lisajtrn

I remember being told many years ago that the word "appears" should never be found in a patient note. State the facts. Rather than saying appears to be comfortable, state the facts, i.e.: resting in bed, eyes closed, reading, no facial grimacing etc......

Honestly, you don't even know what you don't know precisely

We have had BSN entry to practice for some time now and I agree it is a ploy to move the RN away from the bedside and have less expensive RPN"s /LPN's replace us.

LOL---Most definitely. You would never do compressions on someone who is talking to you.

I work in a hospital in Ontario, Canada. Most hospitals here are under the Ontario Nurses Association union. A nurse at top of pay scale makes about $44.00/hour. Of course there are shift premiums, can't remember exactly what they are at the moment. I believe they would look at your years of experience and put you at top of scale. Toronto is a quite expensive for housing. I don't want to divulge too much about my locale so if you want to PM me I will do my best to get back to you. I can tell you that experienced ICU nurses are in demand.

The scope of practice of the RPN has increased quite a bit in the last few years. I was an RPN before becoming RN and we did not give meds, hang blood, start IV's . They have now been doing this for a few years. Some were very ill-prepared to do so but the hospitals have pushed them into this. They were given little training by the hospitals. You have to remember that some of the older RPN's went to school when they were not taught any of these skills. I can see at some point in the future the floors being staffed by RPN's with RN' s in managerial positions. A coworker was employed in Texas for a while, met her husband there. He is a LPN, she is RN, she was amazed at what the LPN's were doing there compared to here at that time, about 15 years ago.

As a person who has lost a loved one, due in part to nurses who were unable to recognize and intervene a serious event. I most definitely will not have any of my loved ones looked after again by poorly prepared nursing staff. I will demand someone with experience who can properly assess a patient and call for medical assistance when needed. I won't care that this nurse never wrote a research paper in proper APA format or that her education doesn't make her a "well-rounded" individual. All I care about is that she/he can provide the care the patient needs.

The scope of practice of the RPN has increased quite a bit in the last few years. I was an RPN before becoming RN and we did not give meds, hang blood, start IV's . They have now been doing this for a few years. Some were very ill-prepared to do so but the hospitals have pushed them into this. They were given little training by the hospitals. You have to remember that some of the older RPN's went to school when they were not taught any of these skills. I can see at some point in the future the floors being staffed by RPN's with RN' s in managerial positions. A coworker was employed in Texas for a while, met her husband there. He is a LPN, she is RN, she was amazed at what the LPN's were doing there compared to here at that time, about 15 years ago.

I transferred to ICU about 6 months ago after working med-surg for 13+ years. One of the reasons I want to go back to med-surg is the "I'm an ICU nurse" attitude that I see so much of. The love of being able to say I'm an ICU nurse is what seems to draw in a lot of the young, new grads. The superiority that permeates the air in the unit is far more than I can stomach and it isn't even superiority over me any longer, just in general. Too much arrogance, there are some really nice people too, don't get me wrong. I for one am heading back to medicine asap.

The staff nurses don't walk out. Management is walked out to their car by security. They come in to work and at some point are called to a meeting where upper management is waiting with security. They are then taken to their office to get purse, coat and a few personal items but nothing else. They are locked out of the computer system and escorted to their car by security. It is a very sad situation. Some of these people are nurses who have dedicated their lives to the hospital, make the foolish decision to accept a management job, find they can't in all good conscience nickel and dime the way upper management insists they do, on the backs of the staff nurses and are walked out. My last manager was walked out shortly after having a conversation with me in which she hinted at the demands made of her and her inability to treat staff the way they wanted her to. I have to tell you that most staff nurses are aware that it takes a certain type of personality to be in management and that includes the type of person who expects things from staff that will save money in spite of working conditions and safety. If you can be ruthless and put the almighty dollar before staff satisfaction and safety then management may be for you, if not and you value these things you will be walked out in short order. At least that is the way it is in my facility.

I live in Ontario Canada and here a BSN has been required since 2005. All diploma programs were stopped shortly before then. We never had ADN. I do not have a BSN and have absolutely no interest in getting it. Like the previous post said why would I spend the money to do the same job I am doing. You can be hired into different jobs as long as you graduated before 2005. A nurse from the US would either have had to graduate before then with ADN or if they graduated after that would have to have a BSN as well. We have a number of people from the US working here. Those of us without a BSN, and that is the majority still, do not have to obtain a BSN at all. We are all considered equal when it comes to front-line nursing jobs.

In my hospital most that have left nursing and gone into management are walked out after a few years. I don't know what it is like there. Upper management wants things done that go against most nurse-minded individuals and you need to be quite ruthless to satisfy their needs, it seems. I would never, ever consider leaving the union and going into management.

I know all about the ego quirks. I get along with everyone just fine and I can do my job perfectly well. I just can't tolerate the way some behave and the attitude they have towards nurses in other areas. There are some that don't feel superior to others but the ones that do just ruin the atmosphere for everyone else.

I transferred to ICU after 10 years as an RN on the floor and was an RPN for 3 years before that on the same floor. This is my second career. I am most likely going back to the floor as soon as an opening becomes available. The "princess" mentality and "we are better than all other nurses" is far more than I can stomach.

If you are unionized make sure you have a union rep in the meeting.

In my area having a BSN is not a factor when the job is staff nurse. Since, I think, 2005 all nursing programs are BSN but for a hospital job here the requirement is RN, regardless of anything else. Management and some other positions may require a degree but not for a staff nurse. So everyone is considered equal no matter how they became RN. Good thing too because the University programs are not exactly churning out people with stellar patient care skills. Being able to write an excellent paper doesn't help much when your patient is crashing. I still stand behind the " new grads need med-surg experience for a few years before moving into a specialty area" mentality. There is absolutely nothing that can prepare you more for any area than the vast experience that acute medicine will. If you can conquer that world you can work just about anywhere.

I don't know if you are wasting your time. Anything is better than nothing I think. I also think that no matter what type of nursing you do at first it can be overwhelming. I have seen many overwhelmed new grads in many different settings with varied nurse/patient ratios. It takes time to get comfortable in any new position, and the real world is a whole lot different than nursing school. This in itself is a huge adjustment no matter where you are working. Keep going after the hospital position that you want take some courses part-time if you have to to give you an edge over other applicants. There was a time when we had anywhere from 16-18 acute medicine patients to one RN with 1 or 2 RPN's to assist with patient care. All meds and most treatments were done by the RN, and all MAR's were handwritten. There was no computerized mar and every drug was in the med cart somewhere. Each cart had a narcotic drawer and these had to be ordered and counted at the beginning and end of each shift. I actually prefer the hand-written MAR to this day. In any case best of luck in whatever you do and don't lose hope.

I became an RPN while working fulltime weekends. I went to school part-time a few nights a week. Clinical was difficult as it was every other weekend, and then I just didn't sleep much if at all. Luckily my fulltime job was nights and I was allowed to nap when it was quiet. I worked in an office 12 hour nights and could go hours without seeing a soul. I had to process paperwork for commercial trucks crossing the Canada/US border. I then became an RN while working part-time as a RPN which paid more than my old job at the border. I never took out any loans but did have to use my credit card some. I paid for each semester as it came and then saved up for the next one. It was difficult and we were definitely not in a great financial state, but I did it and am glad that I did.

I went from medical to ICU after 10 years of being an RN and I can honestly say that you will not be any more appreciated or any less worked there. I have found some new grads want to work in ICU because they feel there is some prestige associated with it. I can tell you ICU is very similar to medical nursing but with more equipment. Yes, you will have fewer patients but the pace can be very fast and you are expected to keep up. There is lots to do and if not done quick enough some doctors will let you know without delay and they will do it loudly. I feel that new grads need medical experience. Working on acute medicine, learning everything you can there and acquiring the organizational skills required to do that job will give you a very good foundation wherever you may go. Master one thing at a time.

The CNO requires a BScn for all nurses working in Ontario if you have graduated since 2005.

We are like a bunch of abused housewives and lets face it if nursing were historically a mans job this would not be tolerated.

I have worked nights for over 25 years. I look at it no differently than if I were working days. On days I would have been up and gone before my children were even out of bed and returning home when there would only be a couple of hours to spend with them before they had to go to bed. Working nights I saw them in the morning before going to school, would sleep while they were gone and was there when they came home. I do know some people that try to do everything during the day like they had not worked the night before and that does not work. I am not available during the day just like I would not be available if I were at work at that time. I am not available during the day just like you are not available at midnight or 5 am to make supper for me. 12 hours of the day are spent at work and a certain number of hours are required for sleep whether you work days or nights.

Well lets see, where to begin? How about being physically attacked by patients, I have been hit, bitten, which led to a series of HIV tests, pinched, punched, hair pulled, almost knocked out when a patient clocked me with his cast, spit at, vomited on, **** on, peed on, and both have been thrown at me, had my belongings stolen, including my lunch out of staff fridge. Have had my uniforms ripped and my eyeglasses broken. Attempts by management to bully, yelled at by far too many people to mention, dealing with drunk and disorderly, mentally unstable family members, finding patients passed out with needles sticking out of them from where they had just shot up with stolen hospital supplies. That's just skimming the surface.

Definitely go for the house. I don't know about where you are but here a nurse is a nurse for most positions in hospital. Usually only management postings specify that a Bscn is necessary. Every other hospital position is based on seniority as a RN, not level of education, other that specialty areas requiring the certificate pertinent to that area.

I don't have any advice for you but did want to wish you well and tell you not to give up. Dust yourself off and start firing out applications. There are some terrible people in the world and some awful management. Don't let those who like to bring others down win.