dodiewayne

I am an LVN going for my BSN eventually to a NP. I am 43. I graduated nursing school in 2011. The last grade I finished was the 6th grade. I went on to take and pass GED in 2000. There is hope. Don't let anyone detour you.

I think the main thing is, I found my first job at LTC and have stayed there. I did venture out once, to a psych unit but this was at the time my back was going out so I never really got a chance to like or dislike any of it. After surgery, I just went back to what and where I was at to begin with. Same job I started with. I need to venture out. My husband says "spread your wings".

I have thought about Hospice. For some reason that appeals to me. I have found though, that it is really hard to get into. Home health is a little easier (little) than hospice to get into. I find that each of them really want someone with hospice/home health experience when they post an opening. I have applied but have not got a hit with any of the hospice companies around me. I will keep trying.

Thank you so much for your input! I have been thinking about informatics. I think I need much more education for that. I am a self taught computer nerd but probably need some certifications behind me. So I think I am going to go back for those certifications. It is such a weird feeling. I have taken off work the next couple of days to get my bearings back. My back is a little funky over a long trip we made this weekend so I need a little "flat of the back" time. Time to think

In my experience with the nclex, mine shut down at 75 questions. ..I passed. Unless you horribly failed I would think you would have gotten more questions. I do believe 75 is the earliest cut off. I called my instructor freaking out after it shut off. She told me don't worry that I most likely had passed. Which was true. Keep checking the site for your license to show up. I know this is a stressful time but don't give up hope. First thing I thought when i saw this post was thar you passed. My test had lots of cultural questions as well as cancer meds. I just knew I screwed it all up but nope....here I am...a nurse :)

Yes I feel very isolated. Our schedule is 3 on 1 off...4 on 2 off and every 3rd weekend we get 3 off. It feels like I need to rest all the time. If I am home I'm tired, asleep, or grumpy. I use to work the double weekend and I did like that more but was still getting the burn out feel. What makes it worse is I feel so obligated to my people. Kind of like my kids. It's really taxing on the emotions and my inner struggle with burnout.

This is exactly how I am feeling. I want to call in but won't due to feeling obligated to my pts and my coworkers. I have been looking into informatics with nursing but seems you really need an RN with that. Not much call for it in my area. I guess I need to find my place. I know this is not it.

I have only been an LVN for 4 years and am wondering if what I feel is burn out. I have worked at the same LTC since I received my license. I use to work baylor weekends - in which I worked 2 doubles and was paid 40 hours for those days. I became injured and ended up having to have back surgery. I went back to work but working nights. I find it harder and harder to go to work. I am so tired all the time. I even question if I still want to be a nurse. I love computers and have a good background with them, so I have pondered over just switching to something in that field. I was feeling this way before I hurt my back but hoped it would be different when I came back. It hasnt been. Any suggestions on how to fix this??? I do like being a nurse, I think so anyway. Some times I dont feel that way though. It just seems like a daily inner struggle.

I started in my nursing career in ltc. My facility has charting ques sheet for mcr charting. Each mcr patient has one issued by the mds...it states their admit dx and comorbidities. It has a list of common dx's and the what aspects need to be included in charting. The mds nurse highlights what pertains to that specific pt. It really helped me as a new nurse. Now I have been at it 2.5 years (sill a baby nurse)...and what is expected is burned in my brain.

I always aspirate any IM injection. This is how I was taught. Yes if you draw back blood your in a vein. Pull out- prepare med again as that one is contaminated and do again. As far as IV meds...I am a LVN and cant IV push meds...that has to be done by RN...unless certified within your company and certification is only good with that company...but also put license in jeopardy per TX BON because according to them its not within my scope of practice. ..ugg. Good luck with nursing school...you have chosen an awesome and rewarding career!

Ok I am a fairly new LVN...two years out of school. I have been working at a skilled nursing facility for the past two years. I applied for a position with an agency...completed the phone interview and was asked to come in for a face to face interview. What all shoud I ask? My first thoughts are; Inquire about training/orientation What type cases are available But this is just a start. ..what else should I have in mind? P.S. Any advice would also be appreciated :)

My intentions where also to sign up with Lamar this year. I also saw that they had pulled their openings for the rest of the year. I called them and talked with the nursing department. I was told that the reason for pulling the start dates was because the received a warning status from BON/NCLEX because of the lowered pass rate of students. Pass rate apparently went below 85%. The lady told me that they could not understand why so basically they requested a investigation into how the tests where taken. They received a report that many of their students where waiting 6+ months to take the NCLEX which was causeing a lowered pass rate on first attempt testing. Although, when they tested a second time the pass rate was almost 100% basically. This lowered rated caused the BON to put a "warning" against them and only allow one start date per year. I was told that they were going to recheck after the October test date (which was the past October 2012) and wait for the warning to be removed so they could open more start dates. I was told to keep watch on the site for more dates to appear or else the next one would be basically in January of 2014

Love it!! Bahahahaha!

oh wow I have had one of these days lol!!! Thank you for sharing ...I have to go dry my eyes now lol. Its nice to see I am not the only one who has days like these lol

Work weekend doubles from 645 am to 1130 pm. I only work sat and Sunday and i am given 8 extra hours a week added to my check to complete 40 hours. I like it. It gives me all week off unless i want to grab an extra shift or two for overtime. Another option for you is Mollen clinics. They do immunization clinics. They have contracts with walmart and so on to come in give flu shots and whatever else someone might need. You schedule your own time so its very versatile.

This is straight from Texas BON " [h=2]First Time Renewals[/h] A nurse newly licensed in Texas either by examination or by endorsment from another state is exempt from the continuing competency requirement for the first licensure renewal. A nurse’s initial license may be valid for a period ranging from six (6) to 29 months, depending on the licensee’s birth date. Following the first license renewal, the nurse must meet continuing competency requirements for the subsequent biannual renewal periods.

May I ask why you "dread the thought of becoming a nurse"? Just to input my own feelings when I graduated...or possibly before.....I wondered would I be a good nurse, would I understand everything, would I know what to do in a emergency situation, would I make a horrible mistake....I had so many reasons why I should quit and do something else. When I graduated I was so proud of myself but still in a cold fear to actually practice what I had learned, outside of class clinicals anyway. I finally got hired (after about a month of looking) into LTC working 11-7. I hated the fact that I had to work overnights but liked the fact that it gave me time to warm up to what I was doing. I actually had a awesome RN to walk with me and let me know how I was doing all the way. She gave me her input about once a week on how she felt I was doing and praised me relentlessly. She was a blessing! If I didn't know how to do something, all I had to do was ask. I was soon offered a day shift and once again was scared stiff! I hadn't actually dealt with awake people! The fear was almost debilitating. Would I know what to do all day with all the more experienced nurses surrounding me, would I know what to do when the doctors come in, what would I say to them and how to approach them....oh wow it had me in a cold sweat! You know what? I did ok! I still have great fear of talking to docs but I hope that will pass....I am now a weekend warrior, so they say lol, I work 7am -11pm sat and sun and I am off for the rest of the week (until they call me in lol). I tell you all of this only in hope to let you know, if it is inner fear that keeps you away, tackle it and you WILL win! If it is because you are really not interested in direct patient care, look up some extra certifications that would put you somewhere other than at bedside. MDS is a quick 3 day conference and pass certification test (not sure of the specifics but it can be done)...thats an idea....I actually thought about that even now. Anyway, thats my two-cents :) I wish you all the luck!