MimiLPN

For Goodness sake, don't get yourself into the 11-7 shift... unless you're a night owl and really don't mind not sleeping at night! I worked the 11-7 for 7 months in a psych facility... it's boring, little patient interaction, little clinical experience, and on top of all that, it's a burden on your body, your mind, and your social life. DON'T DO IT!!!

Hello all... I''m a nurse in a long term/psych facility. As we all know, this is the time when flu/cold symptoms are abounding. I work third shift, and I should mention that I have only been a nurse for 3 months. One of my residents who is an elderly woman with a hx of CHF was of the many who were suffering from cold symptoms. This resident was noted to have wheezing in all lobes and some ronchi. She was sating at 91 when I came on. However, later in the shift when I assessed her, she had audible wheezing and was sating in the 85-86 range. I administered her PRN albuterol nebulizer and her sats went up to 95. Her respirations were normal, heart rate normal, BP only slightly elevated. I checked her out an hour later and the wheezing was greatly decreased but her sats were back down to 85. I called her doc and got an order for a chest xray the next day.. The next day, the oncoming nurse seemed annoyed that I had not sent her out, stating that this woman tended to deteriorate quickly. However, when I had consulted my supervisor about her, and when the sup checked her out, he agreed that we would not send her out. Needless to say, the oncoming nurse sent her out. Did I miss something?! Was i wrong not to send her out? I know her sats were low but not necessarily critically low for a CHF patient??I'm feeling really incompetent right now!

Because they can pay a LPN less.

Because they can pay a LPN less.

ditto, consult with a lawyer... it doesn't hurt to call up a lawyer and explain the situation, see if you have a case.

My facility offers 20.45/hr for day shift, then +2.25 for third shift, +1.50 for second shift.

It's normal as a new nurse to make simple mistakes that you probably had learned somewhere along the line. The fact is that the things we learn in nursing school don't always sink in until we can practice them, and something like preparing meds for another nurse is for sure something we've all been told not to do, but without practice you can easily get caught up in the moment and act based on your instinct to help your fellow nurse. I think all nurses have their share of mistake-stories that they have accumulated throughout their years and if they don't they are probably lying. PS- I've noticed that being a newby is something that seasoned nurses readily forget they have been. I guess time really does heal all wounds haha!

To the above poster, I disagree..orientation is not *just* to show you the routine and paperwork. For new grads its to guide you through the world of nursing until you grasp what the job entails and become confident putting your skills to practice.

Congrats on starting your program! My little bit of advice that was given to me and made me successful was: Find your routine from the beginning and stick to it! For me that meant staying right after my (long 8 hour) classes with my classmate and studying for the coming test (we always got our test outline before hand) or going over material for 1-3 hours. When it got close to the test day we would sometimes come in on weekends and even stay up to 5-8 hours studying/hanging out. Where I live there is a local hospital that hires labor and delivery "techs" that are LPN's but I guess your role in L&D is somewhat limited ... but it's a start!

You guys are absolutely right. I actually got a call back later that evening from the DON and she clarified a bunch of things... I was given a lot of fragmented information from the manager that caused me to feel like I was "missing" something- it just wasn't clear. Thanks for reading, I think I just needed to vent/get some reassurance that I am in fact just over reacting.

Hi all, I've been offered a 32 hour overnight position at a psychiatric long term care facility. They are offering a very generous 6 weeks orientation in which I would be trained during day shifts. I was wondering about some of your own experiences with orientations; ie what was it like, how soon did you become more independent, etc? Was it intimidating as a new grad; any good stories to share?

Yeah you're probably right. I guess I just hate being unclear and that I wasn't even asked if I wanted the 24 hour position... like they were just intending to place me there as long as it worked for them... especially since the interviewer was talking like I was already hired.

Hello all, I went in for my first ever interview at a psych/long term care facility in my town. The position I was interviewing for is a 32 hour position- 3rd shift. The interview went well, we talked, she asked some scenario question, etc and seemed satisfied with my answers. However, as the interview was winding down, she mentioned that another manager who works on a different floor had asked to interview with me for a 24 hour position as well, and told me she would take me down to meet her. The woman wasn't available at the moment so I was told that I would get a call for a meeting with this 24-hour-position-woman. We said goodbye. I left feeling completely frustrated, and as though this interviewer had tried to "pull a fast one on me". I am annoyed that I wasn't even "asked" if I was interested in a 24 hour position, but rather just "told" that I would interview for it. At this point I am so confused as to which position they are intending to give me, and it's especially frustrating because I don't think I want a 24 hour position. Is there an obvious reason why I would be referred to a 24 hour position instead of the 32 hour one I applied for? Does this mean they don't want me to have the 32 hour position? x-( not happy.

Hello my fellow nurses, I am applying for jobs after having recently graduated/become licensed. I was told in school that it is always better to apply in person due to the benefit of having them see your face/know who you are etc. But in this day and age it is so convenient and tempting to just apply online and save yourself the trip to 10 different places around town! What do you all think, are you increasing your chances of getting hired by applying in person as opposed to online?

I have recently applied for a position with a home health care agency and they state that "knowledge of home health regulatory and reimbursement requirements" is a must. Where do I even begin learning about regulatory and reimbursement requirements? I know they must be referring to medicare and medicaid... any body have some resources that could give me a clue about this? I googled a bunch of stuff but it all looks like gibberish to me! I'm a new grad if you haven't noticed... and we didn't go over health insurance policy very much if at all.