sherichance

Ok. I am fed up. I may be a nursing student but I have a CNA background. The LTC I worked in was a good one, I rarely seen incorrect things done. However, my Grandfather is in a nursing home, grant it, its not an expensive one because we all cannot afford it. But this poor old man is blind, Alheimers, has a colostomy bag and many other ailments. Every month, we have to take him to the wound care center because the stoma and area around where his bag is placed is completely infected and inflammed. Everytime we go to visit him, his bag is either on the verge of popping, or has popped or is incorrectly placed by the CNA's. I come in his room, there are dirty towels, with feces and urine on them, sitting on his clean bed, floor or chairs. Its absolutely horrible. Oh get this, my father went in there last weekend, there are 80 residents in the facility, they have all the RN's and LPN's they needed but only 4 CNA's. 4 CNA's to take care of 80 people? Something is wrong here. My family and I have reported them to the state and of course when they come to investigate, everything is being done by the books. Everything is clean, they are not shoving food down these poor peoples throats just so they can hurry and have their cigarrette breaks and so on. We have complained our butts off and nothing is being done. Why would you treat someone who is defensless like this? Did I forget to mention he has been in the hospital atleast 4 times this year for dehydration because they wont give him water. We cant be there 24/7 to watch him but I want to do my part and try to help make nursing homes better. Does anyone know how you can become a State Health Inspector for nursing homes, hospitals and so on? I am just tired and totally heartbroken at how people are being treated and the rules these Aides and Nurses are breaking to cut corners. I am not bad mouthing Aides and nurses, please believe me. But if you are not willing to do your job 150% to make peoples lives more comfortable and take care of them, then please do not be in the nursing field. Can someone point me in the right direction or maybe a site as to where I can find out more info on how to become a state health inspector. I have had enough and just want to see people taken care of properly.

Thanks to everyone. Now I dont feel so odd about my allergy. Its just so weird because when I tell the MA's or Doctors they just look at me like I am making it up. I know my son needs to be exposed to the oranges first but I dont think that I am really ready to go there yet. I have had so many bad experiences with oranges that I am afraid to let him try them right now.

Actually, it happens if I eat grapefruit, but not lemons. I know people have found that odd.

Ok. Maybe I am just not seeing it, but why do most people think it weird that I am allergic to oranges? I go to the doctor to for a visit and they ask what I am allergic to, I say oranges, the MA's or nurses look at me like I am nuts or like they have never heard of that before. People have allergies to weird things but whats so weird about oranges. Also, can anyone answer this for me because I keep getting 2 different answers: 1 pediatrician has told me that my allergy to oranges will be passed to my son, the next pediatrician says that there is no chance. Who should I believe? I am believing my motherly instinct and not letting him have oranges until he can tell me that he does not feel well after eating an orange. If I ingest any type of orange, I break out in severe hives, get an excruciating migraine, vomit, pass out, the works. So of course I am going to be protective of my son. Sorry, I had to vent about that, I am just frustrated because nobody seems to believe me about the allergy to oranges.

I dont understand some CNA's either. I was a CNA for sometime and yes I will admit, sometimes my job was yucky or stinky. But I would never leave someone in a wet brief or abuse them. I treated the residents with the love and compassion that I would want in their condition or age. My grandfather is in a home in Illinois and its a state home so its not the best of places. The CNA's only get around $5.50 and hour there. They leave him sitting in his own feces, let his colostomy bag fill up until it pops and still lets him sit there in it, his stoma gets infected constantly and he has been in the hospital numerous times for dehydration. One of the main things my CNA instructor told me was, always offer a resident water, they need it. What is the deal? If you do not have the heart for this job, then dont waste the schools time by training for a job that you will not take seriously. The worst thing at my grandpa's home is that the LPN's or DON's dont take this seriously and do something. My father showed me pics the other days of my grandfathers arm, he had purple and black hand and finger prints all over him. It looks as if someone was handling him roughly and abusing him. My father has filed complaints with the state atleast 10 times now, there has been no resolution. My grandparents cannot afford a upscale nursing home for him and none of us can take him on every other day, its just too much. As for CNA's not doing their jobs, I see it alot. I am not an RN yet but I have made suggestions to the CNA's to either do their jobs correctly or find another job.

oh my goodness...i am just worried about driving all that with a child in the car and going over that US 1 bridge for 122 miles...a little too scarey for me

Well, my husband just made advancement this week. We found out that we are moving to Key West Florida, the Coast Guard base there. Can anyone give me some suggestions to some sites regarding nursing schools, community colleges, daycare for my son and decent places to live? We just transferred to Seattle 1 year ago and now they are moving us again. AHHHHH!!! I have had enough already but you go where they mililtary tells you to go. We want to live somewhere that there is a reasonable distance between the base and community college. We have only 1 car so one of us will have to walk to work or school. I appreciate all and any feedback. Thanks, Sheri

Thanks for all the great replies. Trying to reposition the body does not help, actually makes it worse. Been there and done that with anti-gas, even prilosec for possible GERD. CT scan ruled out gall bladder. I dont know what else to come up with. This is a stumper I guess.

Not an ER nurse here. But I was in the ER a few weeks ago for some lower right quad pain, ouch!! I seen a gentlemen come in, who looked in his late 20's, with a young girl, that looked 17 and said he wanted to be tested for STD's so he could have with his girlfriend. (?) That was the silliest thing I have ever heard of needing to be seen in the ER for. ER visits are not cheap. I wanted to tell him to wait until Monday and go to the clinic downtown where he is not going to waste nurses time and spend all that money for the ER. That's just me however.

Hi there. I have battled depression ever since I was young. I have been on MANY different meds. The best one that I have been on, and still am on, is Wellbutrin. Actually when I started it many years again for the first time, I had actually lost weight. Go figure. I have nothing but positive outcomes with Wellbutrin. I have tried Prozac, way too much for my body to handle, it would make me horribly ill. Paxil, I went on the highest dose and it still did not do it for me. Zoloft, forget about it. However, everyones body and depression is different from the next persons. I have heard that most Bipolar meds cause weight gain, not simple anti-depressants. Here is a website that gives you some answers to your questions. Hope it helps. http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/0,,7lskq86h,00.html

Can you help me list possible causes of severe piercing chest pain in a healthy adult woman? Pleuricy Costochondritis GERD Angina ??? Pneumonia Anxiety attack Pinched Nerve Some type of trauma to chest area Your answers are appreciated...

I understand where youre coming from. As a child, I could not swallow pills for anything. My issue was I had a fear of choking. Even the smallest pill would make me nuts. I would get ready to swallow the pill and I would get it to the back of my throat and then get all worked up and actually make myself choke on it. I was 13 before I could swallow any pills. Here I am almost 27 and sometimes I still get freaked out when trying to swallow pills... I do not have any help to offer you but I wanted to let you know there is someone else out there, who had the same problem. I wish you all the luck in the world.

I am not paying school with my own personal money first of all so I am not spending our money. I have a Pell Grant, and a state assistance grant. So ALL of my schooling is paid for no matter what. I think that I am entitled to get the education I desire since I am not actually paying for it.

Babygurl- Honestly, you do not get to choose your first assignment. They will let you list your first 3 top picks and they will go from there. You may not get your first one so dont be disappointed. As for when to go see a recruiter, in my own experience, there is never a good time. They are always looking for that person to fill their quota for the month. As for bonuses, you may not be gauranteed one. Not everyone who joins is entitled to one. If you do get offered one, get it in writing no matter what. For when you receive it, it can take up to 6 months. If its a big sum of money, they will spread it out over years. We were given $40,000. We would get atleast $8000 every year for 5 years. Hope that helps somewhat.

Another veteran Navy HM here. I went to school in Great Lakes and let me tell you, the school was challenging at times. I think they train the HM's alot better now. More knowledge, hands on training and it doesnt really matter if its so fast paced, 16 weeks as I recall. I loved being a HM. However, I have worked with some HM's who didnt give 2 cents about anyone and they were just there because its a popular rate. I fully feel for the poster who had to get out of the service because of the 10 year rank advancement. It seems almost impossible to become a E5 in less than 10 years, unless you went in as an E3 like me. My husband was a MS and had to get out because he couldnt make E5 fast enough. What a pain. But good luck to anyone who is looking to go back to civilian life after military life and being a medic/HM.

I would have to agree with all of you. When its your first baby and if you were not an OB nurse, you may think that the nurses are handling your baby roughly. When I had my son, I had worked in health care and was a pre-nursing student, I was a little appauled at how they were treating my son. When my son was born, he had swallowed meconium and was not breathing. They placed him on my chest briefly while they cut the cord, I went to touch him and they screamed DONT TOUCH HIM. Then took off with him, shoving a suction tube down his throat and doing all they could to get him to breathe. I thought that they were going to break him. But if it wasnt for the fact acting, and everything the nurses did, who knows what the outcome could have been. My best friend just had a baby and she told me that the nurse took the babies head and shoved it to her breast. I believe she was over-reacting a little but thats what I have seen most OB nurses do. I told her its because those nurses have taken care of so many babies that handling them is like second nature to them and to us new mothers, it looks like they are tossing them around. Eventually she calmed down and stopped yelling at every nurse.

Oh my. I am not an RN yet but I have been a CNA. I worked in a facility where some of the older CNA's thought that they were the nurse. They would take out IV's, administer meds, mess with GI tubes. The CNA's would always tell me, its ok, the nurses dont mind and if we know how to do, then why cant we. I told them no thank you. I rather have the nurse do it instead of possibly doing something wrong or hurting someone, then its my job that will be on the line. RN's get the proper schooling, even if the CNA has been at that job for 25 years, it does not give them the right to take over the nurses responsibilites.

oops. as for child care vouchers, i have tried to get those..apparently my husband makes too much every month to be eligible for that...i even looked into daycare/preschool for low income families, once again he makes too much money which baffles me..we all know military members do not get paid enough....

Thanks to all. Let me start by answering so questions: We are Coast Guard, they do not have ANY base housing here. There is Navy housing but its in Bremerton Washington which is over an hour drive from where the base is. My husband receives Basic Housing Allowance which pays for our housing. We have to move because the place we are at right now is renovating all the buildings and wants us to move while our place is being renovated then move back into our old place. At this point in my life, I am tired of moving, so we found another place to live that costs a little more and there is a little more space for my son. His room right now is so tiny, he has no room to play and I feel so bad for him. I have mentioned counseling but my husband doesnt even like to open up to me and talk or show emotions, so who knows if he will do it to some stranger. I have so much anger and frustration in me that when I talk to him about the money issues, I just want to scream. I actually enjoy it when he deploys because money stays in the bank account. I have set him an allowance to spend on his books and stuff but he winds up going over that, then gives me the same answer, I wont do it again I promise. The Coast Guard base here is really tiny. All together there are about 3 buildings, there is no actual pharamacy, hospital, legal office and so on. We have to drive to Bremerton for it all. I am willing to do anything to make our finances better, whether it be taking his debit card or creating my own bank account and deposit half of his pay check in there that he cannot touch. As for my school situation, I am going for my ADN but in the process of that, I am working towards a Psychology degree. I have always wanted to have my psychology degree and have put off my schooling for many things. Whether it be to take care of a terminally ill family member, being pregnant or taking a job because my husband wouldnt find one when he is transferring branches. Its always been something holding me back from finishing school. I dont know what I want to do with my Psychology degree, maybe its something that I just want to prove to myself and have that piece of paper to show that I did it. I am tired of putting everyone before myself, except for my son, and I am doing all these classes/degrees for me. Its the one thing that I can give to myself. I hope that explains alot. Sheri

I apologize but it seems like the only people who can understand the stress I am under is on this site. I cant even really talk to my best friend because she is not in the same boat as me. I am a pre-nursing student and trying to get a psychology degree too. So my work load is enough for 5 people. My husband is in the military and deployed over half of the year, I have a 4 year old son that I am basically raising on my own. We are moving into a bigger place next week and its not making me feel any better. I get home and see pasy due notices for the car insurance and they are talking about cancelling. I just dished out $200 for daycare for my son for the month. We owe rent at the place we are at now and rent for the new place we are going. There is no money left!! Now here is the worst part. My husband is an idiot in my eyes anymore. Such a computer geek, book geek and sci fi geek. He has to buy every star wars book, rent xbox games and buy every sci fi dvd that comes out. I give him a little leeway to buy a book every pay day. Those wind up being $50 and I yell at him and he says he wont do it again, WHATEVER. He has found a new fascination on ITunes downloading videos and stuff, $50 each time. Here I am, unable to pay the car insurance, daycare and rent without going bankrupt. I am getting to the point that I yell at him everyday, am I over reacting? I want to tell him to grow up, he will be 29 this year, and quit spending money like a kid!! I am at the point that I am starting to think that I hate him. I go to school all day, yes he is in the military and works hard, but leaving dishes in the sink when I ASK him to do them is just killing me. He wont do anything to help out. I actually enjoy it when he deploys because I can save money and not deal with his ****!! We did our taxes and got $3600 back. That money is ALL GONE!!! Oh I wonder where it went. I am at my witts end. I am sure he thinks I am psycho for yelling at him because of the lack of money and the spending. I cant even afford to get myself a new bra that just ripped. What should I do? I am at the point that I just want to leave him, AGAIN and tell him to kiss my butt. Sorry for the vent but I am so pissed off. Phew.. Thats enough for now. :angryfire

Oops. My bad. I was just responding to traveling in general, not traveling nurses. Sorry.

Hi there again. Like the doctor told me, she found NOTHING wrong with my ears. No redness or fluid, no signs of a cold either. Its just weird. I am still having balance problems and here it is Monday and I had the CT done on Thursday. I was thinking it might have been an allergic reaction. I had a CT a few years ago and I had to drink the contrast, which was so sugary. About 10 minutes after finishing it, I told the tech that I HAD to go to the bathroom. Of course the inconsiderate jerk told me to hold it. I wanted to yell, " Well how and I supposed to hold diarrhea in, can you tell me that." Then I had to dash to the bathroom to relieve myself. They said it was a reaction to the liquid contrast. I will keep all this in mind next time I need a CT with contrast. Not being able to hear is horrible.

I did have contrast. They put a IV in and administered the contrast that way since I had a problem drinking the contrast last time I had a CT scan. I just dont understand it and either does my doctor. It could be a weird coincidence. But she saw no sign of inner ear infection which is the weird thing. But thanks for the replies. I will be calling her tomorrow.

I dont know who else to ask. Lets start from the beginning. I went to the hospital the other day because I was having lower right abdominal pain. They sent me for a CT scan to rule out appy and gallbladder. It came back that I had a big cyst in my ovary. Nothing uncommon for me except for annoying. Well, about an hour after leaving the hospital and getting the CT scan, I lost hearing in my left ear. Its so hard to explain. My ear did not ache, but it felt like it was completely clogged. However I could hear myself but I sounded like I was a robot. I went to my doctor on Friday to get a check up and ask her about my ear. She looked in my ear and it was all clear, no redness or liquid. I mentioned to her it happened after the CT scan. She has never heard of someone having a complication after a CT scan. She told me to rest and if it didnt get better by Monday, I should call her back and she will call the radiologist to discuss this. I am completely confused. My balance is WAY off. Sometimes I cannot walk straight because I am so dizzy. I am not seeking medical advise from this, I was just curious if anyone else has heard of something like this happening after a CT scan. My doctor is confused and so am I. I cannot come up with an answer. Your feedback is appreciated. Worst thing is that school starts tomorrow, I dont know how I am going to tolerate it with this weird ear thing. Thanks, Sheri

Here in Seattle at one of the community colleges you have to become a CNA before you can enroll in the LPN program. I found that interesting. I took my CNA class in Connecticut and I found it very helpful. I helps you understand things more. I worked in a LTC/Hospice center and I learned ALOT. I highly recommend becoming a CNA first but thats just me. :)