debinius

I worked in home health as an LPN for 3 years, now I am an RN working in home health. You as an RN are not responsible for what the LPN does in the home, they have their own license, and they are to follow the POC you have setup, if they fail to do so, it is on them, not you. For example, if an LPN fails to report a change in condition to the physician, that is on them, not you. I would say that if you are discharging these patients without assessments or reevaluating the POC and basing it on what the LPN says then it is your license to be concerned about. I would make sure you are getting reports from the LPN after each visit or sitting down for a report weekly on the patients they have seen. I know it can be very frustrating to have patients assigned to you that you rarely see. That company you work for, well let's just say I have very strong opinions on how wrong a "pay per visit" agency is run. The focus is taken away from the patients and directed towards their pocketbook! I hope you can work things out, I hate to hear about companies taking advantage of nurses.

I have been an LPN for 5 years and recently have obtained my RN license. I work in home health as an LPN and will be transitioning from my role as LPN to RN and will be staying in home health. I am very excited about the idea, since I love working in home health. I am a little perplexed on something and I would love some feedback. There are a few RN's that I currently work with that are really being quite negative towards me for wanting to stay in home health because they feel there is this "huge" difference in the LPN role as opposed to the RN role and that I should go and work in the hospital so I can "learn critical thinking skills". I understand there are differences in the two roles, and as far as I'm concerned, LPN or RN still involves critical thinking skills. I really feel like my experience as an LPN is being completely dismissed as if I've spent the past 5 years doing nothing but taking blood pressures. Has anyone else who's been an LPN had this experience or has been met with this type of negativity from fellow RN's? I really am very excited about my accomplishment and it's so discouraging to have such negative feedback from a select few.

Thanks for everyones input regarding my questions about Oregon. I think I've made the decision to move and give it a try. Of course now I just need the money to do it. Any recommendations on areas of Portland to live, or to avoid?

I currently am an LPN working on my RN living in Cleveland, Ohio. I am really trying to get out of this town and move to a more liberal, laid-back city that is more geared towards nature. Not to mention the weather here is awful (in my opinion). From the little bit of research that I've done, I've come across a real mix of opinions as far as the weather in Portland. I love sunshine as much as the next person, and I'm even considering Arizona or maybe Colorado. Could someone give me a little rundown as far as the city itself and the climate. If it is as gloomy as some people make it out to be, what are the benefits of living there?

I don't know what my manager is thinking, and neither does anyone else. I think he's going for the "go team" approach.

I was wondering if anyone had some input regarding uniforms for staff working in psychiatry. I am a nurse working in an acute psychiatric unit of a hospital. My manager just proposed that he wants all the staff to wear khaki pants and matching polo shirts. I personally, along with all the other nurses on the unit despise the idea. First of all, we don't work in a restaurant, and as a nurse it seems like a very inconvenient outfit to wear especially with the geriatric patients who require more medical than psychiatry most of the time. Not to mention they are only giving us 2 shirts and we have to buy our own if we want more, and most of us work 5 days a week.The dress code now is business casual, and most of the staff wears scrub pants and some form of shirt with no "loud" designs or decals, and usually a jacket or sweater with pockets for convenience. From what I'm hearing there have been studies about uniforms in psychiatry and have yet to come across any of these studies. I've had my fill of khaki pants and polos when I worked in restaurants through school, I felt like a dork wearing it then, and I'll feel like a dork wearing it again. I know we are not trying to make fashion statements, but after all, we are nurses. I don't think it's a surprise to any patient to see a nurse in scrub pants and a clean shirt, jacket or sweater. Although they may be delusional, depressed or psychotic, they are aware that they are in the hospital.Does anyone have any input regarding this topic?

I'm a 35 yr old LPN considering a move from Cleveland, Ohio to Arizona hopefully this fall, (I've had about enough of the gloomy weather!). I plan on continuing my education from LPN to RN. I've done some extensive research on Arizona, but am having a hard time narrowing down where would be the best place to start out. Does anyone have any advice as far as where to live; what are the best schools that offer LPN to RN tracts; and information on types of jobs available for LPN's? I currently work in a hospital in the psychiatric unit. Are there opportunities for LPN's at hospitals in Arizona? I was pretty lucky in finding a job in a specialty (psychiatry), however, I do realize most LPN jobs are in nursing homes, which I'm willing to do until I complete a RN program.

I am a new grad who just started working in a hospital adult acute psych unit about 3 months ago. I don't have any way of comparing how psych units worked simply because I've never worked in one, but I am troubled by a couple of things: Maybe it's just the psych unit I work in, or maybe it's because of the demographic area, but it just seems to me that I spend the majority of my time what feels like to me is "babysitting", and redirecting patients who don't get along. The unit that I work in is male and female 24 bed facility, and excepts patients anywhere from 18 to 60. I understand that in psych you encounter all types of patients, will all types of mental issues. However, on average our unit will have homeless people who don't exhibit s/s but seem to be there for a bed and 3 meals, moderate to profound MR patients, patients with behavioral and explosive disorders , many borderline patients, and a few bipolar and schizophrenic patients. In my "new to psych" opinion, throwing together patients with such extreme histories leads to a very high acuity for the unit, and leaves me wondering how therapeutic this environment is for them. Excepting MR patients is like placing a child in what can be a very scary environment, especially with other patients who exhibit aggressive behavior towards peers and staff. Borderline patients although can be troubled, seem to feed off the other patients and start to exhibit worse attention seeking behavior. As far as the bipolar and schizophrenic patients, there is too much stimulation from the other patients that it exacerbates their symptoms. Does anyone have an opinion that might help me better understand my situation.