Donnetterr

Go to the website below and print out the form for reciprocity (the first form listed on the page). http://www.dads.state.tx.us/providers/NF/credentialing/nar/forms.html

Go to http://www.chea.org/search This is a database of all accredited colleges in the United States that are accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Education endorsement is important for purposes of financial aid and respectability. Please note, relying on a school website to list its accrediting agency can be risky. For example, a group of schools may join together and make their own accrediting agency, let's call it the "Association of Sanctioned Schools" (for example). Then they could post on their website that they are "accredited" but the accreditation is not worth a hoot. Just be cautious.

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. I am in nursing school, and your post kind of scares me! I think you might want to try volunteering or seeking an externship in the type of unit you hope to work for. As you do this, you will be networking, and someone is likely to know of a position for you. Also, talk to the school you graduated from, and see if the nursing department faculty know anyone who is a hiring manager or connected to one. Best wishes for a job soon!

Pregnant women MUST be added to a new group insurance policy with no lapse in coverage or exclusion per federal law. Pregnancy trumps employer policy per federal law, when going from one GROUP policy to another GROUP policy. Also, coverage under your former employer's group policy will be offered to you as required based on COBRA. Now, if you are trying to buy an individual policy, there may be an exclusion, but going from one group policy to another, you can not be denied or made to adhere to a waiting policy. I'm an employee benefits analyst.

In my experience, those who report sexual harrassment are treated worse than those who dish it out. I can tell you what I recently did when my supervisor (male) kept telling me (female ) which other employees he found attractive. I got sick of hearing, "She sure is cute, she's too cute to be a _____, she's sure got a good figure" and on and on and on. So, one day I picked some random, reasonably good-looking male employee and waited. Next time the boss mentioned who he thought was a hottie, I replied with, "Yeah, but have you seen ___. He's is HOT HOT HOT. I can barely concentrate looking at him every day." Well, I kept this up for a while and finally the boss said, "I don't see what's so great about him." And guess what? No cute girl comments ever since!

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. Is there anyone outside of the unit you could talk to? Does your hospital have an ethics department or a person in HR who takes complaints about patient safety issues? Patient safety and nurse safety should not be on the backburner due to layoffs. Layoffs should hit administrative staff first, in my opinion, not those involved in patient care.

Excelsior may be an option for you if you have completed at least 50% of the requirements for a BSN degree, including several clinical courses. Excelsior does not have clinicals throughout the program. Instead, Excelsior has a culminating clinical exam that the student must pass before he or she can graduate. Key in terms like "Excelsior CPNE" in a search engine to find information about the clinical aspect of Excelsior's program. It is a rigorous clinical examination. Excelsior's website has lots of good info. Go to http://www.excelsior.edu and then to the "School of Nursing" link.

When I was in nursing school, I met a nurse now and again who seemed determined I should "pay my dues" just like she had to, in the sense that she had a miserable beginning as a nurse, and so should I. I finally spoke with one of them directly and explained a bit about my life and why, as an over 30 college student, there had been plenty of dues paying in my life and childhood. She relaxed and I hope I helped her to judge people less harshly. I found that some nurses who are nasty to the newbies are just exercising the small amount of power they perceive they have, in a unit that has been nasty to them, or in a hospital where management doesn't appreciate nurses at all. I have found that the direct approach works best. I asked one nurse, "What can I do to make your day easier? I am here to help you, even though I sense you see me as just another irritation in a bad day." She ended up showing me a lot of things.

I consolidated with Sallie Mae, and I have not had any problems with them. I chose Sallie Mae after evaluating loan consolidation paperwork from about half a dozen places. All of the places, except Sallie Mae, had language within their contracts that allowed them to sell all or part of my loans to another company at their discretion. I was nervous about that because my husband has a loan that has been sold 4 times in 7 years, and each time, the new holder seems to not know part of the payment records, changes terms, takes forever to credit payments, etc. I felt that if I went with Sallie Mae I could stay with Sallie Mae. They offer a discount if you pay through electronic funds transfer.

Whether ADN, BSN, or diploma, all RNs earned the title by passing NCLEX and should feel confident in their designation as Registered Nurse. When the day comes where only BSNs are allowed to take NCLEX then I will start worrying about what degree everyone has.

In most cases, people try to give a two weeks' notice when resigning, but I don't think it's the end of the world if you don't. I think the whole "two weeks' notice" thing gives way too much power to the employer in certain situations, anyway. Who is to say the NM would give a positive reference even with a proper notice? Unfortunately, I've known too many passive-agressive management types who get peeved that you left and refuse to give good references no matter how much notice you give. And how much notice does a company give an employee it has decided to terminate or lay off? Good luck to the OP and I'm sure you will land on your feet.

Facilities can choose to be more generous than the regulations require, but at a minimum, they must comply with the fed regs pursuant to FMLA. This means they must provide up to 12 weeks of leave to employees with at least 12 months of service who have worked at least 1250 hours within the previous 12 months (to when the leave began). At the end of the 12 weeks, the employer has the right to stop "protecting" your position, but may choose to allow you more time if it wants to. At our facility, we will renew the leave for up to another 12 weeks, but separation from employment occurs if you don't return by the end of 24 total weeks.

This is how ignorant I was as a junior nursing student. Doctor Big Deal walked into the station where I was occupying the only chair. She sat down on the counter and stared at me. I looked back at my chart. A moment later I heard her sigh, but right then I happened to notice something of interest in the chart. I looked back at the doctor, read her name tag, and then said, "Dr. Big Beal, can I ask you a question about this child?" I then asked her about whether the child had been evaluated for the possibility of William's Syndrome , and she asked, "Which chart do you have?" We went on to discuss the child for a few minutes, and only stopped when my clinical instructor showed up and beckoned me to follow her. I relinquished my seat, and stood up and followed my instructor. Next, I got a nice talking to about how to treat doctors, when to rise from your seat, etc., etc. I ended up getting asked by that MD to go on rounds with her a few times after that. And all that b/c I was just too naively ignorant to be aware of the social dynamics going on at our first meeting.

As far as what to do, it may be time for PRNers to join together and have NO ONE bid on those shifts. They need the PRN nurses, and I think it's absolutely terrifying how poorly nurses are being treated right now.

I am sorry you are going through this. I wondered what that new dress code would do for employee morale. I know where you are talking about, I work there, too. I am not a nurse, but until recently I was in nursing school. I left in my 4th semester and it was partly b/c of the writing I could read on the wall due to stuff like you described. I hope you Feel Better soon.

Whether you enter nursing as an ADN or BSN grad (or direct-entry MSN for that matter), you will take the same NCLEX licensing exam and have the same RN license. There are lots of opinions regarding the merits of ADN or BSN, but in a nutshell, I think it's safe to say that either degree will allow you to enter nursing practice. ADN grads may, or may not, choose to pursue a BSN if there is a desire to move into certain administrative type positions or teach. However, many experienced ADNs hold administrative or management positions right now. As time marches on, it may become necessary to have the BSN for those jobs, but no one has a crystal ball. Since you already have a bachelor's degree, you may want to determine if you have completed any of the nursing prerequisites in your other program. For example, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, statistics, etc. If you have, this may cut down on the time you will need to complete either degree. Good luck!

I am sorry this happened to you. When that happens to me, and I'm sure it will, I don't know how I will handle it. Touching you to push you out of the way could be considered battery, couldn't it? When that happens to me, I hope that I will be able to ask the doctor not to do it again, but I can't speak for what I may do in the future. I am not surprised that so many people leave nursing when nurses are not treated as human beings by so many people. To my fellow nursing students: let's think of what we can do in the future to encourage better conditions in our hospitals.

I want to let you know that as a bachelor's degree holder you may be eligible for some accelerated BSN programs, or even a direct entry MSN. There are a variety of schools that offer both accelerated BSN and MSN programs, and you can do a search from any popular search engine for them. As to whether to go into nursing or teaching, only you can truly answer that question. I can offer you my opinion, though! Why limit yourself? Go into nursing, get some experience, then teach nursing. The field of nursing is wide open, and we will need some new nurse educators as our current crop of faculty members ages and retires. I am considering doing this myself. I am a post-bac BSN student, and I plan to get some experience and then pursue an educator's degree in nursing. Whatever you choose, good luck, and please keep us posted.

Through my tears as I read your original post, I can feel the presence of our Lord. I will keep Dan in my constant and fervent prayers, as well as you and your daughter.

My fiance has that, and he sees a neurologist for it. His symptoms include: arms fall asleep and blood flow stops while he is sleeping, myoclonus as he is falling asleep, and intermittent grip strength problems, particularly in the right arm. Sometimes, when he wakes up he can lift his right arm using the other hand and it drops back to the bed, dead weight. Then he says it's odd to feel the blood flow returning to the arm. He has not had to have surgery, yet, and he does exercises using one of those hand-held squeezers while he is watching television. He is 33, and he's had this since he had a bike accident when he was a teenager. It does not affect his employment yet, and we hope it never will. Look for a good neurologist, preferably someone who specializes in the thoracic area.

I hope you are enjoying your classes. I'm a senior, and at my school, clinicals began in the first semester of our junior year. We went to clinicals in groups of 10, and during our time "on the floor" we worked with patients by providing assistance with activities of daily life (such as bathing, bed making, bathroom assistance, ambulating, etc.). As we progressed we started helping with passing medications, performing assessments, computerized charting, and patient education. We have been placed in med/surg, pediatrics, mother/baby, and mental health/psychiatric. Med/surg is a general area, and you will encounter a variety of patients facing complex (some more than others) health situations. The best piece of advice I can give you is to listen to the wisdom of the CNAs, LPNs, RNs, and anyone else willing to help you learn. All members of the healthcare team have a lot of knowledge, and if you demonstrate that you have a good attitude, you will find many professionals that will take you under their wings. Good luck!

Thanks very much for your thoughtful replies. I have ALWAYS had a problem with CSRs answering the nurse calls, but as my time here lengthens, it bothers me more and more. I am a second-career nursing student, coming from a background of a Bachelor's degree in psychology, an Associate's degree in Paralegal Studies, and 10 years experience as a corporate paralegal. In my former job, I was used to being a "pest" and was often rewarded for bringing things to light that needed to be dealt with, if not necessarily changed. Our nursing center is a community service line for some callers, a free method of obtaining nursing advice. It is utilized quite a bit by consumers without medical insurance or primary care. Another component of our service is contractual work between physicians' offices and our triage center. Those callers are linked to us when they call their MD's office after hours. I have decided to take the advice to do a little research into this matter. I have mentioned this issue to my manager in the past, and her response was not very receptive. She is a nurse, by the way, now working as an administrator. Thanks again everyone!

Greetings, everyone! I am a senior-level nursing student seeking advice about the following situation. I apologize for the length. Currently, I work as a Customer Service Representative (Unlicensed Assistive Personnel) for a telephone nurse triage service. My job involves being the first point of contact for consumers who call our nursing center. I take name, date of birth, address, phone number, and ask for a brief description of the reason for the call. I then inform the caller that a Registered Nurse will call them back "as soon as possible." I am the only CSR with any medical training; most of our CSRs are high school graduates who have not even taken a medical terminology course. As I progress in my nursing studies, I am becoming concerned that a CSR has no business taking the initial information from the caller. Just today I had a caller who described her reason for the call as "heavy cramping, lady partsl bleeding, dizziness, and soaking a super-sized tampon at least every 15 minutes." When I finished the call, I approached our charge nurse and told her I was concerned that the call may be urgent. I was immediately chastised and reminded that my role did not include priortizing call backs. A few minutes later, I heard this nurse on the phone with the caller, and I heard her tell the caller, "Our guidelines advise that you should call 911 immediately for transport to the Emergency Room." Had I not approached the charge nurse with this call, the message I took could have hung up for on our message list for up to 30 minutes, or sometimes longer, as our nurses completed other calls. This situation has happened more than once when I've been working. I am concerned that some important calls may not have been appropriately routed to the charge nurse because our other CSRs do not know what constitutes a potentially urgent medical matter. As an explanation of our service, when the caller enters our call queue, he or she normally hears a message stating, "If this is an emergency, hang up now and dial 911." If we are not in queue, the call comes straight to a CSR and the disclaimer is never played. My supervisor believes the disclaimer relieves our department of any liability; however, I think some laypeople do not necessarily know what consitutes an emergency, and they may be calling our service to see if they have an emergency. To make this long story somewhat shorter, I am considering telling my manager that I do not feel comfortable taking the calls from the nurse line. Our department also acts as a physicians' answering service, and we page physicians, relay consults, etc. I feel comfortable performing that portion of my job. However, I am not comfortable with taking phone calls from a person who may be experiencing an MI, diabetic crisis, labor, manic episode (we get a wide range of calls) and telling the caller, "Our nurse will have to call you back." Our department implemented the practice of using UAPs as initial point of contact over a year ago. Until that time, nurses took their own calls, and if all nurses were busy, the caller stayed on hold and was guaranteed to hear the disclaimer. Experienced nurses, please advise me: Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Or, do I have something to be concerned about?

Wow! That article is really incredible. It reminds me of the essay Jerry McGuire wrote called, "Things We Think But Do Not Say." Kudos to Dr. Bean for having the courage to stand up for her convictions.

I am a nursing student in my senior year. I am overweight, and I don't like it. Despite my size, I have a resting heart rate of 64 (thanks to daily power walks with my dog), I can sprint up stairs, and I often surprise people with my physical stamina. More than once, I have gotten the "wow, you're actually in good shape" compliment. Despite my good physical condition, I want it to be better. I want to look as lean as I feel. So, I have decided to make it a priority. I am not eating sugary foods anymore, and I am going to try to get these 30 pounds off (at my heaviest, I had 80 pounds to lose). I do think I will be a better patient advocate when I am thin, if only b/c I can say that I used to be overweight but I'm not anymore. It's not fair that my sister can eat 4,000 calories a day while sitting on the couch and weighs 125 pounds, but my "genetic gun" is loaded. I can complain about it or work out. I choose the latter.