salpal92

If anyone in NC needs a quick course to learn skills to prepare to challenge the exam, send me an email, I can help you.

Challenging is a great way to go when you already have some knowledge and experience behind you. It is wise however to take some kind of skills class or refresher to make sure you know exactly what the evaluators are looking for. Also, depending on how long ago you took your class, some things may have changed....for instance, back in the day, we always left the pt. with siderails up, now you can not do that without dr.'s orders, because it is considered a restraint. Send me an email if you are in NC, I can give you a referral.

No, we are drawing from 50ml vials, usually 30 cc at a time. Will go back into it within a short time frame, like an hour or so.

I have been out of the hospital for a while, and I am in an outpatient infusion suite in a private doctors office. I am questioning when to get rid of single dose vials of NS, and Multi-dose vials of heparin flush for ports. We mix our own meds, so we have 50ml vials of NS and sterile water. each vial takes 10ml to reconstitute, so we will re-enter the 50 ml bottles through the day until it is finished. At the end of the day, if I have any open vials I throw them out. Some of the nurses save theirs...... Also, we have a handful of patients with implanted ports, when we ordered the hep flush, it came in a 30ml multi-dose vial. Each dose is only 5ml. How long can we use this once it has been pierced? I am thinking 30 days? Thanks in advance for your input.

I'm an infusion nurse, and I also work with rheumatology/arthritis patients. For me, I love it, it is not quite as stressful as hospital nursing, but has just enough challenges and technical skills to keep you from getting bored. HOWEVER, I do the pt. assessments, IV insertions, mixing and med. administration. I don't know, personally, that I would want to put my license on the line by supervising CMA/CNA in that type of setting.....if they screw up, it will be on you. I would have to make sure that you can be in there with them, hands on, and make sure they are safe. JMO. Good Luck! and welcome to Nursing!

Hi, you can challenge the CNA I exam in NC. Good luck with your endeavour into healthcare.

Absolutely!! Licensed nurses (LPN and RN) are held accountable for their own actions.

Anyone can sit for the CNA I state exam, even without training. NC will allow you to challenge the test. But after taking fundamentals would be the recommended amount of time. And after the first full year you can sit for the CNA II program. for CNA I info go to :http://www.ncnar.org--go to FAQ's and you can verify that you need NO training to challenge the exam. for CNA II info go to: www.ncbon.com Good Luck!

I know in NC, they can pretty much do whatever the Dr. asks of them. They work under a doctor's license. I know of practices that have CMA's infusing IV meds like Remicade, which is known to cause anaphylaxis in addition to other types of infusion reactions, mild to severe! No offense, but I want a trained NURSE monitoring me for that!

My understanding is that it will hemolyze if you draw from a small gauge catheter. Less than 22g. I do it frequently at my job as well. We give short term infusion in an outpatient center. So normally we will use a 24g cath for comfort, but if I know I am to draw labs, I will place a 22g. Our lab has never called with any problems with the specs I have drawn.

I did actually research this further after posting. And you are right, what I found was 3 minutes to dry on a surface and 10 minutes on the skin!:icon_roll I've never seen anyone wipe the port and then wait 3 minutes! Have you? Oh well, I'll continue to use it though!

What about the idea that wiping with alcohol doesn't really do anything, except float the bacteria? ( I am against the whole looping thing, but in general I have been thinking about this, alcohol issue).....wiping ports before IVP, injection sites prior to injections......etc....

Good Luck RN in '10! Welcome to the field! There are definately many challenges, but just as many rewards! Keep up the good work! salpal92, RN

Yep! I know where that is. I am in Wesley Chapel. Love it here, but wish I had bought a horse farm! My family is coming down to look at a house in Marshville! Glad to "meet" you!

I actually finally tracked down the right website today!! It is not under their BON, but their Dept. of health and human services. They actually do have an application for certification by reciprocity, it is no fee, and you can't be expired in your current state. Thanks!

I'm currently in NC, and what I have been "TOLD" by people is that the CMA practices under the doctor's license and, therefore, they can do it, "b/c the doctor said so," I have not really investigated further. I do know some private offices have CMAs doing their infusions, though! I work in Rheumatology and infuse Remicade, Orencia, Rituxan, and a few for osteoporosis as well. My office has all RNs in the infusions suite, but other practices have CMAs starting IV lines and administering these biological agents!:uhoh21: Difficult for me to swallow.

OK, maybe I am old school, but I was trained, (and practiced), not to disconnect patients/clients from their IVs. I have threaded IV bags through arms of clothing etc. Then only way to maintain "sterility" in NOT to open the connection, Keeping a "closed system" so to speak.

Does anyone know if SC will accept a NC CNA? Do you need to re-test in SC, or just pay a fee? Or take an entire new course? The SC board website is NOT at all helpful. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me.

Hi! Been in Union County, NC (south Charlotte area) for 3 years now. Love it here! Just can't understand why CMA's in offices can get away with calling themselves "nurses"!! I know they are not supposed to, but....they all seem to!

If you want to take a ride to the Charlotte area, there are a few. PM if interested

Yeah! It was a little depressing at first!!! But I finally found a private physicians office, where I do IV therapy and they pay more than cmc and presby. You need to get away from those 2 big affiliates to make money. I have been a nurse since 1992, and yes, made more money as a new grad THEN, than what some places want to pay me now, 16 1/2 years later!!!

Yes, you can challenge the nurse aide exam in NC. IF you were to fail 3 times, then you would be required to take a state certified class before testing again. There are also a few companies out there that have 1-2 day review courses that will help you study for the test. There is a written and a skills exam to pass. Please PM me for more information on this.