HarryTheCat MSN, RN

Some of you might want to look at Federal government jobs (usajobs.gov) with the VA or as a civilian RN with one of the branches of the military. Pay rates are usually significantly higher than some mentioned here, and you can't beat the benefits. Jo...

As a new grad in a "buyers market", you really don't have a lot of bargaining power, and not every employer will even ask you what you're looking for. Most will already have a figure or a narrow range in mind, and you can only hurt yourself if you gi...

That "All RN Care" model always sounds like a brilliant idea when some consultant is selling it to the suits in Admin. Then one day some bean counter plugs it all into an Excel spreadsheet and figures out, "Yikes! We're now paying RN rates for work t...

I think the worst "pre-nursing" job ever may have been my wife's. She was in the Army during the invasion of Iraq (2003 - 2004), and some of her experiences included: * While waiting in Kuwait to invade, they were attacked with Scud missiles, one of ...

I'd be a bit cautious about moving to the oil patch right now. They're predicting a bottoming out of the price of oil at around 20 bucks a barrel, and a lot of those oil operations may be forced to shut down. It just costs too much to pull it out of ...

Be very wary of some of those "for-profit" schools. They seem to be popping up all over the place, especially in Florida. Here's a link to a pdf file showing NCLEX pass rates for all of the Florida schools: http://floridasnursing.gov/forms/rn-pass-ra...

It is usually a terrible idea to solicit or even entertain the idea of a counter offer. No employer wants to be placed in a position of, figuratively speaking, being "held up" for more money, and they don't want to set a precedent for others to follo...

Several four-year universities still offer ADN programs. Western Kentucky University, for example, is one that I believe still offers it, and there are dorms on campus. Although an ADN still has to pass the same NCLEX exam, it can be a bit of a caree...

In general terms, a two-week (or more, depending on circumstances) notice is common courtesy to your employer, and it is almost universally expected from a professional. The only time it would be acceptable to just hand in your badge and walk away wo...

The best ghost story I ever heard was from an LPN who had worked in a LTC facility. One of their oldest residents, a nonagenarian we'll call "John", had been a very evil, violent man in his younger years, and had been in an out of prisons for much of...

It's ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, CH3CH2OH, and in Chem it's abbreviated EtOH, but in Nursing you'll see it as ETOH, typically meaning that the pt is an alcoholic (or intoxicated).

Plus, that beautiful "artistic" tat you get at 25 ("It's my body! It's my life! I gotta be MEEE!") can start to look pretty creepy when things start to sag and wrinkle a bit.

There are probably some tech schools that would accept you into an LPN or ASN program, but chose carefully. Many of them are "for-profit" schools where it's easy to get in, but the tuition is substantially higher than in public schools. I have a fri...

Is North Dakota still a "hot spot"? A lot of the explosive growth of the nursing job market there was tied to an upsurge in hiring in the oil industry. Back in those "boom days", when oil was over $100 per bbl, it made sense to drill there. With the ...

A few of other things you might want to consider would be: 1. A lawyer, to help you set up a corporation, Sub-S, or LLC. 2. An HR outsourcing company to handle payroll, withholdings, insurance, background checks and all that other nitty-gritty stu...

OK, let's start with the basics. What are you trying to "bridge" from and to? What accreditation does this "community college" not have? If you are in Texas, your school should be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Is t...

If you're as hairy as a Sasquatch, shave it down to just below where it's covered by your scrub top. It only takes an extra five seconds when you're shaving, and that way you won't scare patients, family members or small animals. And while you're at ...

Many employers, including hospitals, use software packages that do the initial screening of resumes. Far too often, resumes that don't make it past the software are never seen by human eyes. Sometimes there is also a "quiz" as part of the application...

Screwed indeed. Many employers will not hire a nurse who graduated from a non-CCNE/ACEN accredited program. For example, the Veterans Administration specifically states in their postings on USA Jobs that applicants must be a "Graduate of a school of ...

Taking a friend to the ER after a fall from her horse on a jumping course, I noticed that they simply abbreviated it "FOH". That hospital was close to a large horse park that hosted lots of equine competitions, and "fell off horse" had earned its own...

Jill -- Thanks for the info. I'll pass that along to my friend who is planning to apply for Fall.

Just a quick question for anyone in the USA PMHNP program. Do your clinical sites have to be "through the life cycle" or can any/all of them be done at a facility that only accepts adult patients?

One point that a couple of posters have touched on is that those facilities where you're doing clinicals are doing you and your school a huge favor by allowing you to learn at their "shop". As a clinical student, you not only represent your school, ...

Not to dash your hopes, but this could be a "courtesy interview", done out of respect for the physician who recommended you. If that's what it turns out to be, turn it into a positive interaction that could serve you well in the future after you have...

No knives, but they've had to repeatedly remind the CRNAs that Jack Daniel's is not approved for use as an anesthetic, and that the old "one for me, one for the patient, one for me, one for the patient..." procedure is probably not a safe practice.