MaraG.

I have been working as an LPN for almost 7 years now. I've enjoyed it and found great reward from my career. I applied for the RN program and was accepted 4 years ago. Long story short, we started a family just before I was offered a seat, so I was ...

Such a delicate situation. There is a lot of good advice here, a lot of it I used with both of my parents. My mom had dementia and my dad AD. My dad stayed at home and passed away from lung CA just a short 1.5 yrs after being diagnosed with AD. He...

I have used some of the following questions: What is the greatest challenge that a nurse will face on this unit? What are the RN/LPN relationships like? What is the staff morale like? What is done to help keep a positive spirit when things get tou...

When I was in school I bought 5 scrubs (tops and bottoms) that were different styles and colours. I made sure that they could be mix and matched. This way I could use different combinations throughout a set or two and I could "test drive" a few diff...

I am 16 weeks pregnant, saw the doctor today and she expressed some concerns. She is worried about the amount of lifting nurses do. I assured her that those I work with are very supportive and help me a lot. I do boosting always ensuring that the ...

I could not imagine going back so soon. Where I live we get 1 year mat. leave. Plus I continue to accumulate vacation. So in the end I will take my 3-4 week vacation at the start of my mat leave then at month 11 of mat leave my hubby will take the l...

Go in with an open mind ready to learn. I am an LPN but I can tell you that school "work" in the hospital is a lot different from actually working in the hospital. Remember you boundaries and what you are allowed to do and not allowed to do. Take ...

So far I have ben lucky, only 1 iso patient. (VRE in her urine) I think that my CNL has purposely assigned me to low risk assignments. But I am still early in my pregnancy, so we will see how things go from here. I work with great people who help ...

Thanks for all the replies. I hope that I can work until week 36. I would like the early time off to enjoy the quiet while it is still around, lol. I do work with a group of good people. They have done a lot for me, especially when I was getting...

Ok I think I know the answer to this one but!! I got into a almost heated "discussion" about it with a co-worker. I asked her to give Morphine and 2mg Ativan to my pt (he has pancreatitis and ETOH withdrawal full DTs). She looked at his MAR comment...

someone's family member almost died in my care today. I acted fast and with haste hoping to give you just another day. As you lay in the bed sheets moist with sweat, the oxygen mask helping you to catch your breath Skin as hot as the noon day sun, ...

Yes I wrote it this evening. The last hour of my night shift this morning left me with a lot to think about.

I am 9 weeks pregnant and have been on vacation for about 3 weeks now. On my last shift I noticed that my usually strong stomach was a little sensitive. The site of urine soaked tissue on the floor made me gag (I mean soaked- as if the man put the t...

Thanks for the replies. It is both the sites and smells. The stool in the toilet did not smell, but it did leave skid marks on the bowl as it flushed down, that was gross! Mints are a good idea, I will try that. I sure hope that the second trimes...

So, I have had an LPN student for the last four almost 5 weeks. I have spoken with her and her teachers about my concerns regarding her ability to perform assessments and relay important information, decide what assessments need to be preformed based...

Thanks for all the support.

Turns out that the instructor asked my co-worker to take over this student, she declined. Apparently one of the higher ups asked that the student not come back to our floor. I feel bad, I wish I could have done better, but you can only do so muc...

When I was in school, 3 years ago, I was taught to always flush. This created negative....... positive.......the correct pressure in the IVI (IV- infuser) It is what I do but with 3cc of NS q8h.

I have an LPN student who is on precpetorship right now. She is at the half way point in her time on the acute care ward I work on. Her mid term eval is coming up this week and I have concerns. I have already sent an email to her teacher about the c...

Well it is done, I spoke with her teacher this AM and let her know how the night went. Missed two meds for one pt and an IV med for another. DId not think a low grade temp was a concern and only told me about 2 hours before the end of the shift. O...

With hgb it could be low d/t a bleed or rehydration (a dehydrated pt put on IV fluids) or any other issue. We have pt with low hgb NPO frequently for G&E's and other procedures. Low HCT could be over hydration. Take a look at these websites, I ...

Wow! What a response. It is nice to see how supportive everyone is, thank you. I remember being a student and know that I would have liked the extra help and tips. But now I realize that it is all being wasted. Looking up the same med 3x in one shi...

I wanted to thank everyone for their replies. On our next shift I spoke with the student about my concerns. I told her that her practices were unsafe and that I had a lot of concerns with her basic nursing knowledge. I took the entire assignment an...

I use to work as a manager of a a few retail stores. Interviewing potential employees and being interviewed I learned a lot about the whole process. I found that people I remembered were the ones that were honest and did not give generic answers. I...

Thanks for the replies all. I hope that I can help her along and get her ready for the working world. It's hard because the course is so short and in 3 weeks she will be done and writing her exam.