time. On my drive home from work I have to fight falling asleep while I'm driving sometimes. When I get home some days, I can't let myself sit down or lay down for 10 minutes to rest or I'll fall asleep for a couple hours. I'm not sure it's really the gas affecting me. I just figured I'm adjusting to a new schedule and a new job etc. Any thoughts on the anesthesia gas affecting the people who work in the OR rooms??

I am a new graduate RN with a BSN. I recently obtained my RN license in PA. I have an interest in Air Force Nursing, and I was able to talk to an Air Force recruiter over the phone. I've been finding good info on allnurses.com and wanted to post some questions that Air Force RNs might be able to answer. 1. What are the requirements for getting into the Air Force as a new grad RN? How closely do they look at GPA, recommendation letters from Clinical Professors? How is the interview? 2. How much of a choice do you have for what city/state you want to be placed in? The recruiter over the phone told me that they would give me a list of hospitals/clinics. I would choose 4 that I want to be placed in. If any of those 4 aren't able to place me they would put me in the next closest hospital/clinic. Is this true? 3. Since I am a new grad RN, I was told about a ten week training program the air force puts new graduates through? Have any of you gone through this training? How was it? 4. I have an interest in the Operating Room. Is the opportunity available in the air force to progress from Med-surg to the OR? 5. How was your experience as an air force RN? IS going into the air force as a new grad RN something you would recommend?

I found this online at http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/valerian-000934.htm Interactions If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use valerian without first talking to your healthcare provider. Anesthesia - For those facing surgery, it is important to note that valerian may increase the effects of anesthesia and, thus, it is important to discuss the use of valerian with your healthcare providers (particularly the surgeon and anesthesiologist) well in advance of your planned operation. The doctors may advise you on how to taper use of valerian prior to the surgery. Or, they may allow you to continue use up to the time of surgery, making any necessary adjustments to the anesthesia and giving you medication to avoid possible withdrawal symptoms from the valerian while in the hospital. Sedatives and Anti-anxiety Medications - There are no reports in the scientific literature to suggest that valerian interacts with any conventional medications. However, valerian is a sedative herb that may increase the effects of alcohol and medications for anxiety and insomnia. Valerian should not be combined with barbiturates (medications, such as pentobarbital, prescribed for sleep disorders or seizures), and should be used with caution, if at all, by people taking benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety and sleep inducing medications including alprazolam, diazepam, and lorazepam) or other sedative medications (such as antihistamines)

I'd have to agree with earle58. at first a few of my close friends would comment on me going to school as a male nurse, but they were really just joking around with me. If people see you are dedicated and serious about your work they'll take you serious, otherwise they might just have some weird hang up over a male nurse. It might also have something to do with the area of the country you are in: rural, suburbs, urban?

I have to agree with Iam46yearsold and Jesusrocks postings. Exercise is one of the best stress relievers for me, particularly running. It becomes like therapy for me to get out on the track and run for 20-30min. I recently started doing sprint intervals instead of a straight 20-30 min run. I read it burns more fat and is less harsh on your body. here's a good link http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/30sec_sprints.htm

I recently was introduced to valerian because i was having trouble sleeping. I find it beneficial to get a deep sleep, and after waking up I notice my anxiety levels are somewhat decreased. The one problem I've found is I have to use it cautiously if I have to be mentally alert the next day. A dosage of 500mg can have a too much of an effect on me depending on what I have to do the morning after.

It depended on the class for me. We received ppt for every class, but some classes such as community or research didn't require as much reading so we were able to stick to the ppt. But for med surg I would read the book and use the ppt. For maternity and peds, I would read the text for concepts I wasn't completely understanding and use reviews and rationales types of books to study with instead of the required text. I did know some people who were able to use the ppt for most of their studying though. I guess it depends on the person. I ended up saving all of my notes and ppt from classes, i have gone back to some of them.

From Wikkipedia: Tea tree oil has been recognized as a potent antiseptic in Australia anecdotally for much longer than there has been scientific evidence. However, recent studies support a role for tea tree oil in skin care and treatment of various ailments. Tea tree oil is a known antifungal agent, effective in vitro against multiple dermatophytes found on the skin.[5] In vivo, shampoo with 5% tea tree oil has been shown to be an effective treatment for dandruff due to its ability to treat Malassezia furfur, the most common cause of the condition.[6] Also effective in treating the most common forms of athletes foot fungal infections.[citation needed] It is also effective in treating the eye ailment blepharitis.[citation needed] Tea Tree Oil is used medically as well as in cosmetic products. Effectiveness of topical tea tree oil preparations for Candidiasis is supported by their ability to kill Candida in vitro.[7] In the treatment of moderate acne, topical application of 5% tea tree oil has shown an effect comparable to 5% benzoyl peroxide, albeit with slower onset of action.[8] In another study in 2007 5% strength gel was compared against a placebo, with statistically significant results.[9] Tea tree oil is also effective for treating insect bites,[10] boils and minor wounds.[11] It has also been known to help soothe sunburn,[12][13] poison ivy,[14][15] ear infections,[16] and bee stings.[17][18] Diluted solutions of tea tree oil are sold as remedies which claim to treat bacterial and fungal infection in pet fish. Toothpastes and mouthwashes containing tea tree oil are shown to be effective for a number of oral problems. Some of these include halitosis (bad breath), gum disease, and canker sores.[19][20][21] There is some limited research that has shown that tea tree oil may have topical anti-viral activity, especially with the Herpes virus (cold sores, chicken pox and shingles blisters, warts, etc.)[22] I guess i kind of answered my own question by looking on wikipedia. They also have some side effects listed: Tea Tree oil is used almost exclusively externally. Data on oral use of tea tree oil in humans in large quantities is sporifice aside from several anecdotal reports of side effects following oral ingestion.[25] Symptoms may include ataxia and drowsiness. A small number of people experience allergic contact dermatitis as a reaction to dermal contact with tea tree oil. In an Italian study of 725 consecutive patients, patients were patch tested with undiluted, 1% and 0.1% Tea Tree Oil. For undiluted tea tree oil, nearly 6% of the patients observed positive reactions of skin irritation. Only 1 of 725 patients observed a positive reaction of skin irritation with the 1% dilution. None of the 725 patients observed adverse reactions with the 0.1% dilution.[26] Allergic reactions may be due to the various oxidation products that are formed by exposure of the oil to light and/or air.[27][28] External application of undiluted tea tree oil and/or at inappropriate high doses has been associated with toxicity, including death, in cats and other animals.[29][30][31] A disputed case study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that "repeated topical exposure to lavender and tea tree oils probably caused prepubertal gynecomastia" (abnormal breast development) in three young boys.[32] The study involved just three individuals and found lavender to be the only common ingredient used by the boys in the study. While all three cases involved the use of products containing lavender oil as an ingredient, only one boy also used products containing tea tree oil. In all cases, the prepubertal gynecomastia reversed after several months. Use of the products containing lavender and tea tree oils were also discontinued during this time. In the same paper, results from cell culture assays indicated that both essential oils exhibit weak estrogenic and antiandrogenic properties in vitro, but no tests were conducted in vivo. Researchers also indicated that other components in these products may also have contributed to the gynecomastia, or that genetics might play a role. Researchers also noted that estrogenic or antiandrogenic activities have also been reported for some other commonly used essential oils as well as some foods such as almonds and peanuts, but cited no associated cases of prepubertal gynecomastia.[32] Others, primarily in the cosmetics industry, have cast doubt on the conclusions of the article and dismissed the study as having used "poor methodology".[33][34][35][36][37] If used in concentrations below 4% or particularly below 1%, tea tree oil may fail to kill bacteria and create an evolutionary pressure which may result in them becoming less sensitive to tea tree oil and even some antibiotics in vitro.[38] Tea tree oil may cause hearing loss when used in the ears.[39]

Does anybody know if there are any negative side effects of using tea tree oil??

I know somebody who would have outbreaks of foliculitis when they were stressed out. They used tea tree oil and it seemed to clear it up and work better than neosporin (which is recommended).

Lewis is good. https://evolve.elsevier.com/productPages/s_1170.html Med Surg Reviews and Rationales is also good as an additional reference. http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Surgical-Nursing-Reviews-Rationales-Prentice/dp/0130304573

We used Lewis as well. I liked it, and still reference it. The Reviews and Rationales series put out by Prentice Hall are also a good additional resource. My school required the comprehensive Reveiws and rationales book in addition to Lewis.

I really like these reviews and rationales books. I have the comprehensive and peds versions. I used the peds as my text book for class as it outlined and boiled down the essential information, plus the cd of questions it came with was useful. The comprehensive book I used as much or more than my text books. The cd-rom is very useful for questions as well. The questions are more difficult than saunders. The maternity R/R is useful from what I hear. I know somebody who used it to pass maternity as she was having a difficult time with the class. Hope this was helpful.

THanks NIB. I didn't know there was a military nursing forum, i'll have to check it out.