LPN Guy

I used to work at a hospital as a nursing assistant but continued in that capacity even after getting my LPN license They don't hire nurses unless they are RNs with BSNs - period. Even if you already work there. I am now working as an LPN at a SNF while in a LPN to BSN program at U of Phoenix

I am an LPN working in a SNF in Phoenix. I decided to just skip the ADN stuff as nobody here is is hiring RNs with ADNs anyway. I am currently in the LPN to BSN program at University of Phoenix.

I am actually a new LPN (under a year licensed) and I just started working in a state prison a couple of weeks ago. Some aspects of it are scary - won't lie to you - but the physical safety issue isn't the scary part. There are COs (correctional officers) everywhere. In that regard you are probably safer working in a prison than you are in a hospital. I worked in a hospital for 4 years as a nurse's aide prior to becoming an LPN, and have been hit, punched, spit at, verbally threatened etc. And management sides with patient because they are "healthcare customers". In a prison you are actually given mandatory self defense classes and you can actually write-up inmates if they get out of hand. Scary part for me? Just being a new nurse in a new job, like anywhere really. Know your meds and how to assess...

I actually had to look that one up too. My idea was that maybe they were some sort of collectible figurine characters, sort of like Hummels or Bobble-Heads. Merkins???Pubic wigs??? Really??? You gotta be kidding me! To the OP: I've been in situations like that where I quietly think to myself "If I listen to much more of this, my IQ is going to drop by 30 points". At that point I just quietly excuse myself and say something like " I've gotta go and check on patient so-and-so, I'll be back in a bit"

It's actually a paperback companion workbook that I got at the same time as the textbook. Check Amazon.com, they aren't that expensive. Hint: I stopped going to "the college bookstore" a long time ago - too expensive. Nobody should have to pay $100+ for a textbook that will change editions in a couple of years anyway. I always check Amazon first and will get Kindle versions of my books.

I see this all the time too. I apply for these jobs anyhow. What a healthcare company wants and what they get are sometimes two different things.

LOL I love Trader Joe's! If they sell unicorn poop there it must be good unicorn poop. Seriously, it comes back to that old saying "It's not what you know but who you know". I think that applies more than ever nowadays. I'm a 60 y.o. new grad BTW if you can believe that. Have worked as an aide for over 4 years and I am ready to start nursing.

I will be commuting an hour one way to my new job, but I am fortunate to have it as a relatively new nurse with little experience. Some of my increased income (almost double) will go for gas expense but I'll still come out ahead. If I end up staying there we may eventually move.

Following up worked for me. I did the standard online app and resume for a position that I personally thought I'd be a good fit for. Didn't hear back from them so I followed up and basically told them that they should really take a second look at me. I ended up getting the job. And after my initial interview (I ended up interviewing twice with them) I made it a point to send them a personalized thank you email.

Sometimes when you are in front of patients you have to be an actor of sorts. Act experienced and confident even if you don't feel that way. It will all come to you eventually. I would not worry so much about the patients as in my experience patients can be very wise and understanding. It's what you share with co-workers and staff that I would be guarded about. Watch what you share with fellow staff, and go by my own personal maxim at work - don't entirely trust anyone. Just my 2 cents based on working in a hospital for almost 8 years

This is my point exactly. I found nursing school to be a situation where you are basically teaching yourself as best you can. The instructors give you a ton of material and you are tested on only a small fraction of it. And you are given no indication whatsoever what will appear on tests. I found the questions on the real NCLEX exam to be easier and easier to figure out than the made-up ones they give you in school as "practice". Their "advice" was if you work, cut your work hours back for school and study. For me this wasn't an option. But I made it through anyway. It's mostly self-teaching and finding the best way to teach youself these things you need to know.

I agree completely with this assessment. IMO, nursing school was a necessary evil and not something I will ever have fond memories of. Just for the record, I found the NCLEX exam to be easier than it is hyped to be. Most of what I learned I learned from intense self-teaching, not nursing school.

No one is saying that they don't do a great job. I am sure they do. But they are being hired because they work cheaper. Sort of like "undocumented aliens" or H1b visa holders. IMO paying proper wages to qualified and trained personnel is just the cost of doing business. And if one cannot afford to cover that cost, maybe a person should consider doing something they can afford, as equally tough as that sounds. Maybe clients will have to pay a bit more for their visits. As much as I personally want to save money, I am willing to pay a bit more knowing that I am being treated by licensed personnel - it's my health we're talking about here. Most people are given the impression that they are being served by an educated, trained, and fully licensed nurse. But as we can all see, they are not. And that's not entirely being straight with people.

That's what this all really boils down to. And in my opinion they should be called out for it. It's a form of fraud, and it endangers the public. All in the name of making an extra buck. My $.02

But our income tax is a progressive tax - IOW the rates go higher per dollar earned as overall income rises. I wish we had a flat tax, but we don't. At a certain point the amount per dollar you get to keep actually decreases in relation to hours worked, and this can be plotted on a line graph.

We always let our answering machine with caller ID take all of our calls. If I don't get back to them immediately who's to say I wasn't out somewhere and unavailable? Unless someone is doing surveillance on my house they have no way of knowing that. Don't let people take advantage of you or "play" you.

2% is standard where I work, provided it's been a good year financially for them. We are a not-for-profit healthcare system and are required to take in a lot of patients who don't have ability to pay. There was a period from like 2010 to 2012 where nobody got any raises. I've been there since 2006 becoming an NA in 2009, and eventually an LPN. Now working on a BSN. I finally managed to get a 2% increase in 2013.

To the OP: If they actually advertised for night shift only positions, they probably would not get too many applicants. Most people want to work days. In most cases its the newbies that work nights. I've never really seen the attraction to working day shift myself. I've always been a "night person" and don't like the drama on days. One thing to consider. Working nights has it's advantages.

Some of the nurses that I work with it IS the only job they have ever had - They started nursing school when they were 18 and became nurses at 22, and haven't experienced anything else. I am older and have been in the work force along time. A lot of this stuff isn't unique to nursing.

Amen to this. As a new working nurse, this is what I try to do.

Do what I did fourteen years ago - move from Minnesota to Arizona. There are some things I miss about MN, but snow & ice isn't one of them.

My post was entirely "on topic". I offered some background info on myself to help make my point. This is not directed at you ktwlpn, but IMO all of the political obamacare posts are what's off topic. Whats happening with healthcare would be happening anyway regardless. Our government isn't helping but making things worse. I forsee a time when this whole system eventually breaks down. Like I said earlier, be adaptable and don't get too settled into what you are doing.

I myself went back to nursing school when I was 55 y.o. I am now a working, practicing LPN at age 60. I am currently enrolled in an LPN to BSN program which I will begin at the end of this month. I am getting credit for classes from a BS degree that I already have, plus credit for my pre-nursing courses I've taken (A&P, microbiology, etc.). It should take me about a year and a half to two years while I am working as an LPN in a SNF. I already have 4 years solid experience as a nurse's aide in a hospital but cannot get a hospital job as an LPN. That is why I am working as a nurse in a SNF. I am telling all of you all of this mainly to let you know that yes it can be done, if you have the will and determination to do it. Nursing is not dying. It is changing. And we have to be adaptable and change with it. I will eventually find my niche in all of this, but I won't be retiring or sitting in a rocking chair on the porch (using that metaphorically folks) any time soon.

I wish I could have gotten my nursing education this way as well. I am more of a hands on learner myself. Clinicals were my favorite part of school and what I did best in.