tfleuter

The area I live in is just beginning to see the surge of COVID patients in our hospitals and I'm always on the lookout for problems that have risen in areas that have been harder hit before us. One image I've seen circulating around is of skin breakdown around the face of healthcare workers from wearing N95s over the course of days/weeks. It looks so uncomfortable and a possibly putting them at increased risk for other types of infection like MRSA. I'm worried for myself and my coworkers. Any helpful tips from those who are already weeks into this? Is this a problem anyone else is seeing firsthand? I work on what is now the designated COVID ICU unit for our hospital and part of the code blue/rapid response team for the rest of the inpatient floors when charging and have already had days where my face is tender from intermittent use throughout my shift (we are only using N95s during aerosolizing procedures and codes/rapid responses of COVID and PUI patients).

I wish I had a good answer for you. I am a ICU charge nurse as well and while our staff are used to caring for patients that are ventilated, proned and on multiple pressers, we have too many green nurses and not enough experienced nurses on a normal day. Now we are training nurses from other specialties that are being redeployed to us. Many are from surgical services and have no critical care experience. It's a bit daunting to take on honestly. How do you orient someone to the ICU in 2-3 weeks? There is no crash course for the kind of care we provide to these very sick and often unstable patients.

It's my understanding that any moisture on the front of the mask makes it less effective so any sanitizing wipes would not be advised. We have been given face shields to wear when using N95s and store them in paper bags when not used.

What level of isolation has your local government enforced? If these coworkers are not actually breaking any current ordinances what can anyone do? All one can do is encourage social distancing outside of work and after that it is out of your hands. Focus on what you can control because whether or not these coworkers are putting others at risk all you can do is protect yourself and your patients to the best of your ability.

NurseBlaq - it did sound like you were upset that a test was being denied to a human because a tiger got it. I understand the frustration of too few tests being available for the general public but what does that have to do with a tiger being tested by a veterinary school using supplies that would not be used by humans?

You know, manys of us nursing students are exactly the young, doe-eyed whipper snappers some may be visualizing in their heads, lol! For many of us, we are in the late 20 to 30's, 40's and beyond. Nursing is often a second career choice and many have already been exposed to the professional world of business, in whatever manner that maybe. I don't think it's a lack of "real world" that is the problem, it may even be that prior experience is what has made it so that many students today are comfortable with addressing their superiors on a first name basis. I also agree with CuriousMe, the culture of professialism has changed from years ago.

I find it interesting that some are bringing up the decline in manners and respect in "kids nowadays". Really, each generation has said this about the ones that have come after, this is not a new phenomenon. Not that I don't think this is or isn't true, just interesting that it always comes up when discussing such things. There are many ways to show respect. I would find it disrespectful to call another person by a title if that person has already introduced themselves by their first name and asked to be called that. They have indicated how they, personally, want to be addressed. I called all my teachers throughout my primary education by Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. as did my fellow classmates. You can certainly be just as disrespectful in the way you address them when using a formal title as an informal one.

I was thinking about this problem. When approaching upper management, would it help to point out that if they can afford to pay, say, 20 CNA's who only work at 50% capacity minimum wage, could they not also afford to pay 15 CNA's who work closer to 75%+ capacity and offer an increase in pay? Perhaps suggest clearing out the "bottom" 25% of CNA's and spread out the total of their pay to the remaining 75% as incentive to do a good/better/excellent job? Higher wages attracts more applicants. More applicants means you can pick from the cream of the crop. Those who are compensated well are more likely to value their job and take steps to keep it. Yes, in a perfect world, the CNA should want to do an excellent job for the sake of the patient, but that doesn't always happen. Of course this could potentially backfire if upper management decides to weed out the herd without an increase in pay and pocket the savings for something else. The important thing would be to stress that it is worth paying a little extra for quality workers.

Thanks for the responses! Doesn't sound like things are improving at all just yet. I just accepted a position today as a PCA so hopefully that will help me when I graduate. If nothing else I should gain some vaulable experience and I really just enjoy working anyways.

We address all instructors by their first name. It is what they prefer and are comfortable with. Even when one instructor is refering to another, s/he will use first names as well. I am comfortable with this because they are. I have yet to see any signs of disrespect from any of the students. I have no problem addressing these instructors by their first names and always try to be respectful and professional at the same time.

From what I have gathered from previous posts and word of mouth is that pay for CRNA's is less in Utah, but then again, many professions are that way. I haven't heard that IHC is agaisnt using them, in fact, my last clinical rotation was at American Fork Hospital and I am almost certain that the person monitoring the anesthesia during surgery was a Nurse Anesthetist. I've also been searching on the IHC website for employment opportunities and recently saw an opening for a CRNA in Payson. Can't say whether job openings are abundant here for new grad CRNA's, but things can change quite a bit in 10 years, so the climate that exists now may not be true in the future. Best thing to do is get the best grades possible for your ADN and BSN and really excel in your clinical rotations so you stand out. Get at least 2 years experience in an ICU and consider taking some grad level courses. Truth is, if you are really interested in going into anesthesia, you may need to apply to several schools to improve your chances of getting in. My main concern with Westminister is that (at least when I looked into it last year) clincial rotations are mostly done out of state and you are gone for about 4 months each time. Not a good option for those with kids, but obviously not a problem for others.

Just curious if anyone has any new updates on what the hiring situation is for new grads lately in Utah or Salt Lake county? I won't graduate till next May, but it would nice to know what's going on now so I can prepare myself for it. I know I can ask my instructors classmates when the semester starts, but I like to get as many point of views as possible. Also, in the spring we had 2 HR directors visit our school and have a Q&A for the students about getting hired as a new grad. I couldn't attend, but I was told someone asked if working part times as an aide or PCT increased a new grad's chances for finding a full time RN position. Their feelings were that it did not, since those who were hired on a part time basis were "pigeon-holed" into part time work and not usually transferred to full time positions. This really surprised me and didn't make a lot of sense. Anyone involved in the hiring process able to comment on this? I could see how this would be a problem if you were wanting to work at the same hospital, but if you were applying elsewhere, it shouldn't matter as much, yes? Anyways, anyone who wishes to comment, I would really appreciate it!

As others have said, it's my budget that seems to determine my weight more than anything. When times are good, I can justify going out to eat with the hubby for much needed alone time away from the kids or doing drive thru for dinner when I feel too busy or lazy to cook. But when times are thin, and I have to watch where every dollar goes, meals get cooked, lunches are packed and food choices tend to be healthier, by sheer portion control if nothing else.

As already mentioned, even if the classes are held at nights or weekends, the clinicals may not be. I am in a program right now and have two children who go to daycare while I am in class. I could probably get away with part time childcare except for that my clinical days are at least 8 hrs long, I've heard of others who go for 12 hour shifts. Perhaps it would be worth while to wait a couple of years before actually applying to a nursing program? You'll have quite a few pre-req classes that need to be completed and if you take only one a semester, you can devote as much time as you need to each one and get better grades. When your kids are a bit older (perhaps when the oldest is in kindergarten?) you'll be done with the pre-reqs and have good enough grades to have a shot at the more competitive university programs. Good luck either way! Don't get discouraged.

It evens out, cost of living in UT is generally lower than in CA and OR

I think you concerns are valid and wish I had some adivice or info to offer. I'm still in nursing school, but an advanced degree has always been in the picture for me and I have wondered about some of the same things as well. This may not apply to you since it sounds like you are in a masters program, but the NP route has become less palatable to me since it is being transitioned over to the DNP, but others are quite pleased that it has and are willing to invest in the extra time spent towards that degree.

I've donated blood a few times in my life. I've also done the plasma thing as well when I needed the cash, and as others have said, you can't do both. Hopefully I'm at a point in my life where I don't need to go to the plasma center so I can have gas money for the week, so my blood donations should increase in the near future :)

With that kind of tuition, my guess is you are looking at Utah Career College? Last I heard that was approx the amount of their nursing program, but I'm not sure about the cost for others like provo college, ameritech, steven's h, ect. Also, is that the cost for the ASN or BSN? I can't imagine spending that much just for an associates degree. Like others, I would definately recommend getting on the waitlist for SLCC and saver yourself a lot of money. That or consider that state colleges and universities. I'm at UVU right now and for the BSN I'm guessing I will be out about $15k once it's all said and done. I would think working as a CNA or PCT at one of the hospitals would be a great way to gain experience while waiting to start at SLCC. You can graduate at a later date (when hopefully the market for new grads will be better), have spent a fraction on tution cost and have a nice resume with patient care-based experience :)

Definately take some time and research a variety of schools and then apply to the ones that sound the most promising for your situation. As explained, don't rely on NCLEX pass rate. If anything, I am very suspecious of schools that advertise 99 or 100% pass rates, especially if they also lack a competitive entrance process. Use allnurses to get first hand accounts from current students and make sure to ask the admissions people about both the NCLEX and retention rate. A school that's consistantly scoring barely acceptable NCLEX pass rates may be at risk for loosing their accreditation. A program that consistantly weeds out 50% of their students by the last semester is not the kind of place I would want to take a chance on when it comes to paying for an education. If an unusually large proportion of students you talk to are unhappy with their choice of nursing school, there's probably a good reason for that. Good luck and don't be discouraged! You can make this happen if it's something you really want! Good luck!

I'm in a BSN program and we took pharm first semester. There's no way you can get out of nursing school and pass the nclex without pharmacology knowledge. My guess is that for schools that don't have an actual pharm class, integrate the info into other classes (ex: learn about antipsychotics in psych nursing) Can you explain what's not clicking? Is it just the difficulty of memorizing so many different drugs, or understanding how they work? Maybe some of us here can give some helpful tips...

As far as I know, there is no interview process and an essay is not required. You will need to send in 2 letters of reference (nursing supervisors or previous nursing instructors from your ASN degree) along with your official transcripts. There is no set number of accepted applicants each semester, since space availabe is dependent on how many students choose to exit early out of the program for the ADN instead of the BSN. With that being the case, I'm not sure how competitive it is to get in, but I do know that the decision is based on 70% gpa from your pre-reqs and associate nursing classes and 30% on your 2 reference letters. This link will provide with all the info you need to apply for the RN to BSN program, in case you haven't seen it yet: http://uvu.edu/csh/nursing/pdf/ADVANCEDENTRY_RNtoBSN.pdf Good luck!

I am at UVU, but only in the second semester of the BSN program. From what I can tell from the website, you will need to complete a total of 40 upper division general education credits for the bach degree. 30 of these credits will be taken care by your nursing classes, so you only need to satisfy 10 more. These classes must be 3000 level or above. Patho, which is required as a co-req will take care of 4 of the credits. The 2 nursing elective classes you must take will also take care of 4 credits, so that leaves 2 credits left that you must complete. I think you can simply take another nursing elective class for 2 credits, they usually offer 2 nursing elective courses each semester and 1 during each summer block. Otherwise, you'll have to sign up for another 3000 or above class. Not sure if this helps, but good luck!

For those who are in programs with 50%+ attrition rates, would they care to share any info on the schools themselves? Such as requirements for acceptance, how competitive it is, community college vs. university vs. for-profit private school, ect....I would think that there may be some trend out there that might futher explain why this is such a big problem in some programs and not others. I think attrition rate is just as important as the NCLEX pass rate and am not sure why BONs would not pay more attention to that when evaluating the nursing programs in their state.

I am in a program currently where I can graduate with my ADN in May 2011, or wait till May 2012 and graduate with my BSN. Ideally, i've planned from the beginning to stay in through the BSN, and with current employment conditions, it seems like the only reasonable option at this point. While I don't think our economy or healthcare will be "fixed" or back to normal by 2012, I do believe it will be improved, or at least general employment that is. Do I think that I will be graduating with sevaral recruiters actively seeking my employment once I've passed the NCLEX? Probably not, but I do think (hope?) that the local climate will have improved somewhat and I won't have as hard a time finding employment as the current new grads are having

I have the same Jansport backpack that I have used since I was in highschool almost 10 years ago. it is in GREAT condition, held up sooo well. I have tried buying new, cheaper backpacks through out the years and all 3 of them have fallen apart (broken zippers, ripped seams, ect). Always go back to my ol' jansport. Not a roller backpack, though.