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OK, maybe I am wording it wrong... I'll give an example... There was a debate on whether lpns could change a central line dressing. The higher ups said it was fine and I didn't think that could. My rationale was that in nursing school we didn't do that skills check off until AFTER the lpn/rn bridge students joined us. Which I assume means that they were not checked off on it in lpn school and thus can not do it. I guess what I'm actually looking for is the nurse practice acts.

Hi all! I am wondering if someone can link me to something that tells me what an RN can do. All I can seem to find is stuff for APRN. My boss keeps talking about things that are within our scope of practice and I'd like to see this info myself and nor simply go by word of mouth. Thank you.

I found this on another post and the answer is from Asystole RN, BSN: ( The question is not how many states allow but how many prohibit. I am not aware of any states that prohibit PICC insertion by nurses, many have conditions but none prohibit that I am aware of. Central lines are trickier, many states say nothing on the topic. Some states like California place central line insertion within their "standardized procedure" portion of the scope while Arizona has the "If a nurse is trained and educated on it" portion of the scope. Some states like Arizona do in fact restrict the type of central lines that a nurse can put in but not all. The Infusion Nurses Society or the Association of Vascular Access might have some compiled statistics for you.

Thank you very much HouTx. I will try that and see what I can come up with :)

I know this may be better suited for a writing forum, but I am afraid that I would have to explain too many nursing terms in order to get any assistance. I am doing a huge research project as a requirement for my BSN degree. We have to do a research literature review on an issue that our unit is facing. Since I work in long term care, I am researching ways to reduce/prevent UTIs in the elderly. My hang up is how to organize the literature review. I have always had trouble with that part of a lit review. I was thinking about comparing and contrasting articles using ADPIE. Do you think that would be a good idea? If not, can you give me some other ways that I could organize it? I have articles about whether or not delirium is a sign of a UTI, about probiotics as a prophylactic as well as cranberry juice or pills, and research on ATB resistance.

Ok, today was my first day on my own. It went pretty good. They've been without an ADON or steady DON for so long though that it is going to take some time to get caught up. I have about 300 pages to read between the f329 and the orientation handbook and have not even started on that because I am trying to get ahead in my BSN classes. Thank you for being encouraging. cecile9155, they wanted me to take the DON almost a year ago when I was a brand new nurse and when I kept saying no they wanted me to take this position. I thought no way back then too. I still don't feel like I am ready for it, but I also know that I am going to learn so much more this way. I am still scared to death and don't know if i can do it, but for now I am going to try and if I dont like it I can always step down. Oh! and we are getting a full time DON next week!! I'm pretty excited about that.

I am the new adon at my 90 bed ltc/snf. Here's the thing though, I have only been an Rn for a year. I have no other previous nursing experience. Right off the bat they wanted me to take the DON position and I declined. They have continued to try to get me to take that ever since. I finally told them that with my lack of experience it would not be safe for the residents for me to be the DON and they've let up on that some. I did take the adon though. I'm in charge of weekly wounds and f329 for sure. We actually went over the entire DON orientation handbook and that got me flustered because they would go over something bit then tell me that I wouldn't be doing that. It was a lot to take in all in one day. I am a perfectionistI (but not in typing out posts from my phone ) and I want to be the best adon they've ever had but after reading several pages of posts on this site, now I'm scared I made the wrong decision. We have no "acting" DON at the moment..only a stand in and the survey window opens in may...TWO MONTHS! I already have wonderful relationship with all other staff and they're thrilled that I took the positition, but should I have? please share your thoughts...no matter how brutal. Also..I have read all the tips on this topic but if anyone has anything specific for f329 or weekly wound care please share.

protectNnurse2b, Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am currently looking in to how the media portrays men in nursing and I am finding that it is typically in a negative light. When I get to the part of my paper where I have to come up with solutions, I think changing how the media portrays men in nursing would be beneficial. As a matter of fact, how tv portrays nursing in general would help...all those medical shows always show the doctor ALWAYS right at the bedside...lol lol

Kuriin, Thank you for your response. My nursing class was also taught how to properly clean females as well as males. I threw that question in there after reading a few surveys that stated their nursing school did not properly teach them how to clean females and they had to ask their female classmates to help them.

Guy in Babyland, Thank you for your response. One of the few male nurses I know works in the NICU. I did not give any thought to men in nursing until I was assigned this paper and I started doing research. That is what made me want to get "real" opinions from "real" men in nursing. While I realize that the studies are done on real people, I just never really thought it was that much of an issue. I needed to find out if that is because I am female and just hadn't noticed or if men really did feel the brunt of these stereotypes and such.

Guys, thank you so much for responding! Those of you trying to start a fight...or getting all up in your feelings about these questions... I am doing a research paper about the stereotypes and discrimination surrounding MEN in nursing. My research on the topic is what lead me to ask the questions I did. It was to see if MEN in nursing felt that these things applied to them. It would be the same as me asking the females if they felt as though doctors and other staff treated them as though they were stupid, if they ever felt as though they were sexualized, etc. Not everything is a personal attack.

CBlover, here we go again? I am not trying to start WWIII or anything of the sort. I am a female nurse that is required to get the male perspective on stereotypes and discrimination. As previously stated, I work in LTC with only 1 other male nurse and my graduating class only had 3. I thought asking here would be a good way to get honest answers on whether or not MEN thought there were stereotypes or discrimination that created barriers to them.

Hershey1091, Do not apologize for the length! this was so insightful! I am doing research on stereotypes and discrimination towards men in the nursing field and all the studies i have read are great, but I do not feel as though I am getting accurate or personal perspectives. I am a nurse in LTC and there is only 1 male nurse there. I have asked him these questions as well. I also asked the 3 male nurses that were in my graduating class, but I have to wonder if maybe they were holding back a bit because A: they know me and B: I am female. I thought I might get honest answers here. Thank you again for taking the time to respond!

I would like to ask men in nursing school and those already in the nursing field for their opinions here. 1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession? 2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field) 3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explained) 4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field? 4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams 5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate) 5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?

Wondering about this has gotten me so off track with my paper that I had to come and ask so I could focus! :)

Another paper leads to another question! This paper is on the issues and trends of APN. During my research I keep seeing things that say that seeing a nurse practitioner is cheaper than seeing an MD. I understand that with insurance the copay would be the same because its a fixed flat rate and if an NP is seen instead of the MD the insurance is charged differently so maybe that is what they mean when they say it is cheaper. However, I want to know about people with out insurance. Here in the town I live in, we have an NP that has her own practice and her price for an office visit is $40. Now, at another clinic the price for an office visit is $100. you usually see an MD at the $100 clinic, but there are times where you will see the NP instead but the cost is still $100. Is that just something this clinic does or is this normal? The only thing I can figure is that it is the same price because there are MDs in house and the NP could go to them if needed whereas at the $40 clinic it is just the NP.

These are really good responses and some I hadn't thought of.

I am doing a paper on technology in the nursing field and it made me wonder..why aren't electronic medical records linked on a national level? So, if you live in Missouri, but have to go to the ED in California, or, lets say that my doctor is in clinton missouri, but I go to the emergency room in warrensbuerg missouri. that is not going to show up in your records unless you tell your doctor about it and they request the information. I had a family member who had a PCP, cardiologist, nephrologist, hemotologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, and finally an oncologist. She also went to various EDs depending on the expected wait time. She passed away recently and I cant help but think that if the medical records were all linked that maybe she wouldnt have fallen through the cracks and the different members of her medical team would have had a better understanding of what was going on with her other doctors.

I have not tried those agencies. I thought I might try to call around some more tomorrow but after todays responses I am very discouraged. I do not need the nurse I am interviewing to have a BSN. I can interview an LPN for all that matters :)

Hello, I am currently taking BSN classes and one of my assignments is to interview a community based nurse. I have talked to 4 people I know and they wont do it and then I called the health department and the nurses there declined as well. I hate that I have to infringe on someone elses time for MY assignment but I do not have much choice other than fabricating an interview and that is not something I want to do. If anyone has time to do this that would be fantastic. You can leave off the name and place of employment and I will put "prefers not to answer". If you dont really want to post it here you can email me at [email protected] Can anyone please help me? Name of nurse interviewed: Occupation: Place of employment: Interview Outline 1. Describe your work as a community based nurse. 2. Describe your education and experience in preparation for assuming this position. 3. What do you like most about the position? Least? 4. Describe a legal issue of concern to you in your practice? 5. Describe an ethical issue of concern to you in your practice? 6. How do you keep up with current nursing practices? 7. Do you utilize standards in your practice? If so, from what source and can you provide examples? Any other comments?

I thought that replying on one would put it right under and not just a blanket reply. So, I will try again. Thank you all for your responses. When you said that it gets easier the longer you do it you were right! I worked as a waitress for 12 years before becoming a nurse and honestly, I knew everything there was to know about that job and had no questions on how to do something. There is still so much to learn and to know. I find myself taking "notes" at work for things I want to look up when I get home and for things that I need to do AT the facility I just ask a lot of questions. I work with people that have been there for so many years...like my med tech..hes been there for 14 years and when I have a question about who to call or what paperwork needs to be done he usually knows the answer. Its amazing how much more comfortable I feel now even though its only been a short time since my original post. AND I have even trained 3 nurses since then and feel pretty comfortable doing it. I have noticed that a lot of people want to rush through treatments and I like being able to train them to tell them the certain "ticks" of some of my residents. I was told by a seasoned nurse who was new to the facility that she could tell I was still new because "old" nurses arent afraid to take shortcuts. I told her I am all about shortcuts as long as they dont interfere with patient care....It felt really nice later to stop her in her tracks when she thought she had drawn up 50 units of lantus but actually drew up 50 units of novalog and I mentioned that the not double checking the bottles was probably not a shortcut she wanted to continue taking. If I start at another facility I would love to have more orientation, but this ONE time it was actually kind of good for me. It was like they threw me in the pond and said SWIM! I "proved" myself and I actually get compliments all the time from the administrator and the DON. I was offered the DON position at a sister facility already and when I declined I was offered the ADON position. I have only been a nurse for 6 months and feel that I am not ready for that. I also LOVE the hands on aspect of nursing but the paperwork aspect not so much and that is all the DON and ADON do! Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give an update and again, thank you all for taking the time to respond and try to calm me...I can actually hear the panic in my post and it seems so silly now

Thank you for taking the time to respond :)

I work tomorrow, friday, and then the last week of the month and I'm done with that facility and I don't think I'll accept any more days from them but I know that nurses have too many pt's a lot of the time and I'd like to know how to give them ALL good care. On a side note: my second day there they tried to have me train a GN. I went to the administrator laughing.

I'm a new nurse (passed boards in feb) with no previous Healthcare experience.I didn't want to work in a nursing home but couldn't find a job so I took a position offered to me. (I absolutely love it btw) I work every other weekend at one facility and they basically "rent" me out. When another of their facilities needs a fill in they call me. I got 4 days of orientation at the primary facility and that was actually ok..the lpn on duty with me does the paperwork and the Med-A/atb/incident residents so I just do meds and treatments. I got called to do skin assessments at another facility (not a problem) and they asked me to fill in for a month. This wasn't a problem until I get there and I am the only nurse on duty (at this point I had worked as a nurse for a total of 7 days) and have no clue how to do any of the paperwork. I am slowly learning all that but I am wondering if some of the seasoned nurses can give me a run down of their day... I have two pt's that get trach care and a bunch of other stuff and I am in their room for 45 min to an hour for each of them. By the time I am done with them and get all the other accu-checks/insulin/Med-A's/dressing changes/treatments done I am rushing to get my charting done and there are residents I haven't even laid eyes on. I have about 25-30 residents on my side..and 2 cna's.am I naive to think I can fully care for all of them in an 8 hour shift? I know that I'm slower because I'm new but I want to be a GREAT nurse not just one who does the minimum expected. I would hate for a family to call to check on their loved one and I not have any information because I hadn't even seen them all day. Also, if my treatment card says to put calmoseptine on a reddened area but the cna's say they do that when they get the resident up, do I just take their word for it? I have a hard time initialling a treatment card when I didn't actually see the treatment get done. What if the redness turns to a stagable ulcer and here I am saying, "well, they said they were doing it" Thank you in advance and so sorry this is so looooong.

Im guessing no one knows how to dumb this down?