hi everyone! i'm holli. i took boards on june 13th and passed with 75 questions. i am starting work on july 18th at the only hospital i ever wanted to work for. it is a great pediatric facility! i will be on the (post-op) surgical floor, and we also have all of the endocrine kids. also, they just added an epilepsy monitoring unit, for overnight monitoring and for the brain mapping they are doing. i expressed an interest in that, so they will cross-train me in that unit as well. i can't wait to get started!
Hi, I'm Dena. I'm 43 years old, took my boards and passed in May of "09. Right now I am working nights on a medical floor at the local community hospital and wondering if I am insane to be doing this! No orientation to speak of...6 weeks out and I have 6-7 patients a nite...bed alarms, insulin drips, chest pain and telemetry, wounds...you named it! The only thing I don't get much of are trach's and they do pop up occasionally. It is so busy that the other nurses don't have a lot of time to answer questions or help me out if I get swamped. I spend most nites terrified for my patients and my job! Is anyone else experiencing anything like that?
Oh yeah, they have me working 12 of overtime everyweek...my body feels like it is literally falling apart. Joint pain, so tired all the time...am i just to old, or is it just an adjustment?
Specializes in PCU, Stepdown ICU, Home Health Case Management, ED.
I graduated in May, got 75 questions. I had put applications in all over, but finally got a position in a PCU/Telemetry unit an hour and 20 mins. from me. Not the hospital I wanted, totally new area, some new terminology, everyone there goes to like two to three different schools. They haven't even heard of my nursing school! However, I did want Telemetry, and I got a job, so I'm not complaining. I just finished my first month of orientation last week. So busy with time management, that I feel like my critical thinking is taking a back seat while I get the rest figured out, I hope that's normal. It's primary nursing (we do our own vitals and accuchecks, the techs do I&Os, positioning, ect. I'm up to three patients right now. The ratio is supposed to be 4:1, but I've seen it get up to six, rare but it happens. Learning to discharge, admit, and what to say to docs have been the hardest things so far. Learning how to use the IV pumps was tricky at first, but that's getting easier and easier. Charting is sooooo time consuming. Also, learning to write everything down so I can chart it is another thing I'm learning. Seems simple enough until you get two post ops, a new admit, and a patient crashes and needs to go to ICU, but you have to do the one on one care for an hour and a half because there's no bed ready in the ICU. All the while you haven't charted anything but your AM assessments, and you are late on meds. It's like, you learn the basics, and the critical thinking starts to fall into place eventually.
I am Brittany and I am a May 2009 ADN graduate. I have almost 3 years experience as a labor and delivery patient care technician II (cna with specialized training - PCTII may be a regional term :-) I have filled out many many many applications, just to get a response of "I'm sorry, we'd love to have you, but we cannot take any new grads." I recently started applying for paid nursing assistant positions, and writing letters to facilities asking if I can intern/train/learn without pay. I have my first interview in 10 days, but it is for a position that I am hesitant to take. I am not picky, but I am nervous about an urgent care center that may not be use to training new grads. So, please wish me luck!
Patchouli, what you are describing sounds like exactly what I am experiencing. I work on a medical floor at a local county hospital..and it's the same for me. I feel like it's all about the task...no critical thinking, no time to really "care" for my patients. The nurses I work with are very supportive and assure me that it comes together in time. They keep telling me it takes about a year to really be comfortable, get your time management down, and start "thinking and feeling" like a nurse. I wish it wasn't this way....but I hear the same from everyone I graduated with. Good luck and hang in there.
Hi...grad in dec '09, RN in feb, and thankfully started wk in April! I've been on my own for ~2 months and some nights are really good while others are CRAZY! by the end of those shifts, I just want to crawl in a corner and hide. fyi-i wk on a m/s surgical floor. on the way home, i remember a kzillion things i forgot to do or should've done better...errrr. it's hard NOT to think about work when i'm at home, but i have to remind myself that i gave my pts the best care possible and learn from my mistakes. we've worked so hard to to have RN at the end of our names, so we MUST hang in! as hard as some nights are, i LOVE my job and am BLESSED to be in this profession!
My name is Tati, and I am a May 2009 graduate of the School of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University (Aggie Pride!!). I passed my boards on August 31, 2009 with 75 questions. I am still currently seeking a RN position....preferably at a hospital in a new graduate program, but at this point I am taking any opportunity, and possibly have an interview with an OB-GYN office this week. My dream is to be a Certified Nurse Midwife, but I want to dabble in many areas in nursing to get the most experience out of this career. I just got hired at Best Buy for the time being, and hope to start this week :-)
Hi, I'm Dena. I'm 43 years old, took my boards and passed in May of "09. Right now I am working nights on a medical floor at the local community hospital and wondering if I am insane to be doing this! No orientation to speak of...6 weeks out and I have 6-7 patients a nite...bed alarms, insulin drips, chest pain and telemetry, wounds...you named it! The only thing I don't get much of are trach's and they do pop up occasionally. It is so busy that the other nurses don't have a lot of time to answer questions or help me out if I get swamped. I spend most nites terrified for my patients and my job! Is anyone else experiencing anything like that?
Oh yeah, they have me working 12 of overtime everyweek...my body feels like it is literally falling apart. Joint pain, so tired all the time...am i just to old, or is it just an adjustment?
NO ORIENTATION??? That is soooo unsafe! I think they are completely taking advantage of you! You deserve better. Did you go to your nurse director? I'd run outta there, you don't want to lose your licence because of their lack of training!! How awful!
Hi, I graduated at the end of May, and passed boards beginning of July. I have been HUNTING for a position since then! I have had two interviews with no offers, and about a hundred apps sent out! I am feeling discouraged, as those around me get jobs one by one. I live in S. CA and jobs for new grads are scare and sooo competitive. So...any encouragement is appreciated!
Not sure if this was up your alley, but my line sister has been calling me all week to tell me to try at St. Elizabeth's Psych hospital. It may be kinda far from you (it's in Southeast DC), but she said they are hiring new grads; she just got her job offer today. I am going to call tomorrow, or Monday, to see how I should apply. Just another application to put in, and thought you may want to check it out. I am just going to goggle it to find the contact info for them.
When I took my PN test I also changed my date and did not realize I should expect a confirmation letter. I showed up to find I was a "no-show" on my original date!!! That was a miserable day.
I cannot tell you how many times I checked my date when I was getting ready to take the NCLEX-RN :)
I just thought it might make you feel a bit better if you knew you were not the ony one. I know I felt better after reading your post.
I do hope you were able to get it all reset in time to keep your job lined up.
I think I belong on this forum. I'm 29 years old and I graduated with my RN degree on May 2009. I took my NCLEX on August and started a job hunt right after I got my passing results. I send out tons of ap with no previous luck,had one interview did not get the job offer,things are slowly moving toward better directions,I have an interview on this wensday in out of state hospital,and I got a call from recruiter from my city and I think she is interested in interviewing me..wish me luck!
I think I belong on this forum. I'm 29 years old and I graduated with my RN degree on May 2009. I took my NCLEX on August and started a job hunt right after I got my passing results. I send out tons of ap with no previous luck,had one interview did not get the job offer,things are slowly moving toward better directions,I have an interview on this wensday in out of state hospital,and I got a call from recruiter from my city and I think she is interested in interviewing me..wish me luck!
That is soooo unsafe! I think they are completely taking advantage of you! You deserve better. Did you go to your nurse director? I'd run outta there, you don't want to lose your licence because of their lack of training!! How awful!
denaferrell
5 Posts
Hi, I'm Dena. I'm 43 years old, took my boards and passed in May of "09. Right now I am working nights on a medical floor at the local community hospital and wondering if I am insane to be doing this! No orientation to speak of...6 weeks out and I have 6-7 patients a nite...bed alarms, insulin drips, chest pain and telemetry, wounds...you named it! The only thing I don't get much of are trach's and they do pop up occasionally. It is so busy that the other nurses don't have a lot of time to answer questions or help me out if I get swamped. I spend most nites terrified for my patients and my job! Is anyone else experiencing anything like that?
Oh yeah, they have me working 12 of overtime everyweek...my body feels like it is literally falling apart. Joint pain, so tired all the time...am i just to old, or is it just an adjustment?