dansdoll

I love these threads there are always many people who do not work with pts, who want to post here stating that customer serivces imporves care when that is not the case. It is like tryin gto be your childs best friend instead of their parent, it dosen't work. Nurses need to be seen as the collaborators of care not the waitress. People do not follow directions from a waitress, but that is increasingly the perspective of pts that nurses are not trained professionals but the servant of the MD. As long as pts view nurses as waitressess pt outcomes and care will not be imporved but will suffer dire consequences.

Dear kstec, Just a note, I was not "fortunate" as you put it, to go to nursing school right out of high school, in fact I did not get my CNA until my late 30's and I did not obtain my ADN until my early 40's, my BSN in my late 40's and my FNP at well over 50. The process is one that takes time. I also have a family that is placed at the highest priority; I home school my children and set the school example by attending school myself. Everything I have done has been through alternative, distance, and part-time schedules to accommodate my otherwise busy life. I do not work part time, I work full time, yet I still have time to recognize the importance of example and pursuit of the goal to be the best by upgrading my education. I worked the first 30 years of my life as a waitress (great preparation for nursing by the way), and I wanted a better example for my children. I started nursing school when my children were 2 and 4, my children never knew what it was like for me not to be in school, but like I said, it served as an excellent example and is completely manageable without disrupting the home life or sacrificing time if one pursues a higher degree on an alternative schedule. You do not have to "sacrifice" your family for nursing school and I find it disheartening that you chose to do so the first time. As you are proud of the letters behind your name, LPN, I am proud of the letters behind mine and feel I should be recognized for the extra effort I put into getting those letters and the extra knowledge and work required should be compensated for with both respect and money. I have never said or implied that I am "better" than you or anyone else, I have only asked for the respect I deserve. Nurses who are not willing to invest time in continuing education are sacrificing the satisfaction they could hold with these accomplishments and the higher quality of care they can provide their pts with the increased knowledge. I didn't go back to school for letters behind my name, I went out of a desire to provide better care for my pts, something all nurses of high caliber should desire. As I said before, many nurses with higher degrees support higher levels of education because we recognize what was missing from our practice at the lower levels, nurse still practicing at the lower levels do not recognize what is missing because they do not internalize the entire process by going through it to advance themselves. The high percentage of low-level practitioners is what brings the entire profession to that level in the eyes of the layperson, hurts nursing as a profession, and hinders the recruitment process for new nurses. The poor image is why most nurses are as myself, "second career" nurses and young people do not choose nursing as a first choice career.

The fact that many nurses who hold higher degrees are the ones who promote higher education, may be the point in fact. The more education a nurse has the more that nurse realizes how much was missing in their practice at the lower level........ just food for thought

The option to pursue the BSN is available to any nurse who chooses to follow this path (see the advertisers on this page for distance, part time and scholarship program information). Any self-respecting nurse will use the educational credits to fulfill CE requirements to maintain licensure and not complain so about upgrading their education to a minimal professional standard. I have worked my way up from CNA to LPN to AS to BSN to NP. I know how hard, and expensive, it can be, especially as the sole income provider for my family, but I also know how rewarding it is to be the best. Without additional education a provider not only has a lack of knowledge and an ignorance of that lack of knowledge, but enough experience to feel they don't need the extra knowledge provided by formal education. If experience is all that is needed to be a nurse, why not promote the CNA who has 20 years of service to the RN position? Higher educational standards will promote the professional s a whole and bring nurses out of the service image held by most laypeople and into the new century as professionals instead of laborers.

I have worked at multiple facilities that use "tracking devices." It always seems like there is a marked increase in patient care in these facilities. CNA's are on the floor instead of wherever they get off to in non tracking facilities, and it seems like I get to care for my own pts instead of picking up the slack for other nurses who always seem to find someplace else to be in non tracking facilities. The only draw back is the big brother feeling, but guess what.... the fact that nursing continues to allow sorry nurses to work in our healthcare environments, instead of consistently reporting these sorry providers and facilitating their termination means we get what we deserve. If nurses would be accountable for reporting others who do not hold up the standard then we would not have to track each other to get rid of the ones who do not hold up the standard.

Dear looking forward, I started my nursing career as a CNA and I resent your implication that CNA work is gross. CNA's are essential to nursing and provide some of the most important care needs for pts. I am now an NP (resently upgraded from RN) and continue to value these care providers. I would recommend you look up the scope of practice for LPN and recognize that as an LPN you will be providing many of the care practices you seem to feel are beneth you. If you truly are "grossed out" by providing compassionate care, maybe you should look into and MA instead as MA are more office oriented and maybe this side of care will not gross you out so much.

85 % of all violence in hospitals is from family, so having family who can view last names is the problem not the pts.(Warchol, 1998). Most violence is directed at nurses who follow hospital policy so since most hospitals have a policy to remove disruptive family, I would also mention that removal of family is the main cause of the violence against staff, and negates any option you have to press charges because the situation becomes aggravated. Within the medical profession, nurses are more likely to be victims of workplace violence than any other staff worker (Warchol, 1998). A study of emergency room (ER) nurses in two hospitals reveal that eighty two percent (82%) of nurses report having been assaulted during their career. Within the past year, fifty six percent (56%) of ER nurses reported being assaulted. Surprisingly, the majority of ER nurses (73%) view being assaulted as "goes with the job" (Caroll & Morin, 1998). So we are subjecting ourselves to higher risk rates thatnthe average person. Carroll, V., Morin, K. H. (September/October 1998). "Workplace violence affects one-third of nurses." American Nurse. Emergency Nurses Association. (1999). The 1998 survey on prevalence of violence in U.S. emergency departments. Des Moines, IL. Warchol, Greg. (1998). Workplace Violence, 1992-1996. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

Yes but in NC the law states the facility can remove the last name if it feels the removal is in the best interest and safety of the staff, Montana does not allow the same provision. My initial licensure was in NC, that is my home state, and we never worn last names in the ED. It is too criticalof an environment and pts and family are under too much stress, during which they could make bad decisions. Yes they can get a copy of the chart later and find our names but at least it is not durin gthe heat of the moment, in a critical situation or time fo rthe fmaily or pt.

Not all states have this law to protect nurses. Montana state board of nursing requires all nurses even ER an Psych to wear their full name (including middle initial) and title (not RN, but the full registered nurse) on thier badges at all times. I worked there as a travel nurse for 16 weeks and I will never go back. Even as a travel nurse with my apartment in the company name and my physical address in another state, a crazy ER Pt tracked me down to my apartment complex by my last name (i had cable installed and apparently that is a public record occurance). He was really scary, thank god my husband travels with me and he was at home when the guy showed up. I will never work in another state that requires my last name on my badge ever again. How dum can the board be????????

Cros, have way too many holes!!!! Yuck, infection central, why don't you just wear slippers it would be more sanitary. Danskos are overrated, they are bad for your ankles, talk to an ortho doc, they will tell you Danskos rate high for ankle fractures. The best shoe I have found (no holes, nice and clean, yet orthotically sound) is the Emiril by Sanita.

Some place, maybe planet wonderland, nurses can actually graduate an ADN program in 2 years without summers, but in most places it takes 3-5 years including prereqs and clinical work (and most go in the summers as well). I teach nursing and have moved 11 times in my career so I hail from 11 places across the US. Also, the wage for New grads varies greatly it can be as low as $11/ hr in tenn to $30/hr in CA. It stands strictly to where the nurse wants to work.

You do not understand, the hospital does not want to verify who you are; they want bodies and people all around who look like qualified staff. They think they do not necessarily need actual qualified staff; they do not want to pay what it would cost to have all the RN's on staff. Hospitals just want it to look like everyone around is a nurse, that is why even housekeeping is allowed to wear scrubs. This way it looks like there are a lot of nurses with much less of a payroll cost.

Yuck!!!!! it is the transmission of germs!!!! The pts germs are in the air, if you wouldn't suck on a wound why would you want those germs in your drink?

It looks as if you have not been paying attention to infection control issues. The oils in typical hand lotions, including lanolin and aloe, basically any petrolium based product. break down the laytex while you are wearing it and compromises the barrier between you and the stuff you handling. Imagaine a colander of urine draining onto your hands! It is the same principle as water based sex lubricants when using condoms. Please tell me you are at least teaching your pts this very important aspect of diseae prevention!

Just alcohol here too, unless the iv will be used for law enforcement blood draw or cultures then use iodine swabs