mama2

I know that we all make mistakes and that we are all human, but sometimes I am so hard on myself and let my confidence get so low that I start wondering if I should be a nurse at all. I love nursing. I love what I do. But, in the same breath, nursing...

I wish I could "turn it off"... that's part of my problem. I've been a nurse for 2 years now. Please tell me it will get better and that I will eventually feel more confident!

I've just accepted a position with hospice, and am excited and nervous all at once. Excited to begin a new career with an amazing team that I know is dedicated to compassionate care (they came in to my home to help my family while my father was dying...

obviously there is more to our protocol than I can write about here, but we have a very good success rate with keeping patients within their prescribed therapeutic range. A lot of patient teaching is done, and continuous monitoring. I think it's more...

for those truly special patients, I say, (in my sweetest voice) "I understand how frustrating this must be for you, and I'm truly sorry that I am unable to get you what you are asking for. Let me transfer you to our practice manager, perhaps she can ...

I do a lot of telephone triage at my current job. Basically, you're answering patient phone calls and deciding whether they need to go to the ER, come in for an urgent visit, wait for next available apt. or try home care and follow up in a specified ...

We use a standard protocol for 5-10% increases or deductions depending on INR and therapeutic range. INR 5 or greater will warrant an MD notification (when 2- 3 is the range). If the range is 2-3 and the patient's INR is in the 4's, I will hold one d...

I've only been a nurse for 7 months now :)

I need advice on how to handle a situation. My immediate supervisor- the practice manager at an ambulatory care clinic (who has NO medical experience whatsoever) has told me that she feels that I spend too much time charting/documenting. Honestly, I ...

I try to look at it this way- we are not losing skills, we are acquiring different skills. Acute care is completely different from ambulatory care- two different skill sets. I may not be using some clinical skills very often (straight caths) and some...

Where I am in MA, we have prescription drug disposal drop-boxes at the local police stations. Call around- see if a program exists where you are, and if not, see about starting one! It's good for the environment, and keeps pills out of children's/tee...

Hi CarreBarreLPN, Typically, I was seeing about 16-20 clients per day in-office for "nursing visits", plus giving about 10-20 injections (immunizations) per day (to patients who were seeing Dr.'s), plus answering/triaging about 20-30 patient phone ca...

I love my job at a community health center! I have a ton of freedom, get to do a lot of patient teaching, dressing changes, suture removal, immunizations, coumadin clinic, routine sick visits like UTI's, flu swabs, and sore throats, etc. My favorite ...

Someone clearly didn't see the DNR order...

I commend your enthusiasm :) You can start by calling the schools in your area. Find out what the curriculums are, and who the people are in charge of developing/implementing them. Lots of school nurses work with school social workers and teachers in...

Alright, I've been working in the clinic setting for a while now, but what still drives me absolutely insane is how many patients walk-in to the Dr.'s office demanding to be seen because they are experiencing chest pain. Really?! Why not walk-in to t...

I'm right in the same boat with you- working 40 hrs a week, taking full-time classes to bridge from my ADN to BSN. I spend ALL of my free time studying and doing assignments that have so far, been only mildly useful to my worklife. My only hope is th...

JZ_RN, Thank you so much for sharing! Sounds exactly like what I deal with- at least I know now that I'm not alone!

I agree that triage is a different world- especially triage over the phone! I have only been doing this for a little while now, but it always stresses me out when after triaging, I determine that a pt. needs to be seen, and the next available appoint...

We do bill for this! We use 99211 for all nursing visits. All nursing services are billed. We do simple visits like possible strep, possible UTI, BP checks, coumadin clinic, vaccinations/immunizations, etc.

I'm the only RN at the clinic/health center I work at, and if you are a pt. with acute pharyngitis symptoms, you will be seen by ME, not a Dr. or NP. I will assess, swab and do a rapid strep, and send out a culture. I can't believe they would make yo...

I felt this way at first, too! I went and bought myself a telephone triage book, and started compiling my own rolodex of phone numbers. You will get better with time :) I promise.

This drives me crazy where I work now...I tried correcting people in the beginning, but realized quickly that it was a losing battle. No one in the office wears their name badge except for me. *shrug* I guess I'm going to have to learn to get over it...

I say just go for the ADN! From what I understand, the difference in pay between ADN and BSN nurses is negligible, and you already hold advanced degrees, so the ADN would be enough I would think. Also, since you haven't started the nursing courses ye...