Bait and switch

Movingalong, I hope you don't mind me asking this...but what was it like taking NCLEX again? I was just curious...even though I've been a RN for 20 years, I'd be so nervous if I had to take it again.

When I took it before, it was the old 2 day, paper and pencil with no calculators and I was horrible at calculations. I just studied and for some reason, not logical, I knew I was going to pass it. Can't think of a reason I thought that though. But I think one of the things that helped me is that the diseases are the same and I remembered a lot of things that I had done so that helped. I studied for a few months and felt very confident when I went to take the test. But that lasted about 5 minutes. I just panicked and all I wanted to was get out of there. But if you read on the NCLEX everybody thinks they have failed. I think I felt just as confused with the first NCLEX. I really don't know what was different except the difference between paper and computer. I had a girlfriend that took the bar at about the same time and everybody's reaction seems to be the same. So I could never figure out what either rational was.

Looks like things have changed even from when I was in the hospital. I am only about 10 years your junior but I remember when a person's word meant something. Within 10 years of the oil bust I think the healthcare system became more deceptive like business systems. At this point, about 20 years since the oil bust, I think it has become as blatant deceptive.

I feel your frustration, especially, since I would be in your shoes if I chose to return to an acute medical surgical hospital setting. Also, over prolonged periods of frustration I do mis-speak so I understand.

Now that the NCLEX is over, my suggestion is for you focus on your goal of completing the refresher course and forget the age discrimination. It is not worth worrying over, especially, since it would be difficult to prove considering your history of not being in the active nursing force. We can all here recognize it for what it is.

Consider the pleasure it can give you at the end of the refresher course to also (e.g.; like the young ones) leave this unit!!! HELLO??? No one wants a manager who is a blatant in your face LIAR! Of course, leave on good terms but secretly laugh as you walk out the door in December.

BTW - I don't know if your area is like here but the job advertisements tend to drop after Thanksgiving and pick up again around February. There may be available jobs during that period but maybe not the one you want so don't be discouraged if that happens.

Best of Luck!

I remember medicine being a profession, and now it is an industry. I don't know what state you live in but if if is in CA, you really have to worry about Guv Sharzeneger. The Hospital associations and pharmaceutical companies are give him millions of dollars to break the ratios that have been so hard to win. It is all profit on the expense of the nurses back. Have you read the news sections about CA govenor? Thanks for reminding me about the lull during the holidays. I had forgotten that, so another reason to grit my teeth for a time.

I remember medicine being a profession, and now it is an industry. I don't know what state you live in but if if is in CA, you really have to worry about Guv Sharzeneger. The Hospital associations and pharmaceutical companies are give him millions of dollars to break the ratios that have been so hard to win. It is all profit on the expense of the nurses back. Have you read the news sections about CA govenor? Thanks for reminding me about the lull during the holidays. I had forgotten that, so another reason to grit my teeth for a time.

Thank you so much. As I said before, discussions help to put things in perspective. I feel a lot better.

Wow!!!!!! I am so darn impressed with you gal!! You must be some kind of special lady to jump back into the 'sesspool' after years away.

Kudos to you........big time!!

It really doesn't surprise me though. LTC facilities are hurting so badly these days that they will say anything just to get you into the door........been there, done that. I don't see what the big deal is about you having to take any 'refresher' courses or have some experience since you've been gone.....heck, I have worked with new grads who have no prior experience and they think they know it all.......scary!! I've also worked with nurses who have been on the floor for years and can't start a IV or change a simple dressing............you hang in there lady and when you can walk out that door..........DO IT!!! If they give you ANY indication that they are messing with you due to your age.........call their bluff and then call your attorney. We need to keep our quality nurses, not run them off.

Good luck and keep us posted, ok??

:kiss

I know what you are saying. I have read a lot about nurses being promised things in hospitals, great orientations, great nurse to patient ratios, bonuses and so forth not to have them materialize, so I wasn't so much surprised but angry. But I guess I will just stick it out. I feel like some kind of job while I was in refresher would probably look good also on a resume since I just got the license renewed by taking the NCLEX. So it will be their loss. Believe me, if it wasn't my first job, I would stare them straight in the eye and insist or walk. I totally agree with you about putting a stop to this practice but they will know soon enough. Thank you for thinking of me and trying to help.

k

No. she is not going on leave. She means on her days off. Thanks for your encouragement. I have been looking forward to my refresher course and even more so now. The clinicals will be done at the large hospital so I am looking forward to that. A lot of nurses get hired during that time. I really appreciate your support. It helps when someone else is there to help put the situation in perspective. And you are so right, my day will come and I will just keep my mouth shut. I understand that another hospital corporation treats their older refresher nurses well. Thanks again.

Ah, I see. Well, poo. You're welcome, and the best of luck to you in your refresher and finding a better job! :)

Wow!!!!!! I am so darn impressed with you gal!! You must be some kind of special lady to jump back into the 'sesspool' after years away.

Kudos to you........big time!!

It really doesn't surprise me though. LTC facilities are hurting so badly these days that they will say anything just to get you into the door........been there, done that. I don't see what the big deal is about you having to take any 'refresher' courses or have some experience since you've been gone.....heck, I have worked with new grads who have no prior experience and they think they know it all.......scary!! I've also worked with nurses who have been on the floor for years and can't start a IV or change a simple dressing............you hang in there lady and when you can walk out that door..........DO IT!!! If they give you ANY indication that they are messing with you due to your age.........call their bluff and then call your attorney. We need to keep our quality nurses, not run them off.

Good luck and keep us posted, ok??

:kiss

Thank you so much for the your kind compliments. It has occurred to me "What am I doing here?" I know what you mean about refresher courses, but they run the show. Most of what I have seen as far as change goes seems to be in technology but I am sure I will be learning new things. Text books don't seem too different. So maybe the refresher will just make me sharper. Indeed I will keep you sweet nurses posted. Thanks again.

k

No. she is not going on leave. She means on her days off.

The very idea...that is more than a little insulting, in my opinion. At least you have better things to look forward to in regards of other positions.

I started to push after a few days of orientation. I asked the DON when I was going tothe skilled floor. She said she would talk to me later. I then asked the Assistant DON when I was going to skilled. She was in favor of it and gave me a schedule to be in acute care. Then one day the administer met me at the door and started talking about it. He was in favor of it.

The DON was really mad. She started giving me a hard time about if I could be charge nurse nurse on the LTC, you've been here for 2 weeks. I said, no I've been oriented 5 days which one I just followed the nurse and did nothing. She said do I think I could handle the whole shift by yourself now. I said no. I said I have done all the meds, (hundreds it seemed, all the insulins, tube feeders and flushers, at least 10. But to do the whole shift with all the paper work, charting, ordering meds, admissions, etc by myself I said no! We kind of went back in forth and I said I wanted to go the subacute which I had already gotten the schedule for.

I only get 2 days orientation on 15 vents and trachs with supposedly a couple CNAs. So I am not sure if I will be able to be full charge on the 3rd day. So I am going to give it my best. If I am not perfect and get it all done in 8 hours, I don't know whether I'll be out the door.

One of the LVNs said new graduates do not last on the skilled floor. What does that tell you. It couldn't be that the nurses were driven to the brink with such overwhelming workloads. It seems that it is a put down of the nurses ability, not that the facility is so profit driven.

Another story I have found emerging. The DON is fillipino and most all the lvns are phillipino. I wonder if they are paid less wage and are driven hard to make the US money. These nurses work so hard. They are great nurses and I feel bad for them. I really feel like they are being taken advantage of by this money driven filipino DON.

I am going to do my best to be successful with these 15 vent and trach patients plus all the other work that goes with it, but I am not sure I will be able to be by myself on the 3rd day. I am wondering if they are going to fire me or keep me and try to help me more. If they send me back to the LTC, I will quit. Going back to the LTC will not make me learn more about trachs and vents.

What do you think? The DON sure doesn't like that I have opposed her but the assistant DON and the administrator are for me and all the nurses, so maybe I have a chance. And if I make it and taking the RN refresher, I will just leave anyway. I won't take this lying, insulting, treating me like I have no brains from the DON.

So let me know what you think.

Thanks again for all your support. Just like cheerful doer said, keep my eyes open and listen to my gut.

Thank you so much for the your kind compliments. It has occurred to me "What am I doing here?" I know what you mean about refresher courses, but they run the show. Most of what I have seen as far as change goes seems to be in technology but I am sure I will be learning new things. Text books don't seem too different. So maybe the refresher will just make me sharper. Indeed I will keep you sweet nurses posted. Thanks again.

It it were me facing all that, I would run fast and run far. That sounds CRAZY and impossible and dangerous. Eek. I wouldn't even go back if it were me, actually. Nor would I put it on my references, since I would have only worked there less than a week.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. You deserve better!!!

Update to "Bait and switch." I last posted on this subject about the end of July. I was again reading your kind and supportive posts. So I wanted to let you all know what has been going on. In August I got a one-day job a week at an ambulatory psych 19-bed residential center. There is still a lot I need to learn about psych but with my refresher program, I have definitely been an asset to this facility. I have the greatest DON in the world that I think the world of and vice-versa. The funny thing about this is I seem to be getting more med-surg experience here than in the big hospital clinicals. Not saying I haven't gained valuable experience back in the hospital clinicals.

But, it seems the assessment skills I have gained have been valuable for me at this job. It is strange that when I work the weekend, it seems like I end up with the "all of a sudden emergencies." The DON apologizes to me about some of these times, but I tell her it is good experience for me.

I have not really leaned much to psych, because the exposure to all the new outpatient procedures and technology have been so fascinating, but I am learning a lot more than med-surg experience. I have seen some wonderful nurses, but unfortunately, some of the most bitter nurses. I have been a "target" for the second time now. The "customer service" and corporate competition is worse than I ever thought it could be.

Anyway, I got trounced by a very unhappy float nurse this time. So me being a refresher, she pushed me to the wall in the guise of teaching me. At first I felt insecure about this, but then I got the picture. Apparently, she feels she is so overwhelmed, but does do a great job, that she took me, as a refresher, to ease her workload. It was the busiest day I have had in my clinicals, with 3 days to go. We are scheduled at a certain times to leave the floor for post conference. Sometimes I will stay later, but I began to feel like free labor. I told my instructor about this, and she said "you should be up to speed by now." She also said that the preceptor nurse was making comments about how I did not do this and that, etc. I also told my instructor that I didn't accept being any disgruntled nurse's scapegoat. It was not appropriate to compare me to an experienced full-time nurse and expect me to perform at her level. I do give her credit because she knew her stuff. But she was such a bully, and there was no support from my instructor. Funny, how the instructor tells me about the "dog eat dog world of the nursing world," but somehow I am the bad guy.

I really like med/surg, but this push by the hospitals for greater and greater profits is just so mean. For the most part it has been exciting, the learning, but it hurts so much to be used and thrown away. The thing that hurts is that for the most part, I really enjoy working with patients and when appropriate, I love to use humor, and help lessen their anxiety and pain and I feel good when I see them, at least for the time being, with their spirits lifted.

I am glad I have you to talk to because these issues really are weighty for nurses, patients, and corporate profits. Am I making any sense? I just feel discouraged right now. But the sun will shine again tomorrow.

By the way, the LTC that I had posted about before, the "Bait and switch," I left after the 4th shift. What is funny, I read the ads they run for nurses every Sunday, and they have a new glorious spin every week. The Assistant DON that was supportive of me at the time, I noticed that there was an ad for a new ADN, "Work with fantastic DON," or "Nurse, nice people work here." I just have to laugh. But I guess there is an equal mix of positive and negative in all professions.

I am still working for the same psych facility though. The DON is amazing and the CNA's are great and alert me to conditions that I would not otherwise be aware of, since I am not the one giving baths.

I am just going to try to be patient and see what happens in January and February. I do not want to make judgments about the negative.

Again, I loved rereading your responses to my situation and feelings. Thanks again for listening.