posted
It shouldn't be a name thing, as a Physician's Assistant (P.A.) is an actual course of study recognized nation wide. I know when I first heard of it, somewhere in the early 90's, there was a lot of confusion regarding the job description of P.A's.
A PA will start at about$60,000 per year at the low end, and can make up to about $85,000 in most places. Their malpractice insurance is a lot lower than most MD's as well, making it a very popular degree these days.
Most LPN's start a little over $30,000, which would be a significant wage cut for me, but there are a lot fo career paths that can start wiht an LPN certification. You have a great range of options.
Also, depending on what direction you want to take, you can actually travel the world on someone else's dime, and get paid for it. I know someone who did that for 4 years, and loved every place she worked.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
On the most frusterating side of things....I was suppose to have a decision by today. However, right after I left the nursing building, where the nursing admissions committee was actually meeting to discuss my application, the entire college lost power.
For the day.
They didn't make a decision as teh entire student body as well as all faculty and staff were released early.
Grrr.
I should know by 11:30 am tomorrow, they said.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
And while the certification might be teh same, that does not mean the duties are the same. For instance, at the hospital where I have my babies, they don't hire PAs or LVNs at all... I was thinking that it probably has to do more with regional hiring practices what the duties/pay are, not the training, if that makes sense.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, and I have often thought of becoming a lactation consultant. If I do I have considered training as an LVN first because so many requirements could be met really easily that way, and I'd have a fall-back as well. (My other option is to get an AA or BA in just about anything and take additional courses in anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, etc.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Most hospitals don't have a lot of PA's, that is more of a local clinic thing in my experience. A lot of health care providers like PA's because they help keep costs down.
In a hospital setting there are higher risks, so MD's seem to be the standard.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
So, I was accepted, and will start this January, providing I can figure out the finances. It will be tough, but I am sure we can make it work. I will have my transcripts at the school by Tuesday at the latest, and will be able to meet with a FA at that point. At the least I hope to qualify for loans.
I have to get a background check on Monday and get fingerprinted, then I have to take a CPR class and keep that valid for the time I am in school. I have to have a health checkup, and have my immunizations.
After all of that I have to turn in my acceptance letter stating my intent on attending next year.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Congrats, Kwea! I'm sure you'll be able to make this work. I hope you end up with a job you love.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Now that you're officially on your way to being a health care professional, wanna look at my freaky bug bite?
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
So I'm a little fuzzy on what's involved in becoming an LPN. Did you get any special consideration with your medic background? I have been looking at the BSN route and I have to take about 7 classes before I can even apply. The community college here has a 3 year waiting list for people after they have completed their prerequisites to start the BSN program. But maybe it's a Utah thing.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
I think it's everywhere in the US. Training programs can't grow fast enough to meet the demand, nor are there enough people to actually be nurses. It's fairly simple:
1. The Boomers are getting older and sicker fast. They used a lot of drugs coming up, many have lived hard, generally speaking, and many really do not eat well, or take good care of themselves. All of that together equals big problems fast when you get older.
2. More than 12 million people were born in 1957, and nearly that number every year from the late forties to the early sixties. In contrast, only 3.4 million people were born in my year, 1975, and that is about right for all of the years around that. As the Boomers retire and/or get too sick to work, or work full-time, they are simultaneously vacating jobs that younger people sooner or later have to fill, and requiring other younger people as medical care providers. Every Boomer that gets too sick to work creates 2 jobs, roughly speaking, one for his/her replacement, and one for his medical care provider.
This is why we are having to import nurses from the Phillipines, etc., and why we will probably have to continue doing that for years.
Posts: 3354 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
LPN is a one year program wiht ni prerequisite classes. You do have to have qualifying test scores, and those may vary state to state, but usually you can be done and working in a year. There are also "bridge programs" that bridge the gap between the LPN and RN programs.
Keep in mind that a BS is 4 years, and a lot of RN's only have their associate degrees.
A BSN is nice, and a goal to work towards, but there are very few slots at most training schools, and not everyone agrees that the BSN is the best option. A lot of people prefer someone with hands-on experience in an actual nursing setting to someone who just has their BSN.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
The local junior college here has a two year RN program. Then, once you're working as an RN, there are lots of programs that allow you to move on and get a BSN online on top of that.
That is the route my daughter wants to take - RN, then BSN online. She's hoping to get a job at one of the university hospitals and therefore get her degree free or at a reduced price.
The advantage of a BSN, and then later MSN is to be able to teach, which is a nice option to have in your back pocket. Or, move into administration. Either way, I'm a firm believer that school is never a bad thing. Although it is possible to educate yourself out of a job, most of the time that same education opens up new doors.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hope to work quickly up to an ADN though the bridge program, and then I would like to eventually get any BSN while working. That way I have the degrees AND the practical experience working as a nurse.
The best part of that is of course the fact that I can work while I go to school for the rest of it if I need to. I may go right into the bridge program after the LPN certification, depending on the level of aid I qualify for and my family's needs at the time.
I go in tomorrow for my fingerprinting and background check, and while I am there I will see if they got my transcripts yet. If not they should have them by Wed. at the latest.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
Where in the background check to you have to confess to an unspoken desire to pummel a pool cue thief? Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Congratulations, Kwea!
Where in the background check to you have to confess to an unspoken desire to pummel a pool cue thief?
Unspoken my butt! Although after seeing him in court, I realize that being who he is for the rest of his life is punishment enough.
Not that I wouldn't Tazer his butt a few times just for kicks.
To be honest, I would have liked to smacked the intern I got as a prosecutor just as much by the time it was all over and done with....I hope she changed her major, because she sucked.
I still miss that cue. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have a question regarding financial aid, but because of the nature of it I hesitate to put it (and the relevant info) up on a public forum.
rivka, is there a way to contact you? I know you probably won't be able to be too specific because you work for a different school/state, but it is a fairly serious question, and could potentially determine IF I attend school at all.
I just sent you an email explaining the situation to the email you have linked here at hatrack. Hope you don't mind.
posted
This has been a horrible 4 days. On Friday I found out my financial aid had been denied based on my last semester's grades....17 years ago. I now have to go though an entire appeals process, which takes a minimum of 14 days even if they decide in your favor.
Today I got notice that JCPenney has decided to take me to court regarding my unemployment claim. I initially won, and have been collecting for about 8 weeks, but this could really screw me. I called and asked a few former employees to write something refuting their false claims, and they told me that the store manager had already warned them not to. They feel that their jobs have been threatened, and with the economy being the way it is they can't afford to piss him off. Specifically one of them said " Look at what he did to you....I can't afford to be out of work like you are, even though I know you didn't deserve what happened.".
I have a phone-in meeting to adjudicate this, and if they decide on Penney's side I believe I have to pay back all the money I have received. I can't pay it....but since I have direct deposit they will just charge the account, leaving me with a negative balance and no ability to pay my bills. We are talking somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500, which is about what I have in my account right now.....saved for school
I just moved as well, to facilitate schooling.....and now I may not be able to afford to attend, even if I get a loan, which is still in doubt. Moving wasn't cheap, either, but I was renting from the spouse of the lady who complained about me, one of my employees. I'll be damed if I continue to pay her a dime after that crap.
I don't usually ask for prayers/good thoughts, but as of today I could really use some .
posted
Make sure you document and report that their jobs have been threatened if they tell the truth. Shouldn't they be protected under whistleblower laws?
posted
They have things where they can give statements without officially saying who they are to one party so that they won't get in trouble from their employer, also a much larger lawsuit could come from getting fired over a former employers lawsuit.
Posts: 549 | Registered: Feb 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
The problem is tha it is a very small...as in 6 employees...department, and only two fo them were working during the incident in questions.
The only saving grace in this is that under FL law tehy have to prove I WILLFULLY was rude to a customer. Since the original complaint was how I spoke to an associate....one with many problems in the past.....I don't see how this translates to being deliberately rude to a customer. They have basically changed the reason given for terminating me to a complete bullshit reason.
They have documentation, but all of it boils down to he said/she said, so I don't know how any of it can be called "proof". Just because they write something down doesn't make it true, nor does it mean I agreed to that interpretation of the events in question.
I haven't even told them about the fact that some of this stems from problems I was having with her as a landlord....I will drop that on them as a surprise during the hearing. As she has not informed them of it yet it places all of her claims about me in question. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:I haven't even told them about the fact that some of this stems from problems I was having with her as a landlord....I will drop that on them as a surprise during the hearing.
Have you discussed this with your lawyer?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
quote:I haven't even told them about the fact that some of this stems from problems I was having with her as a landlord....I will drop that on them as a surprise during the hearing.
Have you discussed this with your lawyer?
I don't currently have a lawyer, although I am looking into postponing the hearing until I can get one, and until I can get a witness as well. I don't believe that 1 days notice is time to fully prepare for this.
Of course I can't afford a lawyer either. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
(Here is a pamphlet on Legal Aid from the Florida Bar Assn. that lists Legal Aid agencies by county.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I find this very odd. My mom did unemployment for years in her capacity as an HR director and now as a consultant, and she said it's very unusual for a company to protest after a judgment has already been made and an award been given to the employee.
She said, if it will make you feel better, that rarely will the unemployment commission take money back from someone. So, you probably are in good shape. But she tempers that with the comment that she finds it hard to believe they would come after you like this, considering the time and expense, if they didn't think they'd win. So in other words, good news/bad news from Mom.
Though she wants you to know that it could very well work differently in your state, all her experience is with the commission here in Alabama, which is a right-to-work state.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, it turns out that the reason the first finding was in my favor was that the company didn't send in any documents. There is really no expense at this point because FL law works a little different.
I also misread the date....the hearing isn't until the 16th. I also have a right to challenge the dates, as I was not notified my the employment office within 20 days of the original finding that there was a challenge, something that is required by law. It may be that even if they decide to find in Penney's favor, I can still collect because of that. The State would be responsible for paying me, not Penney's, because Penney's filed on the very last date allowed.
In FL, the only documents allowed have to be sent to all parties involved, and all documents are considered hearsay. That is not to say they aren't effective....they can (and often are) used to support witness statements. Hearsay is not inadmissible, it just isn't conclusive in and of itself. I also have time to contact other previous managers to see if they can testify to Robert's intent...he told several of them that he was just waiting to get rid of me 6 months previously, and they were witness to numerous comments made regarding me, so their testimony will not help wiht this specific incident, but they can help show that Robert had an agenda dating back at least 6 months.
There are a couple of things in my favor. So far the company still has not submitted any supporting documents, although I know they claim to have some. However, if I don't get a copy of them within a reasonable time frame, they are not admissible. All of their documentation is indirect...someone told someone else something happened. I was not allowed to see specific allegations, nor was I able to refute them.
The only big blunder I had was not filing a retaliation complaint 5 months ago. I had written a 4 page rebuttal of a corrective I had been given right after Christmas, and the day my rebuttal posted, Robert pulled me in and wrte me up for 2 cutomer complaints. I had already covered those complaints with him the previous week, and they were completely false. One of them claimed to involve my wife, but what Robert didn't know was my wife had been sick at home. When I asked to see the video on the day the complaint was alleged to have happened, they kept changing the date. First it was Wed, then Fri, then Sunday...Christmas Eve.
My wife was never even in the store any of those days....we had one car and lived 13 miles away, and I had driven to work myself all of those days but Sunday. On Christmas Eve, my wife waited in the parking lot, as she got there AFTER the store closed.
I offered to quit if they could show me one single frame of video showing my wife in the store...and they told me to be more careful, and that it was over and done with.
Within half and hour of meeting with me, yelling at me for my rebuttal of the corrective, Robert had me in the office signing a corrective regarding the previous complaints. I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but I didn't admit guilt.
I was hoping to transfer out of there, so I didn't file a retaliation complaint. Regardless of company policies, if you do that you are kissing your career away. No one will transfer you, promote you, and within 2 years you will be fired/downsized.
I should have realized that I was humped either way and filed. At least now I would have proof that there was a problem 5 months ago regarding false customer complaints.
I will let you know one way or another, but to be honest I don't think I have a case for an==anything other than unemployment compensation. While Robert is not good person, and it was a fairly hostile work environment, he was very careful to document his opinions as fact whenever possible. He also stole all my supporting documents out of my desk, so any documentation I did have is gone now.
Pretty freaking convenient, but I can't prove it was him. Even though he did the same thing to the previous shoe manager. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I talked to the UC office, and I was half right. If they find against me, I have to pay all of the cash back and I stop receiving UC. However, they can't just take it out of my account, so I can work out a payment plan.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Updates galore...and all of them in my favor!!!
I won my appeal for Unemployment Compensation handily, even trapping the store manager in several errors while he was giving testimony. The final ruling was that I was fired "Due to reasons not associated with job performance" and that Penney's WILL be charged for it. Basically they DID have the right to terminate me for whatever reason as FL is a right to work state (which isn't a good thing despite sounding like it should be), but I DO have the right to collect.
I went around and around regarding my FA appeal, and finaally I got fed up and demanded to see the Director of FInancial Aid. I was getting the run around, as I had been there 18 times but had never been allowed to meet wiht an actual FAO.The Director was pissed, and called a meeting as my interview iwth him ending...he called teh Head of Admissions, Student Services, and the Assistant Director fo teh school to a meeting. I was able to provide dates and times, and if they want to they can verify least 12 of those visits as the person I talked to had to access my records via computer, and that is all logged.
(See? I DID learn something working for that asshole at Penney's! DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT DOCUMENT! )
I was granted FA for this year, and have applied for Stafford Loans at the least. I meet with a FAO on the 29th, and can charge all my materials for school to my aid starting right after the meeting.
Looks like LPN school is a go! (Yeah me!)
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah.....the FA Director was amazed that people were telling me I wasn't ALLOWED to meet with a FAO until AFTER I had a package awarded to me. I was upset because all MY questions were about how to BECOME eligible, so according to their rules (which were NOT school policy, just excuses to not do any work) I would have never been able talk to one at all.
Ever.
Idiots. I KNEW that wasn't right. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Kwea: Yeah.....the FA Director was amazed that people were telling me I wasn't ALLOWED to meet with a FAO until AFTER I had a package awarded to me.
I'm glad she agreed that was wrong. But were I she, I'd be very concerned that my people were saying stuff like that. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah. Hopefully that changes. I'm glad you figured out how to make it work and everything went in your favor, though!
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I know someone who did that for 4 years, and loved every place she worked.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
![[Taunt]](graemlins/taunt.gif)
![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
