akamom9041

I deleted ?'s. The time for this project expired and there were no responses to my ?'s. Thanks.

Hello, I started out in Surgical ICU as a grad nurse...the hospital I chose to work at when I graduated offered a 12 week internship for the transition and it was the best decision I ever made. Perhaps your hospital offers something along tht line. I commend you for knowing what you want and going for it! Best wishes.

Thanks a million! I also appreciate your speedy reply!

Can anyone tell me exactly what are the florida ceu requirements? How many credits and what are the mandatory topics (ie: domestic violence, hiv etc...)? And do these classes have to be repeated every year or every 2yr/renewal period? I appreciate someone clearing this up for me :)))

The handbook I like is " Symptom Management Algorithms-A Handbook for Palliative Care " By Linda Wrede-Seaman, MD Best Wishes to ya and your new job!!!

Personally I would work on getting RN practice, time and skills under my belt first...at least until your confidence is really firm. Once in a home setting you do not have the luxury of grabbing another nurse off the hall to recheck that BP or listen to this wierd sound from the patient's belly, or reassurance about the green goo from the tube etc...experience is a big plus. But if you feel like you already have the confidence and skills you need and really feel like Hospice is your calling, I would not want you to feel disappointed or let down in taking another job. Best of luck in your decision.

speaking from experience, pain managment is good in texas....lousy in florida! So I can totally understand where nurse-k-99 is coming from.....sometimes you gotta deal with the hand you are dealt....sending you best wishes"K-99".

JUST MY OPINION but, most surgeons I have noticed know very little about pain management. They cut em and leave em.... basically they want them on as little as possible for as short as time as possible and when you throw in the an admitted user, the surgeon is at a loss. I totally agree with md terminator....

You've been given some wonderful ideas already....I especially like the Living Will/Health Care Surrogate/Health Care proxy topic as people are not talking about these things with their families until far too late. Also, how about the fact that society does not prepare us our families to talk to each other about our death or the dying process or our individual wishes...these topics are all very relevant in hospice care and all too often I am seeing that families are not talking about these important subjects. Best wishes on the paper.