danfif

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PARTY ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19 y/o with c/o "My hair isn't growing"! Go Figure!

So I took the infamous NCLEX-RN test this morning, and to say that you can be prepared for it is at least in my opinion quite the joke. Study what you will, and you will get something totally different. My question is this. Out of the people from my class that have taken the "test" so far 2 have taken 3 have taken 75 questions and passed, 2 have taken the full 265 and passed, and 1 took 265 and failed. I on the other hand took somewhere between 150 & 160 questions and the test ended! Talk about not knowing which way to turn! any body else take this amount of questions? Dan

I'll bite; 1. d, 2. b, 3. b, 4. a, 5. a Dan

I am piloting a program at our facility to train nursing staff in the ED to insert Ultrasound guided peripheral IV's and am in need of copies of policies and nurse competencies, or ideas from other facilities on how they are set up for this type of procedure.. Any help would be appreciated. Dan

Well, if you were going to be my Charge Nurse this is what I would want,,,, 1. Don't blow sunshine up my scrubs by telling me that the staffing shortage is going to get better when you know there is a hiring freeze on. 2. Do everything you can to assure that your staff gets their breaks as was said before. (I just got off working for 14 1/2 hours straight without a break, so I am not very happy right now). 3. Give praise where praise is due, make the ones that bust their butt's know that YOU KNOW! An attaboy/girl goes a long long way! 4. As was said for #3 do the same for the ones that just do the minimum to get by, buts their chops, let them know that their lack of work is noticed, and that YOU KNOW! The ones that bust their butts will notice that! 5. Don't lie to me, tell me the way it is, and the way it is going to be, I may not like it, but at least I know it is the truth, and I sure will respect you for it, and if you don't, well, it will be a long journey as a charge nurse. I could go on and on I guess, but those are the top ones that I can come up with. Good luck! Dan

Awh, life at TruMed, ain't it grand! Heard about this one, but I heard that 2 people still had pulses when they wanted to call it the first time. Any truth to that? I just got the story second hand, and you know how that goes. Any way, doesn't sound good anyway you look at it, that's why I am thinking of having DNR tatooed on my chest! Later, Dan

Bell, The word "capstone" it's self mean "the high point" or "crownig achivement". As far as other meanings, there are a number of companies that carry that name. Peace Out, Dan

Hey Geek, No problem, but your correct about most folks not being happy with HCA facilities, I hear about it first hand all of the time, because the wife works at one of them! Peace Out, Dan

. I don;t know anything about KUMed other than they are an HCA hospital. That's all I need to know. GEEK, I believe that you are wrong in saying that KU MED is a HCA Hospital, they are part of The University of Kansas, and are not a part of HCA. That is unless they were bought out very recently. There are a very large number of area hospitals that are a part of the HCA family, and I would have to agree with the part of your statement, "That's all I need to know". I sure would not work for an HCA hospital! Peace Out, Dan

I am an ER Nurse and I LOVE my job because,,,,, I love getting pooped on, peed on, puked on, bit, hit, and kicked. Cussed at, and called every name in the book. I love getting blood on my feet, in my hair, on my face, and in my clothes. I love having bodly secretions thrown at me from across the room. I love being an ER nurse to be told, "That medicine does not do crap, and that I have to have oxycodone. it is the only thing that will help releive the pain of my hang nail"! I love being an ER nurse because I love to listen to how they lost the supply of narc's that they got just yesterday, and how they need more RIGHT NOW! But if the truth be told the real reason that I LOVE BEING AN ER NURSE is that I can make a difference in another humans life, no matter how small it may be, if it is only a smile for a breif second, I have made a difference in that persons life, made them smile in the face of a very bad experience. Showed the a little caring and compassion. I have showed them that someone cares, and is there to help them when they are most in need. I can and do make a difference every shift that I work, and that is why I love my job! Peace Out, Dan

Beary, This doesn't have to be this way, but it is because people have let it be this way, and "she" is getting just what she wants. Control! She has everyone scared to death to cross her for fear of retaleation, so she can do what ever she wants to, and say what ever she wants to. Until such a time that either one very strong person, or a group stand up to her she will continue to be the way she is, and make everybodies life miserable. As has been said in other posts, document all that happens with your involvement with her so if she does start screaming law suite you have back up. Basically, CYA to the hilt! Take Care, Dan

CTRN, When somebody gives you that "LOOK" just ask them this question. If you had a sudden heart attack right now, would you still be questioning my choice to be a nurse or would it be better if I were a mechanic? Shallow people have shallow minds, so that is why you get the "LOOK" from them. There world is so small that they just don't see the big picture. Peace Out Dan

Hey Soon, As was stated above, the cost is more than likely the biggest factor to consider between ROP and a Private School, along with the time to get in. Both have to follow what the state mandates as the required classes, so you should be getting about the same as far as education is concerned. As far as clinical locations were concerned when I went to school, it was a mix of both LTC's and Hospitals that the school had an agreement with. I much prefered the hospitals over the LTC's, because I feel you learn a whole lot more in that setting. Good Luck! Dan

If my Doc's don't take care of their sharps, they are requested to do so ASAP, I came close one time to getting stuck while cleaning up after a resident, and it will be the last time! There are alot of things that are my job, but that ain't one of them! Dan

Darcia, It sounds to me like your ex could not take the thought that you were doing something to better yourself, and in all reality be better than him. There are some of us (men) that can not stand the thought of their wife making more money than they do, or having a better job and being happy doing it. Just always remember that there a whole lot of us here for support, that you can vent to, and just get advise from. You are not alone! As for your son, he will know why you are doing this, and why he doesn't get to see you as much, and he will love you even more for it. Hang in there, and keep us posted, 7 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Dan

Is there another channel? Geeze, am I missing something? It is all my TV gets! Although I must say that my family does get a bit testy when I want to watch it during dinner. I don't know why, but they do. Peace Out, Dan

Hey All, First of all, I do have to agree with Commuter to some degree that we tend to be rather picky in what jobs we WANT, and what jobs we would take. Some experience is better than no experience. With that being said, let me throw in this thought. Today, all things are done electronically, either via email or fax. Gone are the days where you put on your suit, or best dress, and head out the door with Cover Letter and Resume in hand, knocking on doors, asking to talk to whom ever makes the hiring calls, the Nurse recurter or whom ever it is. All you are today is a random piece of paper or type on a screen of an other wise stressed out HR person, or Nurse managers desk, who has a billion different things going on in their minds at any given second, of any given day. Yes you are now a Nurse, but that does not automatically give you a job. What we have to be first and fore most are SALES PROFESSIONALS, and our product is OURSELF! If you don't make yourself the best product on the market at the momment that the customer is buying, your going to be left on the shelf, if you get my drift! If you are still in clinicals, and you are interested in working at that facility, find out who the nurse manager is, introduce yourself, shake their hand, and thank them for allowing you to be there to learn. Ask them if they hire LPN's, and if so, what are the hiring requirements? Do I need to be IV certified? If your not, get it! You have to make yourself the best product on the market, or at least make it look like you are. How many of you sent "Thank You" notes out the minute you got home to the person you interviewed with? How many of you made follow up calls the next day to ask the person if there were any other questions that you could answer for them? How many of you just flat out ASKED for the job point blank? Just because we have a title after our names now does not entitle us to a job! We have to MARKET OURSELVES, BE CREATIVE, NETWORK, THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Tell them, I want this job! Then ask them, what is it that I need to do to get it. I could go on and on with this, but I hope that what I have said does help in some way. Take Care, Dan

Steph, No thanks are needed, just know if you needed any help, questions answered or just some support, there are 125,000 plus nurses, GN's, GPN's and just plain good people here that will be glad to help you! Take Care, Dan

And it had to take a PhD to come up with this brain storm??????? Geeze, go figure! Peace Out, Dan

My personal favoriate is the $6.95 ones from Walmart. Sweep second hand, and if the get goozed, into the trash they go, without a second thought! I go for the stretch bands also, so that I can pull it up my arm when washing my hands, which is very often! Peace Out, Dan

Nurseguy, From my point of view, I would have done it no other way. I was a CNA for around 2 years before I started nursing school, and I feel that it gave me a ton of up front knowledge which made school that much easier, if you will. Not saying nursing school was easy by any means, it was NOT! As for the CNA doing all of the dirty work, well, yes you are incharge of the patients care from the aspect that if they soil themselfs, you get to help clean it up, if they need a bath, yep, you get to help do that as well, combined with a long list of other duties too. But, don't think for a moment that being a "NURSE" will keep you from doing "ditry work" because it sure won't. There are times that you don't have the pleasure of having a CNA to assist you with patient care needs, so that means that you will be cleaning poop, emisis, or what ever else comes out of your patients body. My view on being a CNA is this, I am part of a team, I am the assistant/aid to the Nurse, I am there to assure that my patients are as comfortable as possible to within the best of my abilityand scope of practice, and, this is my personal quest, to make them smile at least one time during the course of my shift. If I have done these things I have done well! The knowledge that you gain along the way is priceless, and will serve you well in nursing school. The pay, well, you sure can make more doing other things, no question about that, but what will you learn? Just my thoughts. Peace Out, Dan

Hey Steph, First off, take a deep breath,,,,,,,,now let it out. Studying for the NCLEX is one of the worst things in the world as you are seeing, but you have to relax and try not to stress out over it. To answer your question will be a difficult one because everybody gets a different set of or type of questions on the NCLEX. However, it does appear that a large number have been seeing questions pertaining to cultural issues with patients, ie; different nationalities, and how their culture and beliefs affect their nursing care. You will find though, that a large number will be prioritizing of patients/care. Which patient is the one that you would treat first, that type of thing. I had a lot, well, no, most of mine were this type of question really, had very few medication or med calculation type, but there were some, and most of mine were pediatric and geriatric based. My best advice is to know your systems, how they work normally, and with that knowledge you can figure out what is wrong, and determine which is the most critical patient. Also having a good general knowledge of disease processes is important as well. Keep your head up, you made it through school, you can make it throught this one as well, just don't let it get the best of you! Good Luck, Dan

Karen, Just to let you know, you are the exception, and certainly not the rule when it comes to managers, and I commend you for that. There are very few managers that will take it upon themselfs to assure that there staff have either the breaks that they are by law allowed, or if in a staffing crunch to provide food for them. Sounds like your my kind of Boss, Hat's off to you! Peace Out, Dan

Ok, I stand corrected on a couple of things. Yes, as stated in other posts you can run the lipids in with the TPN, just do it below the filter. This would free up the third port and allow the Abx's to be run as stated. As far as triples being reserved for the very sick, that isn't quite what I ment. For the most part your average hospital patient isn't going to be recieving IV meds for the duration of time that would require or warrent insertion of a central line. I wish they all had them, trust me, but for the most part an 18 or 20 G works fine for the average patient. Dan