mudd68

mudd68 specializes in LTC, Wounds, Med/Surg, Tele, Triage.

mudd68's Latest Activity

1. 

   100 mile commute. Worth it?

   mudd68 replied to indomie23's topic in Nursing

   I voted for longer commute based on what others have said - second gig sounds more like part time and no benies! I am a little biased however, in that I drive 49 miles one way. We bought our dream home in the country and I drive into the larger counties safety net hospital to work. I have a vehicle specifically for this that is not "my baby". It gets good mileage and I love listening to NPR, music or just having peace and quiet. I look at it like this - it's two hours of my day that I get to myself. As a full time nurse, mom and wife - I'll gladly take the two personal hours per day. And sometimes my commute is closer to 1.5 - 2.0 hours each way because I live in the Northeast/Great Lakes region where we get plenty of Lake effect snow in the winter. Good luck on whatever you choose!
2. 

   Turn Q2 and patient refuses

   mudd68 replied to AnLe's topic in First Year

   This! Without giving too many details - when I worked med/surg a quadriplegic pt was refusing turns (and other forms of care too, dressing changes, compression stockings, etc) and later developed complications related to not being turned. Ended up passing away after discharge while in a SNF and family attempted to come back later and sue for negligence. The same family that was often present when pt was refusing care in the hospital. So yes, just document, like others have stated.
3. 

   Was I wrong?

   mudd68 replied to Munch's topic in Nursing

   This was exactly my thinking! This type of reaction raises red flags in my opinion.
4. 

   Dose BON check school records ?

   mudd68 replied to Jasminex's topic in Criminal

   I have nothing to add that may assist in helping the OP commit fraud in their attempts to obtain a nursing license. However, I am questioning if this post is violating AN Terms of Service which states 'You agree NOT to post false, defamatory, name-calling, obscene, or threatening messages'.
5. 

   Misconduct

   mudd68 replied to Abbycat's topic in Nursing

   Sorry this happened to you Abbycat! I'm a firm believer that the nursing staff is 9/10 times the secondary victim to the situations we are placed to work in and the first to be thrown under the proverbial bus when said processes and situations ultimately fail (a main contributing factor in why I no longer practice bedside nursing). Anyhow, during my LTC days, the first couple of med passes on the month - I took both the prior month MAR and current MAR in the event a transcription error occurred. Best of luck in winning your appeal.
6. 

   Staff Hysteria

   mudd68 replied to Ashizzle's topic in School

   THIS! I work teletriage in an office setting with a large group of non clinical staff that take non symptom based calls, schedule appointments, print reminder letters and so forth. Now and then - a staff member becomes "too ill to work" and they always want to run to one of us nurses to "triage" them. Administration has said our staff nurses cannot be held responsible for ill staff. We don't have the resources of a clinic/ED/urgent care! We work in an office setting! It's a huge liability issue. We are now told that if a staff member is too ill to work and or drive home - they need to arrange to be picked up or we call 911. A couple have been caught off guard with complaints of "chest pain" "asthma attack" "feeling dizzy" thinking they would be given the pass to just go home for the day. NOPE - 911 IS called - we can't let someone report those type of symptoms and just look at them (no assessment tools in the office) as an RN and determine if it's something serious or not. Maybe check with someone in your "legal" department regarding this issue?
7. 

   Loan repayment/forgiveness

   mudd68 replied to ICU4U's topic in Ohio

   I am currently in this program and working toward "possible" forgiveness (there's question if the federal program will remain in place). From what I understand your loans have to be serviced federally and your HR person is the one to complete your verification form yearly that you are employed by an appropriate organization. It is based on income so for me personally, most of my loan will be paid before I qualify for forgiveness and each year my loan payment goes UP! So not sure if there will actually be a loan to forgive when it's all said and done - but I figured it's worth a shot. Keep in mind, any payments made to a loan service company that isn't federal - won't count - so if you're within 10 years of payoff, may not be worth the hassle of switching. Federal servicing also requires consolidation. Anyhow, I applied through FedLoan Servicing and they have a pretty good outline of the program here... Special Programs - MyFedLoan
8. 

   Nursing Student and Working Fulltime

   mudd68 replied to NurseJu19's topic in General Students

   I attended an LPN to BSN bridge program FT and worked FT. Work schedule Fri, Sat, Sun either 3pm - 3 am or 7pm - 7am (which meant sometimes leaving work and going straight to class/lab or vica versa if I had to work Friday at 3pm). This meant that I sometimes did not get home until afternoon after working all night and then having class in the morning. Was single at the time with no children. During my LPN program I did not work full time. I worked part time every Sat & Sun for 1/2 the year. Last 1/2 the year I worked only every other weekend. When I completed my capstone project/final clinical experience on a med/surg floor with a preceptor - I was not able to work and had to switch from full time to PRN because the hours required to finish the clinical were FULL TIME hours. I basically worked the schedule my preceptor worked which included night/day shifts and weekends. I could not have possibly been at my job and the clinical both full time.
9. 

   Dirty bed sheets/RN/CNA/UAP/CP

   mudd68 replied to STUNUR321's topic in General Students

   Same policy at our facility! Curtains down after any patient discharged that was in isolation. Then they are using a UV disinfection process as well as hand washing "monitors" - literally staff with clip boards who stand in the halls to watch and mark who is washing in and washing out (from house keeping to surgeons) - and for how long. Infections rates at our hospital have plummeted!
10. 

    Dirty bed sheets/RN/CNA/UAP/CP

    mudd68 replied to STUNUR321's topic in General Students

    Error.
11. 

    Advice on writing letter of explanation when charges were dismissed & I was innocent.

    mudd68 replied to Prettygrlzroc's topic in Criminal

    I do have experience with this. Was falsely accused of domestic violence/assault 2006 and the judge dismissed the case. However - fingerprinting will flag you in any employment back ground check regardless of the outcome of the case. So - I did write the BON regarding the accusation & the outcome AND attached a printout from the courts docket website showing the dismissal. The BON sent it to the disciplinary review committee and I received a letter from them that no further investigation by the board was deemed necessary. I keep all of this documentation together and when applying for work - ALWAYS disclose that I may be flagged upon background check but that I have the proof of dismissal from the court AND a letter from the BON.
12. 

    Graduated as Top Student of BSN Class and Failed NCLEX at 75 questions.

    mudd68 replied to JaceLucien's topic in NCLEX

    May I also recommend Hurst NCLEX review? She really focuses on the WHY's of the nursing process and not just memorizing data for the sake of test taking! Best of luck.
13. 

    hiring pregnant RN

    mudd68 replied to ap2409's topic in Nursing

    Oh boy. I remember going through this myself. Long story short, I was hired into my current position at 5 months pregnant. Short story long... I was so nervous to interview. Actually had applied to this department 3 times (twice before pregnant) and of course get the HR call to interview (walking in the door after a long 12 hour night shift) mid pregnancy. I had so so so many fellow nurses tell me to follow the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Basically if they don't ask, I shouldn't tell. I heard all the stories of how it's illegal for them to discriminate against pregnancy but of course they could give other "reasons" for not selecting me. I wrestled and wrestled with it. I could still dress to hide it...but knew that wouldn't last for long! Decided to go through with the interview and feel the manager(s) out. At the end of the interview, they asked, did I have any questions or concerns for them. I immediately blurted out that I was 5 months pregnant. Luckily for me the one manager replied "oh we love babies!" and it was never an issue and they did voice that they appreciated the honesty and that it was a good reflection on my character. So, if there is a lesson in it, maybe it's better you wouldn't work for an employer who would discriminate against you based on your pregnancy. It's not the 50's anymore!!! They have obviously passed up on someone with good moral character...you answered honestly...as some have stated, it's early enough, you could have chose not to. Good luck and may you have a healthy pregnancy, smooth delivery, and happy job hunting !!! Addendum: My son is now 5. I love my job and have advanced well here! Don't give up!
14. 

    Really bad fever blister. Should I call in?

    mudd68 replied to LDAthleteNurse's topic in Nursing

    For what it's worth...In my med-surg/tele days we had 3 RN's working on the night shift, all of whom were pregnant (myself included). We had to transfer a patient, to another med-surg floor , who was admitted with shingles dx - because of the risk of that virus to pregnant women. A nurse and an care partner from 2nd shift stayed over to facilitate that transfer process. I thought they may just transfer/float a nurse that was not pregnant but I was not in charge and the charge at the time felt having the patient off the unit was best.
15. 

    Would you leave your current position over scheduling issues?

    mudd68 replied to Butterflyxx0621's topic in Nursing

    I actually left my bedside RN Med Surg position in 2011 do to the indifference with scheduling. It was a rotating shift when I accepted it 7p - 7am/7a - 7pm. But I had discussed with my UM wanting night shift only when I took the position. She said when staffing allowed for it, yes, we could do it. There is more demand for day shift anyway so it wouldn't be a problem. Well, after 2 years of the crazy rotating I got pregnant and the rotating was not healthy for me anymore. And by that point I realized UM wasn't going to do anything about it. My OB/GYN offered me intermittent FMLA but it would count against my maternity leave...you get 12 weeks per year, no matter the reason. So, when I was offered medications, AMBIEN, while pregnant, just so I could work the wacky shifts, I bolted. My manager didn't think I could get hired at 5 months prego...well, I now work on the phone, teletriage, scheduling, etc. I do work days 8 - 5p No weekends, no holidays, no rotating! Been here 4 years now and have my sights set on a Masters in Care Management. Sometimes I feel bad that I'm not using all my bedside clinical skills, I really didn't want to leave the bedside, but I felt my health and a healthy pregnancy was more important.
16. 

    I've lost my joy (AKA NICU heartbreak)

    mudd68 replied to Gamecock73's topic in NICU

    I can't tell you what to do. I can tell you that I am very satisfied in my current position as a telehealth triage RN. The number of times I bid on my position before I landed an interview? 4 times. When I did get an interview...I was 5 months pregnant and feeling very discouraged. Who would want to hire someone going on maternity leave not long after orientation? Well, here I am 4 years later. Good luck in whatever you decide to persue!