RNandRRT

Oh, what an awesome topic! I love doing both. And since I do get to do both, I have to say that when I'm doing one, I'm fully enjoying that position at that time. I am not thinking about what I would be doing if I was doing the other job, because luckily enough, next week I'll being doing the other job, and not thinking about the reciprocal. I've met my fair share of unhappy sappies in both professions, and I just think it's a sign of true professionals when you perceive no negativity from that individual while they are doing their job, either in nursing or respiratory care.

To make it clear about Virginia: Endorsement: Excelsior students who graduate after December 31, 2009 will be eligible for licensure endorsement with 960 hours of RN experience. So licensure in Virginia going through Excelsior is quite possible. 960 hours works out to be a little bit over 6 months full time working. So, that could be at a neighboring state or a V(eterans)A hospital. Definitely a little bit of work-around, but doable.

You cardiovert someone who is alive (SVT, rapid A-Fib) You defibrillate someone who is dead (pulseless V-tach, V-fib.) cardioversion is synched and defibrillation is immediate.

Yes, actually they do. No misinformation, just actual experience in getting hired. Having both actually makes you very marketable, especially in an economic drought such as we're experiencing now.

This is incorrect. If you graduated before 12/31/2009 you can be licensed by examination. All those who graduate following that date can be licensed by endorsement with 960 hours of practice as an RN. Full time, that works out to be 27 weeks. So Excelsior is absolutely recognized by Virginia, just with stipulations.

I can tell you in Northern Virginia that there has always been a need for RCPs. I can't answer how it goes in Alabama.

As for the male patients, if I'm doing the cleaning, it's because they can't and there's never been any awkwardness associated with the process. As for the female patients, I do like to have either a female CNA or another female RN with me just for protection for the patient, and myself against any false claims of inappropriateness. Again though it's only if the patient cannot perform this task themselves.

Since I am licensed as both, I would say it's very possible. I personally went with Respiratory Care first, and found the experience served me extremely well for my role as an ICU RN. Love both. No one is better than the other.

I'd say...............do both. :cheers:

Finishing my second cup now. Cheers.

If you're going to care about something, care enough to know what it is that you're caring about: HIPAA-Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Not HIPPA Thank you.

I think it's fantastic that you're getting interviewed at the facility you've been waiting to hear from. I wish you the best of luck. But the title of your post is a bit misleading. You have had many opportunities, it's that YOU'VE chosen not to continue with the job you had, or accept the positions at inferior to your expectation jobs. You've been lucky. In this economic situation we're in at this time there are many individuals who would be pleased as punch to have ANY opportunity to interview at ANY job. You at least got to pick and choose. No reason to be depressed. A paying job here puts the same dinner on the table as a paying job there. Seriously though, congrats, and good luck.

really?? Cause every facility I've worked at paid it to all non-exempt employees who work the holiday. As long as hospital policy was to pay time and a half for that holiday, all non-exempt employees are to get time and half. Full time, part time, PRN.

that makes no sense. it doesn't matter what agreement you make to work certain days, holiday pay is universal, not a pick and choose perk. if the hospital's policy is to pay time and a half for working holidays, they have to pay all employees time and a half. and that certainly is a whole ton of presuming which is a wonderful synonym of assume.

i just don't get how not getting paid 1.5 for the holiday isn't getting stiffed out of money. it's no different then if the holiday fell during the week, and the people working the week had to work it and not get paid 1.5 the higher weekend pay is to work the weekend, totally separate issue from holidays.

Having to actually cover the holidays on your weekends is actually fair. Not getting compensated appropriately for it is not. And it could be illegal. Salaried employees do not receive compensation for overtime and holidays, so they are not required to work them. Non salaried employees should all be compensated. 1.5 should be paid to all, regardless of how much someone's hourly pay is. PRN'ers used to be paid significantly more for no benefits, but they still get compensated 1.5 for holidays and overtime. Your situation is no different. The fact that you have to work the weekend and it's a holiday should have no bearing on this. side note: you certainly didn't deserve the attitudes you received from some of these posts. allnurses.com is here for questions just such as this one. good luck.

I appreciate your point in all of this, but just because you don't like the particular method some use to accomplish the task, does not mean it's not appropriate. There are always many ways to accomplish a task and just because someone does something a way you don't approve of does not mean it's not an appropriate way to perform it. You don't like interviewing online. That's fine. As long as someone is willing to ask, and someone is willing to respond, then what could possibly be the problem? Again, the question shouldn't be "what if allnurses.com wasn't around", because clearly it is. What if starbucks didn't exist? you would find another way to bribe someone I guess. Point is, Starbucks does exist, and someone used that to their advantage, just as they use allnurses.com to their advantage.

preprinted manufacturer's advice for use of their products is not evidence of appropriate wound care. But since you asked for advice and then don't want the advice, you just want people to tell you you were right, I will sign off from this thread. Again, good luck.

Not quite. when the patient is in the bed and turning, the pressure remains the same on, for example, the sacrum. The rotation does not do anything to increase the blood flow to any pressure areas. When you put a pillow underneath one side of the patient, or butt, it lifts the sacrum even a little, allowing for better blood flow. Our Total Care bed representative was very clear about this.

only if careful documentation of what happens with dressing removals is present. If she came back to a dressing with butt paste that was bigger, was it the butt paste, or the pulling off of any inappropriate dressings that made the wound bigger, or continued lack of turning? Days later could be hard to determine. Again, most facilities are picking up the call for evidence based care, and wound prevention/healing is very well studied.

according to our facility's CWON tegaderm is not to be used as stated previously. There are new coverings, such as the brand Mepilex, or a protective barrier such as Proshield, that are better for the wound and new tissue. Now that pressure wounds acquired in house are not going to be paid for, the new big initiative is prevention. I'm guessing you're in a LTC facility as opposed to my critical care setting, but I would think that prevention and promoted healing would still be a high priority. As for the "know it all" I would think that there could be an opportunity for staff education with evidence based materials. Good luck.

This was handled easily by my unit. We are almost completely a needleless institution. So the only needles available at the med station are the filter needles. Any SC or IM injections are done with syringes with the needles in the kit.

Actually, as needed as they are, by the very definition and accepted criteria of what a profession is, CNA falls short. It's not a matter of semantics. It's about understanding what makes a group of individuals in a job a profession. There are well laid out guidelines, and CNA is not part of that. Doesn't mean it can't happen in some future time, but it will take time and organization, and other things that are not necessary to list at this time for I am afraid that would become another whole argument. This post is meant with the most respect, but with truth. I love our CNAs in our unit.

It's both part new RN and part new place of work. Each facility, and then down even to each unit, has their own policies and protocols for everything. It's just a matter of learning all of the intricacies of everything. For example, in our ICU, severe sepsis screening occurs every shift. I've had 2 patients meet the criteria. MD was notified and a set of severe sepsis orders was left in the chart. After 4 months I learned last week that there is also a sticker that goes on the front of the chart that states they have met the criteria, and the RN is to date and sign the sticker. Who knew? It will come with continuous practice.

my understanding is that the CA issue is just about the RN program. Not having anything to do with any RN's that go on to get their BSN.