bajamedic

I am hearing this quite often in allot of fields. One issue I see with CNA is that it is very basic. Get some certificates in other areas, ECG, ACLS, PALS. That might give you a better chance at getting hired

I would say take the IV Cert when you have the chance. It is always best to get it done when the training is being offered. Congrats on your LVN. What school did you go to?

Working and getting paid is going to be tuff. You need an FM2 permit. I have one but I got it thru political channels. Volunteering much more simple. The Red Cross is the most advanced Public Health Hosptial in Mexico, it is nothing like the Red Cross Here. The Red Cross Hospital in Tijuana is on PAR with a Level II trauma center, staffed by doctors who went to UCLA, UCSD. Several of the ER Doc's work in San Deigo ER"S as well as in Tijuana's ER. So.........Volunteering in a Red Cross Hospital would not be problem. Spanish is a must, everyone speaks english but they wont speak it in MX. It's not Patriotic, they will tell you..... speak spanish. Nursing is different in MX. Private Hospital's are for people who can pay up front, working in such a hospital would be possible if you have a speciality, like plastic surgery. There are General Hospitals...............not a good place to be, unless you like working in the trenches. Allot of PTs are under medicated, people and kids in pain are the norm. You wont find a morphine drip. If you like trauma, working with the Red Cross will be the way to go. Then there is ISSSTECALI which is for government employees, police, fire ( como yo) public works, etc, etc. They are clinics and hosptials, some of them intergrated into public hopitals. Working in ISSSTECALI is not possible, the wages are low anyway. Most government jobs are top heavy in pay. For example police start out at about 75.00 dollars a week. A Captian with 20 years of service could make 800.00 a week which is plenty in mexico. If you have investors and have connections you could open a hospital and do what ever you wanted for the most part. Viva Mexico lol. Allot of the Rx meds we have here in he US are not available outside the hospital in MX, like Vicodin, Oxycodone etc etc. So...........nursing school is 2 years in MX but the pt care is nothing like it is in the US. All the pampering does not exist, it is down and dirty pt care.

good to talk to someone who has a understanding of what i am talking about. yes i have all me vaccinations. i am finding out that there are allot of folks who have no clue of how much medicine pre-hospital care providers know and practice. when this hr rn asked my vac record i assumed she would know that pre- hostpital providers do not pay for there vaccinations. when i was ems supervisor, every emt i hired was aware that the company was paying. i was suprised that hopitals ask for the employee to pay. so..........yes the sugar sand........i will see it soon, march to be exact. san diego just cut 13 engine companys from the city. i am not to worried about it, there are plenty of medic rigs still around to cover medical aids. going from emt to medic is a big step. if a guy is 18 then he does not mind getting up all night. but now....if it is not a working structure fire or a rescue mva then.......i would rather sleep. i am enjoying clincal care. wish more rns had better understanding of what a paramedic can do......www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/ems/emt-p/index.html i assume you are in pcola. i have a friend that works for sacred heart pcola. he say he can't wait to get out.?

Did not mean to sound rude, I post in a hurry sometimes. Maybe that is why it sounds rude. Sorry. Thanks for the info on florida. I was in Destin last summer, had a good time. I hate paying for anything job related. It comes from time spent in Municipal Government. If it is not paid for then we don't do it. The attitude of employers right now is crappy. I can now see why we have the mess we have.

We have AMBU bags in every room. I agree with the poster. Not the way to go. Nurse should have used UP, BSI. Remember the new BLS guidelines.......compressions. Those 2 breaths probably did nothing without compressions. Like I said I agree with the poster......not a good practice.

Yep.......that is a good link. First think about the anatomy of the skull, you know sub-dural- sub-arachnoid. Then look at the bleed. If it is a large bleed then...surgery. If not then? Your statement of the Pt having no CNS deficit......that is good sign. So........when the DOC looked at the CT scan he saw the size of the bleed.........that with the Pt assessment and nuero assessment.........he wrote his orders.........ok to ambulate. From there I would get a clear picture of Hematoma and a hemmorrhage(bleed). You are on the right track. It is trauma, one thing you might find interesting....would be to know what was this pt glascow coma score when he came to the ED. If it was low then...........? If it was High say 14............then?. This is the big picture. This is why the Medics give a Pt report to the MICN then the doctor can see if the pt is improving or not. I would Say this kid had a good GCS comming into the ED. Remember the big Picture with trauma. this is more on point http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/542508_3 It is realted to trauma. Your patho issue is SAH.........Trauma.......MOI...MV v. Pedestrain. Was it high speed? Low Speed. E=mc2 the engery transfer to this kids head was low. If it had of been high..........it would not have been a good day. The DOC was aware of all the info, including the Pre-hospital run report which gave him a big picture of what happend. Then he made is order based on the big picture.

I see it was many years ago u posted this have you found a Hyperbaric gig yet. It is nice to see you use your P-medic designation in your title. Thanks.

Um........I know know that answer. I need to know about Hospital's in general. My VAC record is very old, hard to read. I work at a registry, go to several hospitals......One HR rep told me the record was to old, I said well........let me run down to the nurses station and start a Hep B series. Why should pay for it. So I am asking is it the norm for Hospitals to ask the the Staff to pay for the Series.

The way I read the OSHA guidlines, it seems that the employer is responsible for paying for Vaccinations. I know in California for a fact that the employer pays if your a Pre-Hospital Provider. Does anyone have any solid info on this subject?

I don't know how I got on this forum but I am here now. So...........I am going to suggest something. I know you guys need to work and want to work....have you considered challenging the Paramedic Exam in your area. It won't be possible in all areas but if you can challenge it then you would be able to work as a Medic, and you would probably learn allot. I also have a comment and please don't yell at me like you do when I roll into the ED at 0320 in the morning:eek: I teach Scuba, last summer had a group of new grad nurses in my scuba course. They were so stoked they wanted to keep going right thru to the rescue diver program. During the rescue diver course I went over the Emergency Medical portion very quickly, I even mentioned that since they were nurses that they should do fine on the practical and the final exam. Well they all failed the final, and I was like,,,,,,,,hmmmmmmm what the heck went wrong. So..............we started talking about the questions they missed. I realized that they had assimilated so much information that is was hard to recall. So.........here is my point. Maybe when you get into an interview you could express verbally that you know your meds, rules of administration, ACLS, Mega Code, EKG, and that would let them know you are capable of going to work on the floor. Like I said don't yell:eek: It is just an idea.

Um......how can you not be able to get job. There are tons of jobs for RNs. I am assuming that you are in New Jersey. Check out west, Texas is offering 20k sign on bonus in San Antonio.

Like I said B 4. I am not getting the no jobs issue. There are plenty of jobs here in the mountain west and in California. Nurses are being imported from Canada and Mexico to fill jobs. I forgot to mention that most RN programs are very strict and if you have a family issue and start to fall behind..........you will be kicked out and getting back in a program after that will be very hard. The LVN is do-able and after you are working you can transition to RN without the stress of failing. There is allot to learn so choose wisely and don't over extend yourself. Remember you are going to have 20 year old's in your program that have no worries with mommy and daddy's money to fall back on, just because you have kids will not buy you any sympathy from a RN program. LVN is not that bad and you will get a job, at least here in the west you will. I have heard that the south is sketchy as far as jobs go, like is said I don't know what region you live in. It sound to me like you already know what you need to do to make it work for you with the dynamics of motherhood, so ...my advice would be try and get it done as soon as possible. If you really feel bold......look into Florida Keys Community College.

Yes in fact I started out doing CNA and drawing blood in the ED. I did not get to draw all the time but I din get to draw. It is an invasive procedure and is great way to build confidence and patient interaction skills. So...u made a good choice. Something to remember is that the LAB people are specialist in what they do, and drawing blood can take you into that realm of medicine if you wish, or you can use it a ancillary skill and take from it what you want. If you live in California you will get certified in Phlebotomy, there are three levels, in California. Good Luck. Just out of curiosity what state are you in.

I don't know where you live, but........here in the mountain west there are plenty of jobs for both. Stick with the LPN/LVN option. Find a school where you can get it done in year. The issue with CNA or LNA is that the scope of practice is so limited. As quicky as you can get into a LVN program. Look into temp nursing registries, grab some books, like........"the NCLEX PN Review made incredibly easy" and start to learn, get a A and P book and learn how to speak medicine, learn your nursing shorthand, how to read charts, etc, learn learn learn. It will that much easier on you as a mother to get thru school......the other options in my opinion don't have much earning power.