lulain

Thank you for all the feedback. I found a college in my region (King College Online) that doesn't require micro and chemistry, and will probably go that route as they have a cohort starting soon. If it doesn't work out with King, I will check into American Sentinel for sure. Good to know there are other options. Thanks again.

I have a Bachelor's degree in English, and an Associate's in Nursing. Fortunately I was able to start work right after graduation, as a mental health nurse, and will have worked in my facility a year this June... I am weighing the merits of going back to school for a BSN. Is it really worthwhile, in the job market, to have a BSN, assuming you have a couple years of experience with an Associate's Degree? I am especially thinking of moving to moving to a large urban area in a year or so, and would like to continue doing mental health related nursing, if possible. Thank you for the input.

I have an Associate's in Nursing (currently practicing as a mental health RN in a fairly small town) and am considering taking an online RN to BSN program. My goal is to move to a metropolis (or at least have the freedom to do so if I wanted). Is it really hard to find work without a BSN in somewhere like New York City or Philadelphia? Or are they more just looking for experience? Any other tips?

Simple question; not looking for sermons, haha. It's not that I wouldn't want to take those courses in an ideal world. It's just not practical for me with my work schedule.

I am looking for an online RN to BSN program that doesn't require Microbiology or Chemistry. Does anyone know of anything? Thanks!

Thanks for the response! I still don't really know why the 2nd example would be okay, and the first one wouldn't. If it's a small enough town, couldn't you say, "I had a patient who came in with an earache..." and someone might know who you 'mean'? I thought there had to be some solidly identifying information? Also, can you mention a specific drug(s) a patient is taking, or is that identifying? Just want to make sure I have it right.

Is it a violation of Hipaa or any other privacy rule to share patient stories, if no identifying information is shared? For instance (and these are purely fictional), would it be a violation to say, "I had a patient who overdosed on [X-drug], and we had to put him in restraints. He was just a young guy, but he was really violent!" or, "I had a patient today who had an accident at a sawmill, and we had to amputate his thumb." Something along those lines... I don't want to violate any rules/regulations, so I never speak about patients outside of work AT ALL, even to my family, but I wonder if I'm guarding myself too much, if no identifying information is given. I think responsibly sharing some overall picture of patient stories (like the ones we all heard in school) could be a good release, and a good way to learn from each other, just so long as any identifying info is given... Maybe I'm just overly paranoid? What exactly constitutes 'identifying info'?

Algebra, thanks for sharing. Looking back on that situation, do you think you would have confronted your co-worker in the first place, or gone straight to management? Keeping a log sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, Orca. My instincts tell me to approach the other RN, and if that doesn't help, take it to a higher level. Reading that someone else thinks the same thing is really affirming. I just need to get over my fear of confronting co-workers... I feel like she might be really responsive to a simple question, like, "How would you feel about taking turns at the front desk?" We'll see how that goes...

Thanks for the reply, Orca. I tend to agree with you; so many people abuse these devices that enforcing a blanket rule might be the best option. I personally don't necessarily see a problem in using such a device in restraint and moderation... with "moderation" being the operative word, sort of like how someone might bring a paperback or work a crossword for the "in-between" times. For better or worse, the night shift supervisors are pretty lenient with electronic devices. I do have a Kindle myself that I read sometimes, along with most of the night shift nurses, while I'm sitting at the front desk, waiting for the next thing to come up. The funny thing is, I'm afraid I look like a slacker for reading or playing a card game at the front desk, while the other RN is hidden away in the backroom fully engrossed in Batman Returns. I definitely don't isolate myself in the backroom watching movies with my headphones on; I'd feel like too crappy a team player to do that. We have a brand new nurse manager on the unit and I don't yet have much of a rapport with her. I hate to report the other RN and risk starting a war when I barely even know the new manager. The ideal thing by far would be if she, the other RN, would just step up (is it possible she could really be oblivious that she's not taking responsibility?), but after looking at the options, I wonder if the best thing isn't to just spend a couple hours each night in the room even farther down the hallway myself, which would force her to take responsibility at least some of the time since then she'd be closest to the phones and patients. I hate thinking this way, but I don't want to get burnt out so soon either, if that's what's going on with her... Urgh.

Hi guys, I thought you all might be able to offer some advice, please. Here's my situation: I recently starting my first RN job at a psychiatric hospital. I really like my position in general, but it "irks" me when I feel like I'm one of the only few staff members pulling my weight. The other RN on the floor, in between prolonged 'smoke breaks,' stays inside a small room adjoining the nursing desk area all night, out of sight, mostly watching movies on her Kindle, and leaves me to answer all the phones and be in the front line of any question or issue that arises with the patients, regardless of whether they're even 'assigned' to me. I don't mind the work, it's just feeling "used" by the other RN that frustrates me. I wouldn't mind if the other RN would pull some of the weight... I don't even mind doing most of the extra stuff that arises during the night, but having to do it ALL seems a little bogus... Is there a polite way to bring this up to her? I was thinking another option might be to stay in the other assessment room farthest from the desk for a few hours, forcing her to step up to answer the phones and handle patient issues at least sometimes. I feel it's better to say something now before she (the other RN) gets too adjusted to the status quo, but at the same time, I worry that where I'm new she'll not respect what I have to say. Does anyone have any advice how to motivate people to pull their share? The other RN has worked at this job for years, and I think is a little "burnt out." She's always nice to me; it's just my fear of confrontation that keeps me from saying anything. Anyone have any similar stories?

Thank you for the thoughtful comments. I'm sorry to hear about your case, noahsmama. What a terrible negligence on the part of the doctor!

"Identify the primary and secondary role of the nurse in managing the care of an abuse victim." I'm stumped on this, especially breaking it down to primary and secondary roles... Any help much appreciated!!

Thanks for the response, Esme! Thoughtful answer.

Looks like my post got kind of lost... Just an FYI, to start a new thread, hit the "new thread" button under the Nursing Student Assistance page. :)