HisHands

Well, being from MI, all you see for like 4-6 months a year is gray sky and snow. When my husband told me Uncle Sam was moving us to CA, I envisioned sunny skies and relaxing on the beach. Has it been aweful! It's been cold, rainy, and definitely NOT sunny. *sigh* oh well... hopefully by maybe March or April. Thanks for moving it... I didn't even think about the CA forum.

I haven't been on in a while.... lots of stuff going on: husband deployed, returned and then moved me across the country. Now we are in "sunny" north SF Bay area, and, um... loving? it. Anywho, there were 12 hour shifts up the whazoo in MI, but I can't seem to find 12s anywhere. I just can't keep up my household and work 5 days a week. So, I was thinking about working part time. Not an option up here with the many companies I spoke with. What's up with that? All I want is 12s, so I can be home with my husband. So, anyone know of anyone offering 12 hour shifts in the north bay area? (I'm in Petaluma, btw, but would definitely travel a little for the shift I need). Blessings! Crystal

my husband is military. we are doing our first move from michigan to northern california. i heard through the grapevine that you need to re-test in california. i couldn't imagine not nursing, but we will only be there for 6 months. so, if that's the case, there's no point to me. could someone pretty please help me out here?! i'm so worried now. also, i have no concept of how much i can expect to make there. i know that for an lpn, i make pretty top notch in my area. am i looking at a paycut? we will be in petaluma which is one hour north of sf, and is right in the napa valley. blessings all! ~hishands

Cherokee brand (not cherokee workwear) makes a great flare leg pant (with the stylish slit at the ankle). We have to wear Navy and white, so I'm a white scrub pro. You can't see through them or anything.

I am shocked. I am 5'3" and wear cherokee scrubs. I have to buy the regular length because the petites are WAAAY to short, even for me. But, the regular lengths go completely over my shoes and drag on the ground (really not all that professional). Anyway, I just never thought that you lovely tall ladies would have such a problem. I so sympathize.

I really hate to sound like a downer, but here's something to think about. When I sat down for my very first nursing class, I remember thinking "I only need to get a 75%?! That's awesome." I was a good student... I graduated with a 3.5 overall. Well, let me tell you something. When you have a professor that you swear to God is Satan on earth. They will seem like they want nothing more than to fail you. They will write these tests that seem like they are just trying to trick you. That will be the day you will thank the Lord above that you got that 75%. I think that nsg school is extremely humbling.

wow classy, you seem really disqualifying here. "So to all you in the lower echelons of nursing with visible arm/neck tattoos who dream of achieving more:trout:." What the heck is that? I could TOTALLY see my employer saying, "Yes Crystal. You are the most qualified candidate for that promotion, but we are giving it to Joe because he doesn't have that tatoo/extra set of earrings, etc." Riiiiight. BTW, I have a tat that I LOOOOVE. I had always wanted to get a fish directly in the arch of my left foot, but when my hubby and I went in to get it, I changed my mind. I decided to get a hot pink, glows under blacklight Playboy bunny on my left lower back right above my bum. But hey, that's just me. Blessings! ~Crystal

if they are currently active, my facility won't allow you to come in. we require a clear from the pcp.

1 - I think it's bunk that RNs who FAILED school are trying to become LPNs. If you FAILED nursing school obviously you missed something there. There must have been concepts that you didn't understand. I'm sorry but I would NEVER let you anywhere near my family or friends. There are always other programs you could go through. You should not just be granted the ability to take the same boards as me just because you failed your higher classes. 2. Tell me that the LPN who owns her own accredited HH agency isn't practicing autonomously. On that note, I don't think I know one new RN who is qualified to practice autonomously. Pretty please help me see the light.

hope this helps darlin blessings, crystal

There will always be someone around you don't like. There will always be someone who got their job, and you didn't think it was fair. There will always be someone who does things differently, non-traditionally, or in a different way than everyone else. He probably never expected the situation with these classes to come up. Give him a break. My advise from one "professional" to another: Get your nose out of his business and focus on working on yourself.

So what?

Our facility has complete careplans, all alphabetized by dx. All we have to do is date and sign them. Blessings, Crystal

I just meant "girlfriend" as a female friend. I know you want to find some way to let this person know she's been influential in your nsg journey. Why not tell her? I bet she would love that sort of encouragement right now. Maybe you and your classmates can send her flowers (or a cookie bouquet:clown: ) to just remind her that while she may not be in the professor capacity any longer, her influence will always be remembered by you. I don't think people realize how important appreciation is... many people would have heard that she was leaving and brushed it off because it doesn't directly involve them. I think it's great that you are willing to be honest with her about her impact on you. Blessings, Crystal

I work evenings 5 days per week. One thing to consider which may or may not affect you is this. I get off at 11:30pm. By the time I wind down it's 1-1:30. Sometimes later. I don't see my hubby much, either. It's also difficult if you are used to 12s. The other thing I've noticed is that I feel like I spend the day waiting to go to work as opposed to working, getting it "out of the way" so to speak earlier, and having the rest of the day to do whatever. It all depends on what your level of responsibilities are at home. It's nice if you have kids, because the off shift tends to keep babysitting costs at a minimum. Blessings, Crystal

I agree. I don't think it was appropriate for her to tell you about her situation. I understand she probably wanted to vent or whatever, but it definitely crosses some role boundaries. She's not your girlfriend, she's your instructor. (God, I'm ornary today) Anyway, that said, I don't think that it's a wise move. You are starting out fresh in a new program that I'm sure is competitive entry wise. Don't jeopardize your future. I think the best way that you can honour this instructor and mentor, and express your gratitude would be by working hard and being the kind of nurse she would want you to be. Use her example as empowerment. Blessings, Crystal

No. I don't think a student should really be able to make a mistake. When I was in clinicals, we started out with ONE patient. We were to know absolutely everything about that patient. We were to know every med, every time those meds were to be given. We were to know every tx. Everything. If you are about to graduate in a few weeks, then you absolutely should not be making a med error like not doing a BP for a med with parameters. That just should not happen. My thought is, if you can't handle the pt load as a student, how will you handle the pt load as a full-fledged nurse? I don't mean to sound harsh, I'm just trying to be honest. Whaever you choose, I wish you all the best. Crystal

your opinion might change after a few more years under your belt.

I probably pass out more Lipitor than he does. Where's my free vacation?!

I agree that a policy needs to be made. When I gave her the MAR, I gave her report. Where we work Nurse 1 gets rooms A-D, Nurse 2 gets rooms E-H and Nurse 3 gets rooms I-L. She was nurse 1 and I was nurse 3. So, it was definitely her pt, and she knew that completely. She just felt like since the pt was admitted by nurse 3 it should remain nurse 3's responsibility until the end of the shift, which I think is bunk personally. If my set is full, and hers isn't, why should I overload myself? I gave her report at an extremely appropriate time for her to be able to complete the tasks that need to be done for him. Hope this clarifies, Crystal

I quit smoking 2 weeks ago. I feel good about that. I also got a membership to a ladies only gym, and I got my nails done on Friday. The biggest thing though is taking a night alone with my hubby. Blessings, Crystal

I work in a rehab facility. There are three nurses on my unit on my shift. Our average stay is 2-3 weeks, so we get quite a few admissions. Sometimes there might be two admissions on one set, and none on another, so naturally the nurse without the admission goes and picks up the extra on someone elses set. This happened to me the other day, and I'm confused if I did something wrong. A pt came in at 3:30 (we come in at 3). The supervisor was transcribing all of the admit orders to the MAR while I did the admission, who was on another nurses set. By 5 pm the MARs were completed, I double checked the supervisors work to make sure everything was transcribed correctly, and I gave the sheets to the primary. She had not started her med pass yet. Well, this pt was a diabetic, and I reminded her he was. She had worked with him before as he was a readmit. Either way, he was due for a BS check at 5pm. At 11 pm I was going to leave and the nurse asked me if I had given this pt all of his meds for the shift. First of all, there is no outlined policy that if you admit a pt on someone else's set, that that pt is yours for the entire shift. She asked me what his 5pm BS was. I told her I hadn't taken it. She received the med sheets before she even started her med pass. She just blatantly skipped over them. She had 4 open beds on her set. Mine was full. I'm not going to pick up her pt, and have a load of 17 while she has a load of 12. I gave her the sheets in a very timely manner. What's the policy at your establishment? Should I have passed all of his meds and done the check, or was that her responsibility? Thanks for the advice. Blessings, Crystal

I know my scenerio is rather unethical, but here's an idea. If an MD is receiving a significant amt of money to do an ad, do you think he is more likely to perscribe a certain med over another. Like, hey I bet Zetia would work great for you, but since I'm kindof tied to Lipitor, let's go that route. Do you suppose there's any chance that that MD might not have the pts best interests at heart?

Here's a truth that unfortunately you will need to learn. I just learned it for heaven's sake. You need to work someplace that is working for you. I got hired at what seemed like a great job. I quickly learned that the pts were NOT taken care of the way they should have been. I wanted to stay and try to fix things. But darling, this is the truth. It doesn't work if you are the only person trying to do the fixing. You can't do it alone. It's better to get in your car at the end of the day, pray that God protects the patients, and go find someplace where you are part of a real team. Blessings, Crystal

*morphes into the Incredible Hulk* *Background tunes: I've got the POWERRRRRRRRRR*