Norma_Saline

LOT of good ideas here. I like the idea of possibly you taking some PTO if you have any, but forgive me for not giving credit to whomever suggested it. Hospice might really be your calling. There is also private duty to give thought to. I choose to do it because of my Arthritis making it very, very difficult for me to stand in a facility for 8-12 hours. As with anything though, it can have its' disadvantages. If your patient is hospitalized you can miss hours and who can afford to do that, I know. Best of luck to you, I *SO* know that burned-out feeling. I hope something changes for the better soon.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly . . .being as young as he is and especially if he was raised in the south, sir and maam are a big deal and are probably a hard habit for him to break. I think anybody who is bothered or annoyed by being called sir or maam will eventually correct him and say "Hey, you don't need to call me that." If he's a 24-year-old kid raised with southern values he probably says maam and sir to the janitor too and I don't really think you can be "too" polite. However, just wait 'til some doctor chews him a new butt because he's had to call at 3am and wake him/her up for orders . . . he might tone down the sir/maam thing then. Lol

So true, that is basically what the lady from the bon said, except she said I would not even have a fine as long as I get the requirements in the 30 days grace period.

Ohhhh so in states where you have to pay a state income tax, the BON asks about whether you've paid your taxes huh? Wow, and I thought one person who responded to me and asked me whether I had kept my tax info was just teasing me. There is no state income tax where I live. How interesting. Well, I am glad your friend's license was renewed anyway!

Lol, nope, no fatalities yet and if I were to slip up and let that happen again I'd probably welcome you all to beat me up!

You were absolutely correct Lynn, thank you for taking the time to respond.

I am glad to hear my post gave you a good reminder to go check on your CEUs. If my post can help anyone in any small way, then I am glad I shared my dilemma.

Thank you very much wish_me_luck for saying something positive and encouraging, I appreciate it.

You are spot on about that llg, I found out when I phoned my current employer that the inservices they have been offering have not been good for board-approved CEUs, while many of us nurses have believed that they were. So even having certificates for many of those does me no good; I am still having to make sure I get the 30 hours within a month. It can easily be done though- my state accepts online-earned CEUs.

Hello to all, Want to say a big thank you to each and every one who responded to me on this issue. I was overwhelmed by so many responses and wish I could take the time to thank each person individually. I just gave up and called my board of nursing the truth and asked them do I have the remainder of the 30 days to do the CEUs, including bioterrorism. She said yes, I would absolutely be fine as long as I get it to them with the 30 days I have been allotted. I was under the impression all the CEUs had to be completed on dates BEFORE the audit. The lady assured me that was not the case. Even the bioterrorism can be dated within my 30 day grace period because who's to say I didn't have it earlier but lost the evidence of it, or decided to take it again. One thing I wish to address though because I do not care to be misquoted: Umm, I beg your pardon Bortaz, I admitted I was in the wrong for not having what I should have. It takes a lot of courage to be honest about your failure to do something required. What do you think- I should be taken out and shot? The reason I said don't bother to lecture me is because I was already down on myself enough for my failure. And please let the record be straight here, I never called ANYONE a 'wench', nor would I, for not being willing to pull my old personnel file and check for copies of CEUs I earned while employed there. I do not appreciate you putting words in my mouth that I did not say and would *never* say. Would it take "audacity" if I needed the personnel worker to get me any other information that is in my file? Or if a new prospective employer needed info about me that he or she was entitled to? No, it would just be part of her everyday job. I think the use of the word 'audacity' is stretching it quite a bit. It did not harm anything to simply call and ask her. When she said no, I let it go. It was worth the five minutes to make the call. You are the one calling her a "wench" and "lazy." I never called her either. So kindly stop implying that I did.

BTW, can somebody tell me how I can get my PM privileges enabled now that I have responded to a couple of ppl's threads? I have a PM I'd like to answer but don't think my answer is getting to the person because of the policy of newbies not being able to PM. Tks if anyone knows.

Ohhhh okay. Thank you for sharing that. That gives me optimism! Which I desperately need right now!!

The letter from the board says I have until 5/3/12 to provide what they are asking for. Probably they give ya those 30 days because they know nurses often have to dig this stuff out of boxes or, as in my case, ask a former employer for proof of it. :icon_roll

I *DO* hope you're right there! I mean, if you don't have something from the past, all you can do is get it now, right? And of course pay the fine or whatever they are going to make me do . . . .

And also, I think many, if not most nurses have asked themselves that same question- 'Should I just give up nursing'.

I just wanted to add that Guide's siggy is appro here: "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission" Eleanor Roosevelt

I would like to call and just hypothetically ask them what the probable penalty will be, or can be, but I am scared they'll start asking my name, etc. :uhoh21: I suspect probably the penalty is just whatever they decide it should be, and probably my actions & attitude will help determine that. (Guessing anyway, since there is no specific penalty listed on the state board's web site). I think I'm seriously going to have to humble myself here. :bowingpur I can't possibly be the first person who did not take the bioterrorism thing though, and I don't recall hearing of anyone losing their license for not taking it. Wish I could find somebody who has been in the same shoes so I could ask what happened to them. But JustBeachy, you are right- it could be considered fraud since I checked the box affirming I had indeed taken the class.

Ugh, strike two. My current employer just told me that their inservices are not actually good for CEUs. Thanks for your input though, what you said did make perfect sense.

Lol Ashley I actually have those in order, believe it or not!

Hi Vsbabe, I hope this doesn't sound trite but hang in there, it will get easier to deal with. I can recall feeling exactly the same way- 'what in the world have I gotten myself in for??!' Now I have quite a few years experience under by belt but due to some physical challenges in my middle age, these days I stick with private duty nursing. As the others have suggested, the only way to get more comfortable is to get more experience. I am just assuming anyway that you don't have much experience because you said that was only your 4th seriously ill patient. But when you do work a med/surg floor, communicate with your supervising nurse and explain to him/her that you do have anxiety, but are willing to learn and do the best you can. Hopefully some of the older, more experienced RNs will take you under their wing as many like to do and teach you things and try to make you feel more confident. In my past experience, I found that agency staffing *can* be a good way to get some experience, but it can also be a good way to get yourself thrown into a situation where you hardly get any report, you barely even know where the linen closet is, and the patients may already be in an uproar because possibly the last nurse didn't do this or that like he or she was supposed to . . . Let's face it, facilities typically don't need agency nurses unless there are problems there already so I think you might be going from the frying pan into the fire there. Let me stress though that I have gone to many facilities in the past that were not mismanaged in any way; they just didn't have enough nurses or the ones they had needed vacation time. Always let your supervisor know when you have anxiety about being able to do your job well. They need to know this so they can have your back and help mentor you. There is no shame in admitting it either. Sometimes a person has been nursing a long time but they take a hiatus, to have kids or whatever, then when they step back into the med/surg world they need that same reassurance and support too. Hang in there, as I said, and it'll get easier!

hello to anybody out there who's reading, and thank you for taking the time to do so. i can't feel sorry for myself on this one and don't expect anyone else to, but at the same time i hope nobody will bother giving me a lecture because believe me, i already see the error of my ways. my state requires 30 hours of ceus, 4 of which must be bioterrorism but it's my understanding the bioterrorism can be a one-time deal in your career. first, i confess i have never taken the bioterrorism class and every 2 years when i have renewed online i have checked the box swearing and affirming that i have done so, thinking to myself 'yeah yeah, i'll get to it.' as for the remaining 26 ceu hours, i think i have maybe 8. one 7-hour certificate that i have is from an employer that i left in mid 2010. it *barely* fits within the 2-year time frame that my ceus are allowed to be from. yay for that small favor. i called this facility (didn't give my name or any details) and explained when i left the company and asked if by any chance there are other copies of ceus i earned there in my personnel file, explaining that i have lost my proof of ceus. i remember that we had inservices constantly but so far i can only find one certificate but the personnel lady was nasty and said my records would be boxed up somewhere and she wasn't going to take the time to look. i can understand her point of view, but if a former employee needs her to look for something in their file isn't that still a part of her job? that's part of my history, after all! yes, it was my job to keep up with any ceus i earned there. i do know that and as i said, don't need to be lectured. i think my state's policy of "keep up with your own ceus and we'll only ask for proof if we select you for random audit" is kind-of crazy. i'm the kind of person that if you tell me i *must* have something in order to renew my license, of course i'll have it. but to tell me you have to show it only if you're randomly selected, well . . .that apparently wasn't enough incentive for me. my state's licensing board does not list specifically what the penalty is for not being able to produce adequate proof of ceus upon request; just that it results in disciplinary action. i guess i should just get the bioterrorism thing now and apologize and hope for the best on that one. what else can i do on that. meanwhile i'm still digging in old boxes for ceu certificates and not having much luck. my current employer may be able to help me out. . .sorry so long. if anybody has any input or advice, it is certainly welcome. i have 30 days and of course the ceus must have been earned within the last 2 years. thanks again if you got this far.