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You give your age at the time of each DUI, (and as others have said, it will matter that there are 3 over such a long span) but you don't say how long ago that last one was from now. If you have gone through a treatment program & have been attending meetings- AA or similar- you will have a better chance in the program & with the BON. If you have nothing to show them, other than time passing, I wouldn't expect them to cut you any slack. What they will see is that years passed between your other DUIs & no action on your part to make sure it doesn't happen again. And the BON usually won't take a chance like that. Even if you've been through rehab & attend meetings, with 3 DUIs I would expect the BON to grant you a conditional license & put you on probation for a few years from the start. I'm sorry if it's not what you want to hear, but better now than you spends thousands on an education & not be able to be licensed.

This is a very thought provoking thread! A PP made an interesting point. Think about it this way- to be prosecuted criminally, there has to be a specific law broken- or at least one the courts are willing to prosecute. A nurse that diverts 1-2 percocets from the pyxis, while that is stealing- the monetary value may not be enough to hit the minimum for many theft laws. It would be possession without a rx, but not enough for a distribution charge. The courts may consider that a waste of time/resources & let the BON handle it because they are notoriously punitive. Now, if a patient is injured- goes into surgery full of saline instead of fentanyl, that would certainly qualify for prosecution on many different charges I would think. And it should be- addict or not, that is inexcusable behavior. And as to why a facility doesn't alert LE in many cases of diversion- the reason I've been told is liability. Once there is a police report, it's information that's available & puts the facility at risk. Crappy reason but there it is.

I hope you keep reading at least til you hear what I want to tell you-- and I promise, no high horse!! I understand your frustration. I worked med-surg for 1 1/2 years after RN school and, even though I learned a lot, it was bang your head frustrating. I too got very upset about the constant flow of Dilaudid to patients, many of which I knew were drug seeking. We had a few that were there so frequently that most nurses on the floor could do most of the admit paperwork without asking all those pesky history questions. The PP's are correct, if there is a valid order & their vitals are ok- you have to give the meds. I finally pinpointed for myself, though, that more than giving the narcs, it was the manipulative behavior that usually goes with it that bothered me more. And, what took up the most time. The repeated calls to see if they could talk me into giving it early, to make sure I know it's due soon, is there anything else they can have, etc. So, once I recognized that I had a patient that was going to want any & everything they could have the very second it was due, I would just level with them. I would tell them what was orddred & how often they could have it. That I will give it on time, never early. With many of them, they're so used to having to work the system to get it that if you're up front with them it reduces their anxiety & they're more cooperative & pleasant. Yes, you still have to give the meds, but this usually reduces the drama and time you spend fussing over nothing. Just try to look at it as being no different- or less frustrating- than trying to educate diabetics or heart patients on diet and you walk in and find them eating a whole pie (chocolate or pizza) And when you finally decide you're having more bad days than good at the bedside, then you switch to hospice where the folks really need the narcotics!!

Wow- that's a big pt load for hospice! Especially when you're seeing them more than once a week!! My pt load varies from about 11-13 pt; which is usually around 20-24 visits/week. And yes, call, especially during the week makes a big difference. If the HH is a better fit for you- less pt load & call- I would probably go with that. If you decide later you want to try hospice you can always change!

I've done HH & am currently doing hospice. I enjoy the actual work of hospice so much more than I ever did HH. With HH I ended up having to chart at home every night and stayed stressed out all the time!! It does depend greatly on how many pts you're expected to see per day and how many of those are admits and/or recerts (those require sooo much more computer time!) Hospice charting isn't as much as HH. Also, the hospice I work for has an admit nurse & on call nurses (which is so fabulous I can't even describe it!!) But at the end of the day, I just feel like I've done good things and hardly ever felt that way when I did HH. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I'm assuming that means you were naughty? What could sweet little you have possibly done?? And what does it mean? (Asking that for reals) Hang in there OC!!

Lol- I just assumed it was me doing something wrong!! I uninstalled & reinstalled and it's stll giving me crazy messages! Just as I was getting used to it!

For a minute there I thought you were giving out way too much information about a patient!! Glad I re-read & so glad you were at work when you arrested! Many good wishes on your continuing recovery! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Meanmaryjean- My heart goes out to you & I will keep you in my thoughts. My father passed away in January & I miss him everyday. My Dad was a main reason I went to nursing school. When I was an EMT, I worked in some not so great areas & he was scared for me all the the time and kept encouraging me to go to nursing school. He & my Mom were so proud when I graduated! I can empathize with your loss. Take care of yourself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hospital Corporation of America... Their facility in my area went bankrupt many years ago

I worked as an EMT for about 7 years before going to nursing school. There are still days when I miss the excitement & rush of it! My best friend is a paramedic & has almost 30 yrs on the truck- she loves it but she does have regrets at times that she didn't go to nursing school to give her more options. If you enjoy the EMS stuff, have you given any thought to being a flight nurse? And, as you get older you might find yourself being less interested in the trauma & rushing around (I did- but you may not). Having your RN will give you more options over time.

Ok, you sound really motivated- which is good. But the reality of nursing school will be difficult for you if you don't cut yourself some slack on the 'perfectionism'. First of all, I don't remember ever being responsible for 1,000 pages of material in a week- will it seem like that at times, yeah it will. I, too, made As in pre-reqs (full disclosure: except micro: B) and then start the nursing program & don't pass my 1st test! It was crushing! The main reason is the tests were all NCLEX style questions when all I was used to were content based questions. It was a difficult adjustment to make & many programs are like this. So just learning the facts doesn't cut it, you have to know what to do with the info. So the sooner you can let go of the ' I have to make a 100 on all the tests' the better off you'll be, because it's not likely to happen in nursing school. And it's ok. You need a certain gpa to graduate & then no one will ever ask about your grades again. It just matters if you pass NCLEX. Nursing school is stressful. Reading about it doesn't do it justice- you won't fully understand til you're in the middle of it. You'll need to develop coping strategies to de-stress: go out with friends, exercise, binge watch netflix, etc. getting strung out over not making 100s will not do you any kindness & it would serve you well to be kind to yourself now & have some strategies in place before you start the nursing program. There are areas , AFTER you become a nurse, that perfectionism tendencies are good to have- that help you in your own practice, with time management & organization. But for now- you're young, in college- have some fun! Oh, and good luck!

Delaney- you've stumbled onto a topic that's been debated hotly, & extensively, on this site! Accidentally it seems. Since you're in nursing school, I'd like to give you a different perspective on this. And possibly explain why we (nurses) get so upset when this topic comes up. In previous posts here, it's been brought up that MAs (usually in an MD's office) or CNAs (in a hospital setting) have been heard telling patients that they are the nurse & then giving medical advice. The problem with that is that when a person puts themselves forth as a nurse, a patient usually trusts what that person tells them because they assume if you're a 'nurse' you have the education of a nurse. Many here have heard poor & outright wrong advice given to patients or even gotten it ourselves from MAs at doctor's offices calling themselves nurses. I myself have had to re-educate pts in the hospital because a CNA gave them wrong information. In school they will tell you how important ethics & integrity are in the nursing profession. We have standards of practice & nurse practice acts to guide us and if we violate those, our license would be in jeopardy. We study hard to be licensed & practice ethically to stay licensed. So my problem with non licensed people calling themselves nurses is more with the harm they can do with the general public. If you are a MA or CNA, be proud of your accomplishments & the good job you do! But please don't practice beyond the scope of your duties. Peoples lives may depend on it

Viva- I'm so sorry for your loss. I am glad hospice was able to help you both have a more peaceful end. You'll be in my thoughts. Crackling- I was terrified when I started my 1st RN job- I felt like I didn't know how to do anything!! But most hospitals realize they don't emphasize skills in school & are prepared for you to learn them during orientation. You'll do great! Ixchel- I'm a huge Stephen King fan, definitely going to check out Stranger Things...and glad you are mending, slow is better that not at all. Since I'm not working, (waiting to hear back on a 2nd interview- fingers crossed) I didn't think I would have anything to contribute this week. However- today I learned you can do the Heimlich maneuver on a pygmy goat!! I have 2, and Ollie got choked on a goat 'cookie', & couldn't breathe. I picked him up & guessed about where diaphragm was, squeezed hard a couple of times & green goo flew out! It took a few more bleats but he's fine now. Who knew?!

I agree with everyone that has posted! Your 1st (& really only) responsibility is to yourself. To alleviate your guilt- imagine the situation in reverse- if you were having difficulty with a class - during finals, no less- would she drop everything to come help you? Probably not. It sounds like y'all have developed this pattern over years and it's time to break it before your work suffers. You need the best GPA you can get to be accepted into a nursing program & you'll be kicking yourself when time comes to apply if you let your grades slide now. If you've given her tips on studying that she's not taken, that's on her. If there was help available to her earlier in semester she didn't make use of, that's on her. It sounds like she wants you to do it for her- not just help. And be prepared, she will blame you if she makes bad grades/doesn't pass. If she's not taking responsibility for studying/learning material- then the result certainly can't be her fault, right? And shame on your family for making you feel one ounce of guilt for taking care of your own future!! Are your parents helping with tuition? You might want to mention how irresponsible it would be to waste their money not doing as well in your classes just to help your friend!

I agree with everyone that has posted! Your 1st (& really only) responsibility is to yourself. To alleviate your guilt- imagine the situation in reverse- if you were having difficulty with a class - during finals, no less- would she drop everything to come help you? Probably not. It sounds like y'all have developed this pattern over years and it's time to break it before your work suffers. You need the best GPA you can get to be accepted into a nursing program & you'll be kicking yourself when time comes to apply if you let your grades slide now. If you've given her tips on studying that she's not taken, that's on her. If there was help available to her earlier in semester she didn't make use of, that's on her. It sounds like she wants you to do it for her- not just help. And be prepared, she will blame you if she makes bad grades/doesn't pass. If she's not taking responsibility for studying/learning material- then the result certainly can't be her fault, right? And shame on your family for making you feel one ounce of guilt for taking care of your own future!! Are your parents helping with tuition? You might want to mention how irresponsible it would be to waste their money not doing as well in your classes just to help your friend!!

Ava- I'll let you in on a secret- NO ONE feels ready for NCLEX!! And when you walk out of the test- you will be convinced there's no way you passed! Also- your GPA doesn't matter to future employers, once you graduate- it becomes irrelevant. I can't even remember my class ranking & it wasn't that terribly long ago- I do know that out of my whole class ( 27 or so that finished) only 1 didn't pass NCLEX the 1st time, but did the 2nd time. So that means the person with the highest gpa and the lowest (passing) gpa is now an RN. I remember after graduating, I didn't want to study or even look at at a nursing book- but you've got to find the motivation somewhere inside you for one final sprint to the finish line! It's sad you don't have a good support system, but you have to find the resources inside yourself. After you pass & go to work, there are going to be days- especially in the beginning (because there are still learning days ahead of you) that you will feel like giving up & you will need to be your own cheerleader because no one else wants you to succeed as much as you do! Take a day off to do something fun, de-stress & then hit those books again! Ignore the negative people, you are the one that is going to reap the rewards if your hard work- not them. Good luck!

BSNbDONE- I share your opinion on that!! Ihome- I don't have an answer for you. I would be so angry & frustrated if it were my mother! I hope you are able to find a doctor to treat your mother with the compassion & dignity she deserves. The new laws aren't going to affect heroin/opiate epidemic they're intended to stop. They're going to mostly affect the patients that legitimately require narcotics to control pain to have a decent quality of life. I recently had a HH pt, post op joint replacement, that was having terrible pain with therapy- so much that she couldn't participate properly. The physician cut off the pain medication completely, telling her they give more than 2 rx after sx because 'no one needs it.' I might agree that in most cases that is probably true. But there are mitigating factors that need to be taken into consideration. A 'rule' such as that, doesn't fit every case- and it didn't fit in hers. And she is suffering needlessly. The same goes for the new laws. Politicians do not need to be making the decisions regarding who gets medication or not. Those decisions need to be left up to doctors, who actually evaluate the patient. They need to be free to prescribe- or not- based on their findings not out of fear of Press Ganey scores, or now, out of fear of the government taking their license!

I'm behind on congratulating folks: Aeris- way to go!!! Ladyfree- you deserve it, you've worked so hard!! Last, but certainly not least- OC: so many congrats on your happy news!! If I missed anyone else with good news- I'm sorry & Congratulations to everyone!!

Freckles- you have my utmost sympathy! Your OP is why I left bedside nursing! Our ratios were 6:1, however we (the RNs) were responsible for admission assessments, IV pushes, PICC/CL lab draws, hanging TPN, etc for the LPNs, so the actual ratios were higher. I hated that I was always rushing from pt to pt- or rather, task to task- usually charting! I've been a nurse long enough to remember when nursing included actually spending time with the pts, and I missed it terribly. So I left. Your manager has already told you ratios aren't going to change, so it's not going to get any better. And it may get worse! If you like spending time interacting with pts, you might want to give hospice or home health a try. There's still a lot of charting- more in HH than hospice- but the actual work is very fulfilling, IMHO. Remember that your health & sanity are important, and that pace will lead to burnout! Good luck with whatever path you choose

Ok- long time since I made a care plan, so please double check this on a NANDA site, but you aren't dx'ing the pt with a DVT- just that theres a risk d/t immobility... Your interventions are going to be along the lines of SCDs, turning, encouraging early ambulation (if possible), etc to decrease the risk Care plans weren't my forte & I hated doing them!

I'd never give up my animals, but the husband... there are days I would consider it! (I'm just kidding- who would feed my cats, goats & chickens when I'm at work??)

They're comfortable but, in my experience, they shrink some & they fade quickly- especially the darker colors.

Lol- maybe I should've added that I was in my 40's during my ASN program and maybe that's why it seemed more difficult than my LPN program- my brain was older!

I'm sorry to tell you this- but no! I was an LPN for 12 yrs before going back for my ASN through a bridge program. We- the other LPNs & I- had more difficulty with the program than the students with no medical background!! Of course, you'll have a little bit of an advantage in knowing much of the terms & such BUT let me give you some advice I wish someone had given me. Like you, I did well in LPN school- and actually loved it! I made As in pre-reqs, (except microbiology a B) then started the nursing program. From the first test we had NCLEX style questions. No real content questions. There was a massive amount of reading, stuff on tests that wasn't covered in class. We had different teachers for different sections- so different styles of teaching to adapt to and not all teachers are good at teaching! My grades dropped immediately & I freaked! So here is my best advice- 1) don't worry about keeping those straight As- just pass! You keep above the passing line, you graduate & that's the goal 2) forget how things are done in the real world when you're answering NCLEX style questions- that messed me up for a while! You just have to accept that for as long as you're in school. I was told a thousand times, " you are in Utopia Hospital & you have all the staff & supplies & time you need..." It was a difficult concept to accept having been a nurse for 12 years... 3) if your program starts right off with NCLEX type tests, get a study book & do questions whenever you can. I got NCLEX apps on my phone & did them constantly- in line at Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. And always read the rationales!! It's not easy, but it is doable & definitely worth it!! Good luck!