Ellekat2

You are right--at some point I need to let go of trying to control the healing process and simply trust my body to heal. I'm sorry that you've had to go through what you've gone through. I'll continue to exercise and to take supplements. I'll add the black cherry in hopes that it will decrease inflammation and joint pain, but perhaps I'm just getting impatient. Thank you for sharing your story; I wish you the best.

Background: I tested positive for the Covid virus in April and was off work through mid-May. I refused hospitalization. I am a Wound Care nurse (Inpatient, Outpatient, and the only nurse for a clinic one day a week). I've worked surgical, oncology, dialysis, and skilled. I was diagnosed with asthma two years ago. My employer has been very generous; I've been with them nine years and had plenty of EIL and PTO. I was allowed to return to work for a limited number of hours while continuing to receive EIL for the remaining hours. It was very difficult. At first it was all I could do to get to the office. My strength gradually increased, my oxygen use improved, and I was able, with difficulty, to make it through about six hours a day. I have known many of my patients for years and they were accepting and supportive. I read through the NIH site and began taking Vit A, a multiple vit B (that was at my husband's insistence), Vit C, Vit D,, Gamma E, Flaxseed oil for Omega threes, and zinc. I transitioned to an 80% plant-based diet (I aspire to 100% plant-based, but haven't managed to give up occasional meat). I attempt to walk approximately 0.75 miles/day, which takes me 30 minutes with rests to re-oxygenate. Prior to this, I could easily walk four miles in an hour. If I walk a mile, joint pain and exhaustion make the rest of the day useless. I continue to take the Flovent, loratadine, and 800mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours PRN that I took prior to becoming ill. I lost much of my hair in July/August. I added Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides, kept up the vitamins, and began topical Rogaine (Costco has a 6-month supply for $50--the best deal I found). I used the 5% version. My hair has responded well to this. I was fortunate in that I am retirement age and officially will retire next Monday. I do not know how the younger nurses who have a bad case of Covid-19 will manage. My question: Is there anyone researching the most effective methods of recovering from this virus other than medications? I would love to hear of effective methods of increasing stamina, supporting lung health, and decreasing inflammation and joint pain. The regimen described above has helped, but I feel I have reached the limit of what it will do for me. All research I find is understandably directed toward making the hospitalized patient stable enough to be discharged. Is there anyone researching how to help the Covid-affected patient heal to close to baseline performance?

I was told by our billing office that Medicare will not reimburse for nurse lymphedema certification. Our go-to for lymphedema is an Occupational Therapist and there is a program specifically for patients with ymphedema, although we apply wraps if there is a wound. That being said, any certification is good if gives you knowledge you want or need. There are online programs for wound certification (WCC) that cost $1,000-$1,500 and you have co-workers who can answer questions (double check--the answer may be wrong!). PESI Healthcare has online and DVD courses to help prepare for certification testing that run around $400, but go on "sale" occasionally for around $200. If your interest drives you to lymphedema, I'd encourage you to get in touch with a lymphedema clinic and see what opportunities exist--the information I was given may be wrong. If you simply want to get a certification, I'd encourage getting wound certification as you're working in a wound clinic and if you enjoy your job. If you have a BSN or BA and have access to a WOCN mentor and you have many years of working ahead of you, it may be worth your time and your own money to get a WOCN certification (wocn.org).

I remember thinking in nursing school that "critical thinking" questions should not be tested until you had learned enough about nursing to have the background to think critically. This should be seen as an exercise to develop your critical thinking skills more than to test your knowledge. I have to agree that the answer is obviously "C". However, why would you have to ask the family? Rhetorically to the tester, not to the student-- why wouldn't you ask the patient? Listening often brings an understanding of choices and leads to the best care for the patient.

1) I live in a red state in a rural area. I have not seen any discrimination against an employee because of his/her lifestyle choice. However, the employees never made a point of advertising their lifestyle choices. I have seen what I regard as an institutional bias, where same-sex couples (married in a different state) were required to fill out paperwork for POA, etc., that would not be required of a heterosexual couple in order to ensure that the partner had a say in the patient's care if needed. 2) I live on the other side of that equation. Everything I do is questioned and I'm often told that I'm doing something "wrong" because it's not what the new nurse learned in school. For years, I was scheduled to work more holidays, etc., because my kids were grown and I had to fight for a holiday off. If I snap at a young nurse, it is more likely to be because her (I'm simply picking the predominent sex; I do know that male nurses exist) personality has gotten to me than because I am deliberately trying to make her feel bad about herself or the job she does. We're a team; any time I make a member of that team feel badly about her skills, I lower the level of care we give the patients. However, there are times I need a break from constant questioning regarding what I do and a critique of how and why I do it. Every relationship is different; each person has to decide how much/what is tolerated and when corrective action is needed, even in a work relationship.

The WOCN requires A bachelor's degree. Unless there has been a very recent change, this is any bachelor's degree, not a BSN. The WOCN program is very well-respected. You can get info at WOCN.org. I have a WCC from WCEI (WCEI.net). While it is adequate for my needs (I'm a WCC in an Outpatient Wound Clinic), if I had the time and money, I would go for the WOCN program, especially if you are looking at working another 30-40 years. If you just need a basic certification to get you started, you can find programs online for under $1,000 and the test is around $400. There is one called SAWC (SAWC.net) that an APRN I know chose to prepare for for certification. A source of comparision of programs: http://woundcareworcester.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Certification-comparision.pdf Also, check out wound care info on PESI.com on the medical, not behavioral health, side of their site. They occasionally have wound courses for 50% off if you watch their monthly specials.

I was working as an acute dialysis nurse in a medium-sized town in Kansas. We had already had a gas explosion under the downtown that year and had controlled fires burning in various areas in town. We also had a number of Hepatitis A cases from several restaurants in town. Our dialysis patients did not often watch TV, but we had a younger man who said, "There's something going on in New York, turn on the TV". So we watched the unfolding of events that seemed so far away at that time. Gas was up to $5.00 a gallon by the time I left work. The State Fair was the following week. There was almost no one at the fair. Bad for the vendors there, but great for those of us who had scheduled a few days off during the week to enjoy the fair. This was a terrible event, but our proximity to Oklahoma City and to various far-right groups like the Posse Comitatus in our state gave the bombing of OKCity the sense of a more "real" threat. The New York event seemed surreal at the time. Many I know were affected in some way and it has made me realize since just how small the world really is.

The headlamp is very helpful. We bought one (without magnification, which would also be great) for our provider because the lamps we use are unwieldy and we had to move them constantly from room to room. After research, we decided on a minimum of 3000 lumens (quite bright) and an on/off feature motion feature so she didn't have to touch the lamp. Sorry, I don't have the link. We bought it on Amazon for $12, usually $17. I'll have to check out the magnification feature!

Has a culture been obtained to rule out infection? It sounds like the wound has excessive exudate. Changing the drsg TID seems excessive. We tend to change dressings every other day in the inpatient setting, longer in outpatient. Most foams can be left up to a 7 days on most wounds, 5 days on sacral wounds We have excellent results with Cavilon Skin Barrier (spray, "lollipop", or 2x2) and Medipore tape. For delicate skin or allergies to adhesives, we usually use a border foam. There is silicone-based tape available separately, but it might be cost-prohibitive.

I would like to know what certification your CNA has. I work with a CNA who is interested in obtaining certification.

As a non-ER nurse, I have used a Sprague Rappaport (

I am the wound care nurse (WCC) at a 22-bed CAH hospital. I direct care (under the direction of protocols and the supervision of the attending physician) for inpatients. I also run an outpatient wound clinic one day a week and take care of those same outpatients the other four days of the week. I am expected to deal with vendors, arrange for items such as wound vacs, and make sure that any patients doing home wound care have what they need, and that the wound care department has the inventory it needs to run smoothly. Today, our biller came to me and informed me that I need to learn to code. She and the coder believe that I should GIVE them the code they need to bill. She gave me a copy of our LCD. She claims I can just "read through" the LCD and know how to code. She became upset when I pointed out that I am already busy with the work I have, plus keeping up PALS, ACLS, NRP, etc, and also assisting in our outpatient infusion center. I don't really want to make waves, but there is no way I can take on coding along with all of my other responsibilities. I don't even know where to start with this. Obviously, I need to speak with the DON and my direct supervisor, but nothing has happened with past issues, so I really don't expect any result. Other than learning to code, I need help finding a solution to this issue. Does anyone out there have any ideas?

I vote you try the two aspirin. And call your doctor in the morning. Lol. Good luck with this. I hang my scrubs on hangers while damp, with the two seams in the pants meeting so that a crease forms. Not as sharp a crease as when ironed, but it works for me. On a windy day, I can get a pretty sharp crease. Please post what you find works for you. I remember the days of polyester everywhere and who knows? Those days may return.

Mepitel wound contact layer | Molnlycke Health Care The above link should help you learn how Mepitel is used. I have also used it to hold degloved skin in place while the skin heals (just cover the second side with gauze) or to hold an area of skin in place when the next dressing layer may pull the skin apart. It has a larger mesh pattern that allows the drainage from a wound to drain through to another layer of dressing, usually a foam dressing. I wouldn't consider Adaptic similar; it would keep the wound moist, but not allow the wound to drain as easily. The qualities of an Adaptic or Xeroform dressing are at times not desirable in a wound when the Mepitel has been chosen.

As a therapist, you want to help your clientele deal with perceived problems. Many of the problems--poor administration interaction with the staff, electronic charting systems that are designed for billing rather than nursing, inadequate staffing--aren't easily fixed from the bottom up. How do you teach your clients to deal with these problems? I have no problem saying "no" when asked to work extra. However, I can't talk with administrators who refuse to talk to me. This means that when I go into their office, state what the problem is and what I would like to see as a solution, I am told that I have no input. I do have a problem with working all of the holidays because the scheduler thinks since my children are grown, I don't need holidays off. I have a problem with the scheduler scheduling me to work one day in the middle of my vacation because she couldn't find anyone else to work. At the time, my son was living in another state and his wife was dying of cancer and they knew I planned to go there. His children were 1, 3, and 5 and he needed help. I left that position. I have a problem with being told that I can't go to my brother's wedding because we aren't allowed to use vacation on weekends. I called in sick. Nothing was ever said to me about calling in. But why can't I just arrange my time and be honest? I have a problem with being told I can't take off to take my daughter to her father's funeral because he and I were divorced, even though I had plenty of vacation time and did not ask for funeral leave. There again, I was told I couldn't take vacation on my scheduled weekend to work. This is a different employer, BTW. An HR employee who went to bat for me lost her job over that one. This isn't happening to just me. One nurse was allowed off for her wedding, but not her honeymoon. Others have been refused time off after thinking they have time off and buying tickets for events, then having to work. It's almost impossible to deal with administration that doesn't see the staff as human beings who have families and lives separate from their employment. The same administrative staff gets every holiday off, takes of every Friday at noon, and accrues more vacation time per working hour than the floor staff. This isn't an issue that affects only hospitals, either. People who elect to become administrators seem to feel that they are superior to those who do the actual work and seem to feel that they deserve "more"--more money, more time off, more respect, more of everything--simply because they are administrators. I have worked bad hours, been short-staffed, been frustrated by poor electronic systems and generally had my bad times, but what I hate about my job is the total lack of basic respect for the staff as human beings from those who make decisions that affect both our work and personal lives.

Best of luck to you with your new experiences. If you choose to write about your experiences, I would be interested. I would love to consider travel nursing, but for personal reasons have not. So I contemplate retiring early and try to get through each day as if it is the only day I have to work.

I recommend going for the ADN, then letting an employer pay some of the tab while working toward the BSN. It might take you a little longer, but life is not a race. In the meantime, look at the prerequisites you need prior to taking nursing courses. No reason you can't get basics out of the way.

Other than disagreeing that Housekeeping doesn't care about cleanliness, I agree with what Cultmember says. The housekeepers I have known understood the importance of their job. Unfortunately, the administration did and does not. Anyone who thinks nursing is staffed unrealistically should check into what a hospital housekeeper is expected to do and how much time is allotted to do it. If you practice a religion that subsidizes Parish Nursing, there may be a niche there. I have never worked with a nurse who has been a parish nurse, so I can't say if the conditions would be better. Personally, I would say that if you don't like what you've seen as an LPN, it's pointless to spend the time and money to go for an RN or BSN, only to end up in the same untenable situation. If you enjoy the corporate world and have kept your skills in that area, I would suggest reconsidering your decision to become a nurse while you still have a choice. Life is short; enjoy yourself. There are other ways to serve humanity. I have been a nurse for >20 years and I wouldn't recommend today's nursing to anyone. As I said before, there are other ways to serve. Good luck on your decisions; I hope you decide on whatever is best for YOU.

There is more to the medical field than being a CNA or being a nurse. Talk with a guidance or vocational counselor and take some testing on what area is best suited for you. Perhaps being a phlebotomist, lab tech or a radiology tech would be right for you. If you like adrenalin pumping, perhaps being a Paramedic would be for you. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy have two-year programs for "assistants". I'm sure there are other areas I'm not thinking of. Many of these programs are available through community colleges. If you enjoy an area, you can always make the decision to further your education. Take as many standard basic courses in biology, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry and you can handle so that they are out of the way if you decide to further your education.

Nothing. Nada. Not even a "Happy Nurses' Day" or "thank you". Not a potluck. Nothing. They do have celebrations for lab and for radiology. Guess I picked the wrong profession.

As it is now at my job, nursing consumes my life. When I started nursing, I could expect a standard two-week work rotation that included at least one three-day weekend and the scheduling nurse would check with me to make sure I had no plans before changing my schedule. I worked an 8 to 10-hour shift, got two 15-minute breaks and a half-hour lunch. I was expected to handle anything personal at that time. I knew what holidays I was getting off well ahead of time and could make plans. From that, we moved to, "you can't take a weekend off, even for vacation". I've been caught up in that twice, been told I couldn't take off for family rites of passage (wedding/funeral) twice. And changed jobs both times. One nurse was able to get off for her wedding, but not for her honeymoon. To hospital administrators, OUR work (not theirs) should come before religion and family. Hospital administrators disappear on noon on Friday and aren't seen again until Monday, regardless of what emergencies may arise. Now I haven't a clue when I'm going to work and when I'm going to be off. I have to "request off" to go to the doctor, the dentist, etc--as if it's the hospital's business why I want off. If a coworker calls in, tough .... He/she isn't replaced, we just have to stretch ourselves further. I don't get breaks, and while I'm able to eat, it's rare to get more than ten minutes to do it. They do take half an hour out of my paycheck each day. If I clock out no lunch I have to "justify" it. (Like, hmmm....that admission you gave me?) My pay is adequate, not great. Ten years in, I got a raise because a male nurse with the exact same education and ten years less experience was hired and my pay was raised to meet his. My benefits are terrible--medical costs me $960/month, PTO that is used when census is low so they can consider me full-time. A few weeks ago the scheduler changed my weekends off and didn't even bother to tell me. My pension is matched to 3%. I'm not treated like an adult, or even like a well-behaved child. I don't work harder, or less hard, depending on my rate of pay. I work for the care of the patient and for self-respect. The paycheck is just how I manage to feed and clothe myself. So yes, I hate my job. I hate being treated as if I have no worth, no life, no family. I hate being put in a position of not being able to give even adequate care to someone who is ill. I hate that I've given up weekends and holidays with family for ...nothing. I hate that I know that this is how the world is going, and it's going to be worse for my children.

I also speak only from personal experience. After years of struggling with depression, I was prescribed Prozac 20mg daily. Prozac was controversial at that time. It did nothing. I continued with Paxil (10mg) Effexxor (37.5mg) and others over the years with no relief. Eventually, when I had gone so far as to make specific arrangements for my young daughter to live with one of her brothers with the thought of ending my life, a young physician who I worked with realized how close I was to suicide and ordered Celexa, building up to 80 mg relatively quickly. That drug and that dose is what worked for me. I did have the side effect of frequent yawning, but it was a small price to pay for becoming part of the larger world again. I think of this physician frequently even fifteen years later, thanking him mentally for having the courage to actually prescribe an effective dose of an antidepressant. The many other physicians I saw either did not understand or did not want to take a chance of a larger dose being more effective. I don't know if antidepressants work better than a placebo for others, I only know for me, that particular medication at that specific time did make a huge difference in my life. Perhaps we need to examine the efficacy of the doses prescribed and the types of antidepressant prescribed, as well as continue to examine placebo effectiveness vs medication.

You have received much good advice. You have to decide what YOU are willing to live with. When I first became a nurse I attended church regularly. What I found is that I became invisible. Since I didn't attend EVERY Sunday, my daughter wasn't in the Christmas program. The minister visited a church member on our floor almost daily for months....but didn't acknowledge that I existed, either on the floor or at church. Down the line, new church...after five years of attendance, I was still being "welcomed" as a visitor, although individual parishioners recognized me. When my husband retired and we moved to our present location, I gave up and I no longer attend church. I've been a nurse 22 years.

I learned how my administrators see me. The new schedule is out and they switched my weekends off with no notice. And changed my department. And oh, that means that after working the holiday weekend for most holidays (anyone working every other weekend will know what I'm talking about), the calendar is finally switching and I'll once again be working the holiday weekend. The DON referred me to the Assistant DON, who refuses to talk with me. Our Human Resources person won't touch it. I'm assuming I somehow put out a signal that says, "squash me", and "my family isn't as important as yours". So I plan to stop coming in when called, call in occasionally for no real reason, and generally work at becoming a poorer employee so I'll get treated better. Sad reality. I'm also keeping my eyes open for a better job.

Wishing the best for you, LTON!