Rodoon

If facilities kept appropriate staff levels and equipment (lift equipment) aging wouldn't be an issue.

Funny question and you handled it well. It reminded me of a new neurologist, while completing a mini-mental test, asking one of the stroke patients to act like a chicken. She cuts her eyes to me and asked, "Is this a trick question?" I decided to help the patient out. "Could you be more specific?" I asked him. He jumped up from the chair, put his fists in his arm pits, and then he quacked like a duck. I'm not kidding, he quacked. OP-I think they were looking for strength animals like work horse, loyal, but long suffering dogs that take abuse and wag their tails etc.

You've gotten views but no comments. I'm guessing most readers aren't retired yet. Even though you posted over a month ago, I'll try to offer a tip or two. I retired after almost 30 years, so unlike you illness didn't lead to my retirement. I think the best option is to get your health into the best possible position and then take a look at what you would like to do. I'm talking about what makes you smile or the secret passion that you put aside for nursing. For me, that was writing. People ask me if I miss nursing. I can say I don't because I didn't retire to clean out overstuffed closets, but to enjoy the the things I missed out on from crazy shifts and overtime. Besides, I include a nurse in every story I write. But there is a transition period of feeling useless because you're not working. To avoid it write out a to do list every week. Be sure to include something fun. In time that feeling vanishes, if you replace it by re-inventing yourself. That's the hard part. If you want to stay in the medical realm consider starting a support group for your genetic condition if it doesn't exist or even joining one that does. Work to improve services or expand knowledge of it. Start a blog about it and include recent research but interpret the medical jargon for the lay person. From a blog you can move to newsletters etc. Use your nursing background to explain community services that people with disabilities can access. I had no idea how to access Alzheimer's care resources in my city until a friend asked me to help her. So many have needs and don't know where to turn. Consider running for the local position, depending on your mobility, of your state nurses association. Rn's and Lpn's serve and you can make a difference in nursing practice. I'll be honest with you, I've never seen a retirement checklist or to do list for young people forced into retirement for a rare medical condition. You could take your experience and write a booklet on how to get through it. At first you may want to shy away from drawing attention to yourself but I noted you wanted to do something worthwhile. Sometimes kicking the beast (or the problem) makes it easier to get past it. Hopefully, others will chime in.

OP, I see a real need for this service, but I wasn't clear on one thing. Are you thinking of doing this yourself (as in one woman show) or are you planning on hiring others to work for you?" I think the rules are different if you're going it alone versus hiring others to work for you. See Merced's post. All states are in a flux about these type of things because they're all in budget shortfalls. Look for a small business bureau in your town. Maybe they can answer your questions. People without an LPN license are doing it right now, but I don't know about their training beyond CNA. My neighbor is looking for someone as an individual for her mother, but not from an agency because of the higher fees they ask for. I've seen flyers for these "sitters" in the library. They offer the same things you mentioned. Try to avoid billing M&M, ask for direct pay for fee services up front. Just be careful to stay out of the skilled care arena. A business license will make more people comfortable about hiring you versus those putting up flyers.

Another option I didn't see mentioned, is to ask a colleague to be given the verbal order after you. If another nurse is standing by, what could it hurt? Your best protection isn't a union rep. It's a witness. The other colleague doesn't need to hear a report from you, they should ask the person's name and then for them to repeat the order. The second person watches you write out the order and initials after your name. This avoids mistakes. It's proactive and professional. That way it would be harder to pretend a unit nurse is making up orders. Nurses need to get together to stop this type of problem. The other solution is a special phone where calls are recorded and used only for verbal orders. Frankly, I prefer this solution.

I think you guys have great ideas. One of the reason on line programs don't have as much interest is because its self directed learning and well..., life gets in the way at home, and the student doesn't stick with it. Also, nothing beats immediate classroon feedback. I agree that people value what they pay for. If free was best, the Salvation Army and other discount places would never keep stock.

angelrnstat, Wow, what a great idea. You might not attract first time testers with good grades, but for those that don't make it or who have squeaked by in school, I bet that's the first term they'll Google after a good cry. The bigger the city you're in the better. Try to model your class after the SAT or ACT classes by tutors. They give the students test taking tips and then teach them how to narrow down to two choices. For most, that is half the game. Also, if you work in the hospital it wouldn't hurt to ask SD if you can develop a class for CEU's in your specialty, and you teach it once or twice a year. If will give you teaching credentials if you don't have them now. Good Luck!

Don't forget after the foot soak > the foot rub. Heaven.

Passionflower: I think your book idea is great especially since it presents entrepreneurial concepts to young girls. I can't count the times my nursing friends and I would toss the idea around. We had no learning template from schools or even nursing schools for setting up a business. I hope that's changed. Good tips about the cart before the horse. LOL we all live and learn. You've obviously given your site set-up a lot of thought. Once the book's ready, go back and drive the traffic. I'd like to add for readers that choosing the right theme for your blog or website is important. I'd advise anyone thinking of blogging to read up on this. I chose a free WP theme, but if I were putting up a store I'd pay extra for a customized website that's interactive. My blog doesn't have drop down tabs from the header or footers. All I have are my posts and one side bar and it's working for now. You can check out my blog (it's in my profile) as an example of a personal blog verus some of the others out there. I'm selling my book and I've put up an amazon search box. I love my theme but it wouldn't work as a store like passionflower mentioned. I'm practicing my blogging skills before I jump onto a blog carnival like mentioned above. No sense driving traffic to your site if you don't have articles up or something to keep them there. Good Luck passion flower.

I'd like to second Overtonis's good advice to nurses wanting to blog for a living. I'd like to add a bit of advice for the newbie too, but first let me clarify, my blog is to serve as a platform for my self-publishing ventures, I'm not a nurse professional blogger. I hope to set up an income stream from my books, but I do see potential in income generating nurse blogs, but you have to think long term and make a plan. The key to success is Overtonis's tip 4. Find and define your niche and target audience before you even start. The whole foundation of a nurse income generating blog rests on you being able to write intersting articles. If you're not sure if you can blog for a living the best way to start out is a free Wordpress or Blogger Blog. There are lots of abandoned blogs out there. On the free blog you can't advertise to bring in money, but at least you can find out if blogging is your bag. If it's not fun, the writing will grow heavier every day. The first day I named my blog, but couldn't come up with a caption or tag line.(Big mistake that reflected poor planning). I learned after a few days that having a tag line or caption keeps me on a writing target instead of being all over the page. So, name your blog, define the tag or niche, and make your blog categories fit the niche. This will help advertisers know what ads to give you as well. My categories are Self Publishing and Writing tips, Health and Life, and My books. Each post I write is tagged with one or more of those categories. As your blog and interests grow, you can make more categories. Once you determine you can blog topics regularly and enjoy it, then move to a hosted web site and become an advertising affilate. There are lots of sponsors to choose from. You don't lose the posts in the free blog, they move with you to the hosted site. I'm not great with Social Media, but I inserted a Sociable tower at the bottom of each post so readers can share with friends if they like it. If you're already on Twitter and FB and enjoy a following, your blog will take off much faster than mine has. I'm barely out the gate with my blog, but I've received a few comments. Big Yeah moment! I haven't added advertising, I'll do a little in time, but it will never have two side bars full of ads or banners which is where professional bloggers make their living. A blog can be fun but it is work. People come to the blog to learn something unique from someone who has been there. It's the content not the advertising that brings in followers. For retired nurses looking for a second income stream, I see potential with it. A nurse that can research and write short e-books on their chosen topic or niche will do well if they write on high demand topics. For example off the top of my head, I think a nurse familiar with NICK-U could write a great ebook on things parents can do when they visit the unit and things they should do to prepare for when the baby comes home. Bascially play or touch recommendations. Most parents questioned how to hold their baby, could the baby hear them, where should they stroke the baby etc. The key is to deliver information lost in translation from the docs and nurses to stressed out parents. Think of it as a parental tip book. The ebook can be sold from your website or even Amazon. I've seen people write small e-books on their hobby-how to train a lazy dog. The potential is out there but expect money to start slow; it's a long game. In the blog world, I had to learn a whole new jargon with themes, links, plugins, and widgets Oh My! Starting a free blog is like sampling dessert. Give it a taste. Good Luck and comment back here if you take the plunge!

Taking time off to raise the kids used to be the norm, okay, a very long time ago. PRN is your answer. Work when the husband is at home and don't feel guilty. Guilt never fades I'm sorry to say, but my kids laugh when I admit to it because they weren't impacted like I thought. Add hours slowly, everyone needs time to adjust.

Cayles, I'm retired but I wanted to offer a few comments. I'm guessing this is the standard resume your classmates will use too, but this is a dry uninteresting read. Were you voted any honors in nursing school? Did you present a checklist or give a talk that gathered attention? You've got to lift this up a bit so you stand out. Did you sit with a relative with Alzheimer's or support a good friend through a grief episode. Did you volunteer at all. Do you have second language skills? If nothing else, change the order of your skills to the ones you think might be the most important to a NM. For instance, I'd move daily teaching of family and patients to number one, but change "did" to a stronger verb. Assisted patient in learning self care techniques for diabetes including etc etc etc. Spell out teaching you were especially proud of, don't just dump it under "did patient teaching." The reason I mention this is because it doesn't seem important to you as is, but it's important on the unit. Experienced with patients on cardiac telemetry. Change this to Experienced and familiar with basic EKG and managing monitoring devices. ( Say this only if you do recognize basic dysrhythmias) Obtained vital signs and managed basic respiratory and oxygenation devices. Can trouble shoot blood glucose monitors and anything else you can add. Is there anyway you can add the name of the hospital electronic system you're familiar with? You can't go wrong identifying particular skills. At the very least they will note you went an extra step in your resume. When you don't know people or have networks to help you the resume is your only tool. Don't over do it, but change the ordinary into the extraordinary. BTW, the plural for diagnosis is diagnoses (check in your resume). Good Luck.

I read your post and noted your sign in is sunnyskies2. Sounds like a good outlook to me. The best way to get public speaking experience is to find something you believe in and volunteer. Hand out fliers and ask people to vote for something. The trick is to learn in a comfort zone of your choosing. Is this a clinical you find scary and are dead certain you won't work in that field? For me it was Peds. Struggle on and know it doesn't haunt you for ever. Do seek support from friends in the group. If you have rapport with the instructor ask her for public speaking tips. Chances are she's been there. The key to confidence is preparation--spend more time practicing like others suggested.

I'd pay off the debt or at least tackle half of it first. More school isn't always the answer to debt, but if your heart is in nursing at least promise yourself you will move to an area hiring nurses if your current community doesn't. We're in a depression and people who can be mobile in the job hunt will fare the best, but it's an employers market right now. Hospitals have chosen to go lean on hiring. Check Ashley's suggestion cost wise against cost of ADN. BSN will always carry more weight over an ADN in most areas of the country. Good Luck.

Non medical facility? This makes no sense. However, most medical facilities have hospital policies to govern this issue. If you have questions, see charge nurse or nurse manager.

You're freaking out.

There is no field in nursing where you don't do some form of math calculation. Math phobias hold so many people back from a job they can really love. Go straight to the Khan academy and start where you already know you're weak. Heck, I work math problems in there all the time to keep my brain sharp. It's good for you and good for your kids. When you're done, you'll laugh. Go there now.

I'm confused too. Perhaps you can review your post when you're not so upset? I'm also sorry you lost your job as well. and hope things look up for you.

Lindarn, Amen. I watched opportunities come and go, I never jumped because the money was always an issue. You need to sock away funding so you can handle the "pucker moments" of starting up your own business. There is comfort in a routine that pays you, but over time it will diminish the drive to opt out. To me health care is backwards, too much emphasis on dealing with disease etc after the fact instead of before. Over the years I listened to pharmacists that got together and researched investing and they pooled what they found out. Made good money too. They had a rule too--they didn't let other co-workers in. Some respiratory techs went out together and started a business and its still going. I worked with nurses that did clinical research monitoring and many of them were independent contractors. They made good money but they travel a great deal and are up to their ears in paperwork, reports, and followups etc. It's hard to go independent. Wonder if some lurkers might share their success stories?

I'm late to the thread but the title of this one is so true. We want to be independent, but we want it within the walls of institutions. It's like those walls are roadblocks. I came across patients having a hard time getting disability after stroke. When I checked into it to see if I could help, I found some nurses stepping off into this area, and I referred patients to them. Within a year, lawyers were shoving them out of the way. Given a choice, the poorest of patients believed a lawyer would get a better deal than a nurse. Another field taking off is the nurse managing the elderly patient that wants to stay independent in the home, but are still on their feet with minor health problems and family live out of state. I see this field as growing. There's a professional organization and certification and I hope nurses keep it, but I see this as a field nurses "could get booted out of" like the above example. Independents can run with this. Lindarn's post was so true, we've got to start talking this up in nursing schools. Finally, nurses keep out-of-boundary jobs they run across to themselves. It's like the ole pot of gold--keep it hidden. We should be supporting one another. If nurses start leaving the bedside to be entrepreneurs, then you can bet they will do a lot more to keep them roped in. For those that want out--If nurses flood a field, we can own it. Let's start a thread of ideas. itsmediane listed some great ideas in her post. Let's keep them coming. I'm writing, but with publishing in flux like its being spun by a tornado, self-publishing my novel is looking better. If I go for it, I 'll document the process because I want to make it easier for another nurse coming up behind me. BTW, if anyone reading this has already made "the list of steps for self-publishing like a PRO, please mail me. I'm researching it, but I don't want to re-invent the wheel.

Trust me, her tune will change the minute she's admitted to a hospital. She'll tell everyone not to bother doing the small things like bed baths 'cause her super-sweet D-I-L is an amazing nurse and will take care of it.

What you feel is completely normal when you don't have kids tugging at your heart strings. I agree with others to find a hobby that you can enjoy. I joined a bowling team (I know) but we had so much fun. It was the social experience without codes, alarms, or call lights going off. I knew one person when I started and ended up with great friends. Job transfers and moves to follow the money broke us up, but kid activities would've cut into "alley time" eventually. Oh, I answered a flyer another nurse put up near the time clock. So look around while you're a work to see if there are others feeling the same as you.

Ventmommy, Seriously, they can't use the bathroom? I never worked home health and I salute all of you that do.

HealthyNurse, I'm glad to see nurses thinking about going independent. It's my chief regret but I'm trying to resurrect a non-nursing career. Make your business plans now while you're working and re-work them as needed. Have them ready to go plus establish a small emergencey fund in case you get fired. I don't mean you'll be fired, but be prepared like you might be. The objective is to get ready to leap when you're ready and have funds set aside. You've got to find a niche (probably from the surveyor role) to keep ahead of competition. Look forward at obscure health laws that might garner more clout in the future. You don't mention your age but you don't need more work experiece after two years. Get certified, it gives you leverage, the tests aren't jokes, and when you have them people are confident in you. Take small business courses and learn the computer programs. The people you want to partner with probably go to local small business meetings in the city. Try to go and learn. Networking takes years, don't wait, until you're actually ready to do it. Finally, offer to teach a class for free. Wow them and the door is cracked. Good Luck.

The gal in the center of it "dies'" driving through a fast food restaurant before her testimony? Guess she lost control of her car, but oh my, the writer in me sees a whole bunch of storylines to exploit in this story. It's amazing how long the scheme worked and its bad PR for the company she worked for. Greed tripped them up. Thanks for sharing.