luvdaisy

I worked for Amedisys for 3 years and would not work for them again. They only care about how much money they are going to make off of the RN filling out the OASIS. The PT's and RN's were constantly pressured to fill it out so that they would be reimbursed better whether or not it was truly how the pt should be scored. It was very frustrating to look at a 485 and see things that you knew you hadnt put on there. Were also pressured to admit a pt even if they clearly were not homebound. They wanted us to admit, get 5 visits, then d/c. It was very frustrating and I felt like I was completely defrauding Medicare everyday when I went to work. This is just my 2 cents. Good luck with moving and the new job.

Stay away from amedisys.

Did you apply at Gentiva? They called a friend of mine about 2 weeks ago offering her a job for the Elizabethton area. She had to turn it down because she had already accepted another job at MSHA. I dont think it's anything with you. Employers are just trying to get by with minimal staff right now. Something will come along that you feel good about.

Have you checked the VA in Johnson City to see if they are hiring? I know they have a wound care clinic. Also, home health might be an option with your wound care background. I am sure you would be a great asset to a home health agency as there are tons of patients at home requiring wound care. I did home health up until about 6 months ago and was making really good money. These are just a couple of ideas that I had. Good luck.

I live in the eastern most part of the state. Elizabethton is a smaller town with a small hospital called Sycamore Shoals Hospital. You can find out about this hospital and the numerous others it is in a group with at www.msha.com. MSHA owns a lot of hospitals in this area if you want to go to the website and take a look. Elizabethton is about 15 minutes from Johnson City which is a bigger area with a population of about 60,000 or so. The Elizabethton City School system is very good. There are also 3 colleges within 30 minutes. The other group of hospitals in this area is Wellmont and their website is www.wellmont.org. I just wanted to throw these websites out to you so you could have a place to start looking. Good luck!

Was this last visit going to be the 5th visit? I just recently quit home health and this is one issue that drove me crazy. No matter what, we were pushed to get 5 visits so we would be paid the full amount from Medicare.

I worked for Amedisys for 3 years and just recently started another job. I am so thankful that I am not there anymore. I was seeing 10-12 patients at least 3 days a week and the other days it was 8-9. I would sit and do paperwork for 4 hours at night then get to the office at 6:00 every morning to get it finished. It had to be turned in by 10:00 every morning. I felt like I had to answer the oasis questions so that the patients would have a higher score so we would get paid more. I stayed stressed out all the time. I quit this job and went to a Med Surg floor working 3 12 hour night shifts a week and I couldnt be happier or more relieved.

We are supposed to have all paperwork transmitted by the next morning at 10:00. If, however, we have a day with several OASIS they will give us an extra day. If we are ever over 2 days late then they start calling us and we are expected to come into the office and finish it before seeing the rest of our patients. I hate to even think of what they would do if I ever transmitted 7 days later. I hate having those visits sitting in my computer so I do my best to transmit the next day.

I should have added that I still love my job and that even though I am tired and a tad bit irritable by the end of the 12 days, I still cant see myself doing anything else. Dont let this discourage you from accepting the position. It is a very rewarding job and a job where you will truly be appreciated by your patients. In my eyes, the positives of this job sure do out weigh the negatives. Good Luck.

This is pretty much how it is where I work. This is my weekend so by the time Friday gets here, it will be 12 days in a row. I have done 22 days in a row before when we were short on nurses and the weekends had to be covered.

"I wish I could adopt you as a daughter"

I get 37 cents a mile so yep I would be happy with 44 cents a mile.

I do home health and spend a lot of time in my car driving between patients. You could stop and eat somewhere or eat in your car while driving to the next patient. It is pretty flexible.

It happens all the time with one nurse in particular. It infuriates me.:angryfire She also usually just goes ahead and calls in on Friday so her Friday patients get pushed to the weekend.

"I am allergic to Lortab 5 but the 10's are OK"

I work in home health and we love unna boots and use them often for venous stasis ulcers. We usually put a debrider like aquacel to the wound bed and then wrap the leg with an unna boot and cover with coban and then sometimes an ace wrap over this. Another plus is that it is a form of compression. They have calamine unna boots which would help with the itching. We also use sensicare ointment (basically zinc oxide and petroleum) around the wound bed to help protect the skin.

I fainted and hit my face on a table and then the back of my head on the floor. My instructor wheeled me down to the ER where I got a CT scan. I was fine except for a swollen lip. Yeah, I was embarassed and a little unsure for awhile, but that is normal. Don't worry about and dont let yourself think that you arent cut out for nursing. You will be absolutely fine. I was watching another surgery one time and a medical student fainted. Seeing this made me feel much better even though I did feel sorry for him.

If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked if I was going to go back to school to be a doctor, I wouldnt need to the scholarship Heck, I could quit my nursing job...but I wouldnt........... because I love it.

17 when I started right out of HS. 21 when I finished!!!!

I recommend Home Health to any nurse that I meet that is thinking about changing jobs. I love it. I normally see 30-40 patients a week. I may be doing anything from giving a B12 shot or drawing blood to accessing a port for an IgG infusion. There is a lot of teaching, but the agency I work for has books that can be given to patients to help us teach them about their DM, CAD, CHF, etc. I get paid per visit and for mileage. Of course you make more for admissions and after hours and on weekends. I very rarely have to see a patient after 5:00 and honestly am usually finished seeing patients by 3:00. The paperwork can be overwhelming at times but probably not any worse than what you do at the hospital. The admission paperwork takes the longest, but once you get used to it, it isnt so bad. We are going to computers soon so the paperwork will be eliminated. I really like the flexibility of the job and just being out on my own. I have a lot of precious patients that always make me have a better day.

The area in Carter county (Elizabethton) around Watauga Lake is beautiful.

That is our motto to, we must work for the same company. My office is completely confused on it. The teleconference didnt help us understand at all. They need to make a chart or something of different situations to show which form needs to be used. This is going to be a major headache if it isnt made easier to understand. Sorry, I am no help.

I have worked for home health for 1 1/2 years. I case manage 40-50 patients in a certain territory that our office covers. Another RN takes care of the other territory. I like it because I know what is going on with my patients...recent labs, new orders, etc. We also have case conference every week where we discuss new patients, problems, upcoming discharges. I see between 35-45 patients per week and get paid per visit. Of course I get paid more for admissions and on weekends and after hours. Every full time employee has a company paid cell phone. We are allowed 350 minutes a month. If we go over, it comes out of our pay check at 40 cents a mminute. This isnt a lot of minutes so I do a lot of calling from home and the office. I havent ever gone over though because, of course, it is unlimited mobile to mobile and my friends and family all have the same carrier. We get paid 37 cents a mile. I love my job. The flexibility definitely cannot be beat.

I was so nervous when I first started clinical in the ER. I have to say that the nicest nurses were in the ER. I was assigned to one preceptor, who was wonderful, but all of the nurses would come and get me if something more interesting was going on somewhere else. Use this as a great opportunity to start lots of IV's and insert foley catheters. As far as checking pulses, practice on patients who come in. Feel around for it when you are looking for a place to start an IV. The patient will just think you you are trying to find a vein. Dont worry about not knowing about the meds. Your preceptor shouldnt expect you to know all of them. Keep a list of ones you dont know and look them up in your drug book when you have time. You will probaby see a lot of phenergan and pain meds being given. Most of the meds should be pretty basic ones that you will know. The more complicated ones will be started when they get to the floor. I loved my ER rotation. It was by far my favorite. GOOD LUCK!!!