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Post by mypprincess on Mar 3, 2009 22:44:30 GMT -5
My mother died unexpectedly. Her bowls were impacted. She vomited and aspirated. By the time she was hospitalized on Monday, she was already in a coma. She had 2 consecutive heart attacks. I did not allow a blood transfusion and anything beyond a c-pap machine. My father died a slow, painful death. He almost died several times before he was aggressively saved. It was very painful to see him die this way. I will never forget that visit a few weeks before his death. His shoulders drooped. His eyes rolled to the back. His face grimaced. His body was blown to horrible proportions from so much water retention. I sat for hours wiping the water that leaked from his pores. I cried. A lot. I stared at that sorry sight and asked myself if it was really those shoulders that I used to sit on as a small child. I could not let this happen to my mother. I did not want her to suffer. When I arrived to the hospital she was already in a coma and the blood pressure was 50/30, pulse 40, and the medications were almost at maximum levels. The saline solution was set to the maximum rate. The effort was futile. The doctor came to ask about a blood transfusion and without blinking I refused. My siblings don't know much so they accepted my opinion. Then my brother in law arrived. I told him what I did and he was upset. I told him it is his call but he should think if he wants to make her suffer. He signed for the blood. I approached him and gave him my cellphone and begged him to call a dayan to make him feel more comfortable. he called. The dayan paskened to my favor. I ran back to the room. The nurse arrived with the blood. She was ready to attach it to the IV. I told her NO. NO. Request retracted. I asked the doctor to leave all the life saving machines and medications, but please, no drastic measures. She died less than an hour later. It was Tuesday. At first I felt happy of my decision. After all, I saved her lots of pain. But now guilt is gnawing. I killed her. I refused the transfusion. She could have been saved. My kids are sad. Even more because purim is almost here. "Why did bubby have to die now?" They have tons of questions. They ask me if I loved her. They know I had a difficult childhood. "Do you miss her?" they ask.
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 26, 2009 15:27:56 GMT -5
My mom passed away this Tuesday. I'm at my mom's place with my siblings
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 18, 2009 11:30:09 GMT -5
As a teen working as a Direct Care Worker, I worked 7 days a week with my rav's blessing. He said that since I get paid by the week and not by the day, and because I don't have to perform anything muktsah, it is perfectly OK. I was doing home care in the afternoon after school with a developmentally disabled girl. She always looked forward for the attention and companionship I provided her with. So I guess there are many other variables that have to be taken into consideration too. Not all cases are remotely the same.
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 16, 2009 10:02:57 GMT -5
achot, thanks for your encouragement. I have applied twice to Beth Israel and was told that they will hire only their own graduates. This is why I was so enraged when I heard about the Israeli grads (from Hadassah) that were accepted into their new nurses program. Yesterday was my last day on the job. I received some goodbye hugs from the girls in that home and I was also thanked by some parents for what I did. I plan to go to visit the residents every once in a while. They are all part of my family now. Honestly, developmentally disabled people are more like young children who have not yet mastered the art of insincerity and are still open and frank about their feelings. It is THEIR complement that carries the most weight.
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 12, 2009 14:47:29 GMT -5
Heimishe organizations pay more than government-owned similar organizations. For example. A group home run by Yedei Chesed will pay for an RN between $30-35/hr depending on experience and seniority. This is upstate. In new york city the pay can go up to $40/hr. (But then you'll have to pay for traveling expenses + time traveling. Its true that facilities are replacing RN's at an alarming rate, but this was done before and not without consequences. As a result, many LPN's lost their jobs and RN's took over almost all the work. I guess hospitals have not learned from their experience. How about a balance? Also, there are enough jobs that LPN's are not licensed to perform including care plans, blood administration, patient teaching, admissions, and more. So the RN's that do work probably don't work physically with the patients any longer. Also, I said last time that I will keep you posted. Well, just a few hours ago my boss called and apologized that due to a decreased in income the amount of nurses with be decreased and because the full timers need to have at least 32 hours in order to receiver insurance I will have to be let go. She apologized profusely and asked me to stay for per diem and that she really liked my work but unfortunately, will have to let me go. Speaking of saving on tuition, sure, the tuition is less, but the pay for RN's in Israel is much less than here (according to what I heard). One thing I don't understand. Beth Israel Medical Center just hired A whole group of new Israeli nurse graduates. I don't get it! Don't we have enough nurses here looking for a job? I'm floored!!
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 10, 2009 11:47:01 GMT -5
Here in NY the opportunities are not the same. I have applied to every hospital in Manhattan, Rockland and Weschester counties, some even in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Most hospitals Won't hire without a BSN, and those that do have enough applicants with hospital experience. (I couldn't find a job in a hospital yet!) I'm running out of options. The job market is terrible and if I don't find a full time job soon I'll have to sell my house . Of course I'm still looking. I'll keep you updated.
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 10, 2009 11:41:22 GMT -5
I meant associates degree. I guess I should have proofread before posting. Sorry
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 8, 2009 20:52:47 GMT -5
As far as I know, education opens doors, not closes them. Recently I received phone calls from heimishe organizations that were looking for nurse managers. One needed a nurse to oversee a all their group homes in the area. Another needed someone to manage just one home. Most openings I found so far are for the managing position. With my associates degree this is not even possible.
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Post by mypprincess on Feb 1, 2009 2:08:15 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I am not currently working at a hospital. I am not even working full time. Its because of the bad economy. One other problem there are not enough nurses is because many hospitals and nursing homes are decreasing the amount of RN's and hiring more LPN's instead. Its less expensive. Where I'm working now, overnight RN's will be taken over by LPN's. They are also reducing the wages and hours. And I hear this from all over.
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 28, 2009 22:56:29 GMT -5
Is anyone planning to aim for higher education? What degree do you have? AS? BSN? I graduated with an AS degree, and I am presently continuing my education part time. Its challenging but fun.
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 26, 2009 9:20:01 GMT -5
Rivkah, it depends where you live. States like Florida, Connecticut plus rural areas have a nursing shortage, each for their own reasons. Florida has a very large senior population and small rural areas don't have nursing schools for many square miles around. But for the rest of us that don't live in those areas its a tough job market out there. Check out the thread "nursing students" where I posted more information about that.
And thanks for your link. Very interesting. I did learn a lot.
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 26, 2009 9:10:07 GMT -5
I have taken school maybe a bit too serious, but maybe this is what drove me to success. I Started school with 4 young children at home and with a husband that tried to dissuade me from going to school. But after he realized what my education means for him financially, he gave me lots of support. I couldn't have done it without him. I didn't spend as much time with my kids as I would have liked to when they were so little. I worked hard and studied hard and it paid off. I have a high GPA, an award, grants paid most of my schooling, and NCLEX was a breeze. But now... Nursing also suffered from the down economy.
I cut and paste this from a nursing forum:
From the Editor: Medscape Nurses What Nursing Shortage? Posted By: Susan Yox, Non-Clinical, 08:24PM Jan 22 I recently received this letter from a reader (summarized here):
“I am still looking with disbelief at the email generated from nursing recruitment from a Magnet hospital close to me. I had contacted them recently for nursing employment. I was told in a recent phone conversation that their next new grad registered nurse program would be some 8 months in the future, and that the program was currently closed until then. The recruiter stated that over “700 new grad nurses had applied for only 6 available new nursing positions.” What became of the 694 nursing students that didn’t get accepted? After contacting a national hospital chain, I heard the same story -- a total of 4 new grads were hired from a pool of 500 applicants. What became of the other 496 qualified graduate nurses? Another hospital several towns from me is currently accepting applicants for their new grad program. I asked their nurse recruiter about how many applicants had she received for their 4 openings. She stated that she had received “at least 150 new grad applications for just one med-surg position.”
The nursing recruiters I spoke to reveal a bias against hiring new grads because “they cost us too much money to train when they don’t stay.” According to the Magnet nursing recruiter, to be considered as an “experienced nurse,” one must have worked for pay a minimum of 6 months as a registered nurse. This is an arbitrary rule which effectively stymies the abundant flow of new nurse grads that are willing and able to work now. In addition, I was told flatly that by nurse recruiting that “clinical hours do not count” and that “only paid nursing time counts.” If the new grad’s clinicals are worthless to the hospital, why bother mandating them at all? Apart from this nurse recruiter’s comments being highly uninformed, they speak to a deep ignorance on the part of management as to the actual true value of the new grad’s education.”
New grads – has this been your experience as well? Experienced nurses or nurse recruiters – what are your thoughts?
Email This Average Rating: Rate This 4 Comments #1 of 4, Added By: jtnrn, Critical Care/Intensive Care, 10:45PM Jan 23
My manager recently told me that our hospital ( very large NYC hospital) is now very reluctant to hire new graduates simply because of the cost of orientation. I find this a little strange as the orientation on many units is the same for an experienced nurse as it is for a new graduate. I was a nurse for 3 years before moving to the burn unit and my orientation was 3 months (including critical care clases and pediatric classes); the orientation for the new graduates hired around me? 3 months. Same cost. But it seems that many hospitals would rather work short or use more expensive travellers than invest in new graduates. Short sighted in my opinion.
#2 of 4, Added By: kvsherry, Other Clinical, 04:52AM Jan 24
Finding a new grad job in the San Diego area was tough enough. The fact that it was critical care narrowed my choices even more. Two hospitals (one trauma center one comunity hospital) took my critical care externship into account when considering me for a position. I was lucky enough to be offered positions by both facilities. I am a rarity however. In northern NJ where I graduated, if you did not have your foot in the door prior to graduation, it was very tough to find a position in either Med/Surg or specialty areas.
I think when people talk about the nursing shortage, they are referring to a shortage of experienced nurses to train us new grads.
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 25, 2009 21:15:43 GMT -5
My husband works mostly nights and he can't ask for a change of shift because its his own business. Whenever he has an opportunity for a job, he has to go because this is a seasonal business and sometimes he doesn't have work for days at a time. Sometimes he is home more than a week or 2. In the beginning he did not take a job during mikvah night. But as the kids got older and the bills kept on piling up we started consistently pushing off the mikvah night for when we are both home. With the bad job market, I'm employed only Sundays and per diem. From when I earned my license I am still unable to find a full time position. So when I get a call to come to work overnight or evening, I RUN. I never turn down a job regardless of mikvah night or not. The only time I don't go to work is if I have a very close family simchah. After all, people get married (hopefully)and have Bar Mitzvah only once...
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 22, 2009 22:59:46 GMT -5
What about Rabbi Shmuli Boteach's books? He was recently on the Today Show promoting a new book. I can't remember the name, but it talks on how to remedy the problem many couples that have been together for a while face. One of them is a loss of intimacy. Anyone here has an opinion on him? I was surprised to see how Charaidi he appears with a big yarmulka and a beard. Oh, he DID shake hands with the 2 women he spoke to after the show!
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Post by mypprincess on Jan 20, 2009 9:40:50 GMT -5
One erev Pesach while still in nursing school I tried to find a student that would be kind enough to record the classes that would take place during yom tov. One girl was gracious enough to offer to record the classes for me the first and second days of Yom Tov. The problems was that the digital recorder only had a capacity of 3 1/2 hours (enough for one class). So she agreed to meet with me during chol hamoed at a predetermined location, hand me the recorder, and then meet again(!) so I can give it back to her. After Yom Tov a fellow Jewish orthodox classmate asked me what I did because she is missing 2 extremely important classes. I proudly told her how I managed to get the classes taped by this very special classmate. She gave me that look and said, "Linda? she is Jewish!" I almost fell on my face. How in the world would I know? NOW i know to ask.
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