pyriticsilence

From a CLIA brochure

The lab manual states the order of draw; blood cultures go first, not last. I'm pretty sure this is also per CLIA guidelines.

I was actually floored that this woman wanted to tell me how to do it. I offered to get the lab manual from the lab, and she didn't want it. If I come across anything like it ever again, I will tell the nurse that she can do my job AND put her full name on any erroneous work. I may not get paid much, but I do get paid to avoid collection and laboratory errors.

I currently work as a phlebotomist before entering nursing school. Today, a nurse tried to correct me on my order of draw (she thought I should draw a blood culture last). When I corrected her and tried to explain how she was wrong, she berated me. I told her that I could fetch the lab manual, but she still would not listen. My question is, would you as a nurse interfere with a phlebotomist's blood draw? If you were wrong and were corrected by the phlebotomist, how would you react?

Basically, I'm interested in getting my RN license, working as a psychiatric nurse, and then getting certification for PMHNP and/or PMHCNS.

It looks somewhat sketchy to me, and it really doesn't help with my desired career path. That at least is what it looks like to me; all it would be would be a piece of paper and an RN license assuming I pass the NLCEX.

I'm so glad that you posted this. I'm currently a medical anthropologist (I did my undergrad projects on mental health stigma), and I would like to be a psychiatric nurse some day (particularly at a VA hospital dealing with PTSD, TBI and addictions.) It's pretty amazing the amount of stigma attached to mental illness or working with people with mental illness. What's even more shocking is that healthcare professionals often have more of a stigmatizing view against people with mental illness than the general population!

As a note, I need for the program to be roughly an hour away from Silver Spring, MD.

I have been considering a career change for a long time. Long story short, I graduated with a bachelor's degree in anthropology (medical concentration) where there is no employment. I have since taken classes and received certification in phlebotomy, because certified phleb work actually pays more than work as an anthropologist. I was curious what the application processes were like for different nursing schools in the northern VA, DC and MD regions, particularly nursing schools with accelerated second bachelors degrees in nursing. I am currently going back and doing general nursing school requirements such as Anat & Phys, nutrition and human growth and development. As an undergraduate, I received a B in my first semester of general chemistry but afterwards I received A's in the second semester of general chemistry and in two semesters of organic chemistry. Will the first B be detrimental or will the subsequent A's in harder coursework look good? I know I will probably have to take the TEAS for anywhere I apply, but I've taken the GRE in the past year and received a 170V, 160Q, 5A score when I was considering graduate school. Any thoughts on how such a score would translate? Schools that I know of in the area whose accelerated BSN programs I am looking at: -The George Washington University -Johns Hopkins University -Shenandoah University -Georgetown University Hopkins and Georgetown seem cost prohibitive compared to GWU and Shenandoah. I would be open to other suggestions as well. I'm curious how competitive these programs are (I'm assuming very) as well as how some of my academic credentials (roughly a 3.7 in sciences) and work experience (phlebotomy) would look to an applicant committee. Thank you!