LPNalmost!

One more natural redhead chiming in...had two difficult pregnancies but had no excessive bleeding with either one. Actually, everytime I've donated blood, I've had to pump my fist the entire time because I would stop filling the bag when I wasn't pumping. I do bruise easy...so go figure??

Thank you all for the advice. You all told me the same thing my "gut" was telling me. I did take the paper to work this morning...was told they would "look into it". I made sure everyone understood that I would not be administering IVP meds at this time. The nurse manager that is "looking into it" has placed a phone call to one of the higher ups in the hospital chain to get clarification on what we are to do. I don't understand the need for clarification. The board's policy is very black and white. So...I'll keep you all informed and let you know what happens from here. If I get the "it's hospital policy" answer I'm afraid I'm going to get, I may be looking for a new job. I gave up too much and worked too hard to become a nurse to work for a system that expects me to do things I'm not licensed to do.

Thank you all for the advice. You all told me the same thing my "gut" was telling me. I did take the paper to work this morning...was told they would "look into it". I made sure everyone understood that I would not be administering IVP meds at this time. The nurse manager that is "looking into it" has placed a phone call to one of the higher ups in the hospital chain to get clarification on what we are to do. I don't understand the need for clarification. The board's policy is very black and white. So...I'll keep you all informed and let you know what happens from here. If I get the "it's hospital policy" answer I'm afraid I'm going to get, I may be looking for a new job. I gave up too much and worked too hard to become a nurse to work for a system that expects me to do things I'm not licensed to do.

I posted this in the TN Nurse's Forum, but since that one doesn't get a lot of traffic, I thought it would be a good idea to post it here as well. Here goes: I've been working as an LPN for less than 3 weeks now. I started training on the med cart this weekend and part of my training was pushing meds such as phenegran and nubain. All the LPN's in my hospital do it, so I accepted it as a normal part of my training. But today I was looking at the TN BON website and stumbled onto the board's amended policy regarding LPN's and IV therapy. Basically, it states that the LPN must have a minimum of 3 years experience or 2 years experience with completion of a formal IV training program at their facility in order to administer IV push medications. I have neither as I have been a LPN only since the 13th of this month and IV therapy is not included in the curriculum in TN LPN schools! I guess one of my questions would be: are any of you LPN's pushing IV meds without meeting the above conditions? Also, I did sign off on meds I pushed while training this weekend...is my tail end going to end up in the frying pan for this? And if this is standard policy at my facility, even though it is outside my scope of practice, what should I do? Am I interpreting "IV push" correctly when I assume it refers to any medication installed into the vein via the IV port? I'm really confused and concerned on how to address this with my new employer. All suggestions are appreciated.

Hi, all. I've been working as an LPN for less than 3 weeks now. I started training on the med cart this weekend and part of my training was pushing meds such as phenegran and nubain. All the LPN's in my hospital do it, so I accepted it as a normal part of my training. But today I was looking at the TN BON website and stumbled onto the board's amended policy regarding LPN's and IV therapy. Basically, it states that the LPN must have a minimum of 3 years experience or 2 years experience with completion of a formal IV training program at their facility in order to administer IV push medications. I have neither as I have been a LPN only since the 13th of this month and IV therapy is not included in the curriculum in TN LPN schools! I guess one of my questions would be: are any of you LPN's pushing IV meds without meeting the above conditions? Also, I did sign off on meds I pushed while training this weekend...is my tail end going to end up in the frying pan for this? And if this is standard policy at my facility, even though it is outside my scope of practice, what should I do? Am I interpreting "IV push" correctly when I assume it refers to any medication installed into the vein via the IV port? I'm really confused and concerned on how to address this with my new employer. All suggestions are appreciated.

Holly, Do you have the 1-800 number for Tennessee? It is 24 hours quicker than the web site. My license number was on the phone line on Wednesday but not on the web site until Thursday. I found out exactly a week after taking the test and that was with Columbus Day in between. You should find out tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest if you can call. Good luck!

Holly, You sound JUST like I did exactly a week ago. I'm serious. Read my post titled: "Cried (I mean BAWLED) all the way home from Memphis". I found out tonight that I did pass and I am so very, very excited. My test shut off at 85 and all of the questions were so foreign to me. I was devastated! But come to find out, in my little "clique" of 5 students from nursing school, all five of us shut off at 85 and all of us passed. I think 85 is a good sign! Also, try phoning the 1-800 number in exactly a week. The TN website runs 24 hours behind the phone line and all of were issued a license exactly one week from the day we took the test (and we took it on different days). I'm sure you did fine. Just try to relax. Trust me. I know it's nearly impossible. But you'll know for sure very soon and then you'll be a nurse...I'm sure of it.

Thank you all for the wonderful, wonderful words of encouragement. I just found out tonight: I PASSED!!! I AM A NURSE!!! Thank you all for helping me make it through the past week of not knowing!!!!

:crying2: I just got home from taking the NCLEX-PN. I did so badly it shut off at 85 questions. I am so very discouraged. I studied and studied for this thing and I worked my tail off in school. I worked my NCLEX review book and CD. I studied my textbook and notes. I learned my meds. I graduated with a 94 as valedictorian and today I feel like I would have had just as good a chance on that test if I had spent a year studying Greek mythology!! So much of that test was stuff we never, ever covered in school. My friends from school had never heard of some of the stuff that was on my test either. Is this common or did my instructors leave out some important stuff? I feel like I had to guess at 95% of the questions...and I bet I guessed poorly! How did any of you ever pass this thing? It was all I could do not to cry DURING the test. I feel like I've wasted the past year...and the bad thing is, I left a really great job to pursue my dream. Now I'm scared to death I'll never pass the NCLEX!! I don't know how I can improve my chances if I have to retake it...I don't think I can study any more than I did for this first one and that didn't work! Sorry for the vent but I think I need some encouragement from people that actually made it!!

I made a template in Word that will print on an 5 x 8 card. On my printer, it even prints in between the lines on the lined cards. You'll probably have to play with your printer some to get the alignment set right, but it shouldn't be too hard once you've got the template. On really long drug cards I just set the font at a 7 or 8 to get it all to fit on the front and back. I can send it to you.

Not nearly as devastating as previous posts, but still funny and a true story: A friend of mine decided to get kinky with his wife. They wanted to try Ben-wah balls but didn't have any, so he went to the "shop" and got a few ball bearings. Inserted the ball bearings into her "you-know-what" where they immediately got lost. After several hours of "fishing" with a large magnet (again from the shop!), all of the ball bearings were recovered.

We had an instructor doing the EXACT thing the first quarter of my LPN program in addition to other inappropriate behavior. We even had the NCLEX-PN book as a required text, but she "forebade" us to remove the plastic from it!!! Anyway, long story short: after taking all we could take from this instructor (including screaming obscenities at students and asking the male students if they "shake or wipe"?), a group of us finally went to the program director. She was let go. On what grounds? Plagiarism. It's as illegal for an instructor as it is a student. And since it could be proven, it was a documented breech of conduct where the other behaviors were her word against ours. I wish you luck, but in my experience if she is stealing (and that's what it is) test questions, there will be other problems with this teacher too.

In my state (TN) and I'm guessing it is the same in all others, you cannot legally work as a "licensed practical nurse" until you are licensed. Some hospitals will work you as a GPN (graduate practical nurse), but the duties resemble those of a CNA as does the pay: no med passes, no invasive procedures, mostly vitals, and beds & baths. Most other facilities will work you as a non-certified nursing assistant or aid until you get your license. $12/hour is good money in my part of this state for nursing assistant work. The starting pay for new LPN's around here ranges from $10.40 - $12.80/hr. What do LPN's in your state start at? I might be tempted to move!!

I am a new grad as of this past Friday night!! I'm in Tennessee, so things may be different from where you are. I started applying for jobs about one month before graduation. I had offers from 2 hospitals and 3 LTC and I'm not even licensed yet. All of these places were willing to work me as a "nursing assistant" until I become licensed. I accepted a job in the pre/post-op wing of my little local, rural hospital. The pay/benefits were actually better than the hospital in the larger metro area and it's only 6 min away from home! I'm waiting to complete my 2-step TB test and I'll start work. And, by the way, the job I'm accepting wasn't advertised in the paper or on the hospital's "job line". I just put in an application and resume and they called me. Good luck!!

Maggie, I'm doing exactly what you're thinking about doing. And I finish the LPN program Friday!!! I struggled with which route to take myself, but I finally decided to do LPN first because it is SOOO competitive to get into the RN programs around here that I could have ended up waiting 2 or 3 years before being accepted. Also, in 12 months time I'm a nurse instead of 2 - 3 years and if I find out I HATE it (which could happen if you have no health care experience), I've only wasted 12 months of my life: not 2, 3, or 4 years. Also, I figured if I could do LPN in 12 months and then get my RN through Excelsior in 1 to 2 years, then I've still gotten my RN in the same amount of time that I would have going the community college route! But I would have been able to work as a REAL nurse for the majority of the time. And of course the chances of getting your education paid for are much, much better if you've already got "something" to offer your employer. If you're naive, then I am too!! But I've got a job lined up starting next week, so I'll just keep on being naive!!!

I have a $5000 tuition reimbursement plan from my former employer. It will pay for tuition and registration fees, but not EXAM fees. However, today I talked with my administrator of the program and she said if I take exams through Excelsior, as long as my receipt doesn't specifically say "test" or "exam" anywhere on it, then she will approve me for reimbursement. So I need to know from some of you guys: when you pay for your test over the internet, what does your receipt look like? Does it specifically say that you have paid for an examination/test? What about when you receive confirmation that you passed a test? Does it call out that it was a test? I really appreciate your help.

We also raised money for our pinning ceremony. We made A LOT of money by selling Home Interiors candles, the little ones in the jars. We sold them for regular price during a month the company was offering them on sale so the Decorating Consultant was able to give us a larger portion of the profit. It's a real easy way to make money and the class didn't have to put up any money up front. We also went to the dollar store, purchased a bunch of cheap Easter toys and put together a really nice Easter basket. We decorated it up really nice and sold chances on it for $1 each to other students on campus (you could do something similar for Halloween or Christmas). We also raffled off a cheap DVD player for $1 per chance. We made enough money to pay for our ceremony, take the whole class & instructors out to eat, bought gifts for our instructors and all of the speakers at our ceremony, and still have some left over. But I'd say 75% of the money came from the candle sale.

Lexidana, I've seen posters on here that have both passed and failed at 85 questions, 146 questions, 205, 92, etc...There doesn't seem to be any magic number. You can pass or fail at ANY number. I also know that I have not seen one post where someone left that test feeling like they passed. Every poster (most of who passed) stated they left feeling like they didn't know anything! I know it's hard, but try not to worry yourself sick over this. I haven't taken it yet, so I can only tell you what I've seen in other posts. Good luck!!

I don't know how much good it did with the odor, but one of the girls in my program (we had to wear knee highs), wore little sock footies over her hose. She said they absorbed some the moisture and also added padding that the hose don't provide. You could try it. There are also sprays and powders available for the odor. Just be careful how much moisture you're exposing your feet to...if you're walking around with wet feet all day (even from sweating) you can develop "trench foot" and it can get pretty painful.

I don't mean Baylor. I mean just regular 12-hour shifts where you end up with a 37.5 hr pay week. How many days in a row do you work? How many days off do you get? Do your days on change every week? I must be dense, but I just can't figure this one out. I came from a manufacturing plant where we worked a 7-day swing and my experience with it must be skewing my perception! Thanks for your help!

When you stated that a "new grad usually starts out at $18.50/hr", you meant RN new grad, didn't you? I'm also in West Tennessee and as a new grad LPN, I will only be making $12.50 in acute care and up to $15.00 in LTC. If your $18.50 quote was for an LPN, please let me know where you're working in West TN. I'd be willing to commute for the difference!

I'm also from Carroll County and spent my summers as a child playing at my grandparents' farm in Cedar Grove! Oh, yeah, for the original poster: I go to school in Jackson (for 2 1/2 more weeks, anyway!!).:)

I need career advice, please, please!! I have 2 1/2 weeks until I complete my LPN program and I am stumped as to what field to work in. I have several options available to me (all of which have expressed interest in hiring me): a couple of med-surg floors in a large hospital an hour away from me, various long term care facilities, the med-surg wing in the rural hospital 6-minutes away from me (place averages 13 pt at a time), etc. My dilemia is this: I'm 32 years old and really, really need to settle with a job and stick with it. But I see pros/cons with every option. For instance: the med-surg floors at the larger hospital will keep me challenged, provide wonderful training opportunities, and I'll never want for overtime. But on the other hand, there is no time to "get to know" your patients because you're so busy, the pay is less than LTC, and I'd have to drive 2 hours a day. I like every area that I worked in during clinicals. I have no "thing" that grosses me out in particular, so I can handle everything from trachs to colostomies. It would be easier if I had an area I just absolutely could not stand! I guess I just need some advice on how you went about making up your mind. It's been 10 years since I went looking for a job. And back then, I settled for what I could get and made the best of it. Who ever knew it could be so stressful when your skills were so highly in demand!?!

here's my standard reply: "i've dreamed of being a nurse my whole life (i'm 32). and that's exactly what i'll be when i finish my program: a nurse! the initials after my name aren't what's important. it's having the job i've always dreamed of. are you doing what you've always dreamed of?" if they persist on looking down on me because i chose to take the lpn route first, then i go on to explain that since i chose to leave a $50,000/year job in order to become a nurse and have a career that made a difference in someone's life, i could only afford to take one year off of work while i attended school full time. so i have to start out as an lpn even though i'm taking a tremendous pay cut. i lay a guilt trip on them about how money isn't everything if you aren't making a difference in the world and how i just needed to do something more meaningful with my life and how now when i know i've touched someone's life in a way only i can, that it is worth all that i've given up. starts them thinking about how meaningless their little job in a cubicle can be and they tend to lighten up!!! if they stop thinking about the lpn-rn thing as a financial issue only, and start thinking of you as someone who wants to devote her life to taking care of people that can't take care of themselves, they'll see you as the hero you are...not just a dollar sign! don't let them get you down. you're doing the right thing whether you're an rn, bsn, or lpn. you're going to be a nurse and that's what counts!!

I'm curious. Does your tuition reimbursement program pay for "tuition" only? In the guidelines of my program, it states that it pays for "tuition" only and not testing fees. Since technically, there is no tuition for Excelsior, I'm struggling with how to make this work. There's gotta be a loophole!!! Any suggestions?