Chickie77

I'm a CNA and I HATE lazy ones. I once picked up a night shift in a LTC facility because we were short staffed and I regretted it...I also realized why I had SO much work to do on my regular morning shift! I saw the other CNA's TWICE the whole night! I saw them when we came on shift and again when it was time to clock out. I have no idea where they went the entire night but I was running my tail off down THREE halls catching call lights and tending to residents. Day shift wasn't much better, the majority of my coworkers were rude and very lazy. It didn't help that much of our equipment was broken (lifts, hi/lo beds) and management didn't care. The last facility I worked at I ended up quitting after only 3 months after I injured my back pretty badly. When I left I reported every one of those lazy CNA's for neglect! If you work at a job where the CNA's are NOT doing their job, they are neglecting their patients and should be reported! It stays on their record and lets the nursing board know who they are dealing with and may actually prevent lazy CNA's from becoming lazy nurses!

Thanks! Lilacs added me. :)

Did you create a group for all class years or is the 2016 one that I was just rudely banned from? It would be nice to have a group for ALL of us nursing students, that's why I'm asking. I created one but if there is one for all students, I would rather just join that one....

Everyone's situation is different, in mine 'til death do us part' is quite the reality... My husband is abusive, insecure, controlling and narcissistic. We have been through counseling, I have talked about feelings to the moon and back and it all falls on deaf ears. Narcissists lack empathy and they never believe they do any kind of wrong. I've spent the last 6 years trying to make a relationship work that is distinctly one sided. I agree with 'choose wisely' and that would be my advice to anyone as well. NEVER go into a relationship thinking you can change certain behaviors because I can promise you that no amount of therapy, patience and love can fix some problems. My situation isn't the same as everyone's and I do believe that compromise can be made within a loving and whole relationship in order to succeed at any goal, nursing school included. I just choose independence and success over someone trying to maintain control and dependence.

I worked as a CNA in several LTC facilities for TEN years and I hated every minute of it. Don't get me wrong I LOVED my patients and it killed me to leave each facility but I was never able to give each patient the care they needed because I generally had 15-20 patients on a shift. The last facility I worked at had so much broken equipment and was so short on staff that I injured my back trying to get a large patient up off of a broken hi/lo bed that stuck on the floor. That wasn't even the last straw....the last straw was when I was treated so badly by the administrator (because I was injured) that she actually made me break down in tears... I left that job and I never looked back, I even let my CNA expire. In between I applied at any and every hospital I could and was never called back. There just weren't any positions available at that time. It's been almost 7 years since I did that kind of work and I still have nightmares about it. I've been going to school part time working on my prereqs for nursing school and I have been accepted into the nursing program for this coming fall. I have high hopes that I will enjoy being an RN much more than a CNA and I plan on taking an internship at the VA and continuing my career there. All that to say...don't feel bad for hating working in LTC, it is VERY hard work and always understaffed. I like to think that anyone who can survive any amount of time working as a CNA in LTC facilities can survive just about anything.

I'm in the process of divorce before I start nursing school because my husband is a huge narcissist and he did nothing but stress me out when I was trying to complete my prereqs. Oh he claims he loves me, would do anything for me and would never do anything to hurt my schooling all while interrupting my studies because he wasn't getting enough attention or he would send the kids to bother me instead of taking care of them himself. If I wanted to see a tutor or take advantage of quite time by staying after class to study, he would blow up my phone questioning whether I was actually studying or not. I barely passed my last two classes (Micro and A&P) because of trying to balance his perpetual need for attention and my education, there's NO WAY I'm going to allow him to sabotage nursing school for me.

As a pre nursing student who has been reading this board for awhile I can shed a small amount of perspective on this mentality. In all of my prior courses, save for Micro and A&P, as students we were coddled and given study guides and reviews to know what we needed to study for exams. As I progressed to higher classes I saw this trend diminish and I admit I struggled. I was not used to having to work so hard for good grades and I had trouble adjusting to having to study more material on my own and really get the information down as a whole rather than just studying the minimum to pass. I don't believe that this falls on the instructors shoulders and I don't blame any of my instructors for the grades I received. I blamed myself for not putting more of an effort into studying in a new way. I guess I can see where some people would feel that an instructors is to blame when they are used to being taught a certain way. I am very worried about making the grades I want in nursing school. I have trouble studying from a book and much prefer auditory and hands on as I retain so much more this way. In Microbiology, I did excellent in lab! However, my downfall was in lecture and I had a very hard time figuring out the best way to study and retain that information. It was not my instructors fault, in fact I think she was an awesome teacher. I think it is very hard for students to accept a larger role in their education when they have become used to being taught a certain way and I believe this is a struggle for students of all ages.

I think the question of whether she should be allowed to be a licensed nurse caring for people is a good question. In the general sense I think one could argue that something like involuntary manslaughter might not be something that shouldn't bar one from licensure so obviously it could be a case by case stance on the opinions or guidelines there. However...and I don't want to sound like I'm grabbing a pitchfork here...calculated murder such as the case in question seems to be a no brainer for me, even if she was only 15 at the time. I think if one makes a choice to commit such a heinous crime, they should expect to forfeit some luxuries in life once their sentence has been served. I don't think most people here are saying that she should go hide in a cave never to bother anyone again, lol. I think people are just uncomfortable with the idea that people convicted of such crimes having jobs of such stature within the community. If this women has truly been rehabilitated I have no issue with her moving on with her life and becoming a productive member of society, I just think she has lot the privilege of being in a position to care for vulnerable people. I would say that even if she were my sister.

My opinion on this is that she should NOT be a nurse. From the case facts this was definitely premeditated and she went on for some time living her life as normal before she was caught. One of her parole board members stated that he felt she had not be rehabilitated and showed anger and aggressive tendencies up to the date of her parole at what would be considered an adult age. So in this case I definitely see red flags with her being licensed in the care of others. I follow along with the opinion of some others here that agree that even if she has served the time she was given (it wasn't enough IMO), I don't believe that she should regain all the privileges of non murderous people. I would not want this person working along side of me, let alone treating me or my loved ones.

I didn't say my experience was based on ONE interaction. I did explain my LAST interaction which was about a month ago. I have seen a total of 5 NP's for various visits over the last 20 years and every one I encountered I had a bad experience with over my doctors. I'm not saying that ALL NP's are inept, I was simply stating that my experiences with them were not something I would care to do again. What I DO know from my own personal experience and preferences in my OWN medical care, I would prefer to see doctors or oncologists rather than NP's when I am dealing with ongoing health issues, rather that NP's who have contradicted what my doctors have said and what has worked for me. I apologize if my opinion of my personal experience with them isn't well thought out enough for you...

My opinion on NP's, from personal experience is that I do not want them treating me or my family!! Every time I have seen one they just seem inept. Recently, and I have no clue why, I went to see my doctor and an NP came in to see me instead. She had not looked at my history and asked me all kinds of questions about my history and care and when we got down to the reason I was there (Thyroid disease and issues with my medication) she completely contradicted what my doctor and I had previously spoke about. Quite frankly, she made me angry and I told my doctor that I didn't want to see this NP again. Ever. Again, just my personal opinion, I do NOT want someone diagnosing me or prescribing medications that hasn't gone through medical school and residency. I do believe that a great deal can be learned through nursing experience, I know I have learned a great deal in my CNA experience but does that mean my 10 years in LTC makes me an automatically knowledgeable RN? No way! I think the same applies for NP's. I think the blame for this lies heavily with the schools. Of course they are trying to get as many people in the door as they can to keep the funds flowing and there are so many schools offering so many options these days I think the actual education has fallen quite short. One school I was looking into for my BSN when I finish my RN has students claiming they have finished their Bachelors in 6 months! It's a competitive world with competitive people all trying to better themselves and their pay grade but what does it really cost some in the end? ETA: I feel like I should explain my experience with NP's. Perhaps the ones I have seen were not experienced enough with patient care and that is why I felt that they were inept?

I caught this thread and then went to read the original thread and here I am again. I can understand a misunderstanding of what a DNR is, especially since I have worked mainly LTC for the duration of my career. I think a lot people see DNR and associate it with the elderly and end of life care, I can only assume that the OP was having that mindset with mentioning the Hospice pt as well. Even then, there is quote a difference between Hospice and LTC IMO. I have had a very small handful of Hospice pts in the LTC facilities I've worked and I very rarely had them on my halls...altho my expertise (if you will...perhaps specialty?) was Alzheimer's care stages 1 and 2. Anyway, I have a story that I feel compelled to share with the OP cholmes, partially for my own personal feelings at the moment but also to give a perspective from someone who has worked health care AND has had a loved one on Hospice care. My grandmother passed away this Friday at a Hospice House facility, as I said I had never had much interaction with Hopsice pts so this experience was new for me in a professional and personal way. My grandmother spent 5 days in this facility and having been out of the workforce for a few years I was horrified at the thought of her being in a facility. I was pleasantly surprised that the facility itself was very nice but I was more so amazed at the quality of care she received from the amazing nursing staff. My grandmother was sedated for the duration of her stay and I don't believe she knew that any of us were there but she was treated the utmost dignity and respect and that extended to us as well and that meant the WORLD to us. Being a CNA and speaking to the staff about my grandmothers care was a bit scary for me because I expected to be met with resistance (You're just a CNA...) and I was pleasantly surprised. They allowed me to help care for her and didn't seem to mind my consistent barrage of questioning over her current condition, medications, etc. In the end, my family called me into the room before the staff and I got to sit with her, hold her hand and feel her pulse slip away and announce to the room full of my family that she was gone and at peace... Hospice nurses are amazing people and there is no greater sadness and feeling of peace at the same time than to be present for the last moments of a persons life. It takes a VERY special person to care for these people AND be able to make the families just as comfortable as the pts. I want you to think of how you would feel if this person were your loved one and use that perspective to gain understanding. It's not easy to do unless you've experienced it first hand either in a profession or personal environment. As to the DNR, it is actually quite common for people to misunderstand what it actually means, I didn't understand it fully when I first started my career either. I'm glad that you have gained some new perspective on that here.

I'm not sure where to put this topic... I have several tattoos but only two that are a problem for me to completely cover. I have a large chest piece that most certainly will peek out from my scrub tops and one on my arm that goes just below the sleeve. I have been searching tirelessly for shirts that are 3/4 sleeve...or even long sleeve that I could cut to the right length and hem. That's not a problem, but finding shirts that come up high enough to completely cover my chest piece is proving to be an issue. I have checked out a few local shops for something that will work and they're either too low or high dollar. If anyone has some suggestions (shirts, makeup, any suggestions) I would greatly appreciate some help! I'm starting nursing school this fall and I would like to be prepared to follow the guidelines.

I'm TOTALLY with you on that Lilacs! I am becoming very frustrated with the waiting and I will be very upset if I spent $100 on shoes and they say they are unacceptable. I don't have much money and I am trying to figure out how much I need to put back for supplies, scrubs, fees, etc. I have started working on getting some things done that were sent with my acceptance letter; Got my first TB done and have my second scheduled. I got my TDaP booster and have had bloodwork done to check my titers. I had planned on getting my BLS done as close to the check in as possible but since I have ZERO clue when that will be I guess I had better go ahead and get that scheduled too. I keep checking my email only to see nothing has come yet and when I contact them I get the same answer, asking me to be patient and they will get things out when they do. I find it very unorganized and unprofessional and I am terrified that this is the sort of thing I will be dealing with for the next two years.

Ha! I checked out some Klogs today at Scrub Hub and INSTANTLY fell in love. I put them on and it was like I was standing on a cloud! They are a bit pricey but compared to some others they are reasonable at $98. I'm going to think it over and try some other brands before I make a final decision tho. I was close to buying a pair from Amazon but then I read the reviews and people were NOT satisfied with them at all, I think they were d.o.c. brand? People said the soles split in a matter of months!