b0rea1is

doesn't help you as much as you'd think. Hiring of RN's is really bad right now. As a BSN with no experience, you probably have a better chance of getting hired than an ADN RN with ten years of experience. Stick with waitressing. As a PCA myself, I can tell you that PCA experience is not the same as RN experience.

I will also add that there just isn't enough staff available to monitor all of these patients. I can recall many times when the MRDD patient was found sitting naked outside. The staff were busy working with other patients and did not respond quick enough to his sensor alarm going off. His wander bracelet didn't trigger the alarm.

I tend to agree with your take on the living environment for dementia patients. They are habitual wanderers, and have a tendency to get themselves into a lot of trouble. They have a tendency to act out violently, enter rooms without permission, and steal others belongings. It's not so much an issue of not accounting for their individual needs, but rather protecting them from themselves. They have very little control over their own actions. Making the living environment more accommodating and home-like seems like a good idea.

If you do come across that article, please post it here. That sounds very interesting. I would like to know how they achieved that. James Collins teaches that dementia is a cognitive impairment that stems from an underlying medical condition. For example, years of habitual intoxication may cause a type of dementia. The patient as an individual still exists, however, they are unable to think conventionally because of their condition.

I work in a skilled nursing and rehab facility which has a separate secured unit for dementia patients. He talks about opening up these dementia units and allowing people to live throughout the facility. He doesn't want Alzheimer's patients to feel like outcasts and be placed in lock-down units. While I agree with making the facilities more visually appealing and home-like, I don't believe it would be practical nor safe to allow residents to live freely throughout the facility. Anyone else have any opinions?

Nursing clinicals are good experience for a prospective PCA/PCT. Biggest determining factor is probably what part of the country you live in. I live in central Ohio, and the local market is saturated with nurses and nursing assistants. There are over 20 nursing schools in the central Ohio area alone! A lot of those students are begging to get a full or part time job in the hospital, because they know it leads to bigger opportunities. I have been trying to get a job in the hospital for almost two years. I have almost two years of experience as an STNA, and I volunteer at the hospital two days a week. I train all the new volunteers at the hospital. I currently have a 3.9 GPA and loads of good references to put on a resume. I'm taking an EMT course to boost my skills and chances of getting in somewhere. I know how to do EKG's, draw blood, insert catheters, etc. However, with 400-500 people applying for a single position, your chances of getting a job are very slim. And even if you do look good on paper, you're at the mercy of the HR recruiter. If you remind them of someone they didn't like or don't have the right chemistry, then you're basically screwed. So, there are lots of reasons people get hired or not.

Good luck trying to get into the hospital. 6 months of experience is laughable to the HR in the hospital. They will immediately throw your resume away. Your best chance is to avoid HR completely and talk directly with a unit manager. If you're willing enough, try volunteering at the hospital before applying there. You'll get to know the different units and the people who work there. I'm sure they could benefit from someone who has your experience as a CNA. Contrary to popular belief, hospitals don't really like students. They'll say they do, but they really could care less. A nursing student is going to have a complex schedule for managers to work around. They would much prefer the dedicated PCA/PCT with no future to the aspiring nursing student.

It totally depends which facility you work at. Nursing homes are known for being awful places to work. Try to avoid working at privately-owned nursing facilities.

The people who run my facility are idiots. This government shutdown doesn't sound too promising for me.

With fears mounting about a possible government shutdown, how would it affect nursing homes? Since over 90% of residents in nursing homes are covered by medicare or medicaid, how would that affect the operation of a nursing home?

After working in a LTC facility and volunteering in a hospital, I must say that work in an acute setting is way more desirable. I have found that hospitals are way more prepared to deal with problem patients than your typical nursing home. Every night I walk onto my unit, it is absolute chaos: confused elderly patients who don't understand they require hands-on assistance for transfers, dozens of residents who still need to be put to bed, vitals need to be taken, snacks need to be handed out, someone calls off, some morbidly obese guy falls and can't get up (screaming and howling at the top of his lungs), and you still have two showers to give. Oh, and you have anywhere between 16-25 residents to take care of. In the hospital, they have people designated to monitor certain patients, while the rest of the staff go and do their jobs. You may have admissions/discharges, but you'll most likely not have half a dozen patients to undress, change, clean, put in a gown, and make sure they're safe. Also, you may have at maximum 8-12 patients at a given time. Hospitals also have better equipment that is more readily accessible. In the hospital, the nurse actually works instead of filling out paperwork all night. Nursing home nurses make the aide's do everything for them: they won't answer call lights, change diapers, take vitals, or anything else within the scope of practice for the CNA. Good luck trying to find the nurse, because they're probably on another unit talking to a friend or outside smoking a cigarette. Once they pass their meds and chart, they feel free to do nothing for the rest of the night.

I work as a nursing assistant and go to school almost full time. I am taking this sociology class, and I came across a topic which I found relevant to this industry. There is a subculture found in nursing that we may not be aware of. Nursing has it's own language, it's own way of looking at the world, and even it's own fashion trends. I guess, in a way, I have become a participant observer. What ways may this affect how we treat patients? How may this determine what specialty of nursing we choose to follow? I'm curious to hear what people have to say about this. In my own experience in long-term care, I have noticed certain attitudes toward especially need patients. It seems that the general consensus, is that especially needy patients are actually lazy and could do more for themselves. They choose to give up their independence, thereby relying on staff to provided for more of their needs. I believe this to be a myth, but I have heard it expressed multiple times by many different people. What are your thoughts?

I know exactly how you feel. I am 27 years old and waiting to get into a program that doesn't start until Autumn '11. I am working full time at a nursing home (36 hrs/wk), volunteering part time at a hospital (5 hrs/wk), and taking 10 credit hours this quarter at school. Volunteering is an awesome experience! It can be a humbling experience as well. I have heard that volunteering can possibly lead to more opportunities, but I wouldn't bet on it.

You don't have to work in a hospital to work hospice. You can work at a nursing home. Nursing homes are basically long-term hospice. Many nurses might feel that working at a nursing home is below them, but if you don't feel that way, then that is also something to consider.

That's true, I've worked with some female nurses that are way tougher than a lot of dudes I know. Especially the nurses who grew up in the inner city and have two or three children at home who are depending on them. Yeah, those nurses shouldn't be messed with.

I've been working at a nursing home for almost two years and have been hoping to get into a hospital. I'm a very good employee. I show up to work on time, I never call off, I have good work relationships, I have taken many classes relevant to patient care (phlebotomy, catheter care, sterile dressings, EKG's, tube feeding, trach suctioning), I get excellent grades in school, I get along really well with patients... I am already accepted into the nursing program and will not start until Autumn '11. I believe I have done just about everything I possibly can to be qualified to work in a hospital. I've had a few interviews, but no luck. A lot of my job applications are immediately rejected. I am wondering if getting an EMT-B will make any difference at all or not. Any suggestions?

There doesn't seem to be any jobs anywhere, period. I have been trying to get a PCA job now for almost two years. I've had lots of interviews, but no success. I'm thinking of going for an EMT-B certification, but not sure that will help me or not. Perhaps you could try that as well. Some hospitals will terminate your employment with them once you get a nursing degree. I would try to avoid those hospitals at all costs. You have no idea whether you will get a job right away or not as an RN.

I am a nursing student right now and I don't care whether I'll be called a nurse or not. However, I think the word "nurse" to a non-english speaker might seem a little confusing. For example, in Spanish, the word for nurse is "enfermera". It implies someone who works in an infirmary, oversees someone's health, works amongst the sick. Granted, the word itself in Spanish is feminine, but it is a more accurate word for the line of work. I'm not expecting to be called anything other than nurse when I graduate, but here was my two cents.

Wow, I'm glad I'm going into nursing. Especially when accepting a job for anything less than $20/hr is considered an insult. I came out of school back in 2005 making $10/hr. This is with a degree in engineering technology. Still, I moved quickly up the ladder and hit over $30k within a couple years. It never ceases to amaze me when nurses begin complaining about their low-paying jobs. Have you ever considered working as a social worker? I believe a social worker would have lots of room to complain.

I'm also an MTC grad, although in a totally different discipline (Engineering). I'm very sorry to inform you of this, but MTC does not have anywhere near a 99% passing rate on the NCLEX. In 2010, they managed to get as high as 92% passing. Overall, they averaged roughly 88% for 2010. However, they did better than CSCC (84.3%) and much much better than COTC (65.4%). In 2006, MTC had a 98% passing rate! That might be where you got that statistic from. They've been averaging in the low 90's for the last couple of years. When it comes to BSN, OSU appears to be consistently superior to all other programs. This doesn't surprise me, when the average accepted GPA for OSU is approximately a 3.7.

I think it would be a good idea considering a lot of hospitals will not even look at your resume unless you have some kind of EMT certification in addition to being an STNA, CNA, etc.

It sounds like you guys do way too much work for the CNA's. But I do know where you are coming from. When I first started work as an STNA, I would find people in old diapers (>12 hrs old), foley bags completely full, or fall risk patients with their alarms turned off or disconnected. I even found a lady (a huge fall risk) leaning forward in her wheelchair, face down in a plate full of food. The only thing that kept her from falling out of the wheelchair was the wheeled over-bed table. I reported one of them to my nurse, who then notified the DON. For the next couple of months, all of the nurses and nurse aides on that rotation tried really hard to get me in trouble. So, I know exactly where you are coming from. But you shouldn't have to do that much work.

A friend of mine was fired a few weeks ago because of that. They said they wanted him to be more like a nurse and less like a nursing assistant. It's difficult to know what really happened or why they really got rid of him. However, he did mention that he needed to work more on his assessment skills. If I was a nurse, I would take that sort of advice seriously and stick to what is listed in my job description. It sounds like you're a good nurse and genuinely care about people. I would love to work under you.

I applied back in July and got into Autumn 2011, but I'm taking advantage of the wait. You will want all non-nursing classes out of the way before you start the program. Otherwise, it will be a very demanding course load.

It's funny that you said that. Last weekend, I had a BSN nurse come to me and ask me if I knew how to irrigate a catheter. Of course I did. I'm not allowed to do it without a nurse's supervision, but yes I did know how to irrigate a catheter. Apparently, she had never been taught how to irrigate a catheter before. She also didn't know what a "hat" was, or that it was used for obtaining a urine specimen. If I wasn't so close to my family and if I didn't mind paying $1500/month for a one bedroom apartment, then I would totally grab the first plane to southern California after graduating. Perhaps even move to Texas where there are way more jobs than here. According to your terms, I wasn't wait listed. To me, however, waiting a year to start school is a long wait indeed. I was accepted into Autumn '11. You know, I really do hope things clear up by the time we graduate. Things are REALLY bad right now. It's not going to clear up any time soon. My roommate is in his final year of graduate school and is not looking forward to finishing. I just hope these baby-boomer nurses start retiring sometime soon. I'm afraid the same thing will happen to nurses that happened to teachers. About 5 years ago, baby-boomer teachers started retiring but not quitting teaching. They continued working, but making a fraction of what they formerly made. Receiving their STRS (state teachers retirement system) benefits and still working. Meanwhile, thousands of new education graduates are lining up for jobs, but no jobs to give. Only time will tell.