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My husband is a paramedic who works as a high-level ER Tech in Colorado. We will be relocating to Portland, Maine in Spring '23 and he's looking for the same position within an hour of Portland. Do any of you work in ERs near, or in Portland where Paramedics work in the ER, helping nurses, and have a higher scope and pay than the CNA-level ER Techs? It looks like CMMC in Lewiston offers that position, but I was told that they lost their trauma status, and that the new owners are making it an undesirable work place. Does anyone have first-hand experience to confirm this? Or is it a decent hospital to work for? My husband is a very hard worker. He teaches EMTs, he's excellent at placing lines on difficult patients, he teaches splinting, and has been trained into extended-scope procedures. He is a tremendous asset to his team and loves working in the hospital. He plans on going to nursing school once our boy is a little older. Any info would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the information :) I am planning on applying to FRCC Larimer for the ADN program after I finish my pre-reqs this fall. I just decided to take the CNA program this summer for a number of factors, so it's nice to see that they may be requiring that for entry, giving me another good reason to get it done. I was a little shocked to see that the nursing application is so basic. The only info they ask for besides your contact info is that you've completed the pre-reqs, have a 2.5 gpa or higher and have a background check. I hoped that they would have a couple questions asking why we want to be a nurse and why do we think we would make good nurses to further help them get a better understanding of who is applying. I have several years of relevant related work that I think would make me an excellent candidate, but it's a bummer that non of that will be taken into account. Oh well... I'm excited to tackle my CNA this summer and move on from there :) ... I've heard such great things about the RN program, I hope the new instructors will be just as good.

Thanks for your replies :)

I'm curious, in general is rural RN pay higher or lower than in suburban/metro areas? I could see it being lower because the hospital may have less patients and endowments bringing money in, but I could also see it being higher because they need to pay more to attract skilled workers to the area. I know the rate will vary from area to area, but I was wondering what the trend seems to be. Thanks!

You're welcome. I had no idea it would turn into such a big thread! When you think about it, close to half of the population is on their period a 1/4 of every month, yet people rarely talk about it.

Thanks for the embarrassing stories and laughs! My worst leak (and really the only one that was ever a big deal) was in 7th grade when I was in karate class. We wore white gees (spelling?). We were doing a million high kicks and stretches. People in class were behind me and all around me. I had my super duper tampon in, but didn't feel a leak. When I went into the dressing room to change, I saw that my pants were stained to about the size of a large pancake! I was shocked and super embarrassed. I kept looking at the people's expressions around me to see if they had noticed, but nobody seemed like they had. I don't see how the people behind me in class couldn't have seen that... I quit karate shortly after.... I couldn't deal with having to worry about that again. :chair:

Thanks Mark - That sounds like a great opportunity to learn and grow!

thanks for the suggestions. i honestly don't think i'd be the best fit as an er or med/surg hospital nurse, although i keep considering it to gain the experience. i'm not someone who's drawn to intensely high-risk, life or death trauma and i don't want the bulk of my job to be passing meds. i can picture myself in an urgent care clinic, l/d/woman/baby care, outpatient, or home care. i love the preventative/educating side of things and natal stuff. would urgent care give me a chance to be involved as dixiecup had mentioned? i'm also not opposed to working in the lock-up here, but i am concerned for my safety being a woman in that environment...though it's just a local jail and not a 'prison'. at my local hospital they also have an option to rotate between the birthing center, women's care, neonatal intensive care, and pediatrics plus... i think that would be a great fit for me and i imagine that would be good prep for primary care. it's a hard hospital to get into though.

Ideally I would love to be an FNP / Primary Care Provider. Is it best to have my RN experience in a primary care/office setting or would other hospital specialties provide a better foundation for that role? Thanks!

Yeah, some women are fortunate enough to never give this stuff a second thought and others have their lives ruled by it. When I was young, my flow was horribly heavy and I sometimes would have to go to the restroom every half hour to stay on top of it. I had terrible anemia and debilitating cramps too. Since I've been on the pill, I rarely have to worry any more, except on rare occasions, but the idea of being slammed with patients all day and doing strenuous work at times, made me nervous. But with all the great tips on here, I'm sure I'll do fine. Thanks!

Thanks guys. I'm still not sure if my back could handle it. Is there ever an OR rotation in clinicals?

Thanks for the tips ladies!

I'm a pre-nursing student. I have been fascinated with watching in-depth surgeries since I was a kid. I would love to be involved in the OR, but I have trouble standing in one place for a long time. I can run around waitressing for hours with no problem, but the stationary standing just kills my back. Before I completely discount the OR option for me, I wanted to get some of your feedback about it. As an RN in the OR, are you standing in one place for long periods of time or are you moving around? How many of you are hurting from standing so much? What do you do to deal with it? How long are the surgeries you are in typically? Does anyone get a stool to sit on? Thanks!

I'm an elderly caregiver who works mostly with dementia patients. One nice thing about those folks is that even if you are bothering them, they won't remember it after a few minutes anyway. :heartbeat

This is a 'personal' question for the female nurses... It seems in school and professionally, most nurses wear light blue scrubs and the school I'm looking into requires them. Typically during 'that time of the month' I wear dark pants just on the off chance that there may be an accident. I can only imagine when you are on a long shift and taking care of people, possibly doing strenuous transfers and such, it can be harder to get to the bathroom as often as needed and an unwanted incident could occur. Professionally, do most of you have the latitude to wear dark scrub bottoms and if you can't, what do you do? Sorry for asking a 'gross' question that people aren't really 'supposed' to talk about, but I'm trying to figure out the logistics of our annoying monthly situation. You're all nurses or nurses-to-be, so I figure you should be able to handle personal questions like these, if anyone can.

Can you get off at any of the ports or do any of the fun ship activities on your days off? Have you had to deal with any of the food poisoning outbreaks? ....I imagine that could be overwhelming or messy - lol.

All right, one more comment. Of everything that has been discussed on the board, I will admit, that the school origins issue is one thing that I am not 100% on. There is a story that sticks out in my mind that an older nurse told me or that I read about, of a direct account in which pharma reps were coming to the nursing schools to give lectures and their information was a part of the curriculum. They would teach the nurses their information to be passed on. This tidbit... I can't remember what era it was from.. 1800's or mid 1900's. I honestly may be mixing up info that I learned about the origins. These past few posts I have been frustrated and tired, so I'm sorry. Regardless of the origins, for a very large part of American medical history, pharma has been involved in medical school curriculum and school funding. And isn't it more relevant that's it's been happening in recent history than in the 1800's? So you guys finally got me on something. You win, I lose, you can all sleep well now. PS - Thanks LovebugLPN :heartbeat

Of course it was not 'big pharma' back then... but drug reps would be educational speakers at the institutions and help steer the curriculum. I believe some of that is in this book, but I'm not 100% sure: http://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Women-Story-Early-American-Doctors/dp/0517598485 You also said "It seems to be absolutely contrary to my school's curriculum (actually, all the school's I looked into's curriculum as well)." .... why would you expect that any school's curriculum talk about that if it is still an issue?? Investigate yourself... go read historical books on who created 'traditional' medicine in this country. I'm done explaining!

Alright, I am done. Thank you for all of your input, but having to explain myself over and over again is exhausting and I did not start this thread to back up my beliefs or debate them. I have enough going on in my life right now that is much more important to take care of. Thank you so much to all of you that offered supportive suggestions and sincere assistance as to what I was needing to explore. :)

I have read several historical books on the origins of medical schools in the US. Info from that far back is hard to quickly find online, but how about more current evidence of it... http://www.pharmadisclose.org/cme/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4696316 http://www.propublica.org/article/pharma-ties-at-harvard-medical-school http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/43/8/4.1.full http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100111005762&newsLang=en

you seem offended. you only seemed to read part of what i said. i specifically stated: "not that this applies to you" and "again, this approach will not fix everyone, but it's a great place to start to give the body a fighting chance to self-regulate." i also said to you in my previous post: "i think it's wonderful that you have found what works for you, regardless of which 'side' it comes from. i think i have stated several times in this thread that i am not completely against meds and i do think they can serve well when needed and prescribed responsibly." so i don't know where this defensiveness is coming from. i'm not attacking or judging you and i'm truly happy for people that find peace in whatever form. i'm tired of fighting these battles with you guys. i don't think i could be more diplomatic in my postings. that is awesome that you take such good care of yourself. it sounds like you are on the perfect path for you and that is wonderful. the issue that i was addressing was one particular instance in which diet improved the condition. there are many people living on mt. dew and slim jims (i apologize to people on here that love those and are now going to be offended) ...people who never drink any water or exercise. a crappy diet can sometimes be the thing that tips someone over the edge into illness, mental or physical and if you get a body the nutrients it needs for synapses and cells to work properly, that can fix a lot of problems. if a person is on a reasonably healthy diet, then yes sometimes medication is needed to help a person feel good and function well. but jumping to medicating people without checking to see that they are getting some basic nutrition and water, i feel is unnecessary and irresponsible.

Thanks morningland, I definitely appreciate hearing other views and opinions so that I can work to be respectful and thoughtful of others' comfort and spirituality. I'm jealous that as a nurse you are able to ask about people's beliefs so that you know what is appropriate to say. As a massage therapist, it's not professional for me to ask where people are at spiritually and so I have to walk a mine field trying to convey what I'm saying in a way that would be okay to a christian as well as to a more science-minded person.

Thanks Kashia! :)

I'm a little confused on not being able to suggest something unless it is evidence based. Medicinal marijuana is evidence based... states would not be allowing it if it wasn't. So does that mean you don't believe it is evidence based or that the person would specifically have to have cancer (something that allows for the use of pot) for me to suggest it? Just curious :) I am very interested in learning specifically what you can and can't say as a nurse. It seems like the specifics of that are only to be found in a nursing program though and I hope and imagine those lines are spelled out clearly there. If I am clearly told, that as a nurse, you can say this but not this, I am happy to abide by that. I think that's interesting that you would be offended at a suggestion of yoga... I think of it as a physical/mental practice, not a spiritual, un-godly one. Many, many yoga tapes aren't remotely spiritual or only vaguely so... and some have a spiritual bent too. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between them if you read the box or some amazon reviews. I think of it in the same vein as pilates and highly recommend them both. I was raised christian, so I can understand people thinking that reiki is evil or witchy, I guess. I do suggest it to my clients with knee issues because I have amazing results with that. I am in a very christian area and if people want to be offended by the suggestion, so be it. I'm offering the best suggestions that will work as a massage therapist. And in that role, I feel it's my responsibility to offer what I know will likely help someone feel better. As a nurse, I understand that's a whole 'nother ball of wax!

i agree with many of your points and i think it's wonderful that you have found what works for you, regardless of which 'side' it comes from. i think i have stated several times in this thread that i am not completely against meds and i do think they can serve well when needed and prescribed responsibly. i communicate with my massage clients that while i might be recommending an acupuncturist or naturopath for a condition they have, some people have tremendous success with those treatments and some people have no improvements. every body and every condition is unique and you need to find what works for you. definitely, herbs can have many, many side effects. they are essentially 'nature's medicine' and if used improperly or not manufactured safely, they can very detrimental. there are definitely quacks on both sides and while i agree that many can perpetuate their business for a while claiming 'you just have to keep trying to see results', eventually, most of those people go out of business. holistic practices are often maintained by positive referrals within the community... there are always exceptions. i honestly see more traditional drs. doing truly dangerous things with no repercussions though. i work with a medical advocate who helps patients who are at their wits end with their health issues and the medical system. he looks at the meds they are on and researches their conditions. if drs. would take two minutes to read the pill pamphlets, they would see that they are often prescribing meds that aren't supposed to be taken together, with detrimental effects to the patients. once this advocate helps them wean off non-essential or harmful meds and helps them get on a nutritous diet, 'magically' their health improves. my biggest focus is to make sure that people are hydrating well with water, not consuming tons of soda or coffee, eating a nutritious diet with lots of colorful veggies and fruits & minimal junk, and that they are getting some form of physical activity. it's amazing how well health improves when you give the body that basic foundation to self-heal. as a side note (not that this applies to you) ... the advocate i mentioned had a frustrated parent of a bi-polar child come to him for help. he asked what the child's diet was like and saw that he was eating a ton of sugar and not much food with nutritional value. he gave the parents a general outline of what to feed the child, cutting out the sugar and junk, and feeding him nutritional foods... the child's moods leveled out and he is no longer considered bi-polar. again, this approach will not fix everyone, but it's a great place to start to give the body a fighting chance to self-regulate. the majority of western drs. don't look to see if this important foundation is there and rather choose to cover up the symptoms with meds. that's like having a car's check engine light come on and just putting a piece of tape over it to ignore it.