Kellie626

Sorry double post!

Well I took the RN exam this morning. Computer shut down at 75 questions and I realized I'd only been there for like an hour. Felt like I was having a heart attack all day and was scared to even do the PVT thinking if I failed I would have to go to work tomorrow and probably be terminated since I'm working under a TPP right now. Finally decided I couldn't live this way for the next 48 hours or I would have stroked out. Did the PVT and got the "good" pop up. I seriously could not believe it, I felt like I was going to vomit all of my internal organs out! Waiting for the BON to post my license but at least I know I made it!!! Yay!!!

Oh God, you must be in my class. We have three that sit there and just repeat everything the instructor says and then go "Is that what you mean?" Shut up already. She just said that and repeating it doesn't make you look smarter just because your "participating". Then there's the guy that sits up front and mumbles 300 questions during lecture. The instructor answers them but we have no idea what she's talking about because we can't understand what he asked. There's the girl who was like 10 minutes pregnant when she started having to take breaks in clinical to eat something every fifteen minutes and refused to pick up anything heavier than a band aid because she didn't want to have a miscarriage. And worst of all the guy whose uncle is an anesthesiologist at the local hospital which he seems to think makes him a physician by default. Insists on wearing his lab coat to clinicals and won't correct anyone if they refer to him as "doctor". Ugh, I cannot wait until this semester is over and I am finally done with all this foolishness!!

And once again, someone who totally missed the point. If you read my post, I clearly said I have no problem with people getting medicaid (or charity care or whatever) if they actually work or otherwise need it. If you and your husband are in the ER 5 to 10 times a month for colds, headlice, broken fingernails, or stubbed toes, then yeah, I have a problem with that. I'm assuming that's not the case since people who are gainfully employed typically don't have a lot of free time to spend hanging around in the ER, eating nachos while complaining that they have 10/10 abdominal pain or smoking cigarettes outside and then strolling in and saying they "cant effing breathe". Once a week. Or more. It's people like that who take up rooms in the ER that are needed by people like you who most likely wouldn't come in unless they absolutely had to.

That's the point, at least mine lol. Medicaid should be reserved for people who really need it. Kids with no insurance? Fine. You have a job that doesn't offer insurance or it's too expensive (like working at McDonald's or something similar that doesn't pay crap)? Fine, especially if you have kids. Able-bodied adults sitting around doing nothing and collecting a check for it? Nope. Find something worthwhile to do with your time and then we'll talk. Kinda OT, but I just read an article in the paper that was saying you can't cut funding to medicaid because of all the elderly and disabled people on it. If you're truly disabled, I have no problem with someone being on medicaid. But if we could crack down on people who abuse medicaid (like if you're in the ER for non-emergent issues 5 times in a month) they wouldn't have to worry about paying for the people who need it. We're now collecting the 3.00 and 6.00 copays that medicaid charges for ER visits. Hardly anyone ever pays them. BUT, if welfare starting withholding the copays from people's monthly checks, I think you would see that crap stop pretty quickly. When your check comes up 20.00 or 30.00 short for copays for excessive use of the ER, people might think twice for running in every time they have a broken fingernail. And yes, I had one come in for that last year. BTW, that wouldn't affect kids on medicaid because minors and pregnant women don't have copays.

Credit score? Are you serious? The people being referred to here are not hardworking, down-on-their-luck, ladies and gentlemen. These are people that milk the system their whole lives and get away with it. When someone throws around the terms "less fortunate" to describe those people, I have to point out that just because someone has less than you or me, doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being fortunate. I didn't win the lottery, I work my butt off everyday to pay for what I have. "Good fortune" had nothing to do with it. As for this health plan, no matter what you do and how much you give those who abuse the system, it will never be enough. Case in point: I had a middle-aged guy in my ER a few months ago who spent 10 minutes complaining to me that Medicaid was sh!t because now they were making him pay all these copays. "3 dollars to come to the ER, 5 dollars for my inhalers, 1 dollar for my other prescriptions!" Then he pulls out his upper false teeth and says "These cost me 40 dollars!!" I wanted to say really? Cause it costs me $150.00 for the ER, 50 dollars for my prescriptions and I don't have dental insurance. Wonder what they'll say about Obamacare if they actually have to pay for it lol.

I just remember seeing someone on here post at one time (in the never-ending ADN v. BSN) discussions, something along the lines of "I hope you don't plan on ever getting out of bedside nursing unless you have at least a BSN". Paraphrased, but you get the gist. The problem I have with that attitude is that I don't want to "get out of bedside nursing". Bedside nursing is why I want to be a nurse. I spent years working behind a desk doing administrative and other tasks. I hated it. If that's what someone wants to do, as a nurse, then more power to them. If they're doing it, that means I don't have to. I'd much rather spend my time taking care of the patients as a bedside nurse. Does it make me "less of a professional?" I don't know and I don't care. You can call me anything you want as long as I'm doing a job (or craft or profession or whatever) that I want to be doing, it matters not to me.

Idk about your hospital but in our ER, we have several LPN's working. They are technically for our "Immediate Treatment Center" which is exactly the same as our ER, only with certain beds designated for ITC (if we're not full lol). However, they basically do all the tech duties. It's very rare that they are actually doing patient care. I would think, though, that if you stayed on as a "tech", you'd get paid as a tech, not a nurse.

I didn't mean to imply that. I always just give the check stub to my tax person and she does what needs to be done. I just never really understood why it wasn't on my W-2

I wondered about the tax thing because my reimbursement is never included on my W-2 nor do I get a 1099 for it.

I understand what you're saying but the "bill" that I submit to them actually has a breakdown of all the charges and then all the credits for loans, grants, scholarships, etc. It also shows my refunds. But I still get the full amount of reimbursement which, like I said, I'm assuming is because of the loan situation. Either way, I'll be their indentured servant for three years after I graduate. But I'm not planning on going anywhere right away so that's okay with me. :)

I can only speak for my employer but all they require is a statement showing how much my tuition was and a copy of my grade transcript. I have had all of my tuition covered by loans, grants and scholarships (and even received refunds) but I still get tuition reimbursement. I'm assuming the reasoning behind it is that I am going to have to pay back the loans so it's still money out of my pocket.

I feel for the OP. Our ER just went from having an LPN or paramedic at the "greeter desk" to putting my department (registration) out here. Basically, we're supposed to short reg the pt, get their CC and then call for triage. If they are "having chest pain or appear to be in distress" call a nurse to the waiting room on the radio. When we first started doing this, I expressed concern that you can't always tell when a pt is "in distress". I have seen many the gentlemen (for some reason it always seems to be the guys) downplaying their symptoms for whatever reason and then next thing you know, they're being flown to another hospital because they're having a massive MI. The response I got was "come on, you can tell when someone is in distress just by looking at them". Well, sometimes but on the other hand, the completely untrained people in my department have 60 year old chest pain patients filling out forms and "having a seat" to wait for the triage nurse to come and collect them. Or someone having a severe asthma attack who can't even speak and they're trying to get demographic info from them before calling someone. I don't feel too uncomforable out here because I tend to err on the side of caution and even though I'm not a nurse I am almost there (god willing). But it really is just a disaster waiting to happen.