MDSlady

Thanks for the encouragement....I am again registered for 2 more pre-req classes at Middlesex and will hopefully apply to Gateway in 2008. I am going to continue with this and hopefully make it... Thanks again, and keep in touch with how it is going. Best of luck to you!!! :roll

WOW, am I glad to hear that. Maybe I won't totally be against Gateway. Again, close to my house. Is it true that it is really 4 nights a week from 4p-10p. If this is, how on earth do you do your homework and research. I too have full support from my family and am committed to doing this whether at Gateway or maybe Capital. PM me if you can so that I could get specifics from you. Thanks for the hope.... MDSLady

Haven't applied to anywhere yet. Was just thinking about Gateway because it is an evening program, and close to my home. I kind of can see about working FULL time and taking the program being difficult. Classes Mon-Thurs 4p-10p. When would I do homework during the week other than the weekend? I work 7-3 and then would have the drive to be there by 4, so no time during the week. I am thinking about Excelsior and starting with Chancellor's for RN. What are you doing??

Hello everyone... Just a question..Does anyone or has anyone attended Gateway CC nursing program??? I just went to an information seminar last week and they totally discouraged me. I have been an LPN for 9 years and am currently an MDS Coordinator here in CT. I have always wanted to be an RN (since I was a little kid) however, choose and don't regret being a stay at home mom for 12 years. I have been taking pre-reqs to get into the RN program, however this seminar stated that you can forget working full-time if you want to do their program. I picked Gateway because 1) it's close to my home 2) evening classes 3) I liked where the clinicals would be. I have 2 kids in college and one to go shortly, and frankly in this age (2006) who doesn't work full-time. I left there and felt like a total failure and that everything that I had put into my pre-reqs was down the tubes. Has anyone done or is doing this program, and is working full-time really totally impossible?? I understand the program is Monday-Thursday 4p-10p and I could cut my hours down to maybe 32 during the week, or 24 and then 8 hours on the weekend. I am thinking about maybe doing the Excelsior route, however that weekend clinical just seems like a nightmare!!!! PLEASE...anybody.....give me your feedback and let me know what you think. I would really like to hear from people that have done an RN program and WORKED full or near to full time. They also said that they don't look at anybody with less than a 3.5 grade average. Is this true????

This program that I checked into is an evening program. Monday-Thursday 4p-10p. My job is pretty flexible in that I can cut down to 32 hours a week and I think my DNS would be pretty good with this, however, I would have to make sure that I am there during most days because of wound, weight meetings, morning report and my care conferences on Wednsdays. I am just very torn if I should do the on-line classes or forget it. I feel that I could do the on-line classes, but that weekend thing just might put me over the edge. The other nurse that I work with (an RN) feels that I'm not giving myself enough credit. I just don't know what to do.

I have been an LPN for 9 years and currently am working in LTC as an MDS/Resident care coordinator. I have slowly been plugging away at pre-reqs for an RN program, however attended an informational seminar yesterday for a program and they stated that you can forget working full time if you take an RN program. I have 2 in college, and another one going shortly and cannot afford to give up my current job, nor do I want to. I love it.... I am thinking about Excelsior, going through Chancellors. I did this before and got out of my contract earlier because I wasn't disciplined enough. I am now in a position that I am determined to be an RN just because I want that title. I am tired of telling people, "I'm just an LPN". :angryfire People that I work with tell me that they think I am an excellent LPN and I should do this. Another obstacle, is that working in LTC I do not have any exposure really to any clinical experiences. We don't have alot in the way of tx's, IV's, etc. and also I am in an administrative position and have my own office. I do sometimes pick up a shift on the floor because I love the patients, but again not much to do except give meds.... I need your input, should I do this. The only thing that is really holding me back is the WEEKEND CLINICAL. Just the thought of that right now makes me sick.:uhoh21: Please let me know what you would do.....

I have been a LTC nurse for 8 years, and congrats on being a new grad!!!!:mortarboard: Remember just to be yourself, and do NOT let them put yourself on your own UNTIL YOU ARE READY!!!! Some facilities think after a couple of days, that you can be on your own. Remember, if YOU are not comfortable, don't do it. And also, if you find that it is a facility that you cannot ask questions, which by the way, you may have alot of when you begin, find another job. You will learn much more if you can work in a facility that works as a TEAM!!!! Again, best of luck!!!!!

I am the MDS Coordinator in my building of 150 residents, and also an LPN. I have given in-services on how to update care plans, and nobody listens to me!!!! I have been told that most of our nurses are not going to update careplans because "they feel it is my job" and not theirs. I have the DNS breathing down my back because I cannot update careplans for 150 people by myself. It has gotten so bad that if somebody falls on a Friday night and I come to work on a Monday morning they still have not update a careplan at all with any intervention. I have told my DNS that I cannot do this anymore, I also attend all the weight, pressure, wound, RCC , Quarterly assessment audits, and walking rounds for my building. I also do all the annual and quarterly assessments for my building. I have an RN that works only 16 hours, she only does the MED A MDS's but it is not enough to help me do everything that I have to do. I love my job, but am severly stressed,,,,,,any suggestions.!!!!!

Hey Cape Cod, I have seen your posts alot on this web-site. You seem to know your stuff. Let me tell you the ADNS has it made at our facility. I would be happy with an ADNS position. If you are happy with that, keep it, if you really feel that you want a DNS position, go find one. I will tell you....the DNS at my facility runs her butt ALOT more that the ADNS. Good luck to you, and again, I have seen your posts here before and I have great respect for you and your information that you give. I look forward to reading your posts.

My first goal upon admission is "will remain free of falls through nursing interventions". After or if they have a fall (with no injury) I would change my goal to "will have no injury to fall or will get assist when getting up". After that, my goal is less that ___ falls per quarter. Hope this helps you...it has kept me out of trouble so far with the state............

What's going to give you higher payment with the RUGS is your therapy and ANYTHING in section P that you can check off. IV'S, transfusion, suctioning, etc. Since the new RUGS have come out, instead of picking day 8 which I usually did for higher payments, you may pick day 5-6 so that you can you can use your IV's on the 5 and 14d MDS. Talk to your therapy people and see what day you can use that will pay the best for the 5 AND the 14d MDS. That's where the money is.....

Yes, an "average" student can be a good nurse. Remember, anybody can be book smart and common sense stupid. An "A" in the classroom does not mean you will be a good nurse, it's what you do on the floor that counts. Relax, and you will do fine if this is your true love. Remember, if you love what you do, you will do fine in whatever you do.

Hi Anna, I would recommend finding not a school because you like OB but rather a good nursing program in general. Concentrate on your BSN and then after you graduate, concentrate in what field of nursing you would like. Remember, that during your nursing school experience, you will be exposed to alot of nursing fields and while now, OB sounds like what you may like, you may change your mind. So, try to find a BSN program around the area that you would like to attend college. And best of luck.....

Oh boy!!:angryfire This would bug the s _ _ _ out of me!!!! I agree with Marie LPN. What's wrong with them saying you're nurse is:__________ CNA is ___________. Let's confuse some confused people already. If there was a crisis would these people let YOU help them seeing that you are a "server" to them????? I think they should associate a face with "nurse" and a face with "CNA", leave the "servers" to the dining room. Does anybody else in your facility feel this way???

Our admission's person will tell me on admission is a person is on Med A or not. Then, we have a weekly Medicare meeting and discuss with PT if they are going to be taken off or not. When they are on Med A follow your 5/14/30/60/90 schedule.

Hi, I too am a MDS nurse. First, good luck in your new position. Go to the CMS website. You can download the RAI manual for free. That's my bible. Are you taking over for someone, or starting from scratch?? Don't get frustrated, it's always changing. Once you think you understand the process, CMS will change it again. I just attended a seminar as a refresher and again, left with my head spinning. There are always changes. Just try to remember that accuracy is your best friend. If the documentation is not there to support an answer that you want to put on the MDS, remember to always write a nurses note of your own, (This writer observed resident ambulated with extensive assist in his room, for example if all the documentation says that he did not ambulate.) I find the hardest problem is CNA documentation. They all tend to copy what the person before them has charted. Also, I don't think that they know the true meaning of limited, extensive, supervision. Try to think of ways to inservice so that you could get the most accurate documentation. I'm in the process of working with staff development nurse on inservices. (On top of everything else!!!) But you will find how much this documentation effects your RUGS scores. Again, good luck and keep in touch with how you are doing. Anymore questions, let me know. I will try to help you out. And vice versa, anything that I can learn from anybody else helps me out too..............:chuckle

I LOVE talking to my residents. We have one lady who will be 106 in January. Alittle forgetful, but pretty much on the money. I love her stories. I love to listen to them about their younger years, many with the wars. I also love the confused patients. There is always a laugh there. I also love the families who appreciate that I care about their family members. It's not just a job to me. You get to meet so many wonderful families, the gifts and everday thank you's for the update phone calls, etc. is great. Don't get me wrong, we have all dealt with those families that we can live without, but the good truly does outweigh the bad with me. I wouldn't give up my LTC job for any other........

I too think the same...dry sockets. I've heard they are terrible!!! I would call the surgeon also. Maybe he has a low threshold for pain too. I don't think he is playing you. Call the surgeon and give it a few days, then reconsider..... Good luck....

Hi all...I have a problem...Have any of you worked with a resident with Huntington's Disease/Chorea???? I posted this on the general discussion forum and if any of you saw it and replied, thank you very much. I had hoped to get more of a reply but that forum moves SO FAST!!!! Long story short, my dad who has been out of my life for about 25 years, I found out last year passed away after trying to find him. After talking to his "conservator" she told me that he had a dx of Huntington's Chorea. Need I say that if any of you know about this I FREAKED!!!! After doing research with some of his family whom I don't really know, it was confirmed that it is in the family. Now my problem. I am 40 something, have 3 children and feel I need to decide if I should get tested or not. I have weighed both sides of getting tested and not, but the short of it is, that if I decide not to get tested, which I feel is OK, I must pass this information on to my children so that they can decide to get tested or not. If they do decide to get tested, and they or I find out that they are positive, that will automatically mean that I am positive. I don't know if I want to know this. Would you want to know that this is probably how you are going to die??? Please don't tell me to go to counseling. Been there done that. They basically told me that it is up to me and before I get tested I should consider "getting everything in order". (i.e. Health insurance, long term care insurance, funeral plans, etc.) Alot of people have told me that once I find out that I have this I need to pass this information onto my insurance and possibly could be declined from having insurance and maybe eventually be fired from my job is this disease should interfere with my work. I pray that if I get to that point I will be quitting on my own and traveling around the world to enjoy my life. Just to know, what would any of you do, if you know how this disease progresses. I have worked with 1 Huntington's patient and it was the worst experience of my nursing career. I remember saying, that I thought that was the worst disease that I had ever seen. I can't even believe that this is true in my instance, but I feel that I have to deal with the reality that it is. Feeling was on the other forum, that I should get tested. Most people felt that they could not live with the unknown and feel that they should live their live the best that they could now. How do you feel???? Please be honest, and try to put yourself in my shoes......... Thanks so very much.....

Hey, and welcome to the wonderful world of long term care.....I hope you like it. I think it is like every other field in nursing. You will either love it or hate it. But on the subject of meds on time. I first, when I get onto the floor is check blood sugars and insulins. Those are my priority. Remember, you have 1 hour before the assigned time and 1 hour after the assigned time to actually administer the medications. I do my insulins first, then just begin in Room 1 and so forth. In a perfect world, you should get them done within 2 hours, but as you may know already from working ALOT could happen for instance all you need is for someone to fall within that time and there goes your 2 hours. Don't worry about it. Just try to keep on task and remember that giving the CORRECT medication is far more important that what time they get it. We had one nurse that was one patient off in the kardex and never checked name bands. She too, was a new nurse and ended up giving almost the whole unit WRONG MEDICATION. So give yourself time. Eventually, you will find that if you keep working the same unit you will learn who gets what and how so that it goes much faster for you, but again, make sure you are giving the right medications. They won't die because you have them their Lopressor or Lasix at 10:30AM instead of 9:00AM. Good luck and again, welcome to LTC......

I personally would be angry too. I have not seen my husband without his moustache since I met him, and however, that I tease him that I would like to see him without it, I would be upset if somebody shaved it off. I know how much it means to him and I know that he would not want anybody to see him other than with his moustache. I would, god forbid this happens, is to have the staff talk with me first and discuss this and make a "group" decision rather that it being the decision of one staff person. If I found out that in the end, it was "best for my husband or loved one", I would agree to it, but however it should not of been done without discussion with family and the resident.

Hello...this is a sore subject for me. I am just an "LPN" and let me tell you...I have been in the same facility for 7 years. We have agency "RN's" come in and "Supervise". I can tell you that they call me over half the time because they are unsure of a resident's status. I have heard the daytime supervisor when she is orienting an RN agency person, call her, she can answer most of your questions if you should have any!!!!! I often say, I really should become an RN because I myself and others have told me that I am very good in my field. However, we get that from experience. Most RN's are in the office and we are out on the floor. That is the real nursing world. I would rather be paid less to hold the hand of a dying person or laugh with them daily than get paid the "big bucks" in the office to shuffle paper. When I am out, and I tell people that I am a nurse and they ask me "LPN or RN??" My reply is does it matter?????? I do everything an RN does in my LTC facility except push paper and I LOVE it that way. We are the real nurses......and we should be very proud of it. In my LTC facility it is the LPN's that "RUN" the place and the RN's are in the office doing what???? I love my job and want to keep it that way, HANDS ON!!!!:wink2:

Hi....I too am IV certified, however I am just able to do everything except actually start them. That's the "RN's" job. I don't have anything special on my license, however after I attended the IV class, we received a certificate and this is what we use to show certification...

Hi Heather..Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have dealt with a Huntington Chorea "clinic" near where I live and the testing is free. They told me that my sample will go in with only numbers on it so that even those that work in the lab cannot associate name with anything. The testing is not the problem, like I said it is free. It's funny, I wake up some days, and say "I'm ready for this. I'm calling today" and then I find that I chicken out. They have also told me that I cannot "demand" to automatically be tested. They advise more counseling. They determine how I would handle this information. What I would do with it, and how I would deal with it. It's all good, but I really don't know if this is what I want to know!!!!

Surfing the web trying to find out info. on MDS's and here I am. LOVE THIS SITE~~~~