0402

If you are applying to a school that takes all qualified candidates and uses a waiting list, your service isn't going to help or hurt you- it's somewhat irrelevant at that point. However, many schools are going to point based admissions, and many sc...

The VA would be the largest organization for what you're looking for. MTFs obviously deal with this as well, but if you are not near a base, especially one with a large hospital, that probably isn't an option. PP mentioned warrior transition units,...

Around here, if you're an ADN with experience, you'll be fine. If you're pursuing your BSN, that will look good, but from what I've seen, it's not a requirement (many job ads will put BSN/ MSN preferred, but really, experience is more of what they'r...

"I know you guys keep saying that you have to bring the medicine 20 minutes apart, but I keep telling the nurses that I'm really ok with you just bringing my dilaudid, phenergan, benadryl and ativan (all IV, of course) at the same time. I'm just tr...

I would also encourage you to talk to the VA about the GI Bill. The post-9/11 GI Bill made more people eligible than the previous one. Even people who did ROTC or came in through the academies are now eligible, and there's no money to pay in to it,...

We have a hospital policy that sedating IV meds (e.g. ativan, dilaudid, morphine, benadryl, phenergan) must be given at least 20 minutes apart. However, you can give IV of one and PO of another together, so IV dilaudid and an Ambien or IV Ativan wit...

I'm not in the Army, so I can't tell you about changes, but regarding O vs E, do you have a BSN? If you do, I cannot think of a logical reason to enlist. With other, non-specialized degrees, there can be benefits to doing enlisted time and then bec...

We got brand new white, dry erase boards in the pt rooms with all sorts of fancy new stuff added to them a few months ago (used to be the regular boards that just had our name, the tech's name, their Dr, etc, but these were oh, so much better). I wa...

Just last night, a pt asked one of the nurses for one of our "star" cards so that she could write one for the nurse "with the dark hair that's in a bob," which is me. I had had the pt the previous 2 nights, and the pt mentioned my name when the char...

The most "commutable"- if you were living on base- would be Stafford Hospital (the closest but not very big, from my understanding), Mary Washington (Level II trauma center; south of base) and Potomac Hospital (in Woodbridge; north of the hospital). ...

One big difference, to me, between my last job (union) and my current job (non-union) is the differentials. At my last job, if you worked night shift, you made night shift diff for all 12 hours (we had a few 8 hrs people left, and they made evening ...

My school did them separately, with neither being a prereq for the other. Based on when I could actually get into the class (I was waitlisted for all of my sciences), I took physiology before anatomy, without any issues.

Experience in no way proves that you are competent- it merely proves that you have experience (in this case, in another role). It's like saying that education makes you smarter- it, alone, only makes you more educated. I guess I could go to work to...

I have an MSN and did a MEPN program. I am not an APRN; my MSN program was a CNL program. As a new grad, I did a new grad residency, just like any other new grad. For me, part of the decision was not earning another bachelor's degree, the fact tha...

I would probably just write an event note (in our charting system, it's an open narrative to chart things that don't really have somewhere else to be charted) to describe what happened and what I did about it, but I wouldn't do a formal incident repo...

Just like for civilians, where you are makes a difference. I went to NS in San Diego, but very shortly after graduation and taking the NCLEX, we moved to the DC area. I applied for jobs just like any other new grad. I researched- well before we le...

Yes- on Scrubs, Dr Eliot Reid dated Nurse Paul Flowers.

I work 3 shifts of 1900-0730 each week. The only consistent thing (supposedly) is that we have to work every other weekend, but they can't even leave that part, as is, so some people end up working only one day of their weekend, randomly having a we...

Have used a VA loan twice now, to buy a house, but never heard of such a thing for education- perhaps they meant using the GI Bill? I paid cash for prereqs and used my GI Bill for one semester, as well. For nursing school, I took out loans, got one...

Are you positive they weren't eating or drinking?

If they are really hairy, you can use the first set of pads to "give them a wax" and then apply a new set of pads.

I had sx in May, and I was also told there was no light duty on my unit (I also work m/s). I was told that "back in the day," they would let RNs work as the unit secretary when on light duty, but the organization does not want to pay RN wages for a ...

If it's available, and safe to give, I will give it, if the pt wants it. I redirect when a pt uses the word "due"- that is for scheduled meds. PRNs are available, if needed, at certain intervals. If a pt wants to set their cell phone, I don't real...

With school-aged kids, I work 7p-7a. I get up when they are home from school, and most days, I get home in time to see them off to school, as well. I do sacrifice sleep sometimes, but I am still able to make most games and practices and even occasi...

I got puked on once at clinical- just my pants- and they gave me a pair of the hospital scrubs. I had 3 or 4 sets, I believe, but we had clinical up to 3 times a week. If it was just one day/ week, then two might be more convenient, but one should ...