Birry

Latest Activity

1. Do women find male nurses attractive?

   Birry replied to Sykadia's topic in Men

   Dude, you're not even allowed to say manly any more. Not sure of your background, but it's not uncommon for male nurses to be perceived as feminine or gay. It's old and mostly incorrect, but it persists. As you've learned here, one thing women, and...

2. ED Nursing Notes

   Birry replied to rubyagnes's topic in Emergency

   Most of my charting is by exception, but the notes I most frequently make are "Dr xxxx at bedside," "pt up to bathroom without assist, ambulated with steady gait," and anything that isn't covered in my EPIC click boxes. When I do get very specific i...

3. Norcal UC vs Kaiser pension considerations

   Birry replied to zzbxdo's topic in California

   What do you mean by, "Vesting is roughly another 2.5 years of work at 90%"? Does that mean you get the full pension and benefits after about 6 years? Is the 90% referring to working 36 hrs per week, or does it mean something else? I know it's not the...

4. How does your ED address the Observation Unit?

   Birry replied to RAWells61's topic in Emergency

   My facility has the obs unit completely under the umbrella of the ED. It's all ED nurses and techs. Not many like it, but sometimes it's a much needed "break" from the main ED.

5. New grad ER nurse advice

   Birry replied to jarielle22's topic in Emergency

   I started as a new grad in the ED a little over a year ago. The two most important things I would say for you to incorporate into your practice are to ASK QUESTIONS and DELEGATE TASKS. Ask any question that comes up. Ask the attending, the resident,...

6. Low pay in Seattle?

   Birry replied to freespyryt's topic in Washington

   Jeez that's depressing. I make more than 2x that as a new grad in the SF Bay Area but I want to move to somewhere I can afford (and will have enough water to support human life). Housing isn't much cheaper in the surrounding areas, but with the pay b...

7. Can anyone recommend a great ED/Critical Care Book

   Birry replied to DMcDevitt35's topic in Emergency

   I second Sheehy's Guide for more ED specific stuff. Fast Facts for Critical Care (Fast Facts For Critical Care - Critical Care Reference - Kathy White Learning Systems) was referred to as "The ICU Bible" by many excellent nurses I worked with in a c...

8. Residency Programs

   Birry replied to sommap79's topic in Job Hunt

   Nurse residencies are the golden ticket into acute care nursing. They are paid positions with extended training and mentoring, with added classes and conferences added in. Imagine your last semester preceptorship, only getting paid as a nurse this ti...

9. Yet another pre-employement assessment .....

   Birry replied to yadi87's topic in Job Hunt

   I usually try to do that. When I've gotten any feedback on why I was passed up, they tell me that answering how they want to hear it will disqualify you. One instance was especially grating. My reward for being honest and considering each question o...

10. linkedin name and title confusion, help?

    Birry replied to _nursemarjorie's topic in Job Hunt

    LinkedIn may not directly point you to jobs, but you can bet recruiters will look for you there (and on facebook and Google in general) if your application manages to avoid the round file. It's also a great networking tool, so take it seriously. Tha...

11. Yet another pre-employement assessment .....

    Birry replied to yadi87's topic in Job Hunt

    I hear you. I've answered those any way possible, from brutally honest answers to lying like a sociopath and it doesn't seem to make a difference. You never get anything but the most vague feedback on those. I wish there were a law saying that testee...

12. Ranting on the New Grads

    Birry replied to RNGriffin's topic in Job Hunt

    Thank you. We don't really need to be "ranted on." (How rude is that, anyway? Who honestly would feel good about "ranting on" a bunch of frustrated strangers?) I'd rather people keep their backhanded "advice" to themselves.

13. National Telemetry Assoc Certificate worth while?

    Birry replied to JazzyJane's topic in Job Hunt

    There is also an AHA EKG and Pharmacology certificate you can get. I got mine bundled with ACLS from the same instructor. It adds on another day, but it's another line in your resume you can add for recruiters to gloss over while they think about whe...

14. Applying to Many Hospitals in One System: Generic Cover Letter?

    Birry posted a topic in Job Hunt

    The title pretty much says it all. If I am applying to many positions in several different hospitals in the same network (or chain, if you prefer), and that network's career tool (*shudder* Taleo) only allows five uploaded documents at a time, how wo...

15. Is the California Board of Nursing Manipulating their Nursing Shortage?

    Birry replied to RoubRN's topic in California

    The "nursing shortage" in California is a lie. It is a great psyops tool to flood the market with "hungry" applicants, and it creates a clamboring demand at the college and university level. I'm sorry you got caught up in it, too.