240zRN

I'm sorry to say that I am not sorry. This attitude of woe-is-me and the days of our lives addendum involving a fiancé who clearly finds you to be a conditional agreement is tired, and old. I refuse to be another "you can do it!" poster with nothing more to add than generic enthusiasm, because honestly the only thing that will help your case is an internal locus of control that is lacking. You partially blaming a scholarship--talk about a first world problem. There are many examples like yourself that had to pay their way completely, took longer to find their way to a BSN, and mouths to feed to boot! I need you to understand that this post comes from love, because it took me over one year to find a job as an RN. I was mixing paint and stacking 2x4's at Home Depot getting payed minimum wage with an RN license in my pocket, for one year. I painfully understand where you are coming from, but if you're going to throw in the towel in this race, then do everyone else a favor and step aside, because there is someone else right behind you who looks hungier than you.

I'm curious as to what course of action you'd have in mind in the [inevitable] event you find potentially pathogenic profiles of whatever is being cultured. Also, I'm not sure how valuable this information would be. It is one thing to say bacteria is there, is another thing to say that this bacteria has a potential to cause infection/harm. Patient A may have an immunocompromise sufficient to make an assumption about whether being in contact with certain organisms pose a threat; however the same exposure to patient B might not raise the same assumptions. I guess, what I'm saying is, I'm not sure where the "RN" comes to play in the picture. I love the idea, I'm a huge fan of preventative health and think there can be more done in a patient's home to prevent readmissions and help with overall health care comsumption and the overall congestive problem due to poor health maintenance. However I cant help but wonder what might come of such "diagnostic" information. "Well, you have some E. Coli growing on your bathroom sink, this can put you at risk for XYZ if exposed, my recommendation would be to clean with ABC solution or implement ABC hygiene practices." ... I like this particular model, however I don't see how lab swabs would be needed as a prerequisite to simply saying "XYZ bacteria can be common pathogens found in the home and ABC practices/disinfectants can help prevent exposure." Which is undoubtably cheaper as it forgoes the lab diagnostic itself (which costs time/money) and still provides roughly the same benefit. Unless you plan to swab, recommend cleaning interventions, and reswab to check result--which is still cumbersome and cost-draining. I'm only being devils advocate because I actually really like this idea, and would like to see it hold water some how. Best of luck!

I really don't understand why people are so eager to share salary values, but don't share their location. So many replies on the judgement of the salary as being either good or bad, when there is an obvious variance of compensation across the board including different variances between RN and NP compensation based on location as well as job-type. NP where? Occupational? Cosmetic? Urgent? General? Big City, Small City? Large corporation? Independent. This thread is literally worthless without assessing the aforementioned.

You usually get 10 days of leave you may *use* before reporting to your new duty station. Keep in mind these are leave days you havn't earned yet, so if yoy don't feel like you need a break, just report asap.

I believe they will house us according to company, sex, and last name. I will join up when I get to my cpu.

I hear the navy only takes a handful of flight nurses for their program yearly. The Air-force does more of flight nursing transport than a lot of other branches from what I hear. There's a great TV show of (I think) Army Nurses in Afghanistan working as flight EMS crews. Looks like awesome stuff. I have my eye on a possible CRNA or NP future, myself; although the thought of being a flight nurse tickles me as well. haha

I don't have Linkedin, but I have a facebook. If someone were to create a facebook group for the ODS May group so we could connect and share stuff I would totally join.

It isnt much exprience. I did a 10 month residency in ICU and I landed a job in an ER inside a Prison--it operated much like a rural ED; we transfered most things out, but did abd/chest workups as well as small procedures. I'm trying to get my PRT scores in the "excellent range" but it's not looking so good lol. I might have to settle for the "satisfactory" rating this time around.

Hope to see you there. About myself: 27 yo from bay area california. Graduated 2011 but worked some icu and a small ed. Hopefully I can pass this prt. Been doin push ups every other day. Lol

Hi all. I was selected with my duty station being Camp Pendleton. I report to ODS in RI on May 12th, I was wondering if anyone else here had the same ODS date, maybe we can exchange some info and touch base when we get there--its always nice to buddy up for these kinds of things beforehand.

Yes, I didn't want to mention the politics behind it, but there are definitely personality issues behind this situation. I have asked the board more about clarification regarding the need for an order, this was their response: ****, You are asking about whether an MD order is needed for the registered nurse to apply the Dermabond. Although this procedure is within the SOP of the RN, the facility can require an order - should be clarified by your facility to address your concern. I hope that helps. Sincerely, ************* Nursing Education Consultant ------------------ The problem I have is that, looking through my protocols, my institutional policy recognized Dermabond and liquid adhesives for the closure of superficial lacerations that do not go past the epidermis, but there is no mention for the need of an order. I am waiting to hear back from the board about whether an RN can face disciplinary action for applying dermabond without an order, given the nature of the current institutional policy. I'm not sure why I've become so obsessive with this, because if you read my first post I actually got the verbal signed by another MD, but I suppose its the principle of the matter. I'll keep you all posted.

I emailed the board and this was their response: Dear ****, the application of Dermabond is covered under b&P 2725 (b)(1), direct and indirect patient care services that ensure the safety, comfort and personal hygiene and protection of patients. An order is not required, and the RN must of course be competent in the procedure. the institutional policy covers the RN for this intervention. **************NEC ****staff note: name of board employee removed per ToS****

I am caught in a dilemma here. I work in a triage area within a prison facility that operates similarly to a rural ED. We receive a patient who was involved in an altercation and presents with multiple lacerations to the face including a 3cm long superficial and well approximated lac to the R side of the forehead. I am working with another nurse under an NP (who is attending). Upon receiving the patient I perform my initial full body assessment, get my vitals, and begin to clean and irrigate wounds. Usually for fine well approximated superficial lacerations we successfully use dermabond to close them-the RN can apply them with the order of a provider. The NP leaves the room while I continue to clean the wound and prep the one wound for dermabond--the other lacerations will require sutures based on side, depth, and location. She comes back in the room sees me preparing the dermabond and doesn't say anything more than "don't worry about it I can take care of it" (I didn't know what this really meant at the time). In an effort to be efficient, I finish dermabonding the forehead lac and it came out great. She comes back in the room and tells me "What are you doing? Is dermabond in your RN protocol? I didn't order that!" And pretty much tells me off in front of officers and the patient--my partner takes over at that point. Long story short, she refuses to sign the dermabond order and accused me of practicing out of my scope; she also states she will look to inform the board that I am practicing out of my scope. A doctor who I have a good relationship that works with us often signed off on my dermabond verbal order, however, the chief physician got involved and we had a conference that pretty much came down to my actions being disrespectful and a breach to patient safety. Mind you, I will admit to fault for assuming that all of the providers that step foot in out treatment-triage area will adopt the culture and style that we operate in. I have learned a valuable lesson to be more careful and read providers more carefully rather than make assumptions about clinical pathways. My main concern is keeping my license healthy and strike-free. How bad could this get for me? Could this situation potentially cause a bad mark on my record? I have been worried sick for the past day just thinking about it. I have also come to find out that California doesn't really have defined guidelines for RNs and their scope when using dermabond; also, my facility doesn't specifically define whether dermabond is something to be used within out RN protocols even though it recognizes it as an intervention in RN training literature. Any input would be appreciated.

I have a supervisor that is 4'11" and shes tough as nails. Doesn't matter what your stature is; as long as you can socially adapt to the unique environment of a prison. You will be hired based on your skills and character, not whether you can arm bar an inmate.

Same here, our over/underage report shows one vacancy as well as one at the prison next door. In a nutshell, if we can survive past March 31st it looks as though we are safe. Crossing fingers (still limited term here!)

Has anyone else officially heard the word? I keep getting the response from my recruiter that "The board has not yet released the names of the selected members for the board of Nov 28th." Although I called another office a few days after the 28th and they told me the selection process was complete. I am not sure if my recruiter is just saving face because he doesn't want to let me down (understandably so, as I've been on him for months and months about my package and did my best to try and get it). Just want to hear from others who applied, mostly so I can just forget about it and move on.

In california, there used to be positions statewide called MTAs. Not sure what the acronym stood for exactly but I know that they were LVNs that dispensed medications and gave medical care to the degree of an LVN's scope but they also wore the green uniform and had to attend the academy; they were well versed in correctional/disciplinary protocols and methods. In CA, once the receivership stepped in, they did away with MTAs for the very reason listen above, the position itself was contradictory to the goal of providing unbiased quality health care to inmates. The job itself sounds cool enough but I'd rather not participate in an officer's role to any extent, it distracts from a mission statement that focuses on providing care to an under served group. Just my opinion.

I discovered today that I was not selected, mainly because my package for some reason never made it to the Nov 28th board. I called another NRD office to get details and they were kind enough to investigate and look for my name; my recruiter is almost impossible to get a hold of. This is frustrating for me because I completed everything in a timely manner in order to shoot for being early enough to make it onto the October board. I started my process back in March/April. I was told twice that I was going to make it to board Oct and Nov and apparently it wasn't so. I know there is a lot of ambiguity to the process and I'm sure there are political motions involved but I can't help but feel defeated about the whole process. The recruiter that took the time to speak with me told me that there might be a December board for straggling applications to be considered if there were any billets left to fill, but bluntly told me to not hold my breath. Good luck to everyone else who is being considered, FY2013 was a competitive year. Contact your recruiters to see if you've been accepted as the Nov 28th selection process has been completed and names have been revealed.

I heard, from a non-official source, that unlike the custody side where options for relocation are by county first, medical staff options will open throughout the state and bypass the inter-county phase. To answer your question, it is correct that if you are still needed (and have limited term status) you will remain an active employee but you are not safe from a senior RN bumping you for your position number. The main difference between limited term employees and perm employees is that we (limited terms) are not eligible for lateral transfer in the traditional reinstatement sense. Luckily for me I work in one of the least desirable locations and we are currently short staffed, however I have seen strong officer transfer movement lately (guys from all over the state came to work here) so I don't underestimate a person's ability to relocate to keep their job. Its a tough job market out there and it isn't exactly easy to go from a prison to the hospital so many nurses who get layed off will not have other choices than to cling onto their state options.

Starting this thread as an information sharing archive for layoffs occuring in CDCR as part of the realignment strategy. In early october a memo was sent out by Kelso, the reciever, about possible future layoffs occuring due to staff realignments. In a nutshell, facilities will be staffed based on acuity rather than census. Also, CTC-certified facilities (Like Centinnela, CMC, etc) will be awarded larger budgets for staffing based on this acuity based staffing. This is a concern for me because I am still Limited Term and only have a few months under my belt. I'm hoping this thread will serve as an information sharing hub where we can share information about impaction and options for those who might be affected by the layoff wave. As of now, Option Letters (possible layoff notices) will be sent out Nov 26th and although the dotted line has yet to be signed by higher sacramento powers, if the layoff strategy goes into effect there is a perspective date of April-2013 as the month layoffs take place. Interestingly enough, however, is the fact that the new Stockton Correctional Hospital is set to open up in June/July 2013--if everything goes as planned. 440 Nurses are expected to be hired; I am not sure how this demand for nurses will affect the layoff strategy but it is something to keep an eye on. Hoping for the best.

I suppose there is a risk of someone picking up the phone and pretending to be the one the call was intended for, not that it would happen often as there isn't much one would gain from being deceitful in that way. Also, this is the first I've heard of such a practice and I must say, the customer service initiative on the civilian side of health care is simply getting out of hand.

I also got the same bad news. Nov 30th for me as well. Better occupy myself for another month. I was given wrong information and thought I would be on the first board just like many of you. Oh well. Chances of acceptance are looking slimmer and slimmer.

I was told by my recruiter at the begining of this month that my kit was up for review on the first board. I, however, believe that your kit was ready prior to mine (I had that credentialing hickup); if it is true what you say--it sounds like your recruiter or processer goofed on the submission. I am having one heck of a time trying to contact my recruiter. When I graduated high school I couldn't get these guys to stop calling my house, and now that I want in it seems like I'm always hunting them down. The irony! haha

How did you find this out? Did they make selections for first board already?

sounds like your package is incredibly strong--you definitely have the experience. and i feel your frustration with keeping in touch with your recruiter. the most frustrating part of my summer was trying to contact (or get called back) by my recruiter; you can't blame them though, the job market has obviously flooded their workload with civilian jobs becoming less and less, especially for new graduates like myself. i was told just now that we might not hear back complete results from the first board till november. ah the ambiguity just seems to keep growing, haha.