tankity

Any experienced PDNs who do their own taxes? I am a private duty Medicaid nurse in NY. I have been a nurse for 11 years, but just started PDN last year. I've done my own tases since I was a kid, but being "self-employed" is really confusing. I took my taxes to a popular tax place last year, (which I won't name) and they didn't do any business deductions or credits for me, ( and wanted to charge me >$300). I ended up doing my own taxes, ended up owing ~$1000 less than I was quoted with the deductions I did, but still owed >2k. Are there any resources for PDNs or guides as far as what types of things we can deduct, credits wer can claim, etc? I'd really like to get all I can/ owe as little as possible this year. Hints and suggestions appreciuated!

I look at it like this: At my private-duty case, I'm getting paid more to take care of ONE patient on a vent than I ever made taking care of multiple patients on a vent unit and running around like a headless chicken. The LEAST I can do is fold a little laundry, even without the pay increase. Let's be REAL for a minute. As a PDN, there will be days where you will earn the majority of your wages reading or watching TV. In most other nursing specialties, there are days where you never SIT, much less relax. Come on. You guys are SERIOUSLY complaining about doing a little housework? :vlin: Beats sitting in a chair all day. This guy is my bread and butter- you better BELIEVE I'm going to take VERY good care of him. Be foolish not to. Of course I do laundry and clean his apt... when we're not playing X-Box. :rckn: If you're complaining about your case- LEAVE THE CASE. It's not a good fit for you and you're not going to be giving the highest quality of care. Find the right fit.

Last year, a new company won the bid and took over the medical dpt. The departing company decided to stop ordering stock meds during the last month, to save money, I guess. The last two days of the month, we were out of Motrin and Tum. The med passes went by SO QUICKLY, LOL! :roll

Here at the county jail, we used to do KOP for lotions, drops, shampoo, etc but now have to dispense portions of everything from the cart. The only KOPs allowed now are inhalers, (for SOME IMs) and three nitro tabs. I would think that the nitro is more dangerous than Motrin in the hands of an IM. The State prisons allow KOP OTC meds- one month's worth at a time.

There ARE travel opportunities for LPNs, but they are few and far between. I traveled with Supplemental Healthcare for over a year and made ~$27/hr. Your "wage" is only $10-12/hr, but they give you a tax-free "expense stipend" of $550-650/ week. Otherwise, agency LPNs are paid the highest- and of them, corrections nurses make the most,(at least in Western NY). LPNs out here average about $17/hr & $20/hr for agency. I'm currently working at one of the county jails and nearly DOUBLED my income by going agency. Two years ago I was making $16/hr per-diem. I returned three months ago through an agency and am now making $30/hr. SWEET!

I passed at 86 Questions. I wouldn't worry, it's a good sigh that you know your stuff and have consistently answered a number of the top-rated questions correctly. :w00t: When you get a question right, the computer gives you a harder question. When you get one wrong, it gives you an easier question. This is how it assesses your skill level. For it to fail you at 86, you would have to had gotten more than half wrong. Congratz!

My wife and I are travel LPNs with Supplemental Health Care. The worse the assignment, the better the money. Sad, but true. We are bringing in nearly 30$ per hour at the County Home- and doing our best to make a difference while we're there. A portion of the money is tax-free, (for travel, food, lodging, etc.) which helps at tax time. Our recriuter gets our schedules put right into the contract, so there's no suprises. They also give completion bonuses, cash for birthdays and nurse's week and lots of free gifts, (which get bigger with each contract). I have nothing bad to say about them. One BIG thing to remember: In some cases it's not a nursing shortage that's causing a facility to resort to recruiting travel nurses- it's the facility. I've been in places where the evening and night shift are 50-80% agency, (nurses and aides). It can bring new challenges you might not expect.

Good luck. I am an LPN here in NY. I worked in the ER back when they allowed us to be nurses... They have this big push now towars having a bsn at every bedside. As a result, the hospitals, at least in my area, aren't hiring LPNs and are making it more difficult for the ones thay have to stay. They sat us all down one day and informed us that our job descriptions would now be the same as the techs/aides and that we would no longer be able to carry a patient assignment. Half of us quit that month. I didn't go to school to be an aide again. It also made the RN vs LPN tensions worse. You know what I mean- There's LPNs who can run circles around the RNs, but the RNs still think they're better... The only offerings in the Rochester area are nursing homes, (yuck) and MD offices, (no pay). I'm sorry, but after working in the hospital, I'm embarassed to say that I work in any of these nursing homes. Many of them are famous for their poor standards of care and profoundly undertrained nursing staff. Ever try to have an educated conversation about current issues in nursing with a career nursing home nurse? It's bad when I had to show my "trainer" how to do a proper wet to dry dressing. Run from NY - it is not for LPNs. See the NY thread about BSNs @ https://allnurses.com/forums/f164/true-bsn-will-mandatory-soon-87404.html

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do some recon and get your views on the donation process to try to see things from your eyes. What have you seen that you liked? What did you dislike? What could have been done better? What sort of questions were raised by your last experience with a donor? Do you feel that there is enough education about donation? What would you like to see from your organ procurement org?

Hey roadrunner, I'm an organ procurement coordinator in NY, (and a nurse ) and we've seen a big difference in the colaborative hospitals. The numbers are up, yes. Hospitals who have only had a donor every few years are now donating anually. However, the biggest difference from my perspective is in the process. Things go much more smoothly in a hospital where everyone is on board with what we're doing. The difference is especially notable in DCD donors, (donation after Cardiac Death). These donors usually do not progress to brain death, so unless the hospital has a DCD policy in place, most are hesitant to do this type of donation. After the colaberative, many hospitals wrote DCD policies or guidelines- which increased the number of donations dramatically. FYI: {In a DCD, the family is approached about donation after they have decided on their own to withdraw life support. The pt is extubated in the OR, rather than in the room, so that surgery can begin immediately. Many families choose to come to the OR for the extubation and stay until their family member expires. Once they say their good-byes, the pt is pronounced by his/her attending and then moved to an adjacent OR, where the transplant teams are waiting. The transplant MDs are not allowed to be in the same room as the patient, or to be in contact with the attending until the pt is pronounced, to avoid conflict of interest. } Tankity

Bow-fishing just opened here in North-Western NY. Gotta love the faces on all those guys with poles when you pull your bow out of the case... Anyway, it's good practice for fall deer season- something other than target shooting. I get the turkey tags every year, but never find the time to go. Okay guys, what's worse: Fishing without bait, or fishing without beer?

*cringe* it just takes one allegation... I only do LTC on the side, (per diem float) and really don't have the opportunity to make that kind of bond with any of the residnts. I do, however make it a point to shake hands and give a familiar resident a pat on the back, or a squeeze on the shoulder. It bridges the provider/ patient gap and makes them feel connected, without being intrusive. BUT, everyone has their comfort zone.... Just be cautious not to cross a patient's or resident's comfort zone.

LPN. Get your RN.

hey ken-pin- listen to this- i don't wear my pin, but that's just because it's one more thing to add to my morning routine. i will say, however, that the pinning ceremony meant more to me than the graduation ceremony. it really made me feel like a part of the profession. anyway, you'll never regret getting it, but you may regret not getting it.

1) well, at home, i'm a boxer guy- but boxers don't cut it under scrubs. i tried briefs, but hate them. now i wear boxer-briefs under my scrubs. it took a while to get used to- there's much less "movement" with them on. you still need to "adjust" with them on, but not as much as with the briefs. i have to agree with reevescw, boxers and tight scrubs don't match. go big, or go brief. 2) one of thunderwolf's posts addresses the stereotype issue in detail. in summation: many people regard nursing as a "feminine" role, (nurturing, compassion, etc.) and they feel that a male would naturally choose a "masculine" occupation, unless he, himself was feminine. it's just another thing that we, as male nurses, face and have to accept as part of the job- gay or straight. some guys i work with wear rings, so patients won't ask if they're gay. i have pictures of my kids taped to the back of my badge. it makes no difference- people will believe what they want. for example, here's a conversation i had with an elderly patient not long ago: "hello, doctor. " stereotype "no, ma'am- i'm your nurse. " "you're one of those 'male nurses', aren't you. " stereotype "um, yes. " "are you gay? " stereotype "no, i'm married with four children. " "oh, so you're catholic. " stereotype "no, i reeeeeealy like being with my wife. " *silence* bottom line: good care can come from a nurse of any age, race, sex creed, sexual orientation, or level of education. so can bad care. therefore, stereotyping your nurse won't predict the care you are about to receive.

i always found it difficult to cook for one, because there were always left-overs. so, i started cooking big portions and eating the same thing every-other day. i had a crock pot, so stew, chili and goulash were almost always in the fridge. beats take-out every day. i was poor when i was single, so i hunted a lot more than i do now. free meat! venison goulash is my favorite bulk meal. if you use venison berger in chili, you can't even tell it's not cow. my roomate made a killer rabbit stew... at least he said it was rabbit. come to find out- squirrel tastes remarkably like rabbit. s'okay. i have a family of six, now. we cook most things big, like cafeteria-style. i still sneak the venison in now and again... but don't tell untill after. :roll .

I wear a goat- but keep it short to fit into a duck mask. I used to wear a beard and had to use "the hood". It's a positive pressure "helmet" like HAZMAT teams wear. It was a big pain to wear and frightened some patients.

emergency the few, the proud: acute care lpns! :yelclap: :w00t:

Our male ER docs are very strict about having a female nurse present when doing vag exams. The female docs are less predictable- some do bring a male into the room when examining a male's groin, and some don't. I, personally, err on the side of caution at all times. The allegations have been flying all over during the past few weeks up here- like the patients are coming in trying to get a doc or nurse into an akward situation so they can get paid. Strange coincidence that all of the recent accusers were either unemployed or without medical insurance.

Ditto.

You probably have your reasons for leaving, but it's worth mentioning- an RN in the military ranks as an officer, and gets paid accordingly. I have two friends who served as RN's, one in the AF, and one in the army. Both said that they loved it. In nursing school we practiced range of motion, transferring, and bed bathing on each-other, (fully-clothed and without water). I did an EKG on my lab partner, (who is now my wife ) in school. We all practiced drawing up and injecting saline into each-other in one lab, however, I never did an IV until I began working. There's a good thread on the male-female issue in the men's forum.

I've got the bean dip! *fart*

I started wearing solid color shirts, (not just plain T-shirts) instead of scrub tops. It solves the hair issue and is more comfortable.

I didn't realize that it was proposed by the board of nursing- why would they do that? They, of all people, should know that such a proposal would only be stabbing themselves in the foot.

I an a NY LPN with two jobs and four kids. I've been hearing about excelsior college as a way to complete my degree at home. Their website is pretty vague about how it works. I have 80+ credits worth of "liberal arts" classes; I just need the core nursing classes and a couple sciences to graduate. I understand that there isn't a residency requirement, so I can transfer all my credits in. If this is for real, I could have my degree in a year's time- but I'm skeptical. What I would like to know is exactly how the distance-learning program works and if there's anyone who actually got a degree through them. I've also heard about an $800 graduation fee- is this true? Any info would be appreciated.