SusanRN82

Information about filing a complaint can be found on every board of nursing website. If you are not sure if the behavior should be reported to the board of nursing, NCSBN has information about Filing a Complaint that may help.

Amen, sister!

NCSBN Learning Extension offers lots of free resources. It posts a question (from the review course) every week on its website. Every other week there's a podcast for the question of the week, explaining why the correct response is the best response. There's also a free Medication Flashcards app.

You can't be a speech pathologist without a Master's degree (soon to be PhD) and entry to practice for physical therapy is a PhD... the list goes on. At the very least, entry to practice for RNs should be a BSN (I actually think it should be a MSN - no hate mail, please.) There's lots of evidence to support this, but that's a topic for another day. In your case, and for thousands of others, it seems absurd to let you go - what about grandfathering nurses who have years of experience... and an advanced degree (so what if it's in another discipline)? Sadly, it won't be nursing that comes together to determine what's best for nursing... and the general public. Instead, the employers, especially hospitals (especially hospitals with or applying for Magnet status) will tell us what to do.

BSN in 10 legislation was re-introduced this year in New York (A03013/S00628). New Jersey is also working on legislation.

You might want to review the information available online for the California Board of Registered Nursing - Enforcement Program and then contact the BRN about your particular situation. The BRN has a lot of jurisdictional power (and the ability to overrule decisions made in other courts). You may want to get an attorney who specializes in issues related to the California Nurse Practice Act.

Are you sure you can refuse to administer blood? I would recommend reading your nurse practice act. (The state nurse practice act supercedes any facility policy).

I'm a little biased (I taught nurse aide training for many years), but I think becoming a CNA would be best. As a CNA, you will learn how to perform basic nursing tasks and, hopefully, get over that fear that many people have about touching and caring for a total stranger. And when you are a nurse, you will better understand what can (and cannot) be delegated to CNAs. Even better, you will know that you should never treat CNAs badly or dump on them (sadly, like many nurses do) – always remember this… no nurse should ever be “too posh to wash”.

I was a nurse educator in a community college setting. We were inundated with people who were out of work and must have just woken up one morning and thought "I want to be a nurse" without even having an idea of what this really meant. I'm not talking about the moms who had to put college and career on hold to raise kids, but people who worked in IT, in an office, or on an assembly line. It wasn't because these people weren't intelligent (they were), but some of these people had no, nada, zilch "people" (aka soft) skills. Even after some career counseling and gentle persuasion from our wonderful counselors, these people would become downright defensive if you mentioned that they might consider something not so much in the front line of care, where they could still earn a decent wage. Speaking of which, this seemed to be the primary reason that attracted people to nursing - not "caring" for others, but thinking that they could earn a great salary and have some job security. It was helpful to require being a nursing assistant first before applying to the nursing program. At least this weeded out those folks who thought nurses didn't have to get their hands dirty (or thought they were "too posh to wash").

There's an interesting look at the flip side of social media in a blog on learningext.com The blog entry asks if it's okay for patients to take pictures or videotape nurses on the job and post these images on the Web. It also asks if it's fair that there is no guarantee of privacy at work (for nurses), even though patient privacy is protected by the law.

I would recommend reviewing the antiplatelet drugs.

I agree that an online review course would be really helpful. Also, keep in mind that NCLEX tests for entry-level knowledge. When answering NCLEX-style questions, you can't think like an experienced nurse. I teach in an online NCLEX review and NCLEX-style questions want you to simplify and prioritize nursing interventions. Even though you are answering higher-level types of questions, where you need to analyze the information in the question and then apply your nursing knowledge, answering questions usually requires a systematic and linear approach. Best wishes!

Have you read the information that other students have posted on the Learning Extension website? And you can also ask the instructor questions.

Does the school have a daycare program? Can you post something on a school bulletin board (e-bulletin) about needing someone to watch the kids? Once you start classes, you might be able to trade off babysitting with another student. Use this trade when you need some study time so you don't have to be up all night studying when the kids are asleep. You will not be able to function in class or clinical if you don't have some kind of study plan... actually, it will make you insane.

Not many people are aware of this, but it's federal law that a LTC facility must pay for tuition, books & fees, fee for the certification exam... I think it's up to each organization to determine how this actually works (my experience has been that you have to work, usually FT, for a period of time before you are reimbursed for your costs but if you are a good negotiator, you may be able to work something else out). I'm pretty sure that this doesn't apply to acute care facilities. Good luck! Per Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 483.152© Prohibition of Charges. (1): "No nurse aide who is employed by, or who has received an offer of employment from, a facility on the date on which the aide begins a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program may be charged for any portion of the program (including any fees for text books or other required course materials)." Further, per Title 42 CFR 483.154© Administration of the Competency Evaluation. (2): "No nurse aide who is employed by or who has received an offer of employment from a facility on the date on which the aide begins a nurse aide competency evaluation program may be charged for any portion of the program."