mamallama

Hi there! I'm a FNP student at Frontier. Went to Frontier Bound last May, am just finishing my last Level I class and taking my first Level II class. I can't really speak to how hard it is to get admitted - I know I got in :), but don't know what the competition was like. I'm working 30+ hours per week and have two young kids. Am in the program part-time. I like the program a lot, but it is definitely busy. As you may know, the school recently transitioned to a quarter system. I've personally had a bit of "growing pains" switching to the new system -- mostly getting used to having firmer deadlines -- but still feel very positive about the school. I have classmates who are working and doing the program full-time, but I honestly don't know how they do it. Good luck. Frontier Bound is a great experience. I can't wait to go back to Hyden for Clinical Bound -- although that's about a year away. Feel free to send a private message if you want to chat more.

Actually, NPs in several states can, and do, run their own practices. I used to be the office nurse for an NP in Idaho who owned her own business and hired an Internal Medicine MD as her employee

I'm starting a distance program through Frontier in May and am facing the same thing. There is a NP locator on NP Central (sorry, can't think of the actual address right now). You could also try looking for a state NP organization or checking with the state board to see if they have an address list. Good luck.

I need some help knowing what kind of orientation I should ask for. I'm a L&D nurse and have recently started at a new facility as a per diem. At this hospital, L&D nurses float frequently to med-surg and take a full team when they go. I went into L&D right out of school and have never done any med-surg and I'm scared. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not scared of working hard -- I'm concerned that I don't know what I need to know to safely take care of med-surg patients. I believe that people (management) often assumes that any nurse ought to be able to do med-surg, but I think it is a true specialty and I feel pretty unprepared. I don't know the meds, haven't touched a drain or seen a decubitis in years....what's the best way to get prepared? Thanks.

Just bought a pair of the knock-offs....first 12 hr shift with them today -- they were great. Not sure how they'll hold up, but for $7.99, I figure it's worth a try.

I don't think I know a single nurse who has never made a med error. When it happens, the most important things are to admit that it happened (NEVER cover up an error) and to take a look at what happened so you can try to prevent it next time. It sounds like yours was a pretty benign error -- be grateful that it was and take it as a good wake-up call.

Yup, you are thinking a bit too much. :kiss Don't worry, you'll get it. Nobody was born knowing how to run IVs -- we all learned it and you will too. There's been lots of good info on this thread. A couple more thoughts for you: As far as how to run pumps: when you get hired, most hospitals will have a couple days of mandatory nursing orientation for all new employees (even the experienced nurses have to go through it). They will go over the specific equipment that they use in that facility and teach you how to run it. As someone else mentioned, you can also try to get a day in day surgery to practice IV starts. The facility that hired me as a new grad set that up for me and it was very helpful. As far as the IV bags running out, make it part of your practice to eyeball the bag every time you go in the room -- whether you're doing an assessment, delivering a dinner tray, or just answering a call bell. Assuming that you're in there at least a couple of times a shift, you'll see the bag getting low well before you have to change it. Most IVs in most hospitals will be on a pump and the darn thing will beep incessantly when it runs out, so the patient WILL call and say "My IV is beeping". And, ok, for some formula. When you don't have a pump: Total bag volume (in mls)/ hourly rate = hours Example: 1000ml / 125ml = 8 hours. That also works in reverse -- if you get an order to run in 1 liter over 8 hours, just divide 1000/8 = 125ml per hour. Here's a shortcut I learned in nursing school to determine drops per minute for an IV without a pump. You may find this more confusing than the original formula, but it has worked well for me. It depends on what your drop set is (which will be listed on the tubing package): Basically, you divide 60 (as in minutes) by the drop set to get your "factor" -- then all you have to do is divide the rate by that factor to get your drops per minute. 10 drop set = divide rate by 6 15 drop set = divide rate by 4 20 drop set = divide rate by 3 So, if you are supposed to run it at 125ml/hr and you are using 15gtt tubing, just divide 125/4 = 31.25 drops per minute. You'd just round down to 31 (and if you can consistently get an off the pump IV to run at 31 drops per minute for 8 hours, then you are a better IV nurse than me!!!) Hopefully, I haven't just made it more confusing Good luck

LOTS of nurses advocate for this. The last hospital I worked in had a wonderful group of nurses, midwives, and physicians who worked together to provide a safe birth while honoring the woman's wishes. We provided tons of labor support, utilized positioning, breathing, massage, music, water, etc. I gave birth in that facility last October. Had a beautiful labor. Had an intermittent IV only for antibiotics (I was GBS Pos). Otherwise, I walked, showered, rested. Had a beautiful, peaceful, unmedicated birth in a dimly lit room with my husband, mother-in-law, and 5 year old present. My son was put to breast immediately and we cuddled as long as we wished. Yes, this was in a hospital and attended by a (male) OB. :balloons:

Thanks, Siri. AWHONN's always helpful!

Hello all. I'm going back to L&D after 2 years out of hospital nursing. My previous L&D experience was in a rural facility that was fairly low-intervention. We did lots of labor support (yum) and few epidurals. Now I'm headed to a larger facility where most patients get epidurals. Can anyone recommend a good review (book, website, journal article) so that I can get up to speed?