GreatDaneAPRN

I completely agree. I have been an on-call RN for a Hospice agency for 3 years. GPS is very important. I cover a rural area and I have to go to areas that I am not familiar with. I learned very quickly that I needed to carry foleys, dressings, diapers, kitty litter (for disposing of medications), and plenty of forms. I also agree with the phone number. If the family has your number they WILL call you. Their loved one declines rapidly, they want to speak to you, so at 2am they may call you. It has happened at my office numerous times. As a result, I don't give my number out. I block my number. It will take a few months to learn the job. There is a lot of education for everyone involved. Good luck.

I graduated from my FNP program on 12/12/15. I took a live APEA review course in November. It was great. Amelie is a dynamic speaker. I also think her program has a 99% first time pass rate. I learned a lot. I bought her book of practice questions. Last week I bought 10 questions from Exam Edge that were specific for ANCC. I chose ANCC because if I failed (I took it today and passed) I could retake up to 3 times in 12 months with only 60 days between tests and would not need to do CE hours. Most classmates took AANP. Out of 30+ students only 2-3 took AANC. My friend graduated the same day and took AANP 4 days later. Hope this helps.

I wanted to share my experience. I graduated with MSN on 12/12/15 and passed ANCC today. In November I attended an APEA live review and purchased their review book. I also purchased 10 practice exams from Exam Edge that were specific for ANCC. There were several multiple response questions and a lot of Derm questions.

I have been in hospice for 3 years now. I work as an on call nurse. This position is salaried. The annual salary was very close to my Med/Surg pay. My company is non-profit. I am reimbursed for my cell phone, mileage ($6000 last year), and my company pays my benefits.

CapeCod, Thanks for writing about the Haldol in LTC facilities. I have realized that some ALF and LTC facilities will NOT allow Haldol. They will allow Morphine and Ativan. Can you shed some light on this issue?

TROD, I agree with everything Margin261 wrote. I have been a RN for 5 years, the last 3 years being an on-call hospice nurse. I worked 2 years on a Med/Surg floor. That experience was invaluable. Being an on-call nurse, it is not uncommon for me to go to a patient's house at 2am. I am the one that the family is looking at to provide the appropriate interventions to make their loved ones comfortable. If I get "stuck" there are others that I can call. However, some people don't like to be called at 2am. I find that working in hospice is VERY rewarding. Here is one thing that I think is very important. EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT. This applies to their disease process, thoughts on taking medications, effects of medications, and everything else.

Prior to being a RN, I was a lab tech. I have years of experience collecting drug screens and performing drug screens. Generally, the "collector" only collects the specimen. Most specimens are sent to a reference laboratory. There the specimen is tested and can actually determine what specific medication(s) have been taken. Then the medical review officer (MRO) will call you to see if you have a valid prescription. If so, all is well. The test will be reported as negative or "verified by prescription".

Yes, I have worked over 60 hours before. My primary job was a Case Manager (M-F, 8-5). I worked weekends as a Med-Surg nurse so I could meet qualifications for my FNP program.