Would your ED consider me for hire...?

[MollyJ]

...And would you think it was a good idea?

I quit my drug prevention job at the school because I desire to stay home with my kid and not have to juggle impossible schedule demands when he's out of school and I'm not.

So here I am. I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom.

You should know I flunked at this before. Made it three months with the same intent when he was born. But I had great child care then and the same is not true now.

Anyhow, I just heard from someone at the local hospital that prn only entails one or two undesireable shifts per quarter. Last time I did prn, it was a weekend shift per month. And I just can't do that with a hubby that has bizarre schedule himself but I could manage the above requirement. And apparently, an "undesirable shift" could be nights, evenings or weekends.

I think I could do that.

Anyhow, I've done case management, child medicaid physicals, drug prevention and intervention in the last 6 1/2 years. BUT I haven't started an IV, given a shot, don't know what a needleless IV system looks like, have lost track of tons of meds, don't know what's new in a hundred different domains.

When it comes to the hospital, the ED is what I loved best. It's guest appearance nursing, which I like. I need some candid opinions: Am I eligible for hire in an Emergency Department with a good orientation? Would it be a good idea? Am I too out of it? I think I'm still a quick study and I still know what sick looks like. PRN staff nursing appeals to me because I could say yes or no to the schedule, by and far, and when I leave the work is done.

So, hit me with your best shot!! Whaddya think?

[CEN35]

the weird thing is, yeah from what you say it could be tough?

pros:

you want to do it!

you liked that area of the hospital!

which means, you should learn quickly and well!

it's hard to find prns!

i have seen people, who have been out of the hospital setting for a long time and whoop a**!

cons:

it's been a while, and it may not all just flow back.

prn orientation is usually pretty short.......3-4 shifts.

you may try real hard, and it may come back slower than you expect it will, which could frustrate the sh*t out of you.

bottom line? you are your own best judge! it can't hurt to try?

me :)

[kaycee]

I agree with Rick on the pros especially because it's hard to find nurses period.

I agree with Rick on the cons-

orientation is extremely short for prns and it's hard to pick things up if you haven't done it for a while when your not working very much.

things change and your co-workers may not appreciate you not being very up to date with IV's, meds, IV pumps and injections.

Be honest with the ER manager and see if you can have some extra orientation to get you up to speed.

Good luck

[MollyJ]

Thanks for the honest reflection...

My last orientation was 3 or 4 shifts when I worked prn, but I would definitely need more than that now. Last time was in a hospital I had worked in before; have never worked in this one.

And my plan would be to be very, very candid with the ED manager.

I'm someone who picks up on technology quickly and I know I could give right now a Td without flinching, but for the most part, it's not the technology, it's what's in the syringe that would worry me the most.

[MollyJ]

Oh, also, I've worked prn in ICU settings before and I also know that if you're not in there 2 times a pay period, say, it's harder to feel confident in your decision making. IF I went back, it would be my target to work a couple of shifts per pay period.

[eldernurse]

Could you do one solid week of orientation? Then you would probably be ok. We only hire people with ER experience for those kinds of shifts.

The bottom line is GO FOR IT! Do what you love. :blushkiss

[KKERRN]

Our ER offers a residency program for ER. See if the hospital you're interested in has one. If you have that strong desire to do this get some resource books on drugs used in ER, EKG,ect.

If you can give 1-2 shifts per pay period you would exceed our resource requirements!

I vote go for it!

Good luck!

Karen