RetiredMSN

Zashagalka, That is very interesting that you should bring up Duke. I had a friend who went to work there soon after graduating from Nursing School with a BSN. She was working 12-hr. shifts and made more than one med. error. The staff there was anything but supportive or helpful. She left there pretty broken up in pieces, at my suggestion. Talk about nurses eating their young! I thought that was a prime example. RetiredMSN

hdnacres, as one of the previous posts points out, most of the time being a Parish Nurse is volunteer. However, some medical centers and hospitals have programs where they arrange with churches to provide Parish Nurses over a period of time, usually 3-5 years. The medical center pays the salary of the Parish Nurse the 1st year, then in decreasing increments over the 3-5 years with the plan that the church will take over full salary by the end of that time. That's the catch. Many times churches just don't have budgets that will accommodate this type of staff member. So, if one wants to get paid to do this highly satisfying and rewarding type of nursing, you have to search for a large congregation that is committed to promoting the health of its congregation and understands the great value of the professional contributions of the Parish Nurse, or work for the medical center that contracts for the services. Some churches in my area actually pay for a part time Parish Nurse to be on their staff as an employee, with performance evaluations and the whole bit. However, probably 9 out of the 10 I know are volunteer. I am volunteer and probably put in 5-10 hours a week on a program I developed. It could easily become a full-time job, but I purposefully prevent it from becoming that. I am now taking a Basic Parish Nurse Preparation course that my church is paying for however, so progress is being made. At this stage of this field of practice, one really cannot make it a career until they're retired. Answer your question? RetiredMSN

Artis, Just keep in mind you probably will not be able to make a living for a while in this wonderful, fulfilling role. The best thing is to do a lot of reading and get all the information you can on the subject and the role of the nurse in the church and with the congregation. Determine if your church could use this position and these services. Consult with your pastor and other leaders to determine level of interest. Then draw up an action plan based on your readings. This will lead you to present the program as a volunteer service to your church board or leadership team. If they accept the idea, then it will be presented to the congregation for approval & you are off. Select a committee to help, get them elected by the church, lead them in planning the program based on your readings. It's fun, it's a start, and when the church sees how valuable the services are, you may be able to sell them on the idea of paying for a nurse on staff after 2-3 years. Or, you may want to write for a grant to pay for the nurse initially, hoping the congregation will assume more responsibility after a couple of years. Certainly after 1 yr., they may at least be willing to pay for you to attend a course if you are interested in being the nurse to serve in that role. This is pretty much what I did, and the Congregational Health Program is pretty well established in our church now, in our third yr. However it is all volunteer. It is my personal goal to try to get a paid nurse on staff within 5 yrs., one way or the other. I am retired and am not interested in being part or full time any more. Hang in there...make and keep goals, keep your faith, follow God's leading. RetiredMSN:coollook:

i'm going to have to disagree with the nonproductive sexist view "it's a typical female-dominated occupational problem: lots of complaining, little to no cooperation, too much back-biting and criticism....." sorry if i offended you tweety. but, as a female, this is something i observed with many years of working in a female-dominated profession. it's a well-known fact that nurses are their own worst enemy when it comes to improving the profession and image. we eat our own...how many new nurses really stay in the profession after beginning work on a tough division in a health facility, or a demanding home care agency?...and simply have never been able to pull together as one professional organization to advance our causes. in my state, a very few really concerned hard workers go far above and beyond the call of duty to be sure we are represented and our voices heard when important health care legislation is pending. and it is difficult to find people who will serve in important positions on any level. the rest simply are not interested, or only find fault and nit pick. it is discouraging to hear nurses complaining constantly about their working conditions, yet they are not willing to pay anything to belong to their professional organization where they could make a difference. if more would join, then dues would go down. as a retired person, i am trying to back out of working in the sna, but shortage of volunteers just keeps us oldies in there for a little longer!

goingCoastal, as an ANA member, I feel I need to respond to your statements about ANA not doing anything for the nurses. The reality is that the few nurses who do finally join simply do not take an active role in the organization, for whatever reason, leaving the actual work of the organization to a few who are really concerned. It's a typical female-dominated occupational problem: lots of complaining, little to no cooperation, too much back-biting and criticism...in it for what they can get out of it, not for what they can contribute. If nurses would see that, no, the ANA & their SNA are not perfect, but it is the best going for us now, and join in the work of improving the profession, whether union or not, then you would see changes made. But not the way things are now. I would say to the inactive members as well..."lead or get out of the way."

Colrainrn, I was a student in a hospital program in the late 50's. The memories are far from all good. We had to live in the nurses' residence. You could not be married. However, I had one classmate whose husband was in the military stationed over 400 miles away for the entire 3 years, so she was allowed to enter the school. In our Senior yr., the school relented and allowed students to marry in their last 6 months of school and live off campus as close to the hospital as possible (which I did). Hours were very strict and no men were allowed past the visitation rooms on 1st floor, where the matron kept a close eye on all proceedings. You were disciplined if you were not back to the residence on time: which was 9:00 PM week nights, and either 11 or 12:00 on weekends. In those days, student nurses were the free "slave labor" for the hospitals. Once you were past your probationary period, which was the 1st 6 months, you were given unbelievable amounts of responsibilities, including being the only one providing care to a whole division of patients on evenings and nights, including medications and treatments. Yet, we were expected to also be sure every patient received "PM care." This was a partial bath with a back rub, every evening. It was a real luxury to have an aide on the division to help us. If a student was lucky enough to pull a day shift (in addition to all the classwork and studying) she was given one assignment, as in charge of medications, or treatments, or personal care on the division. In our Junior and Senior years, it was not unusual at all to be put in charge of a division for a shift, with maybe an aide or 2, maybe not. I remember many nights being the only one on the division to provide all the care the patients received all night. We had 40-hr weeks that included class time and floor work, and it was very rare to ever be able to leave the floor when your shift ended, so in actuality the hours put in were well over 40/wk. And of course, there were NONE of the conveniences and modern equipment you have today. But, neither did we have the "super bugs." Mental Health? My experience was no different than the classic movie "Snake Pit." I could go on & on. Advantages: By the time we graduated we could do anything & were ready to work any place. Disadvantages: No public health, and too much emphasis on work hours, performing tasks, and not enough on education & problem solving. Count your blessing today! RetiredMSN:coollook:

Hello AKANARN, Age has nothing to do with it. 1st, do you really want to be an RN more than anything? 2nd, do you have the ability to finish the education and do the work? And 3rd, do you understand that it is hard work, though rewarding? If all those are yeses, then go for it. At first, the stress will about kill you, but hang in there; after you settle down, you'll do just fine. Be sure to get all the help you need, keep your nose to the grindstone, keep your goals in mind, and the Lord will see you through. Oh yes, & go for the BSN. This worked for me. I started work on my Master's at the age of 48, a yr. after my husband died. I was far from being the oldest, and after I saw I could learn and study again, found myself really enjoying being in school again. So, go girl! It happens all the time. Blessings. RetiredMSN:coollook:

Lady, It is a well-known, much written-about, fact that artificial nails and painted nails carry a lot of bacteria of all sorts. They have been implicated in many incidents of spreading of infection, especially in hospitals and facilities. This is the reason you were asked to remove them, and painting your remaining nails does not really solve the problem either. This is something nurses need to face up to, and not be part of the problem of spreading of infection, but part of the solution. There are low cost items in any cosmetic department that can be used to help strengthen your natural nails. Look for labels that state "nail strengthening." The best ones are those that contain the same materials in them that are used on horses hooves, believe it or not. So, you might try looking in farm supply stores too. Some of those creams even state "for humans or horses" on their labels. Follow the directions, and you will see results...not miracles, but improvement non-the-less. However, I do agree with you about the manner in which you were "written up." Having been in home care myself for many yrs., and having seen this kind of management as well, I know this kind of action was unwarranted. You have every right to object to this disciplinary action, since you were trying to comply with requirements and asking for direction. Someone made a snap decision without looking into the particulars of the situation. And, if it's a case of someone just out to get you, well, there are other jobs. Best wishes, ReitredMSN:coollook:

LolaRN, the only experience I have is that I recently took the initial "Disaster Response Training" offered through my church for people in this part of the state. We were given information about what to expect on site of a disaster & procedures to follow. We were given an extensive information form to complete about where we were willing to serve & what our background, skills & talents were. I did check international as well as national & local. I know that our denomination will be involved in long term rebuilding after the tsunami, but have no idea how they pick volunteers to go. So, we are waiting to see what happens now. We were given a few hrs. of food preparation, serving & safety and chain saw use training (for the men). They also offered child care & counseling sessions. I do not know if my nursing skills will be used or not, but I've never been in a situation yet where they weren't used to at least some extent. So, you can receive information most likely from your church/denomination, & the American Red Cross would be another source. Also, your state nurses association (ANA) would have information. Go for it! RetiredMSN

lossforimagination, you definitely have a point. I have come to the place where I feel that until nurses see the need to organize and be empowered, instead of complaining helplessly, no progress can be made in any of these work situations. The beginning is to join your professional nursing organization, then become acquainted with collective bargaining. Until then, we will continue being the rugs the administrators and bureaucrats walk over! (Pretty strong for a retired person, but that's where I am now. Once a nurse, always a nurse!) RetiredMSN

I find these stories to be very distressing. I was in home care for 30 years, so am fortunate enough to remember the "good old days," when there was less paper work, less required at a visit, fewer regulations, and we could really enjoy the work. However, we still complained about the paper work because it was all by hand and repetitious. Also, we were expected to make 8-10 visits a day, and we were salaried with no overtime. We did not hire per diems then. However, time and situations changed all that the last several yrs., especially with the advent of PPS. By the time I retired, I was observing the types of things we are reading in these posts. Bottom line, you must be super-organized. DO NOT put off documenting until you get home. This will drown you in nothing flat. DO NOT make your patients dependent on you. Tell them when you will return so you will not have to call ahead every time. Teach them what to do in emergencies so you those kinds of calls aren't coming in all the time. Have your supervisor take those physicians' calls after you inform her/him of the problem. You really do not need to use a cell phone all the time if you plan ahead & effectively. Call those physicians from pt.'s homes, or leave a message with the supe to call when he/she is available. Use the office time to catch up on orders and other necessary paperwork. Keep accurate mileage records so you can claim income tax deductions at the end of the yr. Plan your travel routes so you don't waste miles & fuel. And keep routine supplies on hand along with extra dressings so you're not making trips to the office unnecessarily. You have to learn to keep visit time down as noted in a previous post. That's about the best I can offer. Home care can be very rewarding; but, yes, it is hard work. On-call time can be frustrating, but a lot of those calls really can be avoided with good teaching & planning. A good, experienced Supe is invaluable in helping you do this. And yes, you do put miles on the car. I hate to see you leave the field; be sure you're getting help with organization over the next few weeks. Lastly, don't forget to write your congressman about the true picture of home health. Congress created this monster & they need to know how it's affecting the nursing shortage and patient care. RetiredMSN

When I looked at these results, which is a very unscientific but interesting survey, it makes me wonder if the older nurses aren't responding because not that many are computer savvy. At my last job, it was a b-i-i-i-g problem with older nurses getting them educated to use the laptops and learn the programs. Led some to either early retirement or leaving for non-computer positions. RetiredMSN

ivy's mom, could I ask what the purpose of the kit is for? You are calling it a "parish first-aid kit." Is it for use just in your church? Or for several churches? Or for certain functions? That would determine what to include in the kit. We have just a basic first aid kit bought from a discount store for our church, and keep it filled as supplies run out. Because of liability issues, the decision was made not to get into areas outside of basic first aid at this time. We may look at that again later on. ReitredMSN:coollook:

Hello Beaston. I was also a home care nurse until retirement, and have developed a Congregational Health (or Parish Nurse) Program in my own church since retiring. I have done a lot of reading and talking with others on the topic, but am not really an expert. However, it has been fun, challenging & very rewarding. I believe you will find information you need at the International Parish Nurse Resource Center. I do not have the website address, unfortunately, but, if you just type this into your web page search box, it will come up. You will find that home care is probably the best back ground for Parish Nursing. You will really enjoy it. RetiredMSN:coollook:

Tiffany, you really need to hang in there. Nursing is not a piece of cake. You are now in the process of finding that out. There is no ideal job or shift, but there are those positions that at least have disadvantages you can live with. The suggestions to go part time & stay on evenings are very good. You really need to stay with it, also, to get more clinical experience before trying to move on to other things. Once you have 1-3 years of good clinical experience, you could think about going into other types of positions, such as home care. Home care will in most instances, be days, with rotating weekends and holidays off & serving on-call time. I worked part time evenings while my children were small & that was perfect. I also worked on a BSN during the last 5 yrs. of that time. Afterwards, the kids were in Jr. High & I moved into home care. We all thought we'd fallen into Heaven, because I was home so many weekends and holidays. Again, it's not stress-free, & is hard work, but very rewarding in so many ways. So, take a good look at how you want to plan your career...not just work at a job. Keep us posted. RetiredMSN:icon_cool