Get Rich Being A Nurse?

Warning! If you do not want to work don't go to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. It sounds bad when I say it that way but actually it's a good thing. If you are the sort of person who likes to help people and you have a strong stomach then you will always have a well paying job.

Why do I say that? Well the thing is a nurse; especially LPNs and LPs are needed in just about every aspect of the healthcare industry. With our baby boomer generation getting older the hospitals and nursing homes over the next decade will become more and more crowded. Of course along with the growth in patients there will be a growth in the need for health care professionals to care for the sick and elderly.

Besides the general nursing area there are still many other jobs for LPNs and CPNs. There is a huge need for in home health care professionals willing to deal with the elderly. Other areas LPNs are needed include physician's offices, residential care facilities, schools, temporary nurse agencies, traveling nurse agencies and government agencies. As you can see the choices for a place to work are not few and far between.

So besides the many choices of places and ways to work as a nurse why is the nursing profession expected to grow so much? The truth is the insurance industry and Medicaid has left no other avenue. As baby boomers grow older someone has to take care of them. The important fact here is that insurance companies and Medicaid except in isolated instances doesn't cover the cost of assisted living or of home-based health care. The average cost for home-based or assisted living is around $35,000 annually. So if Medicaid and insurance aren't going to pay the costs then who is? The sad truth is that many families who wish to care for there parents or siblings simply can't afford to and are forced to put there elderly into a long term care facility where Medicaid will cover the cost.

So what does this mean for a nurse. It means quite frankly that your job is more than secure for the next couple of decades. It also means that assisted living facilities and long term care facilities are going to make a killing in the decades to come.

Putting your personal feelings aside and looking at the business side of things... if you get in with the right company at the ground floor you could be in for a lot of pay raises in your future. If you want to do some calculations yourself... For assisted living at $35,000 average x 100 residents in an assisted living facility = $3.5 Million dollars a year. So take what you know of your assisted living facility and figure out about what your facility is making. Also keep in mind that this is only the average. If you work in a high-class facility they are probably charging double that cost.

If you wan to calculate how much a full time long-term care facility is bringing in... the average annual cost is $80,000. Times that by 100 residents and you have $8,000,000 in income a year.

How much are they paying you? How much do you want to get paid? Trust me if you have made the decision to become a LPN or NP you are going to make some good money in the years to come. You have made a good choice for your future and the future of your family.

Your Truck Accident Is Different From a Typical Car Accident

A tractor trailer accident (semi truck accident) is different from a "regular" car accident when it comes to preparing a case for trial. If you have been involved in an accident with a truck, tractor trailer or semi truck, you have experienced, first-hand, the extreme force that can result from an impact between a passenger car and a truck. Oftentimes, when such an impact occurs, people are severely injured or even killed in the tractor trailer accident.

The insurance companies that provide coverage to these truck drivers and the trucking companies take these crashes very seriously as they quickly become concerned about liability. You can be sure that as soon as a truck crash occurs, the truck driver is trained to immediately call his employer, the trucking company, to report the truck crash. This is true even if the truck driver doesn't think he did anything to cause the crash. Why? Because insurance companies realizes that if liability is established - if their insured truck driver is at-fault for the car crash - the insurance company may have to pay a lot of money to cover all of the injured's harms and losses (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life).

The actual coverage that is provided to a trucking company can be quite confusing. The trucking company may try to argue that the driver was an independent contractor and thus, they don't have to cover his negligent actions. An experienced truck crash attorney will know what to look for in order to disprove this theory. In Illinois specifically, there are truck regulations that do hold the truck company responsible for the actions of truck drivers driving leased trucks. On the other end of the spectrum, there may be more than enough coverage via the truck driver's individual policy, the truck company's policy, and even an excess insurance policy.

The investigation into a tractor trailer accident is extensive. An investigation team, hired on your behalf, should immediately go to the scene and take photographs, take measurements of the skid marks and other indications of impact, interview witnesses and set up a station to examine the vehicle and truck and trailer to look for braking and speed indicators. If possible, the investigator should review the truck driver's log books and the black box (also known as an onboard computer). The investigation team may contact the state department of motor vehicles to make sure that the tractor trailer and truck was properly maintained, inspected and the proper intervals, and was operated according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrative regulations. Sometimes, it is even appropriate to contact the District Attorney if criminal charges are warranted.

So what should you do if you or a loved one has been injured in a crash involving a truck, tractor trailer or semi? I recommend speaking with a Missouri or Illinois truck accident attorney.

Independent Living for the Elderly

Senior care is an issue facing many families. People are living longer and are in better health than ever before, but as people age, help and assistance can be required to ensure that people are living full, enjoyable and safe lives.

Many seniors feel comfortable in their own homes and do not want to be uprooted and moved into an assisted living community. As people get older daily tasks can become more difficult and a person may think they have no other option but to move from their home.

However, there are now a number of developments and inventions that can help a senior live independently at home. People can be hired to provide in home senior care. These workers range from fully trained medical professionals, who could deal with illness and diseases, to companions who are there to do household tasks and provide company to the elderly person. These people can either live in or visit at appointed times.

As a person ages, doing simple tasks independently may become more difficult, however there are many labor saving devices available to assist seniors to live independent lives in their own homes. The bathroom, with its slippery surfaces can be a hazardous area that is usually of particular concern to the senior and their family, luckily there are many devices available to assist seniors in this area.

Shower chairs

The most useful invention for a senior bathroom user is a well built shower chair with wheels. A shower chair is a specialised device that enables a user to be moved safely around the bathroom with access to all bathroom facilities including the toilet, shower and vanity basin while seated in the comfort and safety of the chair. Shower chairs are compatible with most bathroom layouts and different models are available to access different types of showers. Most shower chairs also roll over the top of a standard toilet enabling a completely safe toileting experience with no need for the user to sit unsupported on the toilet. Shower chairs can also have a commode fitting. By providing a way for the bathroom user to remain seated while in the bathroom the shower chair alleviates the risk of the user slipping on the wet bathroom floor or a caregiver injuring their own back while lifting the person they are looking after. Shower chairs provide the bathroom user (and their family members) with peace of mind that they can safely and with dignity carry out all their bathroom requirements.

The following bathroom aids can also provide reasonably priced assistance for senior bathroom users, but they do not provide the same level of safety that can be found by using a shower chair.

Grab bars

Grab bars made of either metal or plastic can be installed on any wall in a bathroom and are designed to provide people something to hold onto when walking on a slippery bathroom floor.

Toilet frames

Toilet frames, made of metal or plastic provide free standing grab bars around an already installed toilet. The bars can assist a person to lower themselves onto a toilet and to stand up again once they are finished.

Raised toilet seats with or without bars

Raised toilet seats can also be installed over existing toilets. They are a very thick, usually plastic seat that sits on top of the toilet. They provide extra height to the toilet for people who find regular toilets too low to use comfortably or safely.

Non skid or slip mats

Bathroom floors are notoriously slippery, especially when they are wet. Installing non slip or non skid flooring can be costly. A more affordable option is to buy non slip or skid mats and place them on the floor.

Over Crowding In The Emergency Room - Root Causes, Potential Liability And Preventive Action

Anyone who has ever visited a hospital emergency room has experienced over crowding and long waits to see a doctor. I have been on both sides of the fence as a patient and as an emergency nurse. It is a nasty situation that brings out the worst in all of us. Some years ago, the emergency department administrator in a hospital that I was working in had the bright idea to hire a magician to entertain the folks in the waiting room. This man was a clever entertainer, but he was playing to the wrong audience. While he was doing his rope trick one patient told him to hang himself. Another man told him where to shove his rabbit and a woman shouted, "Why don't you conjure me up a doctor so I can get treated for this lousy migraine?"

That administrator's goal was to find a way to get people to accept an unpleasant and dangerous situation rather than finding the route causes and implementing changes. Therein lays the answer to the mind boggling question, "Why does such a state of affairs that causes harm to the respective community and damages the providers' reputations persist in virtually every urban hospital in the country?"

Root Causes and Potential Liability

The harmful effects of prolonged E.R. waiting time as well as root causes and solutions are well documented in the medical literature (see references). Therefore, when medical and nursing errors occur in the emergency department the existence of certain conditions that administrators could have identified and resolved can be an issue of hospital liability. For example, recent headlines in South Florida revealed that a young man in his forties was found dead in a major hospital emergency waiting room. The initial investigation revealed that his body was stone cold when one of the nurses found him still seated in a chair with his head leaning against a wall. Apparently, he had been dead for several hours while his family was frantically looking for him.

Investigating a Death Related to Overcrowding

The underlying reason why this man was literally forgotten to death is obviously over crowding. There were so many people in the waiting room moaning, groaning, complaining, and making loud insulting comments that no one notice a quiet man in the back corner of the room who appeared to be sleeping. The next logical step is to examine the factors that contributed to the overloading of people in the treatment and waiting areas. Therefore, in conducting a proper investigation for corrective action the following questions need answers:

Does the hospital administration track waiting time?

What is the average waiting time as per the tracking reports?
Is the triage nurse located in a place where he or she can see what is going on in the waiting room?
Did the triage nurse periodically monitor the patients in the waiting room?
What is the average turn-over time for a bed on the floors (the time it takes for housekeepers to clean a bed between patients)?
How many emergency room gurneys are there and are they routinely returned to the E.R.?
What is the average turn around time for blood and urine tests (most take three minutes or less to perform while the doctors wait 3-4 hours for the reports)?
Does the administrator notify the 911 EMS dispatcher to divert ambulances to other hospitals when the hospital in question has no empty beds?

The Standards of Care and Corrective Action

In reviewing the literature for established standards, Spaite, et al reported that administrative focus on correcting such problems that cause slow downs and bottlenecks in patient flow have reduced average waiting time by one half (7). Additionally, Lambe, et al reported that a survey of emergency department administrators established that over crowding is defined as an average waiting time of more than one hour and the waiting time is the time of initial entry to the first physician contact (4).

1) This provides sufficient evidence that a general consensus exists as to what is good and proper:

2) That a hospital providing emergency care services must keep track of ED waiting time;

3) That administration must make every effort to keep average waiting time within one hour by eliminating correctable situations that cause delays in moving current patients, which in turn cause delays in treating new patients;

3) That there be enough nurses conducting triage and monitoring all patients who remain the waiting room for sudden changes in their condition.

Summary and Conclusion:

We know from the many studies that have been published that in most cases, prolonged waiting times in emergency departments can be reduced. We also know that over crowding can be ameliorated a significant degree by conducting a proper inquiry and making a few simple changes in administrative policy. Therefore, it is incumbent upon every hospital executive with command responsibility over the emergency department to take waiting time seriously and regard an average of more than one hour as unacceptable. Moreover, the hospital's cadre of board room denizens must take every reasonable action to find and correct such contributory factors as described above when emergency room over crowding (with the staff operating in disaster mode) has become the normal condition.

When the Time Comes to Care for Our Elderly Parents

Losing their independence is the most difficult thing elderly people face but as our parents age, the likelihood of this becomes greater. Often they have problems being able to meet their daily needs because of diminished abilities and their failing health. They may also need to be protected so they don't hurt themselves. Examples of this are: issues relating to the stove, i.e.: leaving a pot cooking on the hot stove, leaving a tea towel too close to the elements, or leaving an empty pan on a hot element to dry, as my mother did.

Severe problems with memory can cause other concerns for adult children. With my mother, remembering to take her medications were a concern. Phoning to remind her did not guarantee that she actually took them. Forgetting appointments can sometimes be problematic as well. Another issue that concerned me with my mother was her tendency to tell too much to phone canvassers. She also tended to send checks off to anyone who asked for money. Also of concern was her growing inability to pay her bills and keep her accounts, or even her mail, organized.

Losing their ability to safely drive hugely affects a senior's sense of independence and can often become a battle between elderly parents and their adult children. My mother, fortunately, was aware when she was unable to drive in the evenings and limited herself. She would have been a danger, not only to herself, but to others as well. She was told by medical professionals when she was unable to drive during the day. She accepted it from them whereas she would not have from her family. However, this was a huge blow to her independence. She began going downhill from there because she had always prided herself on being an independent person.

Although assisted living is a wonderful alternative for those who are unable to care for themselves, it is still another step towards losing their independence. It signifies another indication of loss of control over their own environment. Most seniors would prefer to remain in their own homes. But for many this is not feasible. Very often living with their families is not an option either. For my own mother, getting up and down my stairs became increasingly difficult for her.

Often elderly parents will not be happy with the switch in roles as adult children become, by necessity, the caregivers of their parents, depending on the amount of care required. My mother, in assisted living, enjoys my role of taking her to all of her appointments, shopping for her, doing her banking, her dishes and having lunch out occasionally.

In many families, it is one child who will shoulder most of the responsibility for the elderly parent and in many cases it is the daughters who are the caregivers. In a recent study it was discovered that in 41 percent of the cases, one of the adult children is responsible and in 3 percent of the cases, there is equal contribution between the siblings. In some cases it is proximity and other times it is willingness or availability.

Sometimes elderly parents can be very demanding and as a result adult children have feelings of guilt that they never seem to be doing enough. The question then is 'what are you reasonably able to do for your parent without neglecting other members of your family?' It is important to strike a balance without feelings of guilt. And in some cases it may be important to insist that other siblings step up and help with elderly parents if one person is having the majority of the responsibility and is making all of the sacrifices.

As parents age, it becomes increasingly difficult for both the elderly parent as well as for the adult child. And although we love our parents, it is not advisable to neglect the rest of our family, or our own health, to care for them. Some of the options are to encourage other family members to help or to look into assisted living accommodations.

Personal Injury Law in Oklahoma Has Changed - Limiting Oklahoma Citizens Rights

Last year, the Oklahoma Legislature, with the passage of the Comprehensive Lawsuit Reform Act, changed the way damages are awarded in personal injury cases in Oklahoma. This act substantially affects the rights of Oklahoma citizens when it comes to personal injury claims. Therefore, all Oklahoma citizens should be made aware of the changes in the law.

This new law places a cap of $400,000 on non-economic damages in any suit where bodily injury has been alleged. Non-economic damages for example would be in the nature of damages for physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, physical impairment and disfigurement. This new law negatively affects the rights of a large portion of Oklahoma's citizenship including minor children, retirees and individuals who are unemployed. The reason being is that these individuals have no loss of income claim. Therefore, their damages may be limited to medical expenses and up to $400,000.

However, the "saving grace", if you want to call it that, is that this law provides situations when the cap can be lifted. These situations are as follows:

1. A Plaintiff suffers permanent or substantial physical abnormality, disfigurement, loss of use of limb or substantial impairment to a major body organ or system.
2. A Plaintiff suffers permanent physical functional injury that prevents them from being able to care for themselves and perform life-sustaining activity.
3. The Defendants acts were with reckless disregard, grossly negligent, fraudulent or intentional and with malice.

As to personal injury suits against a physician, both the judge and the jury must find one of the conditions above by clear and convincing evidence. This is a higher burden to meet than the preponderance of evidence standard. In suits against non-physicians (all other suits; car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, dog bites etc...), a jury must find one of the conditions by a preponderance of the evidence. Jurors will not be advised of the cap at any time during the trial. However, they will be asked to return a verdict with answers to questions based on the above 3 situations.

This new statute does not apply to claims under the Governmental Tort Claim Act; personal injury claims against governmental entities such as a fire department or police department and does not apply to claims for wrongful death.

It is important to note that this new personal injury provision, which became law on November 1, 2009, does not take effect until a Health Care Indemnity Fund is created and funded by the State. It is unknown at this time if and when a Health Care Indemnity Fund will be created and funded by the State.

In addition to the above, another notable provision is contained in this new law. Evidence of a persons failure to wear a seat belt will now be made part of the evidence in car accident and truck accident cases. Oklahoma's former law provided that a drivers use or non-use of a seat belt was irrelevant when it came to car accident cases. This new law provides that if an operator of a vehicle does not wear a seat belt and is involved in an accident, the failure to wear a seat belt may be used against that person in a car accident lawsuit. In essence, although the person did not cause the accident, he or she may be blamed for his or her own injuries because of the non-use of a seat belt. Therefore, it is now extremely important to wear a seat belt while operating or riding as a passenger in a car or truck.

Tendonitis and Tennis Elbow - Who Can Claim Compensation

Tendons are tough fibrous structures connecting muscles to bones throughout the human body. Tendons may be damaged either by sudden trauma, or progressively due to overuse. Tendonitis occurs when the tendon bas become inflamed inflamed for one of these two reasons. The affected joint (most commonly a shoulder, elbow, wrist, finger or knee) will be painful and stiff, with reduced range of mobility and strength. This can detrimentally affect a person's domestic and working life, making basic tasks such as driving or lifting and gripping even small objects difficult or impossible to perform. While tendonitis will normally clear up following a period of rest, and avoidance of the activity that caused the condition originally, in other cases it may worsen over time, and even keyhole surgery (arthroscopy) may be unable to alleviate the effects.

Traumatic tendon injuries which may cause tendonitis include rotator cuff tears to the shoulder, and tears to the Achilles tendon in the heel. Such injuries may leave a residual weakness in the damaged joint, with related conditions, including tendonitis, developing in the future. Tendons may also be damaged by displaced fracture injuries, or broken bones which fail to reset and heal properly. Otherwise tendonitis may simply be the result of years of wear and tear, that has progressively weakened and damaged the tendon, causing inflammation. Essentially the tendons will not have had sufficient time to recover in between periods of prolonged physical strain, causing gradual deterioration and loss of elasticity over time. For this reason, manual workers aged between 40 and 60 are the section of the working population most likely to develop tendonitis.

Tendons in the fingers and wrists may also be damaged by manual work over time, potentially giving rise to a number of specific repetitive strain injury conditions, including trigger finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. Tennis elbow is a similar overuse condition, where tendons in the outer elbow have been damaged and become inflamed, causing pain, stiffness and weakness in the joint. Excessive and repetitive lifting, as well as twisting and gripping actions, may cause a worker to develop tennis elbow. The condition will normally resolve itself within a matter of weeks or months, though in some cases it may last a lot longer (in around 10% of cases longer than a year), and may leave a residual weakness in the elbow joint.

Manual workers, especially those engaged in repetitive production line tasks, such as factory assembly, or manual handling work involving the routine lifting and carrying of heavy and awkward loads, are the most likely to damage tendons in their bodies over time. Cleaning workers and kitchen workers (repetitively chopping vegetables or washing dishes for example) also face a higher than average risk of developing tendonitis or tennis elbow. Where it is possible to prove that the condition is work related, and has either been caused, or made significantly worse, by the negligence of an employer, it is often possible to make a claim for compensation against them. Compensation awards will reflect a range of factors, including the extent of the condition, its effect on a person's life, medical costs and related loss of earnings.