Cthulhu

"Too aggressive" it almost sounds like something else is going on here that they are not making you aware of. Sending "thank you" cards is still pretty much standard practice for post interview.

I worked LTC for a number of years. As for it being slow paced, let's put it this way; I was lucky to get a lunch break once a month. Sometimes I could not even take a pee break without being interrupted. That goes for the 2 to 3 hour morning med pass. There were frequent interruptions that made it even longer. I would say it is a different pace from a hospital, but not a slower one. I can only speak for the facility I worked for, others may have had different experiences as stated above.

In spite of the pay, when I worked there it was a hell hole, and it has gotten worse since I left. It is currently being taken over (or merged with) University of Maryland medical center system, so maybe it will improve. You probably already know this, but it is connected with Harford Memorial hosptial in Havre de Grace. I personally know several nursing students in my graduate class who started off there, and were set up to be fired by other nurses. They are working on starting a hospice center up in Forest Hill and I hope I will be able to get in on that when it is complete.

I wish we were unionized. I have seen Maryland nurses take a lot of abuse from management. I've been thinking of moving to a union state just for that benefit. If you can get a full time job with a county health department, you can be in a union. If you can become a school nurse, you can be part of a union. Other than that (as far as I know) there is no opportunity for union nursing in MD.

The MBON stated several years ago that they will no longer issue hard copy licenses. As stated above, you just have to print out the page from their web site.

if you want to get a job as a phlebotomist, you will need to take a phlebotomy theory class as well as a clinical. in the clinical you will have to do a certain amount of successful sticks during the course of the clinical (these successful sticks will be documented as proof you have done them). then when you go to apply to a lab to work, they will require the proof you have done the required successful sticks. so you are not going to be able to take a 2 or 3 day course and then go work at a lab as a phlebotomist. phlebotomy pay is really low anyway. i'm not sure why one would want to go from rn or lpn to phlebotomist.

>What is the difference between LPNs and RNs? About $10 an hour.

Just make sure it is FDA approved and not the kind they sell at Walgreens (or whereever) for sports use. You can get an FDA approved pulse ox for as low as in the $30 range. Check out Devon.

I've seen this exact same tactic used to get rid of nurses in LTC where I used to work. My suggestion is to document everything, and try to get whatever you can in writing from the DON or ADON. If you are fired, you will have something to present to unemployment showing that you were not discharged for misconduct.

OK, I went to Dicks Sporting Goods this morning and got the following: Plano Field Box. It is nice and deep. http://www.amazon.com/Plano-1612-Water-Resistant-Field/dp/B000P3WS02 Pop the top of this box and you have a 50 tube holder: http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/655144-rifle_cartridge_box.html Plenty of space to hold extras. This should make due for a while. Sometimes you have to get creative :-)

I am currently using a small fishing box for my blood draw kit. I'm running out of room in it. Can anyone recommend a good box for a blood draw kit? It has to have a covered top, not like the lab trays that you see in the hospital.

I work for salary, but if I exceed my productivity (based on point system) I get paid per deim for those visits over productivity. I think this is very fair. I also get paid flat rates for any mandatory meetings.

I was out of steady work for 7 months last year until I found a good job in November.

There is a brand new domain called .jobs http://nurse.jobs/ It supposedly has all the listings even the "pay for" sites have.

To be fair, nurses are not the only employees getting the shaft these days. I have friends in other businesses, and they are seeing their benefits get cut, sick days get cut, pay raises get delayed or reduced. The reason is because no one in their right mind is going to quit a job when the unemployment rate is 9+%, so we just put up with the abuse. It will be interesting to see what happens when the economy changes and the table are turned.