Sue Demonas

The multi state license is predicated upon the fact that you have a permanent address in a compact state, which is considered your "home" state, for licensing, fees, and discipline, if needed. What is not clear until you read the fine print is that if you move, and no longer have a license originating in the state where you reside, you then need to get the multistate license (or single state, your choice) activated in the state where you now live. It's not as flexible as it sounds, but works well for travel nurses, and faculty who teach in online programs to students who reside in other states. There may be some difference in states that I am not aware of.

AACN's revised Essentials (April 2021) document reflects competencies that will allow us to "bridge the gap between education and practice" (AACN, p.1). Furthermore, Stakeholders expect all nursing graduates to exit their education programs with defined and observable skills and knowledge" (AACN. p. 5). That last statement is being interpreted by nurse educators and hospitals as meaning that everyone will be on the same page with what KSAs nursing graduate possess. That is what I'm referring to as "specific". After over 30+ years of enduring and conducting various accreditation site visits and serving as a site visitor, I, too, understand nursing program accreditation. I stand by my original precis that "competencies are specific to content". We shall agree to disagree here. In response to your query regarding a specific state nursing curricula, no I was not referring to anything of that sort in my post.

Clearly you did not read the 75 page document file that was attached to my post. Competencies are pretty specific to content. However, schools can teach/present/cover this content how they wish, as long as students achieve the competency outcome. IMHO, the competencies are pretty darn "specific". In the post of yours that I responded to you wrote that "Nursing curriculum is NOT standardized." I gave evidence to show that indeed it is. Other arguments you bring to this post dilute the original intent of my response.

Accrediting bodies have guidelines, more recently known as "competencies" for nursing education. Nursing schools have to show that their students have attained these competencies by the time they graduate. So, yes, accrediting bodies kinda do "dictate" what is taught, so that competencies can be met. Example: American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials (including entry level and graduate education) : https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/pdf/Essentials-2021.pdf

I think this thread might benefit from some consideration of why any hospital offers a contract like the one that is the topic of this thread. The answer is the hospital needs staff, and the contract offers some incentive to get new grads and possibly experienced nurses to commit to being on their workforce for a specified period of time. I worked in a town that had a two-facility hospital system and the terms of their new grad contract was the hospital paid for their two years in nursing school, including books and stipend in exchange for 2 or 3 years of work (I don't recall the actual length of time). The town had two military bases nearby, and before initiating the contract, the hospital lost many new grads when the military spouse was transferred to another base before the terms of the contract were met. Why did the hospital system implement contracts for the new grads who received the scholarships? 1. Training a new grad at the bedside is costly and they want to reap the benefits of experienced, well-trained staff at the bedside, and not let a well-oriented and highly trained staff nurse leave and go to another hospital where they are now viewed as "experienced" 2. The second hospital doesn't have as much investment in orientation time. The nurse who quits and takes another position at another hospital can take a full patient load much sooner than the new grad, without the investment in orientation. Obviously, the hospital who oriented and trained the new grad wants their return on investment. (The cost of orienting a new grad can be upwards of $75K and higher, because the new grad is not taking a full patient load and is working with a preceptor.) I've also observed, anecdotally, that if there is a sign on bonus, a scholarship or some kind of a contract, you really need to look at the working conditions, because the hospitals don't make those deals without needing to do so. Hospitals have attorneys who check the terms of the contracts to be sure they can't be contested. Just thought some background information might be helpful to include in this thread. Food for thought if you are considering any kind of sign on bonus or scholarship.

What school is UA? Arizona? Alabama?

Older editions of a textbook can make it difficult to follow the class reading assignments and have accurate information to use when studying for your exams. Make every effort to get the required edition of the book. Page numbers will be different and likely chapters will be different as well. New information is generated constantly and the most current edition will reflect the most current trends in practice, which is what NCLEX will test. When books are published, they represent state of the art information. It will take around 6 months to a year for a book to be printed and distributed, making the information a little dated when published. An edition that is 10 years old is not something that I'd use to guide my nursing practice.

When someone asks a nosy question that I don't wish to answer, I have two standard responses: 1. "Why do you ask?" -or- 2. "Why do you want to know?" It puts the "asker" immediately on the defensive and usually shuts them down. Once someone hears that response a few times, they stop asking.

Are you named in the lawsuit as a defendant, or are you simply a witness that they are asking for information from? No biggie if you are just being asked for info, but if you are a defendant, get an attorney. I'm puzzled why the school is not interested at all.

Can you clarify something here.. did the patient say the line about being "insubordinate"? What did the CN do and how did she respond? I can't tell from what you wrote if the CN did or said something that she should not have. Thanks for the clarification.

Had a colleague in the past bring two children to work on night shift pretty regularly. The #$%^& hit the fan when one of the kids came down with chicken pox about a day or so after being on the unit overnight. (The unit had some heme/onc patients on it, as well as other immunocompromised patients.) Once management out together that her child had been up there, and now had chicken pox, the overnight children issue came to a quick stop.

Just be aware that the hospital will expect you to work during inclement weather, so you may need to drive in a day earlier or just several hours earlier to cover your scheduled shift. Watch the weather reports carefully, they usually predict pretty accurately when the snow/ice etc...will arrive. Planning and being responsible will make this easy for you and your coworkers and your patients.

Hmmm, computer adaptive testing only begin in 93 or 94-ish. (Can't remember exact year, but around then.) Anyone taking NCLEX before that time, took it on paper, over two days. And there were way more than 75 questions.

There are some things that a supervisor/owner cannot distance themselves from, by nature of the position, legally. Tell him to review the legal ramifications of respondeat superior. And honestly, lawyers know that the pockets of nurses are small, but pockets of businesses are large, and often go after the business, not naming nurses in a lawsuit. If that were to occur, you can bet your supervisor/owner would be asking for your testimony to support his case. With that said, I'd look for another position. If her won't support you in a lawsuit, I suspect his support would lack in other important areas.

What are the course requirements for this project?

The best response to a rude, nosy inquiry is "Why do you ask?" Works like a charm.

Thanks for the clarification, I understand now. It will truly depend on the needs of the institution where you apply. Some make no distinction, opining that a doctorate is a doctorate, while others limit the #s in either category. The bottom line is that the needs of the institution must be met by the directions that faculty work and spend their time. I wish you the best, we need plenty of nurse educators who want to be grounded in good educational theory during their instructional experiences.

Not always. The intent of a PhD is to prepare a researcher and DNP was intended for advanced practice from AACN, although there has been some morphing of that in some programs. I'll agree to disagree with you on this one.

Look at the curriculum. See if the program, PhD and DNP, are offering any education electives which would prepare you for an academic role. If not, search out some nursing education electives. The PhD prepares a researcher and DNP prepares for advanced practice roles, but often include education courses in the program of study.

In my coastal Georgia hospital, there was a list prepared well in advance of hurricane season, listing the following: Team A: Group who would come to hospital and work for 24-48 hours, so Team B could make family and home preparations. Team A was free to evacuate when Team B arrived. Team B: Group who would work the duration of the hurricane Team C: Group who comes back as soon as roads are open (often having to show hospital letter and/or nursing license to get through road closures) to relieve Team B. They work until Team A can return and then the normal schedule is gradually assumed again. All full timers were on the list, no part time or per diem. Alot of it was liability for anyone is the building, and there not being a whole heckuva lot of room for extra people and supplies would get low if delivery was hindered. Everyone knew which list they were on, and had the opportunity to sign up for the team of their choice by seniority. As people left and new hires were added, seniority changed, and the list was revised. Believe it or not, this worked quite well and per diem was not needed. I was never asked as a per diem to staff a hurricane. I had a full time job elsewhere that I had to staff and that was who got my energies. I would bet that most Florida hospitals have a similar plan in place, but perhaps some have gotten a little loose because hurricanes have not hit there in the recent past, and now the list needed to be operationalized and may have been a complete surprise to people. I wish everyone the best, and hope that everyone is safe and if at work, can continue to do our jobs well and keep patients safe in the storm.

Being per diem often means that the person works part time and has another job that they are responsible for. If you can help, do it, I think the hospital is looking for extra hands. But, I would not feel obligated unless I was on the original list. I am per diem at a coastal Georgia hospital and did not stay nor was I asked to stay during the hurricane last season.

What are the requirements for the research nurse position? Usually, that is not a position that is recruiting for a new graduate nurse with no patient care experience, and most research focused nurse positions want MSN or doctorally prepared nurses, who are armed with significant experience, clinical judgments and ideas, in addition to formal research preparation. I recommend getting more clinical experience that will only serve to enrich your later work as a research nurse.

Ask questions of the accelerated program before making a decision. Most do not encourage you to work during the program, and you mentioned the need to work.

The name on your license should be the name that you use on employment records and signing as your name with "RN" after it.

Do a needs assessment to see what your staff want to know more about. Maybe they would consider doing all or part of a presentation.