jamieann.rn

I was a bedside nurse before transferring into the world of case management after the birth of my second child. I used to be so aggravated by ancillary staff using that phrase repeatedly. It gets incredibly frustrating, espeically when I'm gowned in an iso room knee deep in C. Diff-tainted stool. When I moved to case management I made the shift from driving the bus to being a passenger, so to speak. I still enjoy the interactions I have with patients, albeit, short ones. But I learned something that I never knew before: As a CM, I'm NOT ALLOWED to touch patients. As in, I am not allowed or I can be seriously reprimanded (ie: Fired). I'm not covered under the same hospital insurance that used to cover me when I was a floor RN. The reasoning is if I help pull a patient up in bed and injury myself, I'm not covered under the hospital's work comp insurance because that's not in the current scope of my job description. Yes, I'm still and RN and yes I remember how to assess, toilet, etc....but I literally cannot help you. I'll get a blanket or help the patient with the remote, but that's about it. I bet this is the same for RD, SW, etc. Now, of course, if a patient is falling out of bed or putting themselves in danger, I can jump in because patient safety is always more important. But if a patient asks me to help pull them up or walk them to the bathroom....guess what, I call you because I'd rather like to keep my job. Just food for thought.

I work on a IMC primary care unit for large hospital in Southern California. My unit went primary care some years ago and has had great success! We average 2-3 patients depdending on acuity and although it can busy, all the nurses on the floor band together to help other nurses clean patients, etc. I've been on other units that have CNA's and I feel that a transition to a primary care floor has helped me connect with patients because I am just that...the primary care giver. I encourage you to try it! As long as the patient-nurse ratios are manageable (2-3/RN), it would be a welcoming challenge and I think you'll find it rewarding. Good luck

Hi SarahBeth, I'm a new grad and my goal before graduation was definitely peds or home health. I have realized that after doing a little bit of everything, I want to do a little bit of everything. That is the beautiful thing about nursing! I started working on an acute care adult unit for a very busy hospital working nights 7p-7a. Nights and adults were not my first choice but the chance to get acute adult experience under my belt is hugely enticing. Eventually I will move to home health and peds, depending, but I feel my foundation in acute adult will greatly help my critical thinking skills. So if I had to pick where I would want to be, I would be right where I am. Plus, the beginning of the journey often leads to bends around the corner that are unexpected and often welcomed.

Hi Nurse Marla, I have malpractice insurance through NSO (Nurse Service Organization). The cost is about 90 annually and you can find out more information at nso.com. I carried their insurance through school and now as an RN. Hope it helps. Toodles.

Hi Dawnikans, Yes the ATI predictor exam is taken at the end of your final semester. Oh there were numerous rumors that flew with this exam. However, the ATI predictor exam is actually part of a curriculum class (pass/no pass). In essence, you must pass the exam with the benchmark in order to pass the class. However, I can tell you that the score is entire attainable and the staff and faculty understand that we are busy with several other classes. All in all the ATI exam gave me a good idea of how the NCLEX-RN would be and how I would do. You can do it, I promise and to my knowledge, I believe all of us passed and our transcripts are on our way up!

Hi, I read your post and wanted to give you some of my experiences for the generic BSN program. I am part of the cohort 1 graduating class and there were definitely some kinks that had to be worked out. One thing I can say is that the faculty and staff rooted for us the entire way. They sincerely listened to our requests and tried to make changes based upon our input, where they were able. The open door policy was such a huge improvement from other programs/staff interactions I have had. Also, the facilities are remarkable. Simulation labs truly are state-of-the-art and I have not seen any other clinical lab like it! One huge positive is the backing of the community, especially organizations such as Palomar Pomerado Health as they funded a large portion of the program. The CEO and CNO of PPH spoke at our pinning ceremony and beamed with pride! It was a wonderful moment! The one negative that needs to be dealth with is the availability of clinical sites. As so many students are vying for clinical positions, we had a few students who went without clinical placement for many weeks. Eventually it was remedied, but I think that as the program continues, these kinks will eventually be irioned out. ATI is another components you need to be aware of. If you get into the program, study for the predictor exam from the beginning. The predictor exam is great because it gives you a good idea of how well you'll do on the NCLEX-RN exam. Lastly, extern as this will be the best way for a future employer to get to know you. Other than that I really enjoyed my experiences and learned a lot. I had great clinical instructors and have been offered a fantastic job at PPH. Good Luck!