jerryh55

Seems to me that many years ago this type of treatment was addressed, and something called the family medical leave act was signed into law. This was what it was dsigned to prevent. Employers dumping employees who have some sort of medical probloem that requires time off from work. In the past, some employers had so called maternity leave, and pothers didnt. This was meant to take up the slack. If memory serves me correctly, you have 12 weeks under FMLA. If you have the sick time or hours to burn, they take that first, and then you go into an unpaid status, but your job is guaranteed by federal law. Your job is guaranteed, your time keeps running, you keep your seniorority. I know hospitals hate really crappy press, especially things about how they treat there employees. I would ask why they are not following the mandated guidelines set out by the feceral government. Just my opinion. Be Safe Jerry

LMAO nothing wrong with silliness attacks Z Think they keep us sane at times. Have Fun And Be Safe Jerry

I have 2 questions about what happened. First, is the watcher like a sitter who just sits with them and what do they actually do, and are they employed by the hospital. I am one who really doesnt appreciate someone peeing on my head and telling me its raining. I would direct ur charge nurse to the watcher and verify that she in fact told you that. If she did,a dn the treatment wasnt given, why did she lie about it. Secondly but most important, any med or treatment should always be documented. Was it documented that it had been given, or did you look. If you didnt look and took her word, your just setting yourself up for a fall based on a person who doesnt have anything to lose as you do. In the end it is your responsibility to make sure it was given, but I do love the smell of someones feet being held in the fire while you make them fess up or whatever u call it. Be Safe Jerry

Giving to high of a concetration of O2 fools the system into thinking there is more than there is and will shut the breathing process down. Most of the levels we have seen for such patients is around 2L, but have been told might see 3 but no more. Hope this helps. Be safe Jerry

Hey Brandy, is this a group your gonna be stuck with all through class, or is it just a one time pairing?? If its gonna last all the way through your class, I would talk with the instructor and in the very least, he could do would be to obseve these people goofing off and instruct them that this is a group project. But the one thing I wouldnt do is let them continue to do as they please. Just my opinion. Be safe Jerry

I am like you, I need the person there in front of me to ask ???"s about things. I have done a few classes online and didnt care for them. I think your ADN to BSN online courses are extremely expensive, and I recall you saying in another post about working part time for the red cross. Something to ponder, last year the heads of the nursing dept from MIdwestern State came out and talked with our ADN class, and informed us that this fall they were going to be offering a program in house of ADN to MSN and would take 18 months. Not sure about how many days a week or anthing but seems that would save time and money in the long run. Hope this helps Be Safe Jerry

Where in Lubbock do you plan on going?? I attend Vernon College in Vernon Tex. I dont think all community colleges charge the same since tuition rates were deregulated. But looking at my sheet from this Fall, I am taking 8 sem hrs and the tuition is 124.50 for them. Am being charged 24.00 lab fee, and 51.00 institutional fee. Now last year when I started the RN program, there estimated cost sheet said around 5K for the 2 year program which included everything. Even fingerprints and background checks. Now granted some has changed , this will be pretty close for me. Now keep in mind this doesnt include any pre-req's, since they have to be finished prior to getting into the ADN program. Hope this helps Good Luck And Be Safe Jerry

Not sure what care plan book your using, but trust me when I say the care plan book makes a big diff. I struggled with care plans during my first year and found it hard to follow way the book flowed. During the summer i found a book at books a million and finally bouth it on ebay. It's Nursing Care Plans - Nursing diagnosis and intervention - 5th edition from mosby and written by Gulanik. Go take a look at it if you have a books a million or a barnes and noble near you. Good Luck And Be Safe Jerry

http://www.labtestsonline.org should work,,sorry Jerry

Try this site, it may help you some. www.labtestonline.org Be Safe Jerry

Seems pretty good, and once you have gotten his feelings about it you need to stress that it will be addressed with nutrition. Will be lots of patient education between you and nutrition to make sure his needs are met. Should calm his worries regarding weight loss. Be safe Jerry

Care plans from what I see vary from school to school. But they are a complete layout of a patients care. From original diagnosis to discharge, and everything in between. They will show you what they expect and the care lan they use. But as stated above, a good care plan book will make a world of difference. In the books they want you to get will be a care plan book. But the one above is very easy to use. If its not the one they have you get, invest 45$ and get it. Be Safe Jerry

Did your boyfriend come back to you once you came back ?? Sounds like he isn't very supportive. How does he feel about you moving away?? I think the above has it right. Lots of places out there to see. Enjoy it, by yourself if you have to. Don't let him keep you tied there if you feel this way. Have A Great Day And Be safe Jerry

I struggled through two semesters of care plans with the books they had recommended. But over the summer I went to books a million and just browsed. I found Nursing Care Plans - Nursing diagnosis and interventions , its by Mosbry and the author is Gulanick, is the 5th edition. I bought it online with a few other things. If you have a books a million or a barnes and noble, go by and check the book out and see. I found that the interventions and rationales were so much better to understand. hope this helps Have A Great Day And Be Safe Jerry

We are not told of who we will be caring for untill the morning clinical. We are there at 06:30 and are given our patient assingments. We have from then untill report, usually around 7:00, to see if our patient needs anything done prior to report. If not,,we go into report and then start working on our patients care. We only have total care on one patient. Lord knows how hard it would be with 4. And as stated before, we have one instructor per floor with 5 students. Once we have checks all the meds against chart, we are allowed to do the PO's, but must have the instructor present when we do any other meds. Keep The Faith And Be Safe Jerry

Most of us know up front how things are gonna be as far as grades and what's to be expected. We all know what we have to do in order to get through NS. Are there whiners in NS,, sure,, are there whiners in any other job or feild you have ever worked,, sure,, always that 10% no matter where you go or what you do. But to make the assumption that A's = better nurse and C's = a nurse of less quality is so absurd. Now granted my spouse has only been in the medical field for 21 years, I have never been able to tell the differnce between an RN who got A's and one that got C's in nursing school. But what I do find even more important is whether or not the nurse cares. A's dont make a caring individual as C's dont make a non caring person. Just take everything in stride and remember why you wanted to become a nurse. But always keep in mind the polocies of the NS your attending. Always keep in mind the requirements so you dont get caught wondering what happened. But whether your making A's or C's, dont ever let anyone tell you that your anything less thn you are. For some unknown reason I smell a BSN in here. Have A Great Day And Be Safe Jerry

If your a first year nursing student, then you should be seeing questions in NCLEX format. They should be already preparing you for the NCLEX examine. In many threads here you will find diff NCLEX books being mentioned as a way to help learn. It helps mostly with understanding the rationale behind any given answer. But if your tests aren't in this type format, I dont know how you will react the first time you do see one. Have Fune And Be Safe Jerry

I think if you went into any emergency room in the state of Texas, you see this little sign on the wall stating just that. At least in the ER's around this part of Texas. If you can't pay, the ER has the obligation of stabalizing you before they can send you to a county hospital. Have Fun And be safe Jerry

I can understand your frustration trying to soak up all the info being given to you. I can't really give you any study tips since my experience with Nutrition was extremly weird. Our instructor was a very knowledgeable man, and sometimes went way over our heads. He had a PHD in theology and was the minister at a small church. He had been throuhg medical school and residency and could have been a dr., but opted for religeon. But once he figured how far above us he was going, he actually started using real life scenarios for his teaching. He taught Nutrtion at our school, but also had class he taught in the town he was from. He taught new mothers, senior citizen groups, health workers, and anyone else who wanted to know more. And OMG did he have stories about how various people started living better lives through better nutrition. It was amazing. I know this isn't a lot of herlp, but you seem to have it down except for the pop quizes, and who does LOL Only those who learn from listening and dont study much. Have A Great Day And Be Safe Jerry

Is an associates degree in nursing. Agree with Z, should be just one degree, but I can hear all the BSN people, and the ADN people now complaining why didnt you pick my degree as the main one. Each person decides his/her own path based on their current needs and resources. But no matter which way you go, there are many programs to move up RN/BSN LVN/RN LVN/BSN. So just do what you think is right for you. BTW I attent a local community college working on my ADN ( one year down, one to go) and in our first semester, reps from the local state college that has the BSN program came and talked with us. This fall, they are starting a program which is ADN/MSN, bypassing the BSN portion. But as you go through the course you will do all the BSN material, and it takes 18 months to complete. In theory ADN in 2 years, MSN in 18 months. So you have ur MSN in 3.5 years. Amazing isnt it, and your friends who said ADN stupid, still in school. Just my personal thoughts on this strange subject. Have A Great day and Be Safe Jerry

Hey okie2, well we didnt have a whole ot of choice in when we took it LOL. It's one of 2 classes, the other being health assesment, that you can take even though u may not be in the nursing program. I got health assesment out of the way bout 2 years ago, but was advised not to do the pharm until the semester between first and second year. I cant imagine having to do it in the fall along with med/surg II and those ever so intimidating care plans. The good thing is if we happen to fail pharm, we can still proceed with our second year, but would have to take it and pass it next summer. Sooooo who knows. BTW, I assume by your nic, ur in OK,, where if you dont mind me asking. In Texas here, just south of Lawton, OK. Have A Great day and Be Safe Jerry

Holy Cow Z, I didn't know Canada was a different country since it's attached, but I live in texas and sometimes feel it's a different country all by itself. Sorry but just could not pass up such a really good opportunity to do a little picking. But on a serious note, some BSN programs do have a lot of classes that for some reason just dont seem appropriate for any area of nursing. They just stick them in and I sometimes think it's just to increase cash flow. Have A Great Day and Be Safe Jerry

You have to wonder how many people out there would be in nursing school if money wasn't an issue. I know some who were taking pre-reqs with me that once we applied. Were given spots in the next nursing class, but opted not to accept because of the money issue. I understand the not qualifying for any kind of aide due to the amount of money you make. I didn't qualify for any, even though I was unemployed, since the year before I made about 37,000. And before being qualified (stone broke with no job) I had to get a job to keep food on the table. Which means I wouldnt be qualified. It's a catch 22 for people who work and make a good wage. I was fortunate to be grandfathered into being exempt from all the entrance, basic courses since I was a viet nam veteran. I was able to use the Hazlewood Act to pay tuition and fees, but not books, uniforms, and other supplies it didnt cover. Try www.teri.org, it's a loan place for students and parents. Has the usual low interest, and you can opt to totally deferr everything until 6 months after you graduate. I live on loans since I dont make enough to pay bills and go to school. But is an alternative to not being able to go at all. Most of us have been in debt at one time or another, and I feel that a debt incurred to pursue a carreer in nursing to be well worth it. Have a Great Day and Be Safe Jerry

I have to agree with Matt'smom, Pharmacology is turning into a real nighmare. We have to take it in the summer between our first and second year of our ADN program. I was hoping for a little bit of a reprieve from critical thinking questions, but oooooohhhhhhh NO. And critical thinking questions for Pharm really suck LOL. I went through the first year of school going week to week. Completing one thing before I even let my brain move to something else, and Pharm is no diff. Week by week,,test by test. I remember in first semester other students talking about next year, I said heck, i have test next week, and dont have any thouhgts beyond that test. Once it's over, I'll move to the next week. But I can't seem to get my brain working that far ahead as what might happen next year. Let's get this one over before we move on. Now that the first year is over, have my brain working on Pharm, and will worry about fall once I get through this summer. Have A Great Day and Be Safe Jerry

During clinicals our first semester, I posed this question to the RN who we were working under. She said the answer is experience. Over time you learn what drugs can't be mixed and which ones can. All the med rooms where we do clinicals has a drug book in them. She said dont ever be afraid of looking a drug up. When we do meds at clinical, we look every drug up before giving it. I have personally withheld meds on a patient due to questions regarding there ability to be mixed. On 2 occassions it was ok and we passed the med, but on one occassion it was contradited and the med wasn't given until DR looked at both and changed one. The drug book is your best friend, and should be used anytime you think something just ain't right. Have a Great dat and Be Safe Jerry