HurricaneCasRN

I'm a new grad working LTC. My DON came to me today to tell me that she heard I checked "unknown origin" on an incident report AGAIN. My resident had three HUGE skin tears on her arm. It was pretty clear when assessing the tears that they came from h...

Don't be too nervous. Don't be too sure of yourself....it's dangerous and doesn't endear you. Be helpful. Be willing to do stuff. Jump in and volunteer. Ask questions. Ask your preceptor for feedback.

This is AMAZING! Yay for both of you! I had a resident tell me all about how her son had always been in rock bands and they would go out to see him play and drink "until beer was coming out of our ears!" She was in late vascular dementia. She couldn...

My facility has a census just under 100. We have three nurses to cover that, no bridge nurse or supervisor or anything...just the three of us. It can get hairy. BUT, we NEVER get talked to or written up for staying over. In fact, our DON tells us alw...

Is it possible that a former employer is giving you bad references, deserved or not? I've heard of it happening. Good luck with your new interviews!

I didn't say ALL DONs. I said BAD ones. And they ARE a problem. Good ones are not a problem.

Bad DONs. Short staffing (caused by bad DONs) Inappropriate residents (supported by bad DONs)

How do you deal with them? I'm talking about the families that take shifts and are on the floor all day and evening. Each shift wants to talk with you, complain to you and assess Mom and create complaints. They suck up HOURS of valuable nursing time,...

LTC nurses also draw labs, deliver them to the lab, communicate them to the doctor and change care plans and MARS based on those labs. In LTC, we have a few patients per shift that are experiencing acute situations and 20 or 30 more that are chronic...

Ayiyiyi!!! You didn't MEAN to sound that way did you?

This is what I shared tonight with a private group, nurses and non-nurses. Background for you that don't know me, I'm a first year, grad in May working in a nursing home: Intense night tonight. We were caring for a hospice patient who was also someh...

On the flipside, my ex-husband's cousin became a NP in family practice. The family was so proud because she's "almost a doctor!" I didn't even aspire to nursing school at that point, but it still ticked me off. I told him "She's not 'almost' anything...

I knew some student nurses that knew everything. They failed out. The ones that knew MOST everything graduated, but can't pass NCLEX.

Also, look at her nutritional needs for heart problems. NAS?

Meds. Drag out that Pharm text.

Murses might be my favorite creatures on Earth! lol You are cracking me up!!!

I disagree. I'm picturing our fellow poster. 41 year old male, former Marine, toothless, working in long term care, sick sense of humor. I bet he can ACTUALLY rally a team like no other. lol There's something to be said for "teamwork" and there's som...

I want to say just one thing: I'm a newly minted RN. I work in LTC. I love it, but I never planned to be there. lol I graduated in May. I work with LPNs that have been around the block a whole lot more than I have. I depend on them to HELP ME and TEA...

I think that is a FABULOUS idea. I had my daughter at a large hospital about 30 miles outside of Chicago. I'm told that she was head out with a dystocia for eight minutes. EIGHT! (Even I find it hard to believe) Rules changed after she was born, for ...

Thanks, Thinker. It's helpful to know that this is the standard practice for the reporting. I'm totally new to the game, and as we all know, orientation just isn't long enough to cover all the ins and outs. Plus, this particular form is new to the fa...

I'm a new grad working in the dreaded LTC. lol As is often mentioned we don't get a very thorough or very long orientation. I was using the ladies room next to the station. I found out when that room was occupied that there was a STAFF restroom! This...

I spoke very frankly with the ER manager at a suburban Chicago hospital. We spent a LONG time together. We had the formal interview and then I was like "Look. Let's talk." I could do that because she knows my sister.. She said that, no, it's not ACUT...

New grad. I went tonight to "change" collagen and border gauze to two pin point open areas on the sacrum. There was no change, since their was no dressing. Two open wounds open to ****. Even with awesome CNAs an incontinent pt will end up exposed for...

I graduated May 20. I tested June 24. I started my job July 18. I was asked to apply and got to name my own hours. I think part of the problem is that we've heard for so long that there's a nursing shortage, that folks think they get to roll right in...

Hi, everyone. I wanted to give a quick intro since I plan to participate here and there. I live in the midwest, I graduated in May with my associates. I'm thrilled to have OFFICIALLY earned my RN. I'm starting next week at a sister property to the LT...