gabsev

I was also a corpsman from 1996-2002, I got out and I challenged the LVN test and then I went into the LVN to ADN program, and this past December I completed my BSN. Now, I'm back on active duty. SUBDOC: as a corpsman at least in California, I don't know about other states, you can challenge the LVN boards after you had 1 year experience of "bedside" nursing care which includes working on a ward or ER.

Thanks for the info :)

Have you ever given a Lido drip to treat pts c/o pain from Shingles? if so, what's the dose? Today I had a pt with shingles who was getting no relief after dilaudid, neurontin and morphine. The doc wanted to give a Lido drip ( I guess he's done it once in the past), but he couldn't remember the dose nor he could find any info from Pharmacy/ICU/PDR. Thanks

As a Navy nurse that works in a busy ER, my primary job is to take care of patients, along with that come other responsabilities such as training, guiding and working with corpsmen. There are some nurses that do abuse their "officer status" and all they do is order corpsmen around. This can sometimes create friction and resentment on the part of the corpsmen, and rightly so....Speaking for my own experience, I have nothing but good things to say about corpsmen and I have a great working relationship with them. The first four years as a Navy nurse you will be primarily doing direct patient care. As you advance in rank, say by the fifth year or so, you will be probably in charge of a unit and you will find yourself doing less patient care and more administrative tasks; unless you're in a specialized field such as anesthesia, OR, etc. In order to become an OR nurse you must petition for OR school, which you will not get as a brand new Ensign. You should be able to apply for school by your 2nd year. As a new nurse you will go through a 4 month internship program, where you get to rotate and work in different areas of the hospital. After the 4 initial months you will probably end up in a Med-surg floor, the assignment will also depend on the needs of a specific unit, but most often than not, new nurses go to the floor and then after a year, you may petition to transfer to a different unit. Don't let this discourage you from joining the Navy, so far it's been a great experience, there are many great opportunities that you can obtain here, like any job it has its ups and downs, but knowing the I'm actually providing a service to my country makes it all worthwhile. take care and good luck on your decision