Grayeagle

Thank you for posting that.. ..laughter works :)

Turned in an Aid for Patient Abuse up the chain of command. (my supv, then to DoN) Aid got friends together, about a month goes by, Aid still came over to 'help' on my floor (I couldnt beleive she still worked there) ..then she out right lied/used half-truths (yes, I gave meds to one patient without water, they were in applesauce and she prefers her bottled water there, on her table, in arms reach mk thx, etc) to the DoN(Management lady, never worked as a floor nurse as far as I know, just by her action-reaction with patients) .. I was called in and asked to resign. No 'he said-she said' no facts or reasonable discussion.. just resign or be fired mk thx. -sigh- Some people's kids. SO.. I signed up with a registry for substantially more than I made there, problem is they only call me once a week and the places I go are -shakes head- ..just amazing that they are billed as 'patient care' ..honestly I go in and do not have time to turn around for 8 hours, and 'then' they always tell me I need to stay to 'finish' one thing or another, when I am so toasted I cannot 'do' much more than get out to the car and drive home, much less stand at the Nurse Station and do another hour of paper or what ever. There are places I refuse to go to now. I never thought I would see the day. It's breaking my heart. I am tired, cant sleep, searching for something I can do. I am a great LPN, references from those I worked *with* who actually *know* how well I care for my patients .. just a bit lost at the moment. LPN positions in Phoenix seem to have evaporated. Always surprises me how best laid plans can unravel even after all these years. -Frank, Licensed Public Nuisance and Slave Dog.

I dunno .. if something really bad happens .. ..first you say it .. ..then you do it. Clean underwear would be moot .. at that point :) -Frank

Lots of good tips here.. The more you can do or observe the better you will be as a Nurse. -Frank

It's only petty until someone gets their eye poked out! -grin- -Frank

Thanks .. I am going to go in tomorrow and give notice, and ask for referral from that same Nurse Supervisor :) I just can't do scrub pants. Not happenin. -Frank

ima ESTJ .. interesting :) -Frank

-shrug-.. may as well talk to all that you want to :) I find it helps to write down Pro's and Con's for each place that interests me ..helps me think and make a decision. Even with no 'shortage' .. you will get swamped :) Nature of the beast .. I love the job market for Nursing :) -Frank

Company I work for here in Phoenix has decided we will wear Scrub tops/bottoms in colors they have chosen. No uniform allowance, not paid for by them. I showed up today with their color tops, but wore my black pants ..they stretch when I bend or have to kneel down, unlike scrubs, which I have torn doing the same ..yes .. right across the back of my butt no less .. I swore then I'd never wear that cheap fabric for pants again.. LOL. Anyway, Nurse Supervisor met me in hallway, told me to go home. Had just gotten report and counted for shift change .. I was in the process of taking my badge off and handing it to her when I stopped myself. Wow. Just wouldn't do to quit right on the spot. Went home, sent a resume out, .. LOL My wife found a pair of scrub pants I had that were the correct color that I havent worn since way back then. I am still debating whether I should go back in tomorrow or just call 'em and tell them where to send my check. Comes down to the last straw .. no raise, not even a cost of living bump for the year and a half I have been there.. high patient load with more and more patients that need a lockdown Alzheimer's unit, not just me and one aid.. and now they want me to lay out a few hundred dollars for an arbitrary decision on their part that just doesn't make sense for me at all. -shrug- Sorry .. had to vent. Not like I have to do a single thing they want, I will go work somewhere else for more pay that is closer. Throw me into that briar patch! -Frank

Got an elderly gentleman very far into end stage Alzheimers. Rare to hear him say any coherent sentence, he's been declining steadily since I began working here. Kneeling at his wheelchair, I had his crushed meds in applesauce for him, and he looked at my name tag ... read my name out loud, then asked what does 'LPN' stand for, Licensed Public Nuisance?' Then he smiled. I replied 'You're exactly right!' and just broke up laughing ..it was priceless. -Frank

Ok .. the correct response to someone who says you gotta stay to repay a sign on is 'Bill Me' ..if it sucks to work there it sucks to work there. Don't do it. Life is too short to put up with abuse. -Frank (heck tell em you'll pay off the sign on bonus at 5 bucks a week or they can see you in court if you really want to screw with em :)

Phoenix, AZ seems ok I am an LPN atm, been one for a year and a half, this is my 3rd nursing job since graduation. The VA was wonderful ..didnt pay much tho. The next place had a patient-acute ratio that was crazy, I left after a month and a half there, I just could not do 14 hours of work in 8 hours .. ..then I found the place I am at now ..it's *wonderful* ..I get everything done by the end of shift, I have 15 max (usually 13 or so) long term and respite mostly hospice ..I am just over 20/hr with time and a half for overtime (which I admit I dont do much of, my choice as they are always asking) ..we rock as a team. Cost of living here is a bit high ..but ..it definitely does not get cold! I have to drive to Flagstaff to have a snowball fight ..and I am all over that :) It's a great place to own a Corvette :) -Frank (takes the top off regularly)

'Patient Advocate' we are. All kinds of hindsight, all I can say is what I would have done. Pudding, thickened fluids and blood sugar checks to make sure parameters were good. 'Patient Requested' on the MAR and no way am I going to let a patient of mine jeapordize their health because the Doc didn't think something through. Some of these 80lb geriatric bed-ridden types cannot go 24 hours without fluids and some form of nutrition. grrr.. I can feel myself getting angry thinkin of just how bad it has to be for a Doc to earn a nickname of 'Dr. Death' .. I hope I never meet someone like that. Chain of command, documentation, legal recourse, ..next thing yanno 'Dr. Death' is lucky to get a job workin at Mcdonalds ..if not in jail. I can only hope he doesn't kill someone's mom 'accidently' and that he ends up in the care of a 'Dr. Death' of his very own. -Frank

Lorabel: 'Nursing eat their young' applies where you are. There are better places to work. I would start looking .. the added stress they are laying on you is just not required. If you really enjoy where you are and the treatment you are getting is the only real issue, have a heart to heart with the DoN. Tell her what is bugging you, point by point. Write an outline, make an appointment and come in on a off day so you dont have shift work hanging over you and plan on hammering it out. A good manager doesnt want to lose an employee.. they will work with you. A bad manager isnt worth the time of day. Writeups in general .. I got hammered for a procedural error in paperwork -shrug- ..new to the process so I wrote an outline for that particular process in my notebook and went from 'paperwork screw-up guy' to 'you did a great job on that' ..a wise man told me long ago 'a good pilot always evaluates the situation then applies corrective action' ..in Nursing it's been paraphrased but it remains true. Evaluate the situation, apply corrective action and move on :) -Frank (just started pre-req's after bein an LPN for a year and a half)

HESI will show you where your weaknesses are .. its just a guide. Several in my class went into overdrive and stressed out doin that cram study thing .. that trick never works. You probably have a good study routine setup already .. couple hours a day, hit the areas you're weak in, don't worry yerself crazy. You wont know them all.. use best judgement on the ones that pop up that you dont know. -Frank P. Williamson, LPN 876 on the Hesi and took the week before off from studying entirely :) ( I wanted to see where I was weakest at :) ( Passed NCLEX-PN, system shut-down at 85 questions ..I didn't know if it was in disgust or if I had actually passed it for 2 days - LOL - )

Summer.. Google 'Nursing Registry' and add your city at the end .. you will get a list of some that have websites up. Call a couple, ask if they have an office near you, and work available in your area. They will bug you to come work for them :) There are some that are nationwide an such, if you want to be a 'cog in their machine.' Thing that tickles me ..travel nurse places that offer 3-month housing bonuses ..even if I live in the area, and will work only a few miles away.. I would still be a 'travel nurse' .. fun to do too just to get a broad spectrum of experience. Everything is negotiable. If you're unsure, ask :) -Frank P. Williamson, LPN at large atm

LOL .. forgot to state shift-differential an stuff .. ..additional 10 percent for nights, 25 percent for weekends, and time-and-a-half for overtime. Shifts are 8 hrs, ~5 days a week, M-T off, then T-W off, then W-Th off, then Fri-Sat-Sun off, then Sat-Sun-Mon off, ..then back to M-T off.. rinse, repeat. Reason I aimed at VA initially, the crew there loves their job, very much a team effort, benefits are great, and my USAF time rolls into their retirement after 5 years ..so I *start* with 13+ years on the 'clock' with 20 days paid vacation a year .. and ~7 years to go until I am eligible to retire w/20 yrs 'in' :) I hope to be a CRNA on their dime when I come up for 'retirement' .. plan is to cut down hours 'working' at that point and take the wife on a long overdue cruise .. an stuff -Frank P. Williamson, LPN at last :)

Phx AZ new grads can expect mid-teens/hr to start in hospital/clinic settings, and ~20/hr in LTC as average. -Frank P. Williamson, LPN (starting at 15.06/hr as a GS-3 at the VA Hospital, full benefits, first step increase in 6 months, next at 18 months, then yearly after that until the 5 year mark, then it switches to every other year (will be an RN and hopefully BSN before that milestone tho.. and hope to be into CRNA school at the 5 year mark :)

-evil grin- The best revenge is living better than your enemies :) That includes those who say 'you're too old, you're too -insert any other negative vibe here-') I am 56, just got my LPN license, going thru hiring process with the VA Hospital here in Phx, AZ. I look forward to finishing my RN, and altho I know very little about all the opportunities in Nursing, CRNA does draw me. I enjoy the challenge of Chemistry (taken years ago for one of my Associate Engineering degrees)..found out labs are a lot like cooking in the kitchen ..its all timing and correct amount to make it turn out right :) I have had 2 dream jobs in my life (an airplane nut getting to work on airplanes in the USAF, and lead 3d video game artist for the best online air combat sim of the day, Air Warrior), and it very much looks like Nursing will be my 3rd. Being there for someone in dire straits ..who needs *you* ..just pegs job satisfaction right off the scale. Winding down at the end of a day with the 'crew' .. ..I've only felt like that once before, during the Fall of Saigon, working with end of runway crew at Udorn-Thani to get our F-4's in the air.. every moment mattered, a mistake could be lethal, and we jammed as a team. I look forward to meeting some of you Arizona types here an there as I go. -Frank P. Williamson, LPN, AZ Lic# LP041957 Graduated Estrella skill center March 23rd, 2006 USAF Vietnam-Era Veteran Wife and I cruised Central on our wedding nite, in our '67 Mustang, followed by a parade of friends .. April 1971.. for a little while :) She is my best friend (35 yrs and counting)

Hiya Monica; Here in Phoenix, I searched (w/google) LPN Jobs .. then used different search engines on several websites to look at 20 mi and 30 mile radius from my zip code .. as of today (30 May) ..there are 300+ openings for LPN's within 30 miles of 85017 .. of those .. Maricopa County lists they accept New Grads in several positions, and there are more than a few others. I graduated in March . . passed NCLEX in April ...test results came in the mail 2 days later, .. waited quite ahwile for the fingerprint check to complete, and got Licensed on May 17th. May the 18th I was at the VA Hospital downtown for my yearly checkup and chatting with the CNA ..she mentioned they just posted 2 openings for LPN's internally .. so I jumped on it! (my goal has been to land a VA position .. my time in the USAF applies to their retirement program after 5yrs, and I *start* with 13+ yrs on the 'clock' for benefits and the like) It's called 'networking' .. talk to everyone .. let them know you are an LPN new grad and where you want to go .. the first year will go by FAST and then the sky is literally the limit. I had sent resume in to Maricopa surgical unit, and they called me back .. but since I am jumping through hoops for the VA hiring process I havent returned their call yet .. yes .. *another* fingerprint check!! .. cant they just copy-paste? -grin .. and I have had 4 registries call me after posting my resume on the Office of Personnel site. It lists on my resume that I am a new grad. Jam on :) -Frank P. Williamson, LPN AZ Lic #LP041597

I applied in April, started class the next February. (almost a year wait) .. ..only because that was the first opening they had in a block going all the way thru from Health Care Core-CNA-Nurse Core-LPN. No pre-req's required .. had to take Tabe test, get immunizations up to date, arrange finances.. the year went by fairly quickly since I worked full-time thru it. If I could have .. I would have liked to go directly into RN blocks .. Estrella did not offer RN program and I have heard most places want pre-req's for the 4-year degree .. still researching that .. in my 'spare' time .. LOL. -Grayeagle

Hiya Marla; I graduated from high school here in Phoenix back in 1969 ..cruised Central, met my wife, joined the service .. returned a few years ago, first tryin to be a CAD Engineer type in Tucson for a year, and now workin thru the Nurse Program at Estrella Skill Center. I spent a lot of my younger years in Portland, Oregon (born there) ..however, the webbing between my fingers and toes has long dried out :) I miss the trees here in Az. Sure.. they call that scrub out around Flagstaff an such 'trees' .. but that's cause they just havent seen Mt. Hood area. Two things if yer comin to Phoenix area: Air Conditioning Pool (and even Pool is too hot till the sun goes down in July-August) Don't plan your move during July or August. (you're sunglasses will melt on your dash) April is good .. or October. Hi-tech companies in Phoenix ..Honeywell, Motorola, General Dynamics, prolly a slew of others. Call the major paper (Arizona Republic?) here and get a subscription to the Sunday paper if you want a feel for what's available .. or . just search online :) Same with housing available. Nursing .. well . . health care has always been huge in Phoenix. Major shortages in every area of health care are exacerbated (-evil grin-) in this high demand metro area. Nurses work when they want.. lotta registries to get yer feet wet (so to speak) and see what's good or bad.. and find a spot you like. I wouldn't tie myself to a particular facility until you've tried it on .. just my 2 copper :) -Grayeagle