Headhurt

Your career path is at odds with the reality of nursing, what it is, what it means, and what will be expected of you. Do yourself (and potential patients) a favor and do not go into nursing. Don't. Look into another field of work and see how many of your credits will go towards a different degree. Someone who doesn't believe in science-based medicine has no business being a nurse.

I worked for SMMC for almost 8 years until I finished nursing school. I thought it was a great place to work, great bennies, the pay was comparable to other hospitals in the area, and they do a lot of extra stuff for their employees (pancake feeds, jackets, etc). The only reason I don't work their now is that right at the time I finished, they had a hiring freeze and would only take so many new grads. Units usually hire their own first before hiring someone from the another floor (the hospital encourages promotion from within). My floor didn't have any positions, and the few others open were snapped up by new grads that already worked on that particular floor. It's a shame, too. I miss the Night Shift Christmas Breakfast.

I got that same letter...but I graduated in 2004. The thought of having to go through nursing school again gave me the willies.:uhoh21: I'm not surprised that the wait it so long. Lots of applicants, not enough teachers.

I graduated a little over 2 years ago from PVCC. I thought it was a good program, and prepared me well for the workforce. I can't remember how long it took me from the time I applied to the time I actually got in (I don't recall the wait being forever). Good luck!

He usually wears scrub tops with a t-shirt underneath. Hopefully, that will be enough because neither of us are the type of people anyone would suspect of having body piercings, and we would prefer it if no one knew.

These articales were EXTREMELY helpful. Thanks, Reno!!! I asked about the Tygon and acrylic. While my piercer prefers not to use them, he would if there were no other options. From what I read, titanium is not magnetic at all, although we are going to be spending a little more for it.

For something fun and spicy, I got my "girls" pierced fairly recently. Because I am a floor nurse, and I very seldom find myself in MRI, I don't have any issues. However, my other half now wants to have his nips pierced, and he works in a different department, often finding himself having to travel with ER patients to MRI. I know MRI affects metals that are ferromagnetic. I also know that the guy who did my piercing (and will also do that of BF), is very particular when it comes to the metals he uses in his work: implantable grade surgical steel or titanium. I know SS has some element of iron in it, but not certain about the titanium. So, I was hoping to find out from you guys, who have had experience with it, or just have more info, how much of a problem this is going to be. S.O. would really like to have it done and healed by the time we go on vacation next year. I'd hate to hear that he went down to MRI with a patient only to have the rings pulled out by unseen force. And it's not feasible to expect him to take the rings out before he goes because you are not supposed to take them out at all during the healing process d/t increased risk of infection. I know a lot of people have implanted joints/dental work and have no problems with MRIs. I'm just wondering what metals are safe, and which ones are not. Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. (On a side note: I'm only asking about piercings and MRI magnets. This thread is not posted so I can hear about anyone's personal beliefs on the matter of piercings. The piercings are for myself and my guy, and really shouldn't concern anyone we work with.)

So they opened this new clinic, and they are hiring nurses. I work weekend option at a hospital in KC, but I get bored during the week and thought a prn job during the week wouldn't be a bad idea. I want something that is not like what I currently do (to shake things up a bit), so I thought about applying here. They require you to submit your resume with a salary request, and those who submit salary requests are given first priority. However, I have no idea how much nurses in such settings make. I don't want to give a number that is too high, or too low. Thoughts??

I work in a teaching hospital, and thankfully, I don't see a lot of that going on (at least on my floor). If a doctor is out of line, we call them on it. If a patient or family member is out of line, we call them on that too. We're there to do a job, not suck up. Interesting enough, our patient satisfaction scores are always in the 99 percentile. People, as a rule, will push you as far as they know they can get away with.

I recently had a patient, retired doc with GI bleed...so we were running octreotide and prevacid drips concurrently (two separate IVs). The octreotide was Y'd in with NS running at 125ml/hr because he had rapid infusion of 6 units PRBCs earlier in the day, a Hgb of 2.9. He thought the NS amount was too much so he would decrease the amount. He even decreased the drip rate for the other two meds because he didn't want to be bothered with having to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. We locked the pump, but he would just disconnect his iv and chuck it on the ground. Ruined both his IVs that way. It took me great pleasure to restart both of the IVs on this guy. We were glad to see this one go, especially after he managed to insult all the nurses, and the docs as well (he was racist, to boot). I've heard that folks get a high from IV Benadryl. Phenergan is another big one. I dilute almost every I give IV (there are exceptions, of course). I've even had heated confrontations with patients who DEMANDED I give them narcs at full strength, fast push. If that isn't a big red flag, I don't know what is.

You can also check into Fort Hayes State University. They have an online ADN to BSN program...AND they have an agreement with surrounding states (Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, etc) and even out of state people pay the instate tuition...which isn't too bad. One of my good friends is currently doing it, and she likes it. I plan on starting here soon.

I currently work at KU Med and couldn't be happier. They start GN's out at $20 an hour and the incentive package is really good (they reimburse you $3000 of education expenses right out of the gate). They have a great Residency/Fellowship program for new nurses. They are also seeking magnet status...which should come around in a year or so. The only other hospital in the area that is Magnet Status is St. Josephs...but other nurses tell me its not a very interesting place to work. I used to work for Shawnee Mission when I was an aide. They don't pay as much as KU, but they treat their employees really well. It's a pretty nice hospital, and you don't have to deal with a lot of the scary stuff large inner city hospitals have to. Just depends on your cup of tea. I certainly couldn't go back to a community-based hospital after a stint in an inner city one. I agree with the HCA sentiment. I did all my clinicals in HCA hospitals...horrible system. There is a reason they are becoming unionized. As far as living, most anything North of the River is pretty good. It's sort of hit or miss with the downtown/midtown areas. More rougher areas in east KC. I don't know if you are looking to rent or buy, but a good realtor should be able to help you find a good area. Good luck!!

We use pumps for everything...except FFP, Albumin...unless something is expressly ordered to hang by gravity.

I don't care who you are, what you do, how much money you make...everyone gets the same care, dignity, and respect from me. I was the nurse in question, and I wouldn't allow my very sick patient to be disrupted because someone wanted a better window view. If that labels me a troublemaker, so be it.

If that truly is that case, then they need to be honest about it...instead of cramming the "everyone gets treated the same regardless of race, gender, creed, etc". Why bother taking the nursing oath if we are not even going to practice by it?? I agree, there are some instances where a private room is warranted. My dispute comes from the fact that another patient was expected to give up their room so this VIP could have a better view of the city. I'm sure it was not the request of the VIP, they probably would have been happy in any room on my floor. The "get along, go along" sentiment works great, until that moment when the needs of your family member is compromised when someone with more money and more importance is wheeled onto the floor. We'll see how great you think it is then.

I've taken care of numerous docs and nurses...not one problem out of any of them. I did take care of a PA once (he had CF and all that it entailed). He would check his own blood sugar every hour (with his own machine), then he started demanding insulin every time he did it, adjusting the dose to what he thought was acceptable. I told him that his insulin was ordered AC/HS and I would not be giving it to him just whenever he asked for it. He told me that he was friends with his endocrinologist, and would say it was okay. I told him that the endo would have to come in and discuss this with him. Then, the PA decided to gun for "World's Biggest A$$ Award" started yelling that he was a PA, and he knew his body better than anyone, and who was I to question otherwise. I told him that while he probably did know his body better than me, he most certainly was not practicing under my license. Well, the on-call happened to be on the floor at the time, and entered the room to aid in my defense. What ensued was a shouting match between doc and PA that could be heard from all the way on the other end of the hall. The outcome: patient did not get insulin whenever he wanted. His wife was an NP...she was a peach as well.:uhoh21: The biggest problems I have had have been with family members of patients who have some sort of medical background. A nephew of one patient ranted at the desk about something really dumb, and announced that he was a doctor (turns out, he was a veterinarian). Another patient I took care of had a wife who was not only "dinosaur nurse", she was also a nursing instructor (and from what one of her former students told me, not a very good one). The patient was on dialysis and slated to go early in the morning. The wife called and demanded that he get breakfast before he go. I told her that they would give him breakfast in dialysis lab. She said that was unacceptable and demanded he have dialysis in his room so he could eat. I told her it wasn't warranted, and he would be going downstairs. The patient had also had toe amputation. During his stay, she would routinely unwrap his dressing, let it "air out", and re-wrap it with the same dressing. Surprisingly, he ended up with a horrible infection and ended up having his whole foot amputated. She was a real cow. When I am a patient, I try not to let it be known I am a nurse, and when they find out, I just keep quiet and let people do their jobs. The last time, I was in the hospital, I was getting stitches in my hand in some small town ER. The doctor was asking me questions when my mother blurted, "She's an RN for a large city hospital." To which the doctor replied, "So you already know everything then!" I guess this was the one time I did behave like a hefer because he proceded to put stitches in areas that weren't numbed, then couldn't understand why I was unleashing a tirade laced with profanity. He broke the sterile field at least a dozen times, dropped two suture kits which I was ultimately charged for, couldn't figure out how to operate the cart and almost dumping me on the ground, then left my hand looking like a pound of raw ground beef with sutures in them. It was horrible, and I got charged $1300 for this little adventure. I don't think I behaved badly because I was a nurse (I think anyone in that situation would be just as upset), but I'm sure the staff attributed my behavior because I was one.

So I went to work the other night and the charge nurse approaches me with this look that says, "I'm going to lay some BS on you." She tells me that we are having a VIP patient come to the floor (he was a politician) because we have all private rooms. However, we are full, so we are transferring a patient down to another floor so the VIP can have the private room. The problem is, that private room doesn't have a very good view from the window, so I would have to move one of my patients into "poor view room" so the VIP can have a room with a better view. I tell her what a load of BS that was. She agrees with me and says that if it were her choice, she would let VIP have the initial room and say to hell with a good view, however, these are demands made from the house supervisor. I still dig my heels in and say there is no way I am kicking my patient out of her room because some dork of self perceived importance can have a better window view. This goes on for a while, and finally a different patient is moved to "poor view room" because she is confused and probably won't know the difference between a view to a brick wall, and one of the city skyline. Needless to say, I was livid and fumed for the remainder of the night. I distinctly remember some part of the oath I took that my care would not discriminate regardless of race, gender, creed, or socioeconimic status. It seems to me that equal care for everyone only applies when there isn't a VIP on the floor. I'm also miffed that when a VIP is on the floor, we are told to "take extra special care"...and essentially kiss their butt. On one occasion, a nurse replied, "I'm going to take care of them just like I take care of everyone else." I think it is disgusting and it has almost turned me off of floor nursing altogether.:angryfire

Truman Med pays a monthly stipend and then you sign a contract with them afterwards (I think it is 1 year, I could be mistaken). Big inner city hospital...you would definitely get a lot of experience there! I heard Excelsior Springs is not a good place to work. I would definitely be leery of signing such a lengthly contract with any hospital.

I only did clinicals there, and it was horrible. The staff was rude and very clique-ish. I don't know if it was because the majority of the staff was in their early 20's or what. All the people I know who worked there, have left...and they don't speak highly of the experience. The pay is a lot lower than all other places in KC. I would definitely research it thoroughly before you make your choice. Good luck!

My sister-in-law (who is prone to exaggeration) has told the family that she is going to nursing school...which is fine, if that is what she wants to do in life. When I asked what course she was going (LPN, RN?) she told me she was taking a bridge course to an ADN. She's not an LPN, but an MA. I didn't know that an MA could bridge, especially since my best friend (who was an MA) had to do the two year program with everyone else. Anyone else ever hear of MA to RN Bridge???

The locators do serve a good purpose. One patient (who apparently wanted a free hospital stay) complained that the nurse never came in and saw her. We were able to bring up how many times the nurse was in that room that day, and how long she had been in there. There was also an instance that a patient coded, and the wife accused the staff of not coming in to check on her husband. Again, we were able to track who had been in the room, and the duration of their stay. We wear locators...it's not really a big deal. The detectors are not everywhere...only patient rooms and community areas on our floor...not the bathroom.

I love my Ultrascope. I got a beach scene on mine with blue tubing. I can leave that thing laying around anywhere on the unit, and no one touches it. A patient remarked the other night that it sort of looks like a yo-yo.

Were you guys also aware that PVCC just started an evening RN program? I believe that this semester was the first semester they started. I have not heard how it is, or if students like it...but I thought that was a good option for you to look into. I know the current chair of the program, and she is awesome. Good luck!

I know Platte County Vo-Tech also teaches CNA's. Most places you can get hired on as an NA, and they will put you through the classes. Good luck!

Every classmate of mine who went on to work at St. Luke's Downtown has already quit and moved on to other hospitals. Staffing was bad, they didn't have very good orientation, and they basically felt like they were taking their license in their own hands everytime they clocked in.