BernieRN

Hi again Momof6, One thing you have to do is tell people...lots of people you are hearing impaired! It really isn't fair to them to not know. I have been hearing impaired all of my life, so I do well with lip reading while listening. If you haven't already, give that a try. You will eventually learn to look people in the eye, but be reading their lips instead. Any time you are around someone you need to listen to, ask them to please face you when speaking. Most people understand this and will accommodate, and respect that you need this and are glad to "help". Your being hearing impaired is no different than the person with any other disease, except that it isn't right out there for them to see. Eventually you will get used to telling people. Be proud that you have come so far with this impairment! The tubes- give them a little time to let your inner ear drain and see if it helps. If they don't, the doctor can take them out in his office and it only takes seconds. There is a small wire attached to each and he reached in with a tool and grabs the wire and plucks them out. You'll hear a popping sound and that is it! Do give them time, though. I have a couple of scopes- The E scope works pretty well. You might want to get the belt model with earphones (Cardionics sells them, including the volume controlled earphones). I usually use my Littman amplified though because it reads out the a-pulse for me and has a bit higher volume. The e scope is better in the respect you aren't constantly taking your (very expensive) aids out since you can use the earphones. This is nice, especially when working isolation! I am currently volunteering in a PACU, and I think if I can get a job in there, it would be good since it is one of the quieter environments. Patients are monitored, and I don't have a huge problem with breath sounds, except maybe in the elderly, I might have to listen a bit longer. my bluetooth aids were over 6100 for the pair, and when they finally release the bluetooth stethoscope, hearing won't be an issue at all! This particular scope is called the Freedom scope. Please! Tell people you are hearing impaired!!! It is the first thing I tell patients when I go in the room to assess them. They will know it when I take out my hearing aids to listen to them, anyway. Others will understand, for the most part. I promise!!! It gets easier...I promise that too!!!! And don't say you are sorry, just be matter of fact that you need them to speak louder and to your face. You can even buy pins at hearing places that say you are hearing impaired and to please face you! Bernie :)

Do know that there are also visual stethoscopes out there- you would simply have to learn how to use one! More or less like learning to read an EKG. It might be possible for your employer to buy a bluetooth phone/pager for you. Or get a bluetooth cell phone- and aids and have them paired with bluetooth hearing aids. You would then use this phone for your work. (tax deductible). There will soon be a bluetooth stethoscope available as well. As the previous poster suggested...contact Voc Rehab!!! I would think that if you couldn't hear sounds through the stethoscope, you would not be able to get through nursing school. The important thing here is not to fake it! Ask someone to hear sounds for you if you don't quite hear something! There are scopes you can use with earphones so you are hearing through the hearing aids. This might help as well. There should be a disability services at the college you are attending. Also see what they can do to help accommodate you! Bernie There are completely deaf people working in the medical field as doctors and nurses, so don't give up!

Hi to Momof6! The first thing I would do if you haven't already, is go to a hearing doctor and ask if it might be possible to try having tubes put in your ears. It might increase your hearing substantially. He/she will know if this might help. (If you haven't seen an ear doctor already. Next, have a GOOD audiologist talk to you about digital hearing aids! Analog hearing aids are simply made to raise the volume of all of your hearing frequencies. However, digital hearing aids can be adjusted by computer to raise the frequencies you can't hear so well higher- and the higher sounds are left at lower volumes. This makes hearing more natural. They are expensive, yes- but well worth the price. Also, the hearing aids usually have a telecoil setting on them, so that you switch to that setting to talk on the phone. Without the telecoil, if you put the phone close to your hearing aid, you would receive whistling feedback. My aids are also blue tooth- and I am having them paired right now with a blue tooth telephone. I have already experienced it, and it is wonderful! A company was supposed to come out with a blue tooth stethoscope this last summer, but they postponed production until next summer...I'm excited about this! There are also amplified stethoscopes too. There are also volume enhanced phones. The best I have found so far is the Clarity Professional model C4230, etc- for use at home. I am not sure what your financial situation is, whether you are self supporting or not, etc, but DO get in touch with your local Vocational Rehabilitation Center. They might possibly be able to help you with the purchase of hearing aids and also help you pay for your schooling. Lastly, it would be discrimination for your employer to fire you for your hearing impairment without first trying to accommodate the hearing loss ie: volume enhanced phones. Contact Voc Rehab first, though, before you ask your employer about this (?). Some people use hearing aids with the speaker phone and it works well, but in the health care community, it is a matter of HIPAA issues to be doing this, unless you are in your own office with privacy while using the phone. Hope this information helps, and good luck! Bernie

Hi IdianaCNA1993, As far as working as a PRN CNA while in school, you might be wise to go ahead and do that. You would be surprised how many call off "sick" in the health care field, and could very easily end up with more hours than you actually want! I think one of the reasons they might offer PRN is so you are not receiving benefits such as health insurance, and with you being under your mothers wing, you probably don't need it. Second, if you are in a facility as a CNA, you already have your foot in that door toward having a potential job as an RN once you get your degree. Then, after some experience both as a CNA and RN Thirdly, if you are staying at your mothers or even out on your own, depending on financial circumstances, you can receive substantial grants which is money you don't have to pay back- towards your education. Pell Grant and O'Bannon Grant (in Indiana) are two that come to mind. You can also apply for other scholarships- sometimes by just writing a paper about a specific topic or something. This is also free money. Incidentally, the better your grades in high school, the better the chances of receiving scholarships. I know a student that is going to Valpo for a 4 yr degree in nursing and has full scholarship there. I think his schooling is going to only cost about 4,000.00 a year and that is on campus! There are surpluses of nurses in a lot of areas, including mine- but there are pockets of areas where they are needed...small town hospitals and such. And nursing homes have a high turn over rate, depending on the facility and how much they actually care. Hope this helps! Bernie

Thanks Marshall1! That's pretty much all I needed to know. I have read things of that nature on here and wanted it clarified. Not even going to mess with them. I just wish I could find a job...I feel like I am running out of time, with over 1.5 years out of school. Stressful to say the least, and self supporting! Bernie

Thanks to all for the replies!!! I appreciate it VERY MUCH! Bernie

Tish 88, Thanks for your response! The possible job interview is with FMC- and I am reading a lot here...and it worries me that they are going to send me many miles away for training and/or the job. I do not like driving at all, especially in the winter- although I wouldn't mind if it were just the local hospitals and facilities. Thing is, I could ask them about this while having the phone interview, but it is sounding like they are possibly not up front about where training is and where you would travel, even when asked in the beginning. I really think I would like dialysis and don't want to pass up this possibility- as there aren't many jobs to begin with around here and I am unemployed. Been out of college since May of last year and it is looking pretty grim! I'll keep reading and see if I can find any more good info on this particular company. Thanks again! Bernie

Hi, Could some of you please explain the difference in Chronic and Acute dialysis in respects of travel and hours worked per day? I live in the north and don't fancy driving long distances- and have a dog to worry about if I have to work long hours. I was offered an interview for a position in acute and am thinking about it... Thanks for your time

I never regret posting to Allnurse, always feeling a bit better after doing so. It's good to not feel alone. Thanks! and good luck to you Miss Liss!!!

Diva, That actually makes me feel a bit better. Still, after 15 months out of school and new nurses being generated in the area every Spring and Fall, it is looking pretty grim. Self supporting and no unemployment...and Fazoli's won't even hire me! Very sad economy!

Thank you Miss Liss!

I graduated May 2010, passed the boards in June 2010...not a typo...and no job!

Hello AF Wife, The first thing you might want to do if you haven't already is to contact your local Vocational Rehabilitation Office. Instead of looking for jobs not requiring the use of the stethoscope and phone, look for tools to help you use them. I have phones for the hearing impaired at home- clarity- that are boosted specifically for HI, and those types of phones can be placed in the area you choose to work. ADA requires that employers accommodate you in this area. There are visual stethoscopes- and stethoscopes that attach to a hub put in your hearing aid so they go through the sound mechanism of the hearing aid. They only work with specific HA's though. They also have amplified scopes. Check out Audex for the phones, and Cardionics for stethoscopes for the HI and visual scopes. Vocational Rehab might be able to help you with guidance and possibly financially depending on your financial situation. The phones, of course are just to see what is out there- so you will see there is something available for you to hear on in the first place. Hope this helps. Don't give up! Diana

Those numbers are usually blown pretty well out of proportion for the South Bend ITCC. Rumors.

I can't speak for Valpo, but in South Bend they do make your schedule of any classes that are nursing. They will tell you what days of the week and what hours you do what. As far as your day starting at 7, yep- or earlier! Depends on the clinical and the professor. Class room times, however, I think our earliest was 8 or 8:30 - gets you a good parking space though! Other than actual nursing courses, if you are brave enough to take other general courses as well, those you get to fit in as you see fit or course times allow. There aren't exceptions to this in South Bend. Valpo might be different.