usafguy99

PT/INR's have become a major headache where I work. We have 2 doctor's (husband & wife) who LOVE changing coumadin orders as often as possible. After labs we will get orders to hold coumadin for the day and re-draw labs in the AM. Or if they are on antibiotic treatments they order PT/INR's every other day. We have had resident revolt and refuse to let lab personnel draw their blood. I keep telling other nurses that it's a miracle that we don't have med errors regularly. I've seen residents have 3 or 4 dose changes in a week. It's crazy to be changing doses before we even get the med from our pharmacy! Just this week we had a doctor give orders for just 2 days worth of coumadin and then have them re-tested and then have to call the doctor back for the next 2 days worth of coumadin! So this resident was getting tested every other day and the nurse was having to put in new orders every other day. This went on for over a week. I couldn't believe it when I heard about it. Even the lab people who do our draws were wondering why they do SO many PT/INR's. Thank god im on night shift where I don't have to deal with that headache.

When I still worked in LTC (just a month ago) our protocol was: q15min X 4 q30min X 4 q1hr X 4 q4hr X 4 q8hr X 6 Could be a real pain in the butt at times - especially when our policy for a while was that EVERY fall required neuro checks - even if it was witnessed and there was no head involvement. We were so happy when that policy was changed to either unwitnessed falls or witnessed falls with head involvement.

Call the main nurse recruiter for Deaconess and ask them if they will hire someone with a degree from ITT. Not all licenses are equal.

Hating?? My wife call several hospitals in Evansville, IN and asked if they hire ATT grads. They all said "NO" and that it was a useless degree.

35K as a CNA??? That is WAY higher then I have ever seen for a CNA. Where do you work? And 96K as an RN right out of school also sounds very high. I guess I need to work where you live now that I have my RN.

Well I finished my test about 4 hours ago... checked my status and it said "Delivery Successful" so I decided to try the trick and quickly got: (which I assume is good news) "Our records indicate that you have recently scheduled this exam. Please contact your Member Board for further assistance. Another registration cannot be made at this time." Do I have to wait the 48 hours to pay for the quick results? Their instructions say there should be a link to click under "status" but for me there is no link - just "Your exam results are not available at this time". Do I need to wait the 48 hours for the results to become available before I can pay for the quick results? Took the PN boards... test cut off at 85... had about 15 SATA, 2 math, and a bunch of drugs I have never heard of before... always fun looking at the screen and your mind goes COMPLETELY blank. Keeping my finger's crossed...

I am about to start my 2nd year for my RN (testing for LPN next week). I think there will be about 35 people in the class next semester and unless a male returns from last year I will be the only male in the class. It's been that way since the 2nd semester. We started with 4 (out of a class of 46) and by the end of the semester I was the only one left. It's not easy - I still get approached as if i'm a doctor often on the floor during clinicals (i guess any male in white scrubs MUST be a doctor!).

Be prepared - it will be unlike anything you have done before. Critical thinking is crucial. They don't test you on facts - every question is a critical thinking scenario. Just take it one day at a time - make wise use of your time - and relax when you can!

I just finished my LPN program... take my NCLEX on Aug 14. Starting my 2nd year for my RN on Aug 20.

I agree completely... I have plenty of free time. It's just a matter of being organized. I read stories about people studying 12 hours a day 7 days a week - I would kill myself after a month of that! One day at a time - thats the best way.

Aug 14 11am... Using a PN study guide right now - reading the entire book. Then tackling over 1000 questions. Also plan on taking some online practice tests. Then if I have time left over I am going to review all my notes from class for the last year! Got a quick question... had to take a HESI exit exam (not sure which one or how many there are) - minimum required for my school was 700 - I scored 862. That has left me feeling pretty confident. Anyone else take the same exam?

I finally received my ATT number today and rushed to schedule my test.... Aug 14 11am. So I have about 4 weeks to learn what I need to know - I know the knowledge is hidden away somewhere in my brain - I just hope I can remember everything when I am looking at the computer screen!