jamielpn

Hello fellow nurses, I am a nurse with depression. I was diagnosed as a teen and have handled it well throughout the years but different events over the last 5-6 years have taken a toll on me. I'm a wife and mother now, a full time nurse and a student. I find it hard to get out of bed some days because the process of getting myself and my child ready, getting the things done before work that I need to do (I work 3-11) feel overwhelming. I put on a REALLY good front - I'm all smiles at work and with family/friends but inside I'm falling apart. Work is actually, believe it or not, the only place I don't feel 'depressed' because I"m so busy, I don't have time to think about anything but what I am doing right then. But I can feel it starting to creep in and effect my work. Little mistakes here and there that I normally don't make, short term memory issues etc. Ive called out a few times in the last few months saying I was 'sick' when in reality, I was having a 'depressed' day and *just* couldn't do 'it.' I'm seeking help from a counselor finally but I really feel I need some time off to sort things out. I don't know how to do this...I know FMLA covers mental health issues but I don't want to get flagged as 'problem' at work. I've been at the same facility for 3 years, I'm a great employee (I'm not trying to brag, truly) - I'm on time, I work extra shifts when I can, perform my work with excellence, my supervisors and managers are always complementary and my reviews are always commendable, I get along with all my coworkers etc. But I just don't know how much longer I can keep it all together...

How does your facility monitor intake/output and fluid restrictions? How is the information collected throughout each shift? I work at a SNF and a FR is put in as an order broken up throughout the day depending on how much their FR is. The only documentation is a box that pops up each shift and asks how much the patient. Unfortunately, there is no where to gradually collect the info if that makes sense. So in other words, the CNA/nurse just have to remember what all the patient had throughout the shift. No where to write it down. I once worked somewhere that had an I&O sheet on the back of the pt's room door and each time someone went in and gave something to drink, toileted pt or emptied a foley, it was written on the sheet then collected and given to the nurse at the end of the shift. Does your facility do something similar? If not, what do you do?

Hello!! I am a LPN at a rehabilitation facility...we also house some LTC residents, but the majority are short term rehab (1-8 weeks on average). We've started a clinical practice council in the nursing dept to identify some of the problems and find solutions. I co-chair it along with another nurse and one of the biggest issues with have is our admissions process. As with any SNF, admissions come on 3-11 (my shift). I LOVE 3-11, yes I know that makes me crazy lol. But our admissions process can be tedious and slowed down by the lack of efficiency in the process or speediness on another person's part. We generally don't have an MD in house during admissions unless our medical director/physiatrist stays, which he often does -- however he only does his pt's (ortho, neuro and the like) and the rest are called to the on-call MD. We are starting to take the process apart, piece by piece, in our council and since this is my first time working in a SNF, I'm not sure how it is done elsewhere. Can anyone give a me brief overview of how you do admissions at your facility?

Did you have any luck GoosbyLPN??

Hello! I just finished the steps to get my LPN license by endorsement in FL and apparently most employers (or the FBON??) require an IV Certification course. This wasn't a requirement in GA, where I am originally licensed, IV therapy (outside of chemo and blood products) were within our scope of practice with no further certification outside of passing the NCLEX. I've looked up the course via CE Broker and from what I understand this is a course that can be done at home or online but then has to have a skills check off by an RN preceptor or employer. I'm not currently employed, so I guess I need to find a preceptor in my area. How do I go about doing that? I'm in Jacksonville and the couple of courses I looked at on CE Broker required me to go to Orlando or St Petersburg (2-4 hours away) to attend their skills lab, which is a no go for me. Any suggestions??

So the husband and I are looking to move to this area late next year when he gets out of the military to be closer to his kids. I'll have 3 years of experience at that point, split between urgent care and long term care. What are the median salaries for those two nursing areas? Also, we will be moving from Georgia so has anyone gone through the process of getting their license in Florida from Georgia? I looked up the LPN Board in Florida but honestly it wasn't very clear if I would be able to get reciprocity or not. Thanks in advance for the information.