Busia

Thank you!

I tried again, and made it through. I did start feeling a little flushed around the same time, but was able to hold it together. Got a little confidence back, but I'll be on my toes from now on trying to catch it before something happens!

I know there are a lot of stories about nurses passing out, but how common is it to also vomit? I'm not in the OR, but posting here because I think I'll get better response. The MD I work for does minor procedures in his office. I was observing a 20-30 minute procedure, he was just closing up, and with barely any warning I passed out and began vomiting. I was mortified! If I had only passed out, I think I would be ok, but seriously, vomiting out of control too? Does that happen? I had a headache and was a bit queasy the rest of the day and night, but I don't believe I was ill or anything. I have observed full blown surgeries before, and never really had a problem other than getting warm (which I frequently am). I'm so scared this will happen again. Is there any way I can determine what a trigger might be for me? I had eaten prior, I don't believe I was locking my knees, I wasn't too warm. How do I prevent this again if I don't know what caused it? When (if) I ever do start assisting with these procedures, I will be the only person besides the patient and the MD, so I can't exactly leave if I start feeling bad. I need to figure this out!

The nice thing for us is that every patient has their own lift (assisted living community). It stays right in their room. Hospice provides them, or they are rented through a 3rd party. We do have two that belong to the facility as well.

My issue is the amount of effort to operate the hand crank lifts- when my aids are hopping from room to room and sweating like pigs from all the lifts, watching them makes me fear for a thrown out back or shoulder, especially with obese patients. And for the patient- they are being jerked back and forth while staff is trying to crank the lift. On the ez stands sometimes it takes so long to crank it up, move them, and then back down that the patient is becoming more and more uncomfortable during the process. My biggest argument is with hispice, they don't want to provide the electric ones, even though I know they can. I want to be prepared with good reason when I put my foot down.

Does anyone have a resource that differentiates the pros and cons of each? I'm trying to rid my building of the hand crank type and would like something to support my argument that the battery operated ez stands and hoyers are better for patient AND staff. Thanks!!

Yes, those are definite duties for a HWD at Brookdale. Along with MOD rotation, and assisting with marketing.

Thank you for the clarification! That was what I was thinking, but wanted another's input! Thanks!

Hoping I can find some advice on a couple things on this forum. I am an LPN looking to provide non-medical supportive homecare services. NOT nursing services. I have been approached by a few potential clients, and one of the questions that keeps coming up is whether or not, legally, I can provide certain services that do not require a nurse to do if a family member can do it. Specifically simple dressing changes or lovenox injections after a person returns home from a hospital stay. These are things a person could do for themselves or a family member could do, but the patient is not comfortable doing it themselves, and there is no family available to do it for them. Would something like this be considered skilled, even though they can do it themselves or have family assist? Also, what other areas do I need to be careful to ensure I am not crossing over into skilled nursing services? These are the services I am wanting to provide: Appointment accompaniment Outings/shopping assistance Light housekeeping and laundry Meal preparation Medication reminders, assistance filling med planners (I don't believe I can fill for them, but I can guide the client to fill their own correctly) Walking/Exercise ADL assistance such as dressing, bathing, toileting Companionship Any advice or guidance is appreciated. There is a lot of info on the internet for started a medical home health service, but not so much to guide on a non-medical service. To be clear- I am not looking to start an agency or hire other people, this is strictly for myself to provide services. Thank you!

I'm an LPN currently enrolled in an ADN bridge program. I'm having second thoughts about being back in school and becoming an RN, but I'm afraid if I don't do this there will be very limited job options for me in the future. As it is, in my area there aren't a lot of LPN positions to begin with other than nursing homes (where I currently work). I did have a clinic position but left when I decided to return to school so I could have fewer hours. (I also am a single mother of 3 kids). Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has ever gone another route to further their education as an LPN rather than becoming an RN? What kind of options would there be? I have completed all of my general courses for the RN program, and have only completed one of the actual nursing courses for the bridge. I don't want all those generals to go to waste. Thanks!

I am thinking of apply for an lpn position at a county jail. I have worked in a family practice clinic and nursing home, home health. I was thinking about applying for this same jail back when I first graduated, but didn't have the required experience that I now do. A position has opened up again and I'm just wondering what I could expect, what kinds of things does an lpn do in a jail setting? Thanks!

You take your experience with you whether you use an employer as a reference or not. And honestly- the cattiness and backstabbing is pretty typical in nursing. It doesn't matter if you are in LTC, a hospital, a clinic... whenever you get a bunch of women working closely together, it's going to be that way. My advice to you is to work hard to gain that experience you need, and use this as an opportunity to work on your conflict handling skills. You will use those skills wherever you go in your career. As far as treating people badly after they give their two weeks- it happens everywhere in just about every line of work. That's not a nursing or facility-specific thing. Once an employer knows you are no longer vested and committed to their company, they just don't care about you anymore. Their interest is in finding your replacement, not making your last weeks pleasant. Keep reminding yourself of the experience you are gaining, and what's best for your residents, and you should be able to leave work proud of what you've accomplished that day whether it's a nice place to work or not.

This is exactly how it worked at every LTC facility I've worked at and done clinicals at. Except there were usually 30-35 residents per nurse. Completely do-able after orientation.

Most definitely!!! :)

I know, I know... wash your hands!!! I just took a position in a family practice clinic, and am looking for tips on staying healthy this winter. Last winter I ended up with strep twice, and many colds, and it was the most miserable winter ever. I'm afraid of repeating that now that I'll be exposed to so much at work, and of bringing it home to my family. Thanks for any advice!!

Can anyone tell me- if my AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers certification has already lapsed, can I take a renewal course or do I need to take the entire cert. course again? Thanks!

I just graduated from FVTC PN program this past May. Any of the tech schools are going to take at least 2 years to get your one-year diploma, there are gen ed's you need to have done prior to starting your core classes. And if you aren't already a CNA there's more added time to take that course and boards. I actually transferred into the program from another tech because of a move. Overall I was pretty happy with the program. I can say from going to two different schools (and checking out a third in the process)- every nursing program probably has its issues. I am working on the LPN to ADN bridge through MSTC in WI Rapids now. I would have stayed and done the bridge at FVTC, but they don't have a part time option and I wanted to work and go to school part time now that I'm an LPN.

I just graduated this past May and passed my boards in June. I have a few gen eds left to complete for the RN program and then will be doing the LPN to RN bridge, part time. So it will be a while before I complete my ADN, at least 2 years. The next 2 or 3 semesters I can do all online (the generals and a few of the theory classes before I go back to clinicals). The job market around here is tough for LPN's, even LTC facilities aren't hiring. I have a second interview today for a MA position at a really good facility- but I'm still on the fence about this job. It's in women's health, which I am interested in and could see myself working in after I complete my degree. But I feel like I worked so hard for that LPN title, and the pay for an MA here is terrible, at the lower end it's even less than I made as a CNA. (Hoping they wouldn't start me at the lowest pay, but even at the high-end starting pay is significantly less than an LPN.) I think I am going to be offered a position in home health with another company, an LPN position, but I didn't feel real good about that company and am 99% sure I won't take it. The company is established, but new to this area, and I would be getting very minimal hours to start with too. I have apps out at a few different places for LPN positions, they are less hours but much much higher pay, and are actually for a nurse, not a medical assistant. And they would leave me more time to studying and would work with my school schedule once I do get back to in-person classes and clinical. I just don't know if I should take the MA position if offered it and hope that the experience and the foot in the door at this facility will be enough, or hold out in hopes of an LPN position. Has anyone else taken a MA position after getting their LPN license, did you regret it?

I am on my second interview today for a MA position, and I am a new LPN. We were not taught blood draws in LPN school here, but MA's are taught that. This position said they would train me for that. The only major differences I can see besides that is that the position is a lot more office work than I think an LPN would normally do- I would actually be working as a receptionist 1.5 days a week and the rest of the week as a MA. And the pay is significantly lower, but I'm not having much luck finding an LPN position. BTW- this job posting was specifically for a MA, but no certification required. I applied anyway because it's in a department that interests me in hopes they would consider an LPN, which they are! I did apply for some MA positions elsewhere that wanted certification and a MA graduate- I did not get any calls on those at all. So I think that's the difference, whether or not they want someone that actually went to school to be an MA and got certified or not. If not, I think places are willing to consider an LPN. Good luck to you!

I just graduated this past May and passed my boards in June. I have a few gen eds left to complete for the RN program and then will be doing the LPN to RN bridge, part time. So it will be a while before I complete my ADN. The job market around here is tough for LPN's, even LTC facilities aren't hiring. I have a second interview today for a MA position at a really good facility- but I'm still on the fence about this job. It's in women's health, which I am interested in and could see myself working in after I complete my degree. But I feel like I worked so hard for that LPN title, and the pay for an MA here is terrible, at the lower end it's even less than I made as a CNA. (Hoping they wouldn't start me at the lowest pay, but even at the high-end starting pay is significantly less than an LPN.) I think I am going to be offered a position in home health with another company, an LPN position, but I didn't feel real good about that company and am 99% sure I won't take it. The company is established, but new to this area, and I would be getting very minimal hours to start with too. I have apps out at a few different places for LPN positions, they are less hours but much much higher pay, and are actually for a nurse, not a medical assistant. I just don't know if I should take the MA position if offered it and hope that the experience and the foot in the door at this facility will be enough, or hold out in hopes of an LPN position. Has anyone else taken a MA position after getting their LPN license, did you regret it?

I took my boards on a Tuesday, my license # was in the system on Thursday. I got my physical license in the mail on that Saturday.

Some LPN to RN programs also require you to work a certain number of hours as an LPN before you can bridge. The tech I will graduate from next month (as an LPN) requires 1000 hours LPN work experience before you can do their bridge.

All the schools around here require you get your CNA certification before you can even apply to the nursing program. But a lot of my classmates never worked as a CNA, just took the class, and they all did fine. Most were less confident when we got to our first clinical, especially if they had never really interacted with the elderly, but they figured it out, and the classmates that were CNA's helped them out.

Can anyone tell me what types of duties an LPN might have at a county jail? Thanks! There is a position open I am interested in, but they don't really give much for a job description in the posting.

The hospital I am doing my med-surg clinical at right now does not use CNA's. The LPN's and RN's do ALL direct patient care, we do the baths, the wiping, the linen changes- all of it. I agree with the above poster- take a CNA class and get a job as one for awhile- it will be a good indicator of how you will handle the things to come. If you don't like the idea of doing those types of personal cares, how will you feel about doing catheters or removing fecal impactions- those are LPN duties. If you work as a CNA for awhile, you may find that doing the personal cares no longer bothers you.