starbin

Is there any screening process to determine the risk level like high risk, medium risk and average risk? Or everybody gets a standard treatment? I wonder if it is common to do pre-op screening for DVT (like venous doppler ) on people with a history of previous blood clot.

Thank you so much Proppy. That helps alot.

I am doing a paper on prevention of DVT following joint surgery. I would very much like to hear from the ortho nurses on what policy their facility has in place to prevent DVT after Knee or Hip surgery.

Fresenius as such is not a bad company to work for. They have good benefits and other programs. The experience varies depending on who you work with. And manager plays the big role, followed by your co-workers. I am a charge nurse with fresenius for 2 years and have had both good and bad experiences. My manager sucks.....she is a good human but she doesn't care about our problems unless it directly affects her............never finishes the staff evaluations, or resolve the interpersonal issues between staffs, never forgets to say 'I am working on it' but god knows how many more years she will keep working on the same thing. At one time I had to go to the area manager to solve problems because she was just so indifferent about it. Sometimes it frustrates everybody but .......other than that the company itself isn't bad.

Yeah. If you go to a place where everybody has one leg, you should also learn to walk with one leg.................otherwise you may find that you aren't welcome in that society..........Not respecting others and expecting to be treated with respect is not only rude but insane.............

No offence to anybody but I have experienced that too. They even give the report in native language. We had english only policy but the DON, supervisors and the nurse managers were the first ones to break it.

I am not sure which point you didn't get. In a nutshell, I was trying to say - there wouldn't be so many nurses and other employees from foreign country in one work place had this land not welcomed foreign nurses. I am not a native English speaker, but nobody in that place happens to speak or understand my native language. There in that break room, I felt like I was in an ethnic conference but couldn't present my paper because it didn't seem to be relevant.

I happened to be in the break room of a Nursing home during their lunch hours two days in a row last week. Here is my observation: There were four large round tables with six to eight chairs around them. In one table there were a group of spanish speaking nursing home workers sharing their ethnic food with the people around the table while waiting for the lunch trays, and enjoying the chat. Another table was filled with Phillipino employees, they also seemed to be busy chating in their own language while waiting for the lunch trays to come. Another table had polish employees (this NH is in a neighborhood of multinationality) busy talking and eating. This table had few chairs empty. The fourth table had three indian nurses chating. I didn't know where I should sit. I don't understand any of their conversation, i don't want to look like an intruder there, and disturb their nice break. Should I just grab a chair and put it on the corner and sit alone? I didn't know what to do. I warmed the food in microwave, and returned to my car and finished my lunch. This is the answer to people who think foreign nurses aren't welcome here. They are more than just welcome.

It is unfortunate that your sister didn't get visa. The officials need to be convinced that you will come back to your country after visiting the US. Probably she wasn't able to convince them strongly enough for them to believe that she was really going to come back. She had hard time because the fact that all of her siblings and her only parent were in the US makes them question her reasons for seeking visa ( which shouldn't because she should be able to visit them). She may not stay illegally in the USA, but they have reasons to think that she will (because most of her family is living in the US). If she could have shown strong tie to her country which will make her return before the expiration of visa, they would definitely give visa. Even if she didn't have any intention stay, the situation was not on her favor.......... I hope your sister can convince the officers next time.

Just spoke to two research nurses in a hospital who learned a week ago that their employer couldn't afford them anymore. There was an interview on the local news channel few days ago. A nurse practitioner who was working in th county hospital for more than ten years here in Chicago, was laid off because she was too expensive for them. Along with her they also laid off a neuro surgeon and a few other nurses. They closed a unit too. Hospitals and other employers have been cutting off hours. They make you take your PTO if the census is low. Employers are negotiating with the new hires for a lower salary.......... Economy has affected the employment of nurses that have no issues with visa. Can't say it will not affect the ones requiring visa. I think the higher paying positions will be the ones to be cut first, but I can't be sure that it will not affect the ones on the other end of the scale.

Agree with what you said-------- million percent.

No doubt foreign nurses are hard-working. But I don't like the justification for tolerating exploitation. This is one reason, I think, the nursing organizations should be careful about endorsing the idea of importing foreign nurses. I am a foreign educated nurse myself, and have a very high respect for and support those who want to migrate to the USA for better career. But it doesn't mean that I support the idea of putting up with the abusive attitudes of the management. It may be beneficial for the nurse, financially, to some extent. But in a long run, they are costing a lot for themselves and the thousands of other US nurses. Employers like those who are quiet, tolerant, and work dangerously more for less wage. The nurses who come to the US should come with a mentality to be part of this country/culture/profession as a whole, not just a wage earner. Comparing the standard of a developing nation with that of USA may be a comforting approach for the foreign nurses, but it is not realistic. If the nurses keep that only goal of "surviving" somewhere on the corner, and attempt to see themselves in a bigger picture , everybody will benefit. I have seen a lot of exploitation and frustration among foreign nurses but very few protests, if any. For the US nurses, they are aware of their rights and try to fight for it. I don't think this is being choosy.

I agree with the PP about the meaning of awake. If you aren't sleeping- you are awake. Alert doesn't always mean that you have to be oriented. Awareness of time, place and person may be categorized as oriented to TPP. "Alert" to me is actively responding to stimuli. The intensity of response may vary from person to person. For example- if a demented patient responds to her name when called or turns her head to you when you are talking, I would say she is alert. People may be alert but confused.

Based on experience ranges from 27 to 32 dollars. If you do acutes, you will get more.