Dafabb

I am looking for a Canadian more recent who has come to the States to live. I want to know what process you have to go through to still be able to work here. She is a BFF and a dialysis Nurse for25+ yrs. Please give me the scoop so I can let her know.

That is all well and good to Derob and shadowguy where you live and hopefully still young. I often wish it was 20 yrs ago and I could travel still I would make a killing. Right now in Georgetown Texas I make 24$ on a home case. I do a remote from home at 25$ P/T. Nurse for 46yrs and I have not retired but I do not travel as I did agency since the 90's. Derob did well as the Rates have gone up since covid for Nurses in Dr office. You can not negotiate very much on HOME cases and even tho mine is much better here than it would be in Houston it is still not much. I do have an easy case for those 12 hrs as I did have to give up FT on her. Right now am on LOA for both jobs having a TKR. 9/5. I get a good SSC. But I am not sure when I will call it quits. I enjoy my P/T at home. Cudos to those who can get the higher pay. I basically was making around 30$ back in the 2013 up to the 2019 and I quit agency. Have a blessed day all you NURSES!.

Brittany this is the just of IV meds and where you can give them. I am from Texas. Have always given them (45 yrs) I have done travel and contract in and out of states. The hospital you work at should certify you if you are allowed to do IVs in that hospital. As an LPN/LVN BON in your state only states a few areas where you can or can not do IVs. Unless things have changed your hospital sets the mandate for what you can and can not do. Again always check with your DON or CN where ever you are before hitting the floor with this question. You always need to ask what is the restrictions for IVs. Mostly for the LPNs it is left up to your hospital what you can do. BONS usually only have certain restrictions with certain medications. Some states do not allow LVNs anything but flushing. I am repeating myself sorry but I have dealt with this many years when I traveled. I have done it all and then some as I have also worked CCUnits. To be fair Texas has been one of the most broad minded states to do this in and now even we have some restrictions.

As a Nurse you are a baby. I am an LVN and I have now been a nurse for 45 yrs. I have seen a lot of Nurses burnout and keep working and I will say when it takes hold it is not pretty to see. I have P&^^ several nurses off over all these years. I have also gotten very disgusted with nursing but I was also very fortunate. I have worked every department in a big hospital there is except PACU. It was not even invented until much later. From ICU-OBGYN I have worked. I have also done agency and traveled I think that is what has saved me in the long run I mix it up. I still love nursing but in truth I would now like to go remote. When you feel burned out change to a different dept. for a short time. Also you must know it takes a very special person to be able to work NICU. I think out of the entire hospital NICU nurses are the smartest and almost angel like along with the Dr who takes care of them. The reason for saying this is that these babies can not tell/show you anything you have to know or know what to look for. You have to have that special 6th sense in NICU. And you also have to be able to see those babies die at some point. Not everyone can do that. I can not and I am an OX in strength. Babies and small children are my weakness. I chose to only do those areas PRN which I did get a lot of practice over the years but NICU once or twice. If that is a problem with you maybe you need to rethink where you want to go OB/Babies was great and I had a ball. I did many yrs PRN/float to these areas. Burnout in nursing is huge now it use to be 5-7 yrs. Now who knows. You can listen to others as I have given you some solutions but in the end do what you need to do. I forgot also get off the rotations it will kill you much earlier(stats) Work one shift only and others only if you want to do PRN. If they have a problem with that find a job/hospital that won't.

OK I have many years and have made approx 27-30$ here in Texas these last 12 years (mostly agency local). Since covid it has gone up quite a bit. Also travel is paying an ungodly amount for LVN so you might try doing that if you do not have a family. Often they take family with them. If I was not so old I would do that for maybe a year. Go into corrections it is a great change. Local or otherwise. Home Health you have several options.

As an LVN of almost 45 yrs I can give you a different perspective. !st off I know every State is Different. I will be talking about Texas. We basically had the run of everything. I have worked in every aspect of a hospital except PACU which was into play much later in years which was fine by me. I worked ICU about 10 yrs, CCU, Tele, M/S, ortho, rehab you get the picture. As long as we were taught and passed it was the hospitals choice where we could work. Yes we get the same pts, make less money but then we do not have RN behind us. Never doubt you knowledge and skills which is much more than any RN coming out of any school. In "76 I spent maybe 1 mo. in class and the rest of the year was in the hospital in every unit. We do get a much better education with pt. care as an LVN. Back then IV passing was 3 sticks with an RN watching and the rest is history. They did 15 yrs later require us to take the same course as the RN in house. It is also at the time we quit doing IAssess.(BON) New Nurses of say 10-15 has nothing like we had. So many things they will never get to do. You chose to stay an LVN but the system continued to change the rules. I went agency and pretty much made more than an RN in the hospital. I ran into those rules even back then on and off and was glad I couldn't do it. Gave me a rest. I could give you 50 LVNs and many more who could run rings around many RNs. with knowledge, skills and theory. I worked with wonderful student Drs for years and they love to teach. I do still work but am working on going remote for Chronic Care manager/ Remote pt. monitoring and 25 other things I can now do. They love older nurses for this stuff. Every one knows you/we do the same stuff as an RN but now you do not if a newer Nurse. Be good with yourself and not worry about what others think. The most orientation I ever got was 2 weeks or less.

It's ok to have an emotional out sometimes just not often. I worked oncology for 5 yrs and all of us at one time cried with our pt/family, by ourselves. I have sat in the NS and cried(rarely) over an aged pt. It could be as simply as they miss there pet and hope they get to see them again. One thing I will say now and It was drilled in me 40 yrs ago is " Nurses eat their young" This is as true today as all those years ago. Trust is something you give our sparingly in certain areas. When it comes down to them or you then you just might be looking at the underside of a bus! I am not a negative person just practical and have seen it over and over......

As an LVN of 40 years I agree to go on M/S floor. I have done Home care with one pt. at a time and home health with 35 pt a week(my #1 love). Having 5-7 pt will keep you on your toes and will give you great satisfaction. I have been in the hospital about 32 of those years. Gone from one end to the other in the hospital-ICU to M/S. It might not count on paper but being an older Nurse it does count in their minds. You will stay active and busy and time will fly unlike home care. It will probably give you a new lease on life. Unlike many States Texas has been the most liberal and allowed us the most experience along side our RN counterparts. Enjoy your transition....

I think you already know the answer as to how bad you feel but unlike Ms. Tactful just know we have all had this happen more than once/twice/thrice, be it adult or child. It tends to make us more diligent and yet it will still happen on the occasion. I work nights and carrying a flashlight of your own is always a big help and yet that squirmy little man rolled over and was laying on it for the last 2 hours and there goes the buzzer and there is that big arm... stop it, change it, heat pack wrap it and go on. The best of the best has had it happen....

I will also add another concern. Just getting your RN at this stage will probably not be as plausible in 2/3 yrs because just being an RN will not get you a job. You will probably have to have at least your BSN as many right now are doing that and will not hire an RN without her BSN and some are going on to MSN. So keep that in mind for the time, definitely the money(very expensive as I hear from many Nurses)

I will agree by your numbers that you have a problem. You were free for 15 yrs and again it happened. I would suggest you work on that situation first. Your health is more important. You have your Lab degree it would probably be more prudent to go in that direction. I wish you well.....

Everyone has stated all the good reasons for what so I will say do the M/S first as in 2 years LA County will have an opening after that if you want to change over.....

OH and PS here this is a generalized version so no nasty comments if you are exempt here.

For 15 yrs we did total pt care until we started get CNAs. We still did TPC but also had some help because there would be 1 CNA. As time moved on more CNAs. Nurse coming in in the 90's on mostly never did TPC so evolving to let CNAs do all of the toileting,feeding,fetching. There are really more RNS/LVN now that do little PC. I have watch Nurses sit in the NS on their phone while lights go off. I am sure many of us could go on and on. Now that the hospitals are all RN mostly I'll exclude the LVNs. I have not had the patience for that for quite a few yrs and have been known to tell a Nurse to get up and take care of her own pt as the CNA has enough to do.( That's the nice version). These Nurses now a days need to stop and think and know, to make it work, they do need to be on occasion the CNA for their Pt. It is a very rare night that we can't take the time to answer the light and assist your pt on the bedpan/BR/turning,rearranging,changing. I hear more excuses and they get better every year. Sorry after 40 yrs I have more stories than you can shake a stick at and have been from east/west coast doing it. This is a condensed version

All I can say is you are lucky you can't smell but I can't think of a time when I just couldn't look and know there was a problem with infection or something wrong.