future_nurse11

I got a job at a SNF/rehab facility back in October. I shadowed a couple nurses the first 2 days and then was on my own. Shortly after, I found out my husband has been using meth and got a restraining order.. He got scary and my concern was my 6-month-old & 3-year-old. I spoke with my boss, with a restraining order in hand, & told her the situation. Told her I had a lot going on & didn't feel like I could work without distraction at that time. She understood & put me as per diem to keep me in their system & said to contact her when I was ready to come back. I messaged her prior to the new year & said I'd like to start up again full-time on the 1st of the year. She made the schedule & I was scheduled full-time, 5 days a week 3-11:30pm each day. It's been 6 days since I've been back & I'm in a bind. I don't know what to do. I hate going to work everyday. I do accuchecks & barely finish passing meds (without a lunch) & at the end of my shift. And then stay another couple hours charting (Medicare, weekly summaries, & change of conditions). Also put away meds & chart on s/p dialysis pts etc. My coworkers have each taught me ways to make my day go faster. But those "tricks" seem unethical to me. And for the charting, they expect me to chart on pts that I didn't have the time to assess. I care about these pts. I care about my license. I don't want to put either at risk. I don't want to chart on a pt based on previous charting because I didn't have the time to assess them myself. Also, my boss now said I cannot do overtime now. So how am I supposed to finish everything on time as a new grad, no one to really teach me the ropes, 30 pts under my care, & endless charting to do. How??!! I really want to quit. Not because of the work environment, but also found out my dad, who is retired & watches my kids, is pretty negligent with them. Leaving them unattended while outside chain smoking cigarettes. I appreciate the fact that my boss held my position but everyday I'm there, I dread it until the next day. What to do?? I really am thinking of quitting & want to make it effective immediately but I don't want to burn any bridges. But because of all of the person issues I'm having & those stressors, I'm feeling really exhausted, malnurished, & dehydrated. I don't want to put my license or any pts in danger because of my issues & possible distractions. Plus I'm really concerned about my kids and not having anyone trustworthy to watch. What does anyone suggest?? Quit effective immediately? Quit with 2-week notice? Stick it out? I can't seem to make a clear decision. Please. Help. Thanks!!!!

I am currently in an LVN program & was told that it'll take approximately 5 months to receive the ATT (authorization to test) after our completion with the program. The reason is supposedly because the board of nursing is backed up with requests to take the NCLEX. My program will be finished the end of this July.. So that means I won't be able to schedule my NCLEX exam til about December (because that's how long it'll take to get the ATT). Is this normal??! Nervous because I have been told continuously to take the NCLEX ASAP after school while info is fresh in my mind.

Okay.. To start off, Let me give you some background on myself. I previously attended a court reporting school for about 2 1/2 years & it was a self-paced program. Basically whenever I get to the required typing speed, I graduate. The career of a court reporter basically interested me because of the money. My neighbor was a court reporter, single, & owned a beautiful home based on her income alone. However, the schooling seemed to be taking longer than I initially anticipated so I started considering other career options. Then I looked into nursing. I found an LVN program that worked around my current work schedule. The program comes around only once a year so I impulsively left court reporting school & signed up for the LVN program. I have been in the nursing program for six months now. It is very challenging, but I do enjoy it and have made some really good friends along the way. Also, the thought of becoming a nurse has been in my head since I was younger & it's a its make me proud to say that I was one. However, I just get nervous sometimes. I worry that I, since I want to continue school after this to get my BSN, I will miss so much time with my son and my family. The thought has come to mind to go back into court reporting. So that I can make my own schedule and do work from home even. I'm trying to weigh out everything, like the pay, the job flexibility, that interacting with people (or lack thereof), the stress.. HELLLLPP!

I'm in my first term in the LVN program & today was a particularly emotionally intense day at Clinicals. I was assigned to get vitals for a number of pts & when I went to one pt's room I found her bawling her eyes out. She claimed that she was abused the night before by two men. I kept telling her that I would do all that I could to make sure that she's safe. I immediately reported it to my instructor & I came to find out that for the last few days she's been reliving a past memory of a terrible incident she encountered when she was younger. I planned to do some studying as soon as I got home but I just can't seem to focus. I'm guessing it's because that lady is still on my mind. It was so hard to see her so distraught & to not know how to relieve her emotional pain. How does a nurse handle such emotionally intense situations & leave the tough feelings at work & not affect your personal/family life? I just felt so out of it when I got home & haven't really been able to relax.

I am a new nursing student who started clinicals pretty recently. Im wondering.. Do you wear gloves when taking vitals & during a full-body assessment? I know to follow what the instructor says to do.. My instructor doesn't enforce that we wear gloves during assessments.. But would it be a good idea to do it anyway? I had another instructor before who said she wears gloves anytime she has pt interaction. Just wondering what's the norm & what's best health-wise.

Okay.. I'm over exaggerating. I can hear with the stethoscope that my school provided to me BUT everything sounds very faint.. Especially bowel & lung sounds. I was told that a cardiology stethoscope would give more amplification. I don't really want to pay a couple hundred for a stethoscope but at the same time I do want something that provides stronger, clearer sounds. Any recommendations? Something with quality that costs a reasonable amount?

That explanation helped a lot. Thank you!!

I know they all three have to do with elevated temperatures.. So what's the difference between them? What makes a person have a condition of pyrexia rather than hyperthermia? Or febrile?

She was alone in the room? Or was the older daughter there? I had a c-section earlier this year & if my baby had fallen I would've, of course, jumped to pick him up. But I don't know.. Did she request to have her healing wound checked? I wouldve. But maybe that's a first-time mommy move. I didn't think of anything suspicious going on until I read some of the previous comments.

Hi!! I'm a new nursing student & have clinicals starting up soon. I need shoes but am unsure of what kind to get. I've seen the clogs. They look pretty pricey but have great reviews. I have rather thin ankles and am concerned if my foot will be loose in clogs & cause me trip or anything. I've also seen some laced ones.. My classmates have mentioned if fluids spill on my shoes, it'll be a hassle to clean the laces. I'd like to keep pricing as low as possible but at the same time I don't mind paying more for quality. I have scoliosis so I just want to have some good shoes that'll keep me from getting too much back pain. What styles & brands have worked for you????

One time I overheard parents talking to their son and I could've sworn I heard the mom refer to her son as "Serpentine". I had to stop & see if I heard correctly. Yup, it seemed like they had named their son Serpentine.

^^^^Thats the exact reason why I'm going for my LVN first.

@baygrl11.. What type of work setting do you work in? Home health? LTC? Etc. I'm going to be starting an LVN program soon. I live in Southern California & I'm looking forward to making something around this amount in the future. :)

I just read something in Facebook.. Someone post a rant about how much they hate their job as a nurse. And then a BUNCH of people commented & admitted that they hated their jobs as well. They talked about being overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, bullied.. Im scared!!

I understand your dilemma. I'm in a very similar situation. I got a job at 21. It was an office temp job that became permanent & now, at age 33 I'm still there & am now the office manager. I've stayed at the job because it pays pretty well for someone with no college degree. I got comfortable. I was able to rent a house on my own & still afford to go out with friends & stuff. Also, I feel like my boss depends on me so much that I felt obligated to stay there. I did luck out. But now the company has slowed down to the point that I'm afraid that I'll get laid off. In the last few years, I've gotten married & now have a 6-month-old so I feel the push more than ever to finally get a career going. So.. Now I'm looking into nursing school. I ultimately want to become an RN. but I can't find a program to work with my work schedule. (I work Monday-Friday 9am-5pm). I don't think we can survive comfortably with just my husband's income alone so I am going to have to stay working. The only program I found that I feel is do-able is an LVN program at a vocational school. Class during evenings & clinicals on weekends. I'm afraid I'll get burned out with practically working 7 days a week but its the only thing that I think would work with my situation. The program is 20 months long & I'll have to pay a couple hundred towards the schooling & loans will cover the majority of it.