J_9!

One of the LPN's I work with right now is going through Excelsior. While it is great in that it is self paced, it is very expensive. She pays, I think, $200 for each test, then at the end of the program is a $2000 clinical weekend which she is saving up for right now.

Things change from semester to semester. You won't be the only one not getting the hang of it during the first semester. Where I went to school we had big sisters/brothers who's job it was to help us get the hang of nursing school and to talk to when we felt overwhelmed. An RN has so many more opportunities than an LPN does.

Our facility has both breastfeeding AND bottle feeding diaper bags. We don't leave anyone out...we even have spanish bags for our rare spanish speaking patient. As has been stated, we cannot call social services, but put in for a consult from case management. Yes, we do that on occasion. I don't see anything wrong with churches putting together goodie bags for the unfortunate. Believe it or not, this, many times, brings the patient into the church where they receive support rather than criticism.

I may talk to my local heart-to-heart and see if I can get something like this started. It's a great idea, but in the rural south we rely on donations, this may just be a big project for me...but one that everyone will benefit in the end.

I wish we were lucky enough to have something like that where I live.

Pregnancy is not always a choice...sometimes it's an accident. Teens get pregnant and don't work, can't purchase the items that you were able to afford. Some gals have no support whatsoever. So, what are we going to do? Boot them out the door with nothing for their babies? Our local churches even make up bags so that these young women can have a blanket to take home...or some clothes to send the babies home. As I stated, my hospital is located in a very rural part of the deep south. We have some of the poorest of the poor at my facility.

I don't hold all nurses to blame. Quite the opposite actually. This is why I feel it is best not to question the patient's decision and not to force breastfeeding. I did breastfeed my first two by the way. I feel that the patient has made a personal decision and we should be supporting that decision whether we agree with it or not. Where will it stop? Will we stop supporting patients' religious backgrounds in what they can or cannot eat? How their religion effects their continuity of care? No, of course not. So why should we stop supporting and assisting a patient when she decides that she doesn't want to breastfeed? Why not help her if she doesn't have the money to buy the formula when she is discharged?

Apparently we do not have that initiative in my facility, and for that I am very happy. My hospital caters to very low income women and teens. They can't afford to go out and get formula until their WIC appointment.

I want to add that coercing mothers into breastfeeding can set them up for disappointment. When I had my last child, 8 years ago, before going into nursing, the nurses made me feel terrible that I was not going to breastfeed. I explained that I had had breast cancer, and had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery. One nurse did not believe me and actually called in a lactation consultant. I told the lactation consultant that I had pacifiers for breasts and the baby wasn't gong to get any milk. As a nurse in a very small rural hospital, I support whatever decision my patient makes whether I agree with it or not. We don't always know underlying circumstances.