HH_RN13

The world is just a scary place. Not sure if anyone has heard of Kristen Gilbert, RN who is now serving multiple life sentences convicted of 3 murders while working at a VA hospital, but believed to have killed around 90 patients and caused around 300 cardiac arrests. Sounds just like this guy, she enjoyed resuscitating people. I don’t blame families watching their loved ones in the hospital every minute and questioning things. After seeing stories like this, I wouldn’t trust anyone either.

As a home health RN I see these situations way too often and it's so sad! Home health is a great option for those elderly patients who live alone and have no one, but unfortunately it's not enough to keep them home. Medicare coverage even for home health services has been getting cut more and more each year and covers less and less. I struggle with this on a daily basis at work. I want to help and get all the services I can for patients in dire situations including getting social worker on case to find caregivers, apply for Medicaid, and community resources. But Medicare doesn't pay for home health to be there indefinitely. Even more so for the ones who are medically stable. I had to discharge poor patients who couldn't shower alone and had frequent falls, but Medicare guidelines stated that I cannot keep these patients on service even bath aid is all they need, even if it's for their safety. LTC insurance is great, but not everyone can afford it and some policies are very tricky. I had a Pt who was paying for her ltc insurance for over 20 years and when she really needed to start using it for caregiver services at home, they told her her policy will start paying after she shells out 3500$ first. Now this poor old lady lived alone on ssi, could already barely afford to pay for her food and eating 1 meal a day to save money for rent and other costs such as insurance and copays. So having this wonderful ltc insurance which she still pays for but gives her nothing. The only ones I see who have a better opportunity to stay at home even when bedridden and confused are patients with wealthy families. Of course, there are also those cases of really stubborn patients. They fight against every solution you give them if it's not exactly what they had in mind. I had a patient who would've greatly benefited from rehab/nursing home stay for a few weeks to regain strength as home PT is nowhere nearly as rigorous as rehab PT. But he refused every single time, until he fell at home and stayed on the floor for 3 days unable to get up or get help. When his manager finally found him and called 911, he got the help to get off the floor, refused to go to the ER because it wasn't the hospital he wanted to go to. I took him to the hospital ER he liked myself, even though it's not my job or responsibility, but I knew if I left him he wouldn't get through. Unfortunately I think it may have been too late as I have never heard back from him, and he was my patient for 3 years on and off. I wish there was more I could've done and I still have hope that maybe he finally agreed to be placed in long term care, but knowing him that's probably not what happened. It makes me sad that there isn't more help for these people, but it also stems from them not wanting the help (not all, but many of them).

I am sorry your mom has to go through this. I hope you find a doctor who can properly diagnose and treat her condition and make her more comfortable. This new wave of "everyone is a drug seeker" is making a lot of real patients with real pain miserable and endangering them. I had a patient who has been on OxyContin up to 120mg per day for their chronic pain for over 20 years! Pt admitted to the hospital and believe it or not in this crazy race to fight opioid crisis they sent this pt home with 10 OxyContin pills at barely 40mg per day and pain specialist appointment for a month away. Poor pt suffered severe withdrawal symptoms and pain for 2 weeks before primary agreed to put pt back on the regular regimen. I completely understand what your mom must be going through. Don't give up! Find another provider who cares enough to get an actual diagnosis and treats the condition rather than just masking symptoms. Good luck!

I have also read many horror stories on here. Nursing school is not easy, especially if you've never been in medical field. It all depends on the school you're attending as previously mentioned and most importantly on your instructors. I had some wonderful instructors most of my program, but for my psych I had one of the most absolutely terrifying/panic attack inducing instructors who actually got fired after our class complained about her. We all prayed to pass the class so we didn't have to ever face her again. She literally made the class and clinical hell when it didn't have to be. But I have to say that even with a terrible instructor we all managed to get through by focusing our energy on studying and learning the best we could despite all the odds against us. I think having a good group of classmates is very important for support. Family and outside friends don't really have a clue of what nursing school is unless they've been through it or are in some sort of medical field. Best of luck to you!!

I've ordered them and they are very cute! I am pretty tall and thin, so they didn't quite fit right. I suggest using their size guide to make sure you get the right size. Medium would probably work for you and they are form fitting. As far as the comfort goes, they can feel a bit too tight as the fabric isn't really stretchy. Hope this helps!

I agree that opioids pose a big risk to people and we as nurses must educate our patients about every medication they are taking and the risks and benefits of each one. And it shouldn't stop at opioids. Too many cases I've seen of patients with liver failure and major Gi bleeding due being in a lot of pain and using Tylenol and ibuprofen with little relief, thinking that taking more pills would provide better relief only to end up still in pain and in the hospital needing a new liver or multiple transfusions to keep them alive. For each pain there should be a solution, but some providers are too quick to brush off people with real pain and label them as drug seekers, refuse to give them appropriate treatment and leaving them to rely on self medicating. Opioids just like any other drug have risks and benefits. And it's not all size fits all. Some people require opioid to get the relief they need and to function, others could be managed with something less potent. The opioid crisis has created fearful patients, doctors, and nurses - which in turn does not benefit anyone. I see on the news all the time huge pain clinics being raided and closed because careless money hungry doctors and drug dealers misuse the medication that has the potential to help so many who are in real pain. I guess my point is that I agree with you that we need to provide better education to our patients about ALL medications they are taking, but education must also be provided to doctors to better understand how to treat pain. I have many patients who have opioids prescribed to them for years, and they use it only when the pain is above 7. And I also had several patients who took opioids round the clock for weeks after surgeries or small procedures, thinking there was no problem. I take my time to teach them all on alternative pain relief measures. what I notice most of the time is that those who become addicted are with mental health issues, anxiety, and underlying depression. As a previous poster mentioned, better mental health system may help solve the problem much better than labeling opioids as the problem in itself.

I work for a small company in Los Angeles. I think they are sending an RN with you because you are new and they want to make sure you are doing everything right. I've had to do that with new hires (LVNs and RNs) when there was a more complicated procedure or something like that. I've also had those visits done where I was being supervised when I started with the company.

Just wondering what the big deal is that RN will be there on first visit instead of in a month? Some companies prefer to have RN make sure you are following the treatment plan beginning first visit. I've done supervisory visits usually after a month or more. In general it is just about following the regulations. There is nothing bad there. Plus it might be true if you are new to that particular company.

It actually happened to me, I was pulled over for using my phone and the police officer saw me in scrubs and my badge on and let me go with a warning. He actually asked me what I do and said he was glad he didn't give me a ticket. However, next time it happened the officer was not that nice and gave me the ticket. So I guess it also depends on the person.

That is just not true....

You are very welcome! I'm always happy to help :-)

Mine is 7th edition not sure if there's a new one that came out. Isbn is 978-0-323-06537-5. My instructor recommended this book when I was in my first semester. Not only does this book have care plans for separate nursing diagnosis but also has nursing care plans for specific illnesses :-)

My whole entire class in micro thought the teacher was horrible, but the problem wasn't her. It was that students expected it to be an easy class and were proven otherwise. Most people failed and the rest got Cs. I got my A. Moral of the story: make the best out of what you are given. If the teacher isn't teaching the way you like, then grab the book and teach yourself. You are your best teacher! It is a tough class, but you can do it if you put your mind and time into it.

Yes!!!

The smell of sweat... Not the normal one day kinda thing. Once had a pt who came from ltc and I was giving her a bed bath. She raised her arm and oh god! My eyes got all watery. Or another pt we had to catheterize. Opened her legs up and my eyes were burning. I just could not go through with it. Trachs used to really gross me out but I've grown to tolerate it although still not my most favorite thing to do

Whoa! Look at that attitude. If I were you I'd try to be a bit nicer to the people offering you advice. It is impossible for you to know how hard an rns job is if you are not an RN. As others have mentioned it is illegal for you to say you are a nurse if you are not one. I'm assuming this is your first real job and of course it feels like you are working your behind off. One of the most important things a person should learn to be successful is to be a little more respectful to others and something you learn in nursing school is communication. Clearly you might want to work on that part :-) But anyways, on the topic - I would major in humanities degree and take the required prereqs for med school or double major. Going this route will most likely give you a higher GPA because I have a friend who's going to med school and she got her bachelors in biochem and said it was very hard! Higher GPA looks better As far as fashion design, if you are not in a hurry to finish up why don't you double major or something, but I would not try applying to med school with a fashion design degree.

Whenever a patient tells me the pain is 15/10, all it means is they are extremely uncomfortable and they want my help to alleviate this pain. I'm not going to sit and discuss that there's nothing beyond 10 on this scale. It is wasting my time and delaying the care. When I have to evaluate the effectiveness of the medication, all of my patients are able to give me the real number. I've been on the other end before, and I can handle my pain pretty well, so my pain can very well be 10/10 and I would not be screaming or crying because that's just not something I do. I just get extremely quiet. Pain is what the patient says it is... And it is true.

I'm never required to come in to the office. I can have supplies dropped off at my house and paperwork picked up. I choose to go though because since I'm new I sometimes still have questions about paperwork :-)

I'm a new grad and I've been doing HH for the past 5 months! I love the job, I like the hours and the pay. I mostly have a flexible schedule( unless the patient really needs to be seen at a specific time that's not exactly convenient for me, which happens sometimes). I like interacting with patients, I like the variety of conditions I come across, I still get to practice my nursing skills. What I DON'T like is the paperwork. For a new case it is 26 pages at least per person. And if you fall behind on paperwork, it's difficult to catch up. I don't like that I have to do the paperwork on my own time at home... I try to do as much as I can at the patient's house, but if it is a busy day, I make quick notes and fill out the rest at home. I have a 2.5 year old and it works out pretty well. I'm also a single mom, so I drop her off at daycare, go see my patients and stop work around 4pm to pick up my daughter. I would suggest signing up with an agency and trying it out part time just to see if it is something you'd like. At my agency I can tell them what days I'm available for work and my hours and they will call if they have a patient for me to see.

Ahh so far I've only had it once when the patient wasn't home for my visit and god, was that annoying! So I absolutely understand. I drove out of my way to see the patient and the next day I find out that they decided to go to movies after dialysis instead of going home where I was supposed to meet them!! On another note, yes a 3 year old kid probably wouldn't be sleeping at 10 am (I have an almost 3 year old, and she wakes up at 6.30!) I always try to accommodate my patients schedule, but sometimes they are just not understanding that they are not the only ones I'm seeing that day. Sorry for the vent!! Just had a patient yesterday complain that I came at 3pm (we had agreed I will be coming between 3 and 4). Ughhh!!! Homebound means they are home, not at the movies or dinners or god knows where else...

I'm a new grad... Lets not stereotype :-)