SmithRNclassof97

Have you thought of pediatric private duty nursing? There are children and families across the country who need help. Often you can do short hours and make your own schedule. I loved working with the elderly but after 2020 with COVID and the death toll I was witness to, I found the change to be a blessing!

I took the exam 2 years ago. I did loads of practice questions from different sources including NCLEX preps and I read rationales even if I got the questions right. I think that helped to solidify the information in my head and got me thinking like a test-writer.

I went straight into a BSN program from high school. Costs were not what they are today. If I were to start all over I would take prerequisites at a community college then apply for a BSN program. You just have to make sure your classes are transferable.

I never worked in med-surg and that has never stopped me from getting a job I want in my 19 years of nursing. I may never have the skills to work in med surg, but I never needed (or wanted) to and I am confident in the skills that I have treating people with both medical and psychiatric issues in the settings where I work.

This is what I love about being a nurse and being married to a nurse. No one can understand the harsh realities of nursing better than another nurse! Anyone else asking about my day is just being polite and I politely answer "Just fine how was yours? "

If you don't go for it you may regret it. I started my master's degree program in 1999. I went full time for a year but withdrew after earning 28 credits despite my GPA of 3.8. I spent the last 17 years regretting my decision to leave. Since its been so many years, those classes I took amount to nothing and I have to start all over. I'm now in an online MSN program that is very flexible. I can't stand to spend another year angry with myself for leaving graduate school so many years ago. Go for it now because time passes quickly. You won't regret it.

I knew right away I wanted to be a psych nurse. I had no interest in med surg nursing at all. I took my first job on a dementia unit in a LTC facility and later worked inpatient psych. My first dream job, my niche, was in home care, doing behavioral health visits in the community (7 years after graduating from nursing school). I loved my work and did it for 12 years until the state drastically cut reimbursement for behavioral health home care visits. My salary was reduced and the workload increased. I left 6 months ago to be a clinical instructor in a practical nursing program....maybe that will turn out to be my new niche.

I would be happy to have Danger as my nurse. To be able to separate this job from home life is not easy. Nurses with more experience tend to do a better job of it. Emotions are less likely to cloud good judgment. Would you rather be cared for by someone who is knowledgeable and experienced, or someone who is sweet and caring, but doesn't know what they are doing?

What you describe is very similar to what I see with the mentally ill out in the community. I had high hopes that the ACA would improve access to mental health services but it hasn't. The situation has become worse and I know that it is not because of the ACA but because of the state run system. Years ago all of my patients, or people suffering from the same conditions, were cared for in state run institutions. The safety of a locked hospital unit was replaced with a bug infested room in a boarding house and a nurse who visits twice daily to check on mental status, safety and administer medications. This seemed to work for a while and many stabilized with a consistent routine and med regime. In 2009, 2010 or so the twice daily services were pretty much authorized with a general statement showing there has been no change with the client but that services remained necessary in order to ensure personal and community safety. Over the last 3 years it has become increasing difficult to get twice daily services for anyone, no matter how psychotic. We are being forced to reduce services to once daily and we are expected to consult with the doctor regarding either a change in dosing or a change in medication to facilitate once daily visits, not to improve the client's mental health, but to save money. I have seen this result in tremendous de-stabilization among the mentally ill out there. Now the client's are more psychotic at baseline due to the change in medication or not having a therapeutic blood level. The mental health system is severely flawed, it was before the ACA, and it is worse now. Sadly, no one seems to care until there is a mass shooting somewhere. When that happens people talk about how mental health services needs to improve, then the topic is changed to gun control, then it is eventually forgotten.

The major health concerns of the family I support come after food and shelter. My personal health unfortunately has become last. That is my choice. We are fortunate to hsve a roof over our heads and warm water to shower with. We do not have to endure the deplorable living conditions i see day to day in my work. We don't live a lavish lifestyle and that's ok. My children's clothes are all second hand unless they were gifts. My house is heated by wood. We fill the oil tank twice a year for hot water. My smartphone and laptop are reimbursed/paid for by my employer. The car my spouse drives is over 10 years old. My vehicle is newer, but a reliable all weather vehicle is an absolute necessity for my job. So we do enjoy some "luxuries" as compared to some of my patients residing in boarding houses and homeless shelters, but we are not exactly living the lifestyle I had envisioned 22 years ago when I enrolled in my four year nursing program either.

To answer the first question there was an increase from 267 dollars per week to 298 dollars per week between 2010 and 2012. Maybe in anticipation of the ACA? I'm speculating. But you are correct I should have known to check the formulary. I need to for my clients in the community so why I didn't do that I don't know. Maybe just a tendency on my part to take care of everyone else first.

So to clarify. I took brand name tricor in 2010 with a 35 dollar copay. In 2013 fenofibrate cost me a 75 dollar copay and in 2014 it wasn't covered. My first hospital based sleep study was approved in 2005 so that doesn't count. The second hospital based sleep study was preapproved in 2010. I never scheduled either one. In 2014 I was denied both a hospital based one and an at-home one. My enrollment, to my knowledge, did not chang.

My error: post 2012.

Also my employer and my enrollment in my plan has not changed since early 2009. The examples I referred to were post 2009 and the changes in my coverage were post 201

I'm not exactly sure why the copay for a brand name medicine was later more than double the copay for the generic version, and when the effectiveness of the medication was demonstrated, that medication was no longer even covered. I speculate it was related to the passing of the ACA, but who am I other than a working class individual posting an opinion in a chat room. I am not on television telling people who or what to vote for nor am I in Congress voting on any of this. Politically speaking I lean in neither direction. In fact I am registered as a Democrat, but I try to vote based on the candidates' qualifications for the position rather than party afiliation. I don't have an opinion on repealing the ACA, but I do want the entire situation to improve. That is all.