texcollex

As chloecatrn stated, much of what you want to know depends on your permanent residence state. There is a big difference in how various states handle homeschooling. We have been homeschooling our kids under Texas law for many years. We are currently traveling and homeschooling the youngest two children. At young ages, homeschooling is fairly simple. You teach reading, writing, math and social studies. You can get PE by entering them in swimming lessons, soccer, or such. Usually the first year is the hardest, then you get into the swing of things. There is a wealth of information on homeschooling available on the web. You should spend at least a couple of months researching various curricula and online schools if that interests you. There are many philosophies about how to home school children. Some people like very strictly structured lessons, and there are some who believe in "un-schooling". We fall somewhere in between. One helpful thing might be to contact some home school groups and cooperatives in the area which you live. Best of luck, Tex

I place the medical care of every patient as priority one. The fact is, however, that I became a nurse because I care, and everything that I do for the patient is seasoned by who I am. There is a time for fast action and technical thinking, and a time for compassionate behavior. Jean Watson? I remember studying her theory in school. But I didn't need her to teach me anything about caring. Tex

I've had a lot of trouble with the flu shot making me sick. I would have severe body aches and fever for at least two days. Last year I tried something at someone's advice. I pre-medicated myself with two Ibuprofen the night before, then another dose that morning. I continued my dosing Q6H for nearly two days after my flu shot. I had only very mild side effects from the shot that year. I repeated the process this year with the same results. Tex

A couple of questions for you naskippy: Do You have a written contract when you negotiate your own? If so, how do you have it written up? Do you carry your own health insurance? How do you go about shopping for that, do you go through an association or just call local agents? Thanks

As far as "Nurses eat their own" I have no experience. I work in an ICU unit where we all try to support each other and everyone is willing to help out or talk over difficult cases. I guess its a matter of what kind of facility, what department and maybe even what area of the country you are working in. I feel like I influence my peers by choosing to set up a different culture of my own. I initiate change by doing it. Arrogant Doctors: Some are and some aren't. Many that I work with are just fine once they get to know you. If you show yourself to be competent and occasionally ask them a question or two to make them think they know more than you , you can actually have a positive influence on the care of the patient. This even can work with MDs whose competence you may question. I do work with some very fine docs, and have learned quite a bit from some of them. There is growing influence in the nursing community that there will be NO abusive behavior from doctors, managers or anyone else. Abusive behavior from doctors has been proven to affect patient outcome negatively. Honestly, I haven't really seen any cons to my nursing job beyond that which I have seen in jobs in any other field I have worked in. Every job has interpersonal relationships that may start sour and go south from there. You could be in the "greatest job in the world" and have the worst manager that you could ever imagine. Great things about nursing: portability and importance. There are nursing jobs in pretty much every city in the USA. Our respected elders are becoming a larger and larger portion of the population, and most of them have Medicare to pay for the services of nurses. Nurses are the front-line of healthcare. We are at the bedside of 100% of the patients in hospitals for 24 hours of every day. The doctor is there maybe 15 minutes out of the day. We are the prime drivers of Customer Service. There is not one issue in patient care that does not fall under a nurse's influence. Nurses make all the difference. Good luck with your decision. Tex

My facility hired a ton of nurses just before the downturn hit. We are now overstaffed in the ICU, but I was told a couple of days ago that one med/surg unit was 12 nurses short. Being in the middle of a semester, the thinking is that it will be short like that until the fall graduates are ready to hire. I think there are jobs to be had, but no overabundance of nurses to fill them. I think the illusion of a nursing "glut" is more the fact that facilities have put off hiring as long as they can during the slower late Spring and Summer seasons. Now that the census is picking up with the Fall weather, they are rushing around trying to find nurses to keep the patients safe. Nurses, being the front-line of patient care AND customer service are vital for the success of the healthcare industry. I think the job market will continue to be strong, barring action from Washington.