emidianeRN

Florida hires LPN's in hospital. but the pay is very low. Also, in Northern VA/DC area, we have LPN's on med/surg floors. Kaiser also hires LPN's I know, and they pay well. Is there a Kaiser HMO in LA ?

I hope everything turns out the best for your Grandma! It sounds like the HIT syndrome really took a toll ( it's wicked ). I have seen some really sick people bounce back though. I hope your Grandma is one of those people!!

Where do you live ? Can you consider taking a job as a Nursing tech or unit secretary in a hospital, just to get your foot in the door ? That way, if your employer and co-workers like you, you'll be first in line when a position opens up.

Thanks! I really think I'm going to try it. I don't like the sound of all the paperwork of course, but it's also become really intense (charting) at the hospital too. I love the idea of doing the charting in the comfort of my own home, or at least in a quiet spot, instead of under the bright flourescent lights of the nurse station with the phone ringing off the hook and the telemtetry monitors alarming non-stop. Now, I just need to revive my resume! If anyone knows a good agency in the NOrthern VA area, or DC, please let me know!

I guess it depends where you live! My hospital hires new grads into the ER and telemetry floor, so I'm sure you'll find something! During your interview you could certainly mention your other experience offshore. It just shows that you are a quick thinker, autonomous, calm during emergencies and a problem solver. Good luck!

Thanks for describing the duties for me, that does give me a good idea of a typical day. That helps!

Hope you feel better! We've had 4 nurses on my unit with H1N1. ( Northern Va/DC suburb). Don't know how many flu patients we've had in the hospital though, since they keep all flu off of our floor. I seem to be immune to everthing, ( knock on wood) but I'm worried my little 5 year old will catch it at school. Make sure you drink lots of water!! and maybe lots of green tea for extra antioxidants. Can't hurt! get some rest...

What is a typical day/patient like when you are doing shift work/extended care? I can't imagine having just one patient for 8 hours but it sounds awesome?

Thanks for your reply. I will read through the other threads too, thanks. I definitely love the idea of a more flexible schedule. These 12+ hour days are killing me. I would want to work even shorter shifts during the day, maybe 4-6 hours. Would agencies really be that flexible? I think a PRN position would be a nice change for me. ( I have full time benefits at my weekend hospital job..which unfortunately I can't afford to quit for at least another year.).

I am an RN with 14 years of Hospital experience on a Surgical telemetry floor. I also have plenty of experience with medical patients as well. Lately I feel more and more irritated each day at work, knowing that if I give too much attention and caring to one patient, another is left waiting. Our workload keeps increasing, but never the number of staff members. The charting, core measures, etc just keeps multiplying. We also started using the COW ( computer on wheels) which is heavy to push around for 12 hours and soooo time consuming. it's all I can do just to keep up with the medications. And I keep leaving work feeling that I didn't do enough for the patients...Just ran around like a crazed person. Another trend I've noticed in the hospital is the quality of nurses seems to be deteriorating. Where did all the good nurses go ? Things are changing... I've stayed in the hospital setting practically against my will because I'm a single mom and the weekend alternative position was really convenient. But now, I've got more free time during the week, ( my daughter just started K ). I'm thinking of trying Home health, but I wanted to ask some input . I think I would find it rewarding because my favorite part of Nursing is the communication and relationship with the patients. I think I would really enjoy focusing on one patient at a time. Sooo.. I'd like to ask, has anyone made the change from Hospital to Home Health and enjoyed it ? Is the paperwork horrendus ? And what is the average pay ? I live in a DC suburb. ( Northern VA.) One thing that scares me a little is the thought of going to a stranger's home. Did anyone else have that initially ?