MurrR

Depends. Where I work we have no such thing as OTC treatments or meds, everything must be by doctor's order or be covered by a protocol that's been reviewed by my supervisor. It's a company policy - regardless of the legality, I'd probably lose my job for doing it without an order/protocol. Legally, in Oregon at least, a CNA can apply heat and cool - as long as they're not a total moron about it and leave their patient sitting on a heating pad for more than 20 minutes without checking/removing it. Ditto for cool. It has less to do with the OTC nature of the treatment and more to do with how smart/educated is the aid applying the treatment.

I was about to say this. I could tell you, roughly, how nurse delegation works in Oregon that allows me to work as a caregiver and perform certain tasks for my clients - like giving insulin, epi-pen, etc. etc. - but you don't live in Oregon and the administrative rules might be very different in your state. Also, I have a CNA license but work as a caregiver and unless I have special dispensation I cannot do things as a caregiver that I would do as a CNA - i.e. I cannot give suppositories without going through a nurse delegation training as a caregiver, even though I'm familiar with them from my CNA education. Working in an unlicensed position while holding a license is very, very tricky as I have found every day at my job.

I feel your pain. I'm at a job I don't particularly care for right now because I need the health insurance. It sucks to feel stuck some place you don't like. My advice would be to stick it out *if* you can and transfer, because that sounds like a solid track and even if you learn nothing else you learn what you can do when you're put in a bad work situation. Otherwise I'd be tempted to take the Per Diem position if I were you. Gets you your experience, you get cross-trained, you'd get good support and training, charge nurse seems awesome. Who knows, could work out into a full time job on its own or open doors to other positions you wouldn't be considered for now. If you're not getting enough hours, you could hire on with a per diem agency to fill in the rest of your schedule. A lot of per diem nurses do that - and agency pay is frequently higher than standard pay.

I had an instructor once who was filmed by a local news crew performing CPR on top of a gurney coming out of a helicopter into the hospital while 8 months pregnant with twins. I wouldn't advise such a thing, but I think it just goes to show that if you want to do something you can find a way! By the way, the hospital got angry letters from locals about it to which they issued a public resonse: "Let her? You think we let her do that?! How about you try to stop her!" :lol:

I work one 12 a week, which gets me 3 days off a week. It's just about perfection, haha!

Depends on your employer, although a totally sporadic job would probably be described as "on call" rather than "part time"

I can't believe this doesn't fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act! Very sad that they don't see the value of your knowledge and experience. To that end, is there a nursing school near you that could use a skilled classroom instructor?

depends on the type of facility and what the delegation laws of that state are. in my state, aides pass meds in assisted living after receiving on-site med training. after working as a med aide for six months you're eligible to take a cma class and become certified by the bon to pass meds anywhere. nurses may legally delegate certain tasks to unlicensed staff according to the administrative rules of my state, things like checking blood sugars and administering insulin come to mind but it includes things like changing dressings on wounds and other forms of care that usually require a nurse's specialized knowledge. there is a strict procedure for doing this so that nurses can assure that the unlicensed staff are performing these tasks appropriately before the nurse signs off on it.

You only get one body, why abuse it needlessly? That hospice job is just a-callin' your name.

There's a reason I like swing shift - I don't have to get up early, and I don't have to go to bed early. If we went to a 12 hour schedule at work, I'd probably start a riot.

I'm not sure if this is as true in nursing as it is in some other fields, but international work can show that you're adaptive and flexible enough to handle anything - even working in a foreign country, and with a foreign language! Even if it doesn't count as "experience" it counts as an experience that shows off what kind of a person/employee you are.

Well, it's true, don't kill yourself for anybody. BUT! There's a lot of quality care to be provided between not killing yourself and doing your job! Besides, you don't do anybody much good if you're dead, know what I mean? If the resident can lift her legs, asking her to do so nicely is a helpful way to keep her functioning at her highest level. If you do it for her all the time, eventually she won't be able to lift them at all because she hasn't had to. Encouraging our residents to do what they can is part of providing good care. HOWEVER! Yelling, cussing, screaming, laughing inappropriately...these are not okay. Roughness is not okay. I'd write a letter to my supervisor/whoever's in charge of this aide on a managerial level detailing what you've seen and heard. Keep a copy for yourself, make sure they're both dated.

That leaves lots of other options though!

Yesyesyesyes! What's it going to hurt?! If they decide to hire the new grad, you know you tried. If they decide to hire you, you get the job you wanted! What're they going to do, put you on some kind of list for applying to transfer too early?! I doubt it.

One of the best things I got from my school wasn't my certificate or the education - although they're essential! - it's the letter of recommendation from the program director. I think that paired with a really good resume that I worked hours on was what helped me get my last few jobs. (Been through three since I got out of school, if you can believe it.)