A Survey!

labrador4122, RN · May 3, 2008

1. What is your job and why did you choose this one in particular?pediatric RN in a surgical floor. because I like peds, and worked there as a CNA

2. What do you like about this job?It's a job that I can see myself doing, I love the running around,

3. What do you dislike about this job?I hate when people tell you to do something, then your boss tells you that the action is wrong

4. What specific qualifications did you have to have in order to obtain your position? RN license

5. When you go home at the end of your shift, what types of things do you feel you have learned?nothing, leave work at work

6. What are some qualities of this job that are interesting? nothing

7. What are some qualities of this job that you find important? do everything on time, chart on time,

8. How do you feel at the end of a typical day?a night. tired and sleepy

9. Is there such thing as a typical day? If so, can you describe one for me? get report, check my patients, check the charts, give meds & attend to pt's needs

10. What was one of the worst things to happen to you as a nurse?

having a med error my first month on the job

11. What was one of the best things to happen to you as a nurse? getting my license, passing NCLEX

12. What do you think is the most important thing I need to know as a first-year nursing student? Study hard, keep your private life to yourself, don't get involved in others bussiness, people are backstabbers.

littleneoRN · May 6, 2008

1. What is your job and why did you choose this one in particular? I work in a newborn unit for kids who do not need intensive critical care but need to be hospitalized. This includes lots of preemies and some full-term babies. I chose it because I would eventually like to work with newborns needing very intensive care, but I wanted to establish a good knowledge base and some experience with infants before working with very sick infants.

2. What do you like about this job? I like that I have routine, but I can never expect one day to be like the next. I enjoy working with families throughout the their time with us, helping them move from shocked new parents to parents fully capable of caring for their baby and ready to take them home! I also like that the small details of care that we provide to preemies has a significant impact on their long-term development.

3. What do you dislike about this job? I don't like that sometimes our acuity drops very low, and routine gets a little too routine for me. I like change of pace and learning new things.

4. What specific qualifications did you have to have in order to obtain your position? I have a Bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN), but this is not required. You can also get an associate's degree. Either way, when you're done you take the NCLEX exam, which qualifies you to get a nursing license. The license is mandatory to work as an RN.

5. When you go home at the end of your shift, what types of things do you feel you have learned? I have always learned something new. Sometimes it is more about a medication or a congenital anomaly that I haven't worked with much before. Sometimes I have learned how to better communicate and care for parents who are experiencing hard things. Sometimes it's a new trick for getting a preemie to latch on breastfeeding. All this to say that I learn something every day. I'm always asking questions, and I enjoy learning from my more experienced colleagues.

6. What are some qualities of this job that are interesting? I think I mentioned most of them above. There are always opportunities to learn. I like putting in IVs, which is a challenge in our patient population.

7. What are some qualities of this job that you find important? Being a nurse in general, as is true in my specialty, gives you the privilege of entering into other people's times of crisis, pain, hope, joy, and healing. I t is important to exercise great care for the people who are being entrusted to you because that person is somebody's son, mother, grandaughter, etc. Sometimes we can't change outcomes, but we have incredible opportunity to help make the experience best it could be for the patient and family.

8. How do you feel at the end of a typical day? Like IamPattyRN, I am tired at the end of my night shifts, but I also typically feel like I have worked hard and provided good nursing care to my patients. I have a feeling of satisfaction that I have done something important, even if the day was completely routine. Occasionally I go home discouraged because I've felt like I haven't been able to keep up with a busy night or give the kind of care I've wanted to, but I try to remind myself that I have 8 hours, and I do what i can do in those 8 hours.

9. Is there such thing as a typical day? If so, can you describe one for me? Every unit and patient population is different. I usually have three patients or two and slated for first delivery/admit. Most of our patients are fed and get cares (vitals, treatments, meds, etc) every three hours, so ideally one patient is due on each hour. This gives a routine schedule for the night, and in between cares/feedings I chart, respond to alarms, calculate daily intake, output, caloric intake, etc. We weigh babies night shift also. We also have to assess all our IVs and PICCs at least hourly. If another co-worker is busy, I offer to help them out in my spare time.

10. What was one of the worst things to happen to you as a nurse? Honestly, I have not had any major crisis yet. I guess the hardest thing was the first time we had to do CPR on one of my patients. He ended up being fine, but I was definitely a deer in headlights even as I was bagging this baby.

11. What was one of the best things to happen to you as a nurse?

It is very encouraging when a parent thanks you for the care you've given their child. It's fairly common for them to give a routine thank you when they're visiting or talking to you over the phone, but it's especially encouraging or rewarding when you've cared for a child for a while, and a parent shares how much your care meant to them.

12. What do you think is the most important thing I need to know as a first-year nursing student? Study hard, always be thinking, and always be asking questions. Try to see how your classroom stuff connects to the things you see in your clinicals. And always be thinking about your patient as a whole person who is going through something really hard. You are making a difference for them even in things like bringing them a glass of water or helping them get up to the bathroom.