jenn_nurse

Merrells! They are the most comfortable shoes ever. Try on different styles, though, becasue I have some I relly like (jungle moc and encore breeze) and others I don't.

I use Davis Drug Guide through the Skyscape app on an android based phone. I just put my phone on airplane mode (no network connection), and was able to access it. I imagine you would want to connect periodically to the network to check for updates, but it might work ok.

Does anyone have any information or resources they could direct me to about I/DD and Borderline Personality Disorder? I am working with a woman who has Down Syndrome, and her psychiatrist thinks she is showing behaviors consistent with BPD. I know that there are people and organizations out there with more experience in this than I have, so I was hoping for some ideas. Thanks! -jenn_nurse

I donate regularly. I try to go every 8-10 weeks. Sometimes I am deferred for low hemoglobin, but if I remember to load up on iron rich foods in the week before I go I am OK. I have also been deferred for: an irregular heartbeat (side effect of medication I didn't notice I was having until they felt the skipped beats), recent vaccination post human bite (that was a 1 year deferral, although they don't routinely ask about humn bites), and because I have dated men who have sex with men. The American Red Cross changed the guidelines so that a woman who has had sex with a MSM can doate after 1 year. This is the one that annoys me the most, as I know what my safer sex practices are, the frequency with which I have STD testing, and the recent STD results of a partner. I was a person who donated before I ever became a nurse, so I know that being a nurse didn't contribute to my donating blood, although my comfort with donating blood may have had something to do with the personality traits that also led me into nursing.

Yeah, I've done it. The only thing I would find out about is if you have to collect money from the patients. I did not and that made it relatively easy to do. I will be doing it again this fall.

Try www.lifeprint.com for signing instruction

I have my BSN and RN, and have only had them since September. I am working in Developmental Disabilities nursing right now, and while I enjoy what I do, I really feel like I need to get some hospital experience to keep up my clinical skills. Unfortunately, I live in an area without a nursing shortage, and relocating to another part of the country is not an option. Would it be worthwhile to apply for part-time jobs? Is this a good way to get in at a hospital? I am very underpaid, so part-time wouldn't be any worse financially than I currently am, and I could COBRA my health insurance if I have to leave my job, so that would give me 18 months to move from part-time to full time, if that is possible... What do you all think?

Thanks for that info. I am talking to my boss about taking the BLS training course and training them in Heartsaver. I'm hoping work will pay for it.

DO any of you provide training for your coworkers in CPR? This is something my agency is interested in having me look into, but I am unsure about how to do it. I know before I was a nurse, I worked for agencies where the nurse would train us and we would get a Red Cross or AHA card, but I don't know how to set up something like that here.

Philly is a great city, but the nursing options for new grads are pretty bad here. Personally, I love Boston, and would move there is it wasn't so far from family and so darn cold. Unless you are heart-set on Philly, I'd look somewhere else.

Yeah, basically... I finished ACE in Sept, was licensed by the end of Sept, and have a job but have not been able to get into a hospital. Start applying to hospitals during 4th quarter. Good luck with ACE- it's REALLY intense.

You might, but in the Philadelphia area, finding a job without 1-2 years med/surg experience is proving difficult.

Does anyone know of hospitals in the SEPA area that are hiring RNs without 1-2 years experience? I got my RN in Sept, and have been working in Developmental Disabilities because I managed to find a position. I was expecting this to be a temporary thing while I found a hospital job. I really enjoy my job, but I'm not getting good clinincal experience, and I'm barely making LPN rates. As much as I would be sad to leave my job, I don't think this is the right place for this point in my career. I have applied to every job listing I have found online, all the way out to Reading, and I don't get any reply. If I do, it is that they have filled the position without even talking to me. Does anybody have any suggestions?

I work in a day program for I/DD adults. I am the only nurse on site and did not receive any formal training for my job- I just have been figuring it out as I go. I have updated the med logs based off the logs from last year, using the same format as was used in the past. Now my question- should there be a med log form kept for Ensure/ Boost/ other similar oral supplements? There was not one when I started for any of those clients, and the Nurse did not administer them. It was all done by the personal care staff. But what I am finding out is that there were times when the home staff did not send in the supplement, in one case for several weeks. After I was notified of this, I contacted the supervisor at the home and we were provided with the Ensure. So now I'm thinking there should have been nursing records about this, since it is doctor ordered. What do you do? I plan to start today with logging it, just to be sure. Thanks for any insight you all have.

Thanks. I think I need to start that here.

Also check out ashinstitute.org They are the American Safety and Health Institute and you can become an independent contractor through them. I know several employers who use that type of service for training their employees.