Hi everyone. I've spent the last few hours reading the 'nursing ghost stories' thread, and along those lines.... how many of your patients see/talk to their loved ones before they pass away? I'm a third semester student so I don't have any nursing ex...
Hello everyone! I just got hired as a charge nurse for a 20 resident rehab to home unit in a nursing home. I am a brand new graduate, and besides clinicals and a nurse externship, I have never worked in healthcare before. I am very excited and intim...
Thank you for this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. At the beginning of my shift one night on a med-surg floor, I was told I'd get an admission; a patient from a bigger hospital who was coming to us on a 'virtual hospice bed'. My hospice patient ar...
Hi everyone! I know that there are a lot of threads like this, but I am so excited.. I had to post one of my own. I have been a nurse for a year now, and worked 6 months LTC, 6 months med-surg/ortho. I went to nursing school with the intention of bei...
Hey, there. I don't have any advice for you, but I just wanted you to know that I'm in a very similar boat and know how you feel! New nurse, graduated May 2011 and just started working night shift on a med-surg unit at the end of December. I've worke...
I'm so sorry, Heart, I'm just now seeing this or I would've replied sooner. Arabstar was right -- I am the 'charge' nurse because I am the direct supervisor for my team of CNAs. From what I've seen of the charge nurse role in the hospital, the two ar...
Arabstar, I think this is the case with my position, too. I think the 'charge nurse' title is more of a formality, as the only nurses on the floor are charge or med nurses. I assume that on rehab to home, I will help residents heal from things such ...
Just for your ATT, I would think. When KBN received verification of my degree, I was issued a provisional license from KBN. Then Pearson Vue sent my ATT via email.
Hi, finallyRN! I live about 25-30 minutes north of Hopkinsville, so I'm afraid that I can't really give you any good information on schools, etc. I have visited Hopkinsville and Princeton several times, but not Russellville. Hopkinsville is a larger ...
Hi everyone. I am not a hospice nurse -- I am still a student, but I am slowly losing my grandmother to stage IV breast cancer (and CHF, diabetes, and a laundry list of other ailments). I am not asking for medical advice; instead I am wondering what ...
Thanks for the information, Leda! It's interesting that you mention how brain mets looks so much like dementia. My great-grandmother had dementia and Alzheimer's before she passed away, and my family and I have discussed the similarities in the behav...
Another quick question.... sorry if I'm driving you all crazy! I think Gran might be experiencing something like sundowner's, maybe. The odd thing is, she gets most agitated right before dawn; my mother and aunt have received several phone calls from...
Thanks for the thought, Whispera... but nope. She hasn't had any med changes in the last 4-5 months. She's on an opiate (Lortab 10 mg) for pain, but she doesn't take it everyday. I don't think that she would have built up any sizable tolerance -- she...
Thanks Leda :) We will definitely do everything we can to keep her comfortable -- I would much rather see her confused, but calm and pain-free, than in pain, agitated, and A&O. Gran had a really good, clear day yesterday (the best we've seen her ...
Thanks for the reply, heron! I agree with you, and am hoping that soon we can eliminate all but the most necessary meds for Gran's comfort. That list will still include an opiate for her cancer pain, and probably a benzo to help her sleep.... but I s...
Thank you for the information! We got her labs back from the doctor yesterday, and her UTI is gone, thank goodness. She's been sleeping better the last couple of nights, too, and a good portion of her agitation is gone for right now. It seems like we...
Thanks for your response, Whispera. My family has decided (thankfully) to begin hospice care for Gran. Since the diagnosis, they have supported Gran's decisions regarding her treatment, as long as she was reasonably sound-minded enough to make those ...
Thanks Leslie - I think we'll all feel much better, too. I've got a year left before I can take the NCLEX, so I have a little way to go... but I am the 'medical' person in the family. I'm the one that my family looks to for deciphering what the doct...
Thank you both so much for your replies. Your responses mean so much to me -- this is an extremely hard time in my life. The doctor has been made aware of the hallucinations/anxiety/delusions, and I think finally they are going to re-evaluate and pre...
Just thought I'd pop back in and let everyone know... the nurse I talked to was mistaken. It is 12 weeks of orientation, with additional if you request it. (Whew! I was kind of worried about only having six weeks!) Thanks again for the replies, every...
Hi everyone... I'm a 3rd semester student starting to look at potential employers. In my local hospital, there are roughly 80-90 deliveries/month (1000/yr). I was on the OB floor today to participate in a fetal monitoring class and was asking one of...