Let's help out

Does anyone know of study guides for home health nurses, to study for the pre-employment, core competency tests, the agencies give? I'M looking for study guides/charts/flashcards/cheatsheets etc.on 1) Long term care (both peds and eldery), 2) Med/Surg, 3) medications and dosages calculations. They say don't worry, almost everyone passes, but if you fail one of the six tests, you have to wait another 6 or 8 months to apply again. Plus the tests are timed, btwn 9 mins to 30 mins. Nervous? Me too, a little. :)

Shame on me for jumping on the band wagon...but I can't resist. A close friend of mine enrolled in a large RN/LPN refresher course. On the first day of class, they had the students line up to turn in their registration papers, etc. One of the instructors loudly announced, "I want all "my nurses" to line up here, and all the LPNs to line up over there. She went on to say, she heard the LPNs joke to each other, in a self-depriciating manner, 'oh were just "low paid peons." She also noticed, that during their clinical rotation, this same instructor admitted she did'nt feel comfortable teaching clinical skills, so the floor nurses (all excellent LPNs) jumped in saved her butt, by instucting and supervising the students.

Are there any LPN's going to (or considering) Pima Medical Institute's LPN to ADN program in Mesa. AZ? Please share any info. The positive and negative aspects of this school program. Thank you so much.

I was told by the head nurse at a Phoenix dialysis center, that in order for a LPN to work there, she must give up, or relinquish her nsg license. Then she could work in dialysis as a patient care tech. Is anyone familiar with this situation? Do you know what the duties and pay for a pt care tech may be? Thank you

Thank you to all who responded to my question. i appeciate your help.

I know many may want to "file" this question under the "duhhhhhhh, column of basic nursing" but I would like info on the protocol and proceedures of nursing care after a pt falls. Please share how and what your response is. How do you handle falls? What exactly do you do? Also, what are the roles of the CNA's re: pt falls? We had a CNA say, (after she found pt and assisted nurses returning her to bed), that she didn't know she was to do VS on fall pt. Which was pretty much throwing the nurse, not to mention the pt, under the bus. Don't CNA"s learn how to monitor pt p fall in school these days? I realize ea facility is "supposed" to have available policy and proceedure manuals. I've been on a "Where's Waldo?" hunt in my facility to find them. Why aren't the manuals online? Maybe they are properiortory (sp) information . I have heard they may be locked up in the DON's ofc. Which doesnt help PMs and noc nurses. Also, do I dare mention the politics of "what constitutes a fall" some use the term "slid out of bed" how does that work? How to evaluate what is a fall and what is a slide? Thank You Nurses

I too, like to get to the nsg station 30-45 min early and start planning my day, but sometimes I run into a few glitches. The MARs may not be available, as the prev shift nurse is still passing meds (which is totally understandable, given LTC/SNFs huge nurse/pt ratio) Pts or nsg staff wanting you to start care before your shift begins, also don't forget to watch the clock and go back and punch in (which i have done) then it looks like your late. ARRRRRGH! Keep sending tips nurses, and share the wealth, or as Phil Donahue used to say,"let's mine the gold." And fellow nurses, nobody deserve's the name "GOLD" more than YOU!

This is a ? for PhillyBSN. You mentioned, "you usually don't chart until at least the first half of my meds are done." Can you please elaborate. Do you mean half of the meds during the medpass? (this wouldn't be in the middle of the medpass) Or" half" meaning you have already completed, for ex, your 0900 med pass and won't have to pass meds again until 1200 or 1300? Thank you, always looking for ways to improve my practice.

I agree with you. It's not "safe patient practice" when nurses don't take the report seriously. I always listen very intently to the report I'm given, and I expect the same courtesy and respect, and concern the patients. It's about the pts, not about, if we are tired, busy, or uninterested. I have one nurse, who says to me "just the highlights" when I ask if she's ready for me to give her report. An attitude like that can make a nurse feel as though she's being rushed and she may accidently omit needed info. Also and since we are on the topic of "giving report" it's not good enough for the nurse from the prev shift to say for example, Mr. X's accu check was such and such and I gave x amt of insulin, and then not document in in the MAR. I have had nurses do that several times, then there's holes in the MAR that I'm trying to figure out. When u have 60+ pts you can't rem everything that was said during the report. I know the answer is write it down, that is if they don't race thru the report.

Oh, and By the way, GET YOUR OWN MALPRACTICE INSURANCE and keep it quiet. Your facility's insurance company only cares about the facility. Call NAPNES for referral numbers. It's the best $110.00 I spend ea year. I'll do "beans and rice" before I'll go w/o my own private ins.

What do BOLC mean?

Please tell me the starting wage/salary/pay for nursing home LPN/LVNs? Thank you for your help.

I have heard you can work as a substitute teacher with a bachelor's degree. Double check first. Good Luck to you and your family.

Please describe what is involved being a nurse on a corrections unit? What kind of tasks do they LVN/LPNs do with the inmates? Is it a scarry environment? Do you have to adopt a tougher or harder persona? For the most part, I'm a pretty friendly, happy, and outgoing person. I'll probably have to play that down or maybe they'll try to play me. Please give me "a day in the life" type senario. Thank you nurses. I'm very grateful for all the help I've recieved with previous questions.

We may want to be careful about assuming that the food on the med cart meant that the nurse was eating as she passed meds. Some keep a couple of pkgs of cheese and crax or PB and crax on the cart for pts w/ low bld sugar. Another is known to keep the cheese crax in her pocket since she NEVER gets a lunch or a break and has to pop one in her mouth every couple hrs or she'll be the "fall risk" and the one "passed out on the floor" due to her "own bld sugar bottoming out!" Please don't say how she should take a break anyway or how it's illegal not to take a break. None of those comments are helpful, as she has 60+ pts by herself with 3 CNAs. Then she has to hear "are you still here?" Since she clocks out and returns to do her paperwork for 1-2 hrs. ' 'Just Saying

:nurse:I currently work at a LTC/SNF Nursing Home. I enjoy my job, co-workers, and patients. But the huge work load, nurse/patient ratio, and the "never ending" med pass, is pretty overwhelming at times. I would like to know what EXACTLY is involved in A L nsg. As we all know the "devil is in the deets":devil: .. Especially when it comes to nsg. Please lay out the duties of the nurse as she/he goes about her/his day. Share what you like and don't like about A L nursing? I've heard they may use "Med Techs" to do the med passes and that the LVN/LPNs do administrative work, nursing care plans, and supervise support staff. Is this true? How advanced do your computer skills need to be? Please fill me in. Remember lots of details. All ideas welcome. Bottom Line is please give me the "Assisted Living Nursing 101" or the "Assisted Living Nursing for Dummies" versions of the LVN/LPNs job description. Also any good Nursing books or resources you know of would help too. How does the pay differ? THANK YOU NURSES:nurse:! YOU ROCK:rolleyes::redbeathe;):heartbeat

You are correct. That's exactly what you do!

I am curious to learn about Veteran's and State Nursing homes. How do they differ from "for profit" LTCs/SNFs? Do they use the low-tech paper MARS with med sheets in a 3-ring binder, or do they use BCMA (bar code medication administration, with each med cart having a computer (I've heard it called a COW computer on wheels) I also want to know if the nurses have a similar (huge) work load, with 30+ and up to 60+ pts? What kind of charting do they do, paper, electronic. or combo of both, as I do. Do they chart "by exception" the checklist format? I am a Charge Nurse/Med Nurse/& the Only Nurse for a 60 bed ward, in a for profit, post acute care and rehab facility. I have all the same concerns that other LTC/SNF nurses have mentioned. I admire the nurses who address these concerns with their supervisors. I have been cautious, as the responses has been," not organized enough, not using your time well, and poor time-management." In the 8 mos I have worked there, I can count on one hand how many times I have had a break or a lunch. Hand to God! I am not going to rush thru a med pass and put my pts or my hard earned license at risk. I have often wondered, if the nurses,"who get it all done" are doing a little "creative med-pass" as in skipping the meds and or treatments on confused, or comatose pts?:uhoh3: I also clock out immediately after my shift, then return to work for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs to finish all my work (unpaid, of course) I tell myself, "at least You're among the employed." I really appreciate this forum. Thank you to AllNurses.com. And Please VA or state nurses, I am so grateful of any and all insights you can share.