Nimrodel

I'd like to clarify: is this decision for BOTH your MSN and phD automatically, or is just the MSN, and you're reflecting on future options? My two cents: nursing doesn't care as much about name schools as much as most other fields. *especially* for licensure programs. Some schools carry a bit of a stigma to them (largely the disreputable for-profit ones...) but it will not affect your future job prospects. Your phd, name recognition is maybe more important - and in that case, you should evaluate which school has an advisor that more closely matches your goals. I would also add that the CDC headquarters are in Atlanta, if that's an interest for you at all. But when in doubt, my advice is almost always go with the option that involves less money. Out of curiosity, can I ask why you want to become a nurse if your ultimate goal is research in a field that is also represented by other degrees? Sociology and public health come immediately to mind, but also anthropology or human development. You would likely have an easier time finding research advisors in those fields, and from what you've described, nursing seems like a cumbersome route to that path, particularly when you already have a bachelors in a different field. In particular, nursing is a *clinically focused, medical field*. If you work in mental health as a nurse, there will likely be a big focus on medications and crisis management. If you work in mainstream pediatrics, the focus will be not on mental health. I'm sure there's more to your rationale than your above post, the trajectory just doesn't seem to make the most sense. Please don't mistake that as me saying your ultimate career goal isn't a good one - the research you describe is incredibly important - but I don't understand why nursing is your in-between step. I just find myself questioning why you want to become a nurse when from what you've described it doesn't actually sound like you... want to be a nurse.

We have had this issue also. Management says: offer them a new ID band at each med pass. Of course, sometimes that just sets the pts off (not to mention, slows med pass - there's one medication nurse for 20 pts). There is an index of pts by room number and most nurses put ID bands in that index and scan from that physical copy, and then we are vigorous about name**/DOB. Our EMR also has pictures of pts, which while not a designated identifier, is helpful sometimes. Our biggest issue is pts willing to wear them but then they take them right off, so possible problem solving would be to make them harder to take off. **As for what to do when we have pts who don't know their names, whether catatonic/mute/delusional (I had a pt who was convinced she was a specific former president) and DOBs, typical practice is ID with two staff, but when you have staff who have been on that unit for the last 8 days and know all the pts by heart, that doesn't happen. Sadly I do not have a solution, only musings.

What do you want to do? You say you want increased growth, autonomy, salary; those could likely be obtained without a DNP. Rather than looking at it as "what can I do with a DNP", consider it as "how will a DNP (or other advanced degree) get me where I want to go?" Specifically regarding public health vs population health...the content will be fairly similar, but the programs may be different (if they are at different institutions). Look up the classes/catalogues/degree requirements and see where they vary. Your career options would be close to identical as far as the degree label goes, but maybe different depending on the institution. "Public Health" is a bit more of a recognizable name, so there's that. Do you want to stay in school nursing? If so, I highly doubt there's much room for a DNP there (and maybe not actually that much with an MPH either). Do you want to teach? DNP would definitely apply to teaching, and you might be able to brach out into a non-nursing academic role if interested (such as public health). Do you want to manage a health program in an administrator role? Depends on the health program, but the ones I've seen tend to only require an MPH. Health policy? Research? Pediatrics? The DNP role remains not particularly well defined - particularly for RNs who are not in advanced practice. Also consider whether you want to stay within the role of nursing, or branch out to related fields.

Re CA staffing, yes, only psych hospitals which are attached to a “medical” hospital have ratios. Otherwise the magic 1:7 does not exist in freestanding psych hospitals.

As an RN I’ve called in scripts, including controlled substances once in a while, at work. So I’m not sure what would stop that honestly. Hopefully the pharmacy has some form of countermeasure.

I do not have ICU experience but I am a fairly recent graduate and honestly I have always struggled a lot with skills (in that I can do them, but it seems to take me a couple more tries than other people to get them). Personally, I learn next to nothing from skills videos. I learn a bit more from watching in person but really what I need to do is do them for myself, ideally repeatedly close together ish to help it stick, with someone watching. IF you are someone who you can watch a skill on video and then you know how to do it then I don’t have suggestions really, because I don’t have ICU experience. But what I came here to say is that I think you’d probably be better off reviewing content such as in depth pathophys or pharmacology, arrhythmias, etc - my nursing program was pretty broad on these, not nearly to the depth you’d need in a cardiac ICU - as opposed to skills.

As others have mentioned there are various program options. CA specific, I know UCSF has a palliative care subspecialty for NPs. If relocating is an option, there are also a select few palliative care NP "residencies" - usually a year in length. Specific examples, I can find info on ones at: Dartmouth, Memorial Sloan Ketting, Harvard/Mass General. I'm sure there are other ones out there too.

For any UC, because they are government jobs, you can look up “UC (whichever one) salary scales”, sometimes you gotta throw a health in there or something. The title code for nurses with experience is 9139 or 9140 for new grads, that’s basically across all UCs. With that you can find the salary for new grad nurses at any of the UCs with a hospital: LA, Irvine, San Diego, Davis, SF I think is the list. There’s large geographical differences because NorCal nurses, especially Bay Area nurses, make muuuuch more than SoCal so it’s not comparable - UCSF and Stanford are comparable, but UCLA and Stanford are not. For geographical differences search “BLS OES *insert geographical metro area*” and then go to the healthcare section - it’ll show you the average RN salaries in that geographical area. Another good resource is Glassdoor. I do not personally know Stanford’s starting salary - I’d guesstimate $65 ish but that’s a very rough guess, that’s outside of my knowledge area.

I've been in psych for a year now. So far I've dodged everything ;) but yes, I've been spat at, patients tried to bite me, kick, hit, etc. Not sure when my dodging luck will run out though.

You could look into doing a refresher course. The BRN has a list of them (not approved or anything, but just as a resource). The content varies, but I imagine some of them review some clinical skills and the like. https://www.rn.ca.gov/education/courses.shtml

Hi! I am about halfway through my oncology preceptorship. I’d say the biggest way it affects my learning (when contrasted with med-surg) is just there are some things I don’t get much exposure to...like I’ve had zero IV starts, and out of 30 patients, only one peripheral IV. This means that I don’t get to draw blood, I don’t get insertions, I can’t hook a lot of things up (we’re not allowed to directly handle central lines). And I see zero trauma. But you get a lot of other stuff! I’ve hung (w preceptor) a lot of blood, I’ve had TPN, I’ve had NG tubes...lots of DM. Yeah, I’m not allowed to do ANYTHING with chemo but I can do all the normal med passes, which don’t require any special certs. All the daily care stuff I do (we don’t have techs, either). A lot of it will depend on your school/institution but I feel relatively confident saying that being on oncology will not prohibit you having a good preceptorship/practicum.

Trans guy here - She's not male. That's an inaccurate and harmful assumption. Other people have made good points regarding policy and patient safety, but I'd like to address something else. Nearly half of trans people have attempted suicide. The less supportive their family/environment is, the higher the rate of both attempts and completed suicide. As a nurse, particularly in a psychiatric setting, it is your job to facilitate their healing, and that means supporting their identity. Whether that's a single room or with a female roommate doesn't particularly matter in my opinion. Her genitals shouldn't matter either, because people are more than their parts. But it is staff's job to do the best they can to give her a chance to heal. Which means treating her as female, and using the correct name and pronouns. Otherwise you are doing her health a grave disservice.

Hi all, So I'm a nursing student and we are halfway through our mental health clinical rotation. I am finding it completely boring, and so are many of my classmates. It seems as though the nurses only chart, pass meds, and call the physician, with extraordinarily little patient time. I'm SUPER disappointed by this! Psych has been the thing I've most looked forward to my entire time since deciding I wanted to be a nurse, and it was what I most pictured myself doing when I graduate. I've even accepted a position as a tech at a psychiatric hospital. But psych nursing at the hospital I'm doing clinical at seems insanely boring and I think I'd be bored to tears. So far I've been on both the adult and adult ICU units. So, I'd like to ask those of you who have experience in the field: what do psych nurses do at your facility? Is it typically "boring"? How much patient interaction do you have on a typical day? I'm not trying to offend anyone, and I know that psych nursing is not easy work. I'm not trying to make it out to be a lesser profession; as previously stated, I've spent several years wanting to do it when I graduate. But now I'm questioning those plans and would like to get a sense of what people's experiences are so I can refine my sense of what I'd like to do once I graduate. Thanks!

Some PMHNP programs include a fair amount of therapy training. There's not really a practical reason to pursue LCPC - it's years of additional schooling without much payout. With PMHNP, you can do both therapy and med management. If your passion is truly therapy, then you should pursue that instead of nursing. If not, then there's no reason to do both.

You claim to be open to other viewpoints and professional opinions, and yet your words very clearly indicate that you have made up your opinion and don't care who you harm by having that opinion. I'm out.