LPN0207

DON is Director of Nursing

been a nurse for 3 years, plan on working as one for quite a bit longer :)

I have fibro as well, and work a lot of long days in pain and exhausted but in a good way. I have worked in nursing homes, worked overnights in a hospital and now am in a clinic which is very busy. Like the person above stated some days are better than others, but I love what I do, that helps tremendously!

forgive me if this has already been mentioned... Danity Kane-Damaged. Do, Do you got a first aid kit handy? Do, Do you know how to patch up a wound? Tell me, are you patient, understanding? Cause I might need some time to clear the hole in my heart and I I've tried every remedy And nothing seems to work for me Baby, (baby) this situation is driving me crazy And I really wanna be your lady But the one before you left me so [Chorus:] Damaged, damaged Damaged, damaged I thought that I should let you know That my heart is Damaged, damaged So Damaged And you can blame the one before So how you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it (Baby I gotta know what you are gonna do?) How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it (Baby I gotta know what you are gonna do?) How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it (Baby I gotta know what you are gonna do?) Do Do you got a first aid kit handy? Do Do you know how to patch up a wound? Tell me, are you patient, understanding? Cause I might need some time to clear the hole in my heart and I You try to gain my trust Talking is not enough Actions speak louder than words You gotta show me something My heart is missing some pieces I need this puzzle put together again [Chorus] Can you fix my h-e-a-r-t Cause it d-a-m-a-g-e-d Can you fix my h-e-a-r-t Tell me are you up for the challenge Cause my heart is Damaged, Damaged I thought that I should let you know That my heart is Damaged So Damaged And you can blame the one before Damaged, Damaged I thought that I should let you know That my heart is Damaged So Damaged And you can blame the one before So how you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it How you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it My heart is Damaged, Damaged, Damaged My heart is Damaged, Damaged, Damaged My heart is Damaged, Damaged, Damaged My heart is Damaged, Damaged, Damaged My heart is Damaged

At the nursing home I worked with I did my own initial assessments. Now that I am in a hospital I still do them, but the RN double checks me and co signs.

I absolutely love all the stories. Ouija boards totally creep me out, have never touched one and never will!

Iowa...we don't get our hours canceled for low census though, its voluntary. We are a small hospital anyway..only have 25 beds, avg. census is 12-15.....we had 5 pts last night.

I am an LPN in a hospital setting and I don't think we are being phased out. In fact we are hiring more LPN's! There is very few duties that I can't take care of that the RN has to do for me, assignments are made accordingly and there is rarely a problem.

Amen to that one! Our RN's are carry a lot of responsibility as well. I am more than willing to hand that over for now as well!

I have rarely had an issue with the RN's that I work with. Of course there are the occasional few that I don't think are worth their RN, but that's more of a personal conflict and personality wise, we don't click. For the most part, the RN's treat the LPN's with respect and we all work together well on the floor as a team.

I actually just posted this story in another thread, but is applicable here as well. Happened last night. RN: The roads are so bad tonight, I wonder if so and so LPN would be willing to take call for me tonight? Me:sounds great! Why don't you ask her, she would be wiling to do it I am sure.. RN: headed out the door, hey just so you know I am on call tonight, if you need anything Me: I thought you were going to ask LPN? RN:Well, I never called her, I figured if they needed somebody they would need a nurse :icon_roll are you kidding me? yeah, I was a little miffed by the comment. She has never said anything like that before, and i really care for this particular nurse, I love working with her and she is a great team lead. But, I gotta say that comment was a little off base and I did lose a little bit of respect for her.

I initially worried about becoming an LPN, but no longer. I love my job, I have worked in two jobs so far in the year I have been a nurse. My first job was at a nursing home, that oddly enough employed mostly RN's. I was one of 2 LPNs but I never felt put down. I was charge on my shift, as there was only one nurse on duty at a time. Got to learn a lot and being in the nursing home, any practice questions never came up. We didn't do blood, or Iv's or anything. But, after that position I went to a hospital where I remain. Again, I am in a minority, however, we are hiring more LPN's as we go, which is fantastic. Currently we have 4 LPN's and about 10-12 RN's. I have never felt like I was lesser to the RN's by anymeans. They are all great about helping me on the floor with IV's or anything not in my scope of practice. The one and only time I have felt slightly slighted was actually yesterday. One of the nurses, that I really respect, she works tons of hours and is just always there if you need her. She is a wonderful nurse. Yesterday however, she was on call and was thinking about asking one of our LPN's to switch with her for the evening. As she was leaving, she mentioned again that she would be on call. I mentioned that I thought she was going to have SB pick up her call? "No, I figured if they needed anybody that they would need a nurse". Well, this totally rubbed me the wrong way. I lost just a tad bit of respect for her, then. I really don't know if she meant it the way it came out, but it made me feel that she felt LPN's weren't nurses. Other than that slight, I don't feel bad at all about being an LPN. I love my job, I love the RN's they treat me as an equal. and during assignments they are very fair, and don't just load up the LPN. I don't envy the RN's at all, they are charge, take patients and work the ER. Too much for me. Just give me my patients and I am off and running!

Here is a sample of my day. I work 3-11p in a small hospital, usually 3 nurses total, two on the floor and 1 in the ER. Admits can come at any time during the shift, and of course, they usually show up at med pass or shift change...fun. I just celebrated 1 year in the nursing profession a few weeks ago! 1445:arrive at work, get report sheets, fill in the census (names) and wait for report 1500: report, lasts about 45-60 min, depending on how many pts there are, assignments made after report. 1600: fly around getting any vitals needed, pull meds and give 1630: accuchecks 1700: hopefully have time to get some charting done 1800: med pass, again, may have time to grab something to eat (MAYBE) 1900: chart some more 2000: med pass 2100:breathe (usually) 2200: may have a med pass 2300: give report to oncoming shift 2400: Leave!! That looks simple, but usually, I am always busy. Talking to doctors, noting orders and giving PRN's in the meantime. Time goes by fast!

I gotta agree with everybody else, leave your beautiful new ring at home. I don't wear my wedding ring at work at all anymore. I know one person mentioned the gloves getting messed up by your ring, but also, the ring gets messed up by the gloves, my diamond was loose because the prongs were getting loosened by the constant gloving on and off. Another nurse on my floor lost her diamond completely because the prongs were loosened by gloves. Congrats by the way!

1. Are you allowed to have your own patients? How many patients can you have partnered? I carry all my own patients, when we are busy about 8 or 9 patients. We don't do partners, if I have an IV drug to give, I tell my charge nurse and she does it. 2. If you are paired with an RN - what duties do you do and what does the RN do? Only the IV stuff 3. Are you allowed to do the assessment on the patient? Does the RN sign off on it? I do all my own assessments, and if there is a new admit, I still do it, but an RN cosigns. Other than brand new admits, my assessments are all on me. 4. How does your day go? My day goes fast, lol. Report, then on the floor doing my thing, assessments, meds, orders to note, family to speak with, charting, paperwork, etc. 5. What state do you work in? Iowa, baby :) I love working in my hospital, I never feel put down, or made to feel guilty because I can't do certain duties. I am one of 3 LPNs. ( we only have 9 nurses) SMALL hospital