nursejoed

It's more a function of if your debt level is a waste. Learning, per se, is not, but most employers look at only the "paper", i.e. B.S., M.S., etc. It would be great if there were more specific certificates of study that would satisfy both the documentation of learning and lack of breaking the bank...

Meh. The alphabet soup thing is pathetic if people feel the need to wear everything on your chest. (This stuff is for resumes and CVs.) Stick to the basics- name and licensure.

Your plan to do two years on the ortho floor sounds good. Maybe you could work on any certifications that OR would require of you in the meantime. Most important, don't make it seem like you're just "doing time" while working on your current floor. You never know what might work against you down the road with transfer process.

If you are lucky enough to get a job right away, that will be it's own form of "school" until you get your sea legs. You may want to look at taking a non-nursing elective that's needed for the BSN just to keep study habits going, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to focus on nursing (not nursing studies) for a bit.

...just finished an RN to BSN program. After being exposed to even more of the silliness that is "nursing theory" I'd have to say any grad program would be non-nursing. Healthcare Management, maybe?

Using shaving cream (the foamy kind) when wiping butts is a "two-fer". It helps clean and cuts the odor down immediately.

While in L/D clinical, I was helping an anesthesia resident put in an epidural by supporting the side lying patient. (She was facing my direction and I was bent over her with one arm behind her knees the other behind her shoulders to help her stay still.) I was looking down at the resident prepping the landmark with betadine, when a long clear "stretchy" booger dripped out of my nose and hung precariously over the sterile site. No one saw, but I sort of "whipped" my head to the side, flinging the mucous around and onto my shoulder, thus saving the day. The next day I wore a mask.

During post-partum clinical, I was having trouble "popping" those cold packs that have the beads in them. It was in front of my instructor, and I was embarrassed, so I put some extra muscle into it. The pack exploded, and the beads went everywhere, many into my instructor's hair...and lots down the front of her blouse.

"You will find that nursing theory will mean more to you when you are an actual, like, nurse." Sorry, I strongly disagree. Twenty plus years of nursing experience has taught me that most theories are more of a waste of time than I originally thought in nursing school.

Asthma, diabetes, seizures, concussions and food allergies are among the "biggies" in my school district. There are some resource books out there that list common complaints in schools and nursing interventions- reviewing one of those might be helpful.

"Should I continue on with the LVN job, and work home health part time while finishing my BSN if my plan is to work acute care as a RN?" Good plan. Stick with your fairly secure job which still allows you good clinical exposure. Having stability will help you with school. Also, it buys some time to see if the nursing market improves overall in the next few years.

"You have what it takes, you should never give up" I see a lot of this sentiment on AN. Thing is, how do people know this? The only thing we have to go on is a posting. Not everyone can do everything, and sometimes people make career choices that are not a good fit. Sometimes "cheerleaderish, power-of-positive-thinking" philosophies do people a disservice...

"The other concern for me though, and this has nothing to do with you, is that you are told that you can't hack it at the bedside but you'd be great running the show and telling others how to do the job correctly." Amen!

...then they should have the RIGHT to endure the consequences of their actions without the taxpayer being beholden to pay for the medical expenses of cleaning up their behavioral messes.

You could always respond by asking them how much they weigh...

Some people in my nursing class had NEVER done patient care and hit a kind of wall the first time they had to do something personal like toilet or bath another adult. CNA experience can help you get that baseline comfort (as long as you don't learn too many bad habits, that is...) Technical stuff can change from place to place, so don't put too much faith in detail oriented particulars. It may actually mess you up if you're used to a certain protocol from your previous job, and it changes at other places...

Not always; I've found three jobs (reputable) on Craigslist.

Funny, I thought they were called "Nursing Homes" because you got nursing care there. These types of ratios make it impossible. Get out while you still have your sanity.

"I want to be on top, I do not want to be at the bottom any longer than I have to" Ouch. Is this what you think of nursing before you've even become licensed?

"By the time you actually graduate and take NCLEX, some time will have passed, and you will have a "clean slate" on your credit anyway." I believe the bankruptcy discharge shows up for seven years on your credit report.

************************* And so it begins. Funny the self-identified Jewish responders weren't offended...

Does the job that you're on leave from currently know that you're not returning? Are they holding your job open for you? That could affect what kind of a reference that they will give a prospective employer...

"Come and work LTC for even one day, and I guarantee you would change your opinion. We perform many of the same skills as acute care, and then some. You have a whole rainbow of psych issues to contend with, and hospice care on top of that." With 30:1 ratios, it's impossible to do any of this well. That's why LTC is so hated.

It is impossible to give truly good care in LTC. The ratios v. expectations are obscene, and when push comes to shove, management is more concerned about the paperwork. That's probably one of the chief reasons why it's so widely hated.

People have spoken a lot about care plans in addition to diagnoses. What does a care plan really do other than take time away from actually providing care? Do nurses really get out of report, and say: "Let me read my patient's plan of care before I take another step?" If so, you have much more leisure than I've ever had on a given shift...