RN-Elizabeth: Continuing Education

CDC TB training with free CEU's

2011-04-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

An online TB webinar that offers free CE's

Interactive Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know

This Interactive Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know Web-based course was designed to provide clinicians with basic information about TB, including the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of latent TB infection and TB disease. Continuing education credit is available free of charge.

2010-09-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Pediatric Diabetes is a growing concern and California is trying to legislate school districts into a corner. In an effort to better understand the issues, I've joined the Diabetes Educator Association. With membership, I now have access to position papers and research that isn't only supplied by the American Diabetes Association. I'm not in anyway criticizing the ADA, they do immensely important work and bring it to the people who need it most. However, as a scientist, I need data from different sources.

But speaking of the ADA, I went to a great workshop last Friday sponsored by the ADA. There were presentations from 4 experts in the field of pediatric diabetes and how to get appropriate care in schools. Dr. Bruce Buckingham talked about cutting edge research, showing the lasted and future "artificial pancreas" otherwise known as a pump. Melinda Lanham, School Nurse in San Jose, gave parents tips on how to advocate for their child's needs with administrators and other school personnel. There were a couple of other speakers, but these two were the highlights for me. This was part of the ADA's SAFE at school program.

One last note, although the ADA's position is that anyone should be trained to administer insulin, most of the parents I met at this gathering had a licensed professional, such as a nurse, working with their child every day while they are in school. If ADA's position is for parents to have non-nurses to monitor their children, why do so many parents REQUIRE a nurse to be with their child all day? These parents have it specifically written in to the 504 or IEP. Can anyone answer this for me? What am I missing?

CSNO 2009 Conference Archive

2010-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Though this post isn't CEU, but education related. sometimes conference handouts can be really useful tidbits of information and hard to find unless you went to the conference and had the direct link sent to you. Here are the conference handouts for last year's California School Nurse annual conference.

I'm still working on finding this years

Ventilation and Tracheostomy CEU's

2010-03-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

Passy-Muir offers free continuing education units one hour per class. Here are the 5 classes they offer.

1. Assessment and Placement

Begin Course

2. Dysphagia and Improving Swallowing

Begin Course

3. Pediatric Issues and Applications

Begin Course

4. Transitioning Issues

Begin Course

5. Ventilator Application

Begin Course

One year later..

2010-01-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

A year ago next week I took the boards. A little more than a year ago, I though I would have been in a very different place than here. I'm not complaining though, not at all. I think that I'm happier in school nursing. It's a job I can do until I'm 70 if I want to. It's an excellent job to have as a nurse and I'm very glad I fell into it.

The Life List

2010-01-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

No New Year's Eve resolutions for me. I'm starting a life list. Here are a few of the things that I want to do. Probably not in the next year, but while I can and in no particular order.

Climb Mt Whitney, with or without Tom.
Visit the White House and if I can, meet the President, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that.
See Prairie Home Companion Live and I don't care where!
Work on public policy related to health care, (maybe that's how I can meet the President).
Go on this hike.
Do something good for Sigma Theta Tau and Alpha Gamma Sigma!
Visit the historic Ape Cache in Washington before it goes away!

National Assoc of Social Workers CEU's

2009-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

This organization has some great classes that I would like to take; child abuse detection, alcohol and chemical dependency, aging and long term care classes. Unfortunately, they did not renew their agreement with the CA BON because they didn't get enough nurses taking the classes to make it worth their while. If you are interested, take a look and email them that you'd like for them to renew their license so you can benefit from these great classes.

NASW-CA Chapter

1016 23rd Street

Sacramento, CA 95816

CA (800) 538-2565 x 17

(916) 442-4565 x 17

www.naswca.org

California school nurse certificate

2009-08-05T16:08:00.001-07:00

I just got a hired as a School Nurse! Great, I have a job in my chosen field.

But this is just the beginning. For you see, I'm not a school nurse, not until I meet certain qualifications. A Certified School Nurse is a credential, like a teaching credential. I'm sure you all had friends who took the CBEST and taught for up to 5 years on what was called an emergency credential. This is similar, I've applied for a temporary-temporary credential through the County Office of Education which, if you meet the minimum qualifications, you can get right there . It's good for 1 year while the state processes a background check. Once done your temporary credential will be issued to you good for 5 years while you are in a School Nurse credential program. Since there aren't in a 100 mile radius, I found one online at Fresno State which I can apply to next March. In the meantime, I'm taking the classes I need to get a Public Health Nurse License at a local college. Y'all know I'm no slacker, I've already ordered 4 school nursing textbooks and started reviewing my pediatric notes from Semester 2.

What's next?
Public Health Nurse Certificate for ADNs

Advancing Asthma Treatment- Webcast 8/8/09

2009-07-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first CEU that I've tried at this site. It's also my first webcast. I think I'm going to like webcasts cause I can listen while I'm doing something else like writing my blog, for example. It's long as in 88 minutes and it covers pathophys as well as treatments. Nothing revolutionary here, just a new way of using old stuff. At the end you'll earn 1.5 CEU's.

Title:

A Team Approach to Advance the Treatment and Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Type: webcast
Expiration Date: 7/16/2010

Website:
http://freecne.ce-web.com
need to sign up

Price: Free

Program Overview:
Suboptimal control of asthma remains a significant clinical problem for clinicians. New asthma treatment guidelines that became available have been well-received by the community of practitioners who treat patients with asthma. Indeed, there was an important unmet need for revised recommendations given the inadequate utilization by asthma treaters of previous evidence-based recommendations. It is of particular importance that clinicians who manage this disease gain familiarity with new evidence-based guidance in order to successfully incorporate guideline-recommended strategies into contemporary clinical practice.

This program will review state-of-the-art evidence-based guidance on how to manage asthma, discuss how current guidelines differ from previous recommendations, and explore potential clinical implications of these changes. Moreover, the program will analyze the reasons for suboptimal asthma control and propose current and emerging strategies to overcome barriers to optimal control.

Sponsor:

This activity is co-provided by SCEPTER^™, Global Education Group, and Quintiles Medical Education.

List of all courses available through this website:
http://freecne.ce-web.com/gallcourses.php

Medscape - Good in California

2009-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Straight from the Medscape website:

Are the Nursing Contact Hours Offered by Medscape Accepted by the State of California?

According to the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) Web site, the BRN will accept continuing education courses "approved by ANCC [American Nurses Credentialing Center] approved regional accrediting bodies when these courses are taken out-of-state." (See http://www.rn.ca.gov/coned/ce-renewal.htm#acc.)

As a company registered in New York, the BRN recognizes Medscape as an out-of-state entity. Additionally, all accredited content on Medscape is provided by entities accepted by ANCC. We do suggest, however, that you check directly with the BRN for information about the acceptability of a particular activity.

A good place to study?

2009-07-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

OK, this is off topic but not really, as I'm a student and what's more important than a coffee shop with free WIFI and good vittles? I live in Santa Cruz and my favorite coffee shop the Coffee Cat in Scotts Valley, has pulled the plug on its internet service a couple of weeks ago. The owner claims (as cited in a company wide email) that he wants to take the company in a different direction including putting in a sandwich bar and improving the quality of the food and maybe having live music. Although I wish him well, I know that I won't be going back as much. Doing a research paper is nigh on impossible without WIFI these days. However, in this neighborhood there aren't many options, something I think the Coffee Cat is counting on. I found out if you have Starbuck gift card, and it was puchased or refreshed in the last 30 days, you can get 2 hours of free WIFI per day, better than nothing, I say.

California CEU Requirements

2009-07-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is THE bible according to CA CEU's for RNs, straight from the CA BRN. It lists what courses are acceptable and what are not.
What can be used for credit is pretty broad, but there are exceptions and giving you a rundown might be useful. For example, although yoga and weight loss classes would keep a person healthy and possibly sane, they can't be used for CEU's. Spanish and any other verbal language courses are OK, sign language is given a thumbs down. For those going on in their formal education, note that the required basic courses in physical, social and behavioral sciences for RNs who are obtaining a baccalaureate or graduate degree or specialty certification can be used. Statistics also counts, which is useful since most BSN and MSN programs require that you have taken Stats within the last 3 years, some even require anatomy and physiology within the last 5 years as well. So by the time a new ADN graduates, she will have taken Stats about 5 years before because the wait lists are so long. It's good to know that taking it again will be useful for something else. This is the rate: one quarter unit is equivalent to ten contact hours and one semester unit counts as fifteen contact hours. So my Stats class, would be worth 60 hours, more than enough to meet the 30 contact hours required for two years. Lastly and most interestingly, "self-improvement" classes do not qualify, however, assertiveness training does and I don't think anyone would argue that assertiveness isn't self improvement.

Evaluating Free CEU's - Introduction.

2009-07-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

Even though I've had my RN license less than a year I've been thinking about CEU's. I thought I would have a job by now in a hospital and this topic would take care of itself, meaning I'd take them through my place of employment. But that doesn't seem to be happening for me immediately. Also, in talking with many of my friends are now working in long term care. The bottom line is this: I've seen many sources that offer free or cheap CEU's, but are they worth the time to do? That's what I'm going to find out. I'm going to do 2 to 3 CEU's per week and let you know what I've found. let me know what you think.

Resume

2009-02-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Thorne, BSc RN PHN
Felton, CA 95018
rn.elizabeth(__at___)yahoo.com

Objective: Currently working as a dedicated school nurse for the Scotts Valley Unified School District

Education and Honors:
SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
Masters of Nursing 8/2009 - Present
Focus on Nursing Education

CABRILLO COLLEGE
Associate of Science Degree in Nursing with Honors December 2008
+President's Volunteer Service Award 2008 & 2009
+Billee Paul Leadership and Service Award 2009
+Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society Permanent Membership 2008
+Zoe Davidson Award- AGS Honor Society 2008
+Mary E. Grace Nursing Scholarship 2007

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA CRUZ
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and Biology awarded 1993
+Council of Provost Scholarship 1992
+Adlai Stevenson Global Security Grant 1992
+President's Undergraduate Fellowship Award 1992

WEST VALLEY COLLEGE
Associate of Arts Degree in English, with Honors 1990
+Zannoti Language Scholarship 1990

Certifications:
Registered Nurse - CA Board of Nursing #744516 exp 10/2012
CPR - Santa Cruz American Red Cross exp 2/2013

Volunteering:
+Adviser- Alpha Gamma Sigma Cabrillo Honor Society 8/2009- present

+
+Rotacare Free Clinic-Triage Student Nurse, 11/2007-6/2009
+American Red Cross, Community and Disaster Nurse Volunteer, 2008-Present
+AGS Honor Society, Treasurer and Webmaster, 2008-2009
+Pop-Wuj Medical Clinic, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala-Triage Medical Volunteer, 8/2008
+Dominican Hospital-Emergency Department Volunteer, 2/2004-9/2006
Set up email contacts list which improved participation by 20%.

Selected Employment History:

SCOTTS VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 8/2011

PAJARO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 8/2009 - 8/2011
Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA 95
School Nurse: Currently working as a 1:1 nurse while learning the job of School Nurse. Applied for a community grant to fund H1N1 supplies for the entire school district.

CALIFORNIA PARK AND RECREATION DEPT. 3/91 to 2008
Pajaro Coast HQ 101 Madeline Ave, Aptos CA
Various positions through the years, including: Sr. Park Aide: Santa Cruz Law Enforcement, Henry Cowell Office; Process Crime report for the county of Santa Cruz Court and data input. Interpretive Specialist: Design, implement and coordinate interpretive projects in a management capacity for the Pajaro Coast District. Henry Cowell and Big Basin Gift Shop during the summers.

BODY AND SOUL YOGA STUDIO- 1/2006- 2009
Administrative Assistant: Assist owner with tax preparation every year.

KELLY SERVICES 1/2004 – 1/2007
1414 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz 95062 831-425-0653
Most recent position: Executive Assistant for Senior Vice President .

LIFE LAB SCIENCE Program 3/2003 – 1/2004
1156 High St. Santa Cruz, CA 95064 459- 2001
Program Assistant: Provide support in a busy, front office. Schedule 3 tour programs; maintain computers; provide oversight and instruction for student interns on computer related projects, web design and implementation; set up e-commerce program for curriculum. This was a contract position.

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ – WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD 1/01 – 6/02
1040 Emiline Santa Cruz Ca, 95062
Sr. Administrative Assistant: Provide sole support for 4-5 analysts; schedule meetings for 45 member board and six subcommittees; produce agendas and minutes and editing board letters submitted to the County Board of Supervisors; updating and maintaining multiple databases; event support; which included presentation and handout design. This was a contract position.

LLOYD G. WILSON SECURITIES 9/98 TO 1/01
36 Pine Ave, Mt Hermon CA 95018
Office Manager: all aspects of small business management: payroll, scheduling, and supervising a staff of 5-8; including hiring and firing. Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel, QuickBooks and proprietary securities trading software. This position ended when Mr. Wilson died.

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY- 3/94 – 8/97
NATIONAL MAPPING DIVISION NASA/AMES RESEARCH CENTER
Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA 94040
Remote Sensing Scientist: Synthetic Aperture Radar Research, Historical Wetland Loss in the San Francisco Bay Area-GIS Project. Grant writing, Web-design and implementation.

RN-Elizabeth: Continuing Education

CDC TB training with free CEU's

Interactive Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know

CSNO 2009 Conference Archive

Ventilation and Tracheostomy CEU's

One year later..

The Life List

National Assoc of Social Workers CEU's

California school nurse certificate

Advancing Asthma Treatment- Webcast 8/8/09

Medscape - Good in California

Are the Nursing Contact Hours Offered by Medscape Accepted by the State of California?

A good place to study?

California CEU Requirements

Evaluating Free CEU's - Introduction.

Resume