Nervous about telling co-workers

Nursing Students SRNA

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Is anyone else nervous about telling co-workers they got into school? I am already getting all sorts of flak about leaving. All I hear is "You're not going to be here long anyway so what does it matter to you?" This also means that from now until July or August I will get a crappy schedule and probably have to work all the holidays :o. Oh well.....on the upside...I'm going to anesthesia school!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm assuming the RRT in your title stands for Reg Resp Therapist... if so, what made you make the switch to nursing? Was it only to pursue CRNA school?

Ventjock- there are a bunch of us that are going that route. Are you one of us? If so, yay, because as everyone knows, RT's ROCK (not that I'm biased haha).... and also make great CRNAs from what I hear. But my best advice is keep it on the *DOWN LOW* baby. It's bad enough you'll hear it from your fellow RTs for going to the RN darkside... but then you'll hear it from the RN's for going to the CRNA darkside too.

I personally love respiratory. My co-workers are a bunch of semi-sociopathic freaks ... they are hysterical. And it's *way* more fun that being stuck on the same unit every shift.

But honestly... looking down the road, respiratory's a dead end unless you go management (and omg I would *never* in a million years do that. I have no deathwish lol).

There's no respect for RT as a profession on the whole in the hospital world, and there's no opportunity to earn. An RRT-NPS with 10 more years experience than I have only makes $7K more than I do. There's just no ladder or incentive to do anything else once you're registered. And most of my older co-workers are quite happy to just coast along being a treatment jockey... but I'm not.

To each, their own though...

PM me if you want :)

A

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I love RTs and I tell them how paramount they are to the well-being of the unit! My nursing school taught us to have a great respect for RTs, and it definitely stuck with me.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU.

Ventjock,

It does stand for Reg Resp Therapist. I was a therapist for 5 years and the reason I went to nursing school was to eventually become a CRNA. I am assuming you are one too?

RRT2RN2CRNA,

I agree with Respiratory Therapy being a dead end with no means to move up!! I worked at a great hospital that not only allowed but expected us to intubate, manage vents (we have vent driven protocols), and start art lines. Even with all of that experience there is a definite ceiling with our profession.

On a more positive note......I got into CRNA school at Mercer/MCCG!!!

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Specializes in Nursery, L&D, PICU, SICU.

I moved and started a new job after my applications were sent in. I didn't tell my new co-workers that I had applied. Now that I have been accepted I have been wondering about how and when to let them know. I may just wait until I put in my two weeks notice and if anyone asks, I'll tell them at that time. As for my former co-workers, many of them knew and I am looking forward to sharing the news with them.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.
not im my case guys... all my co-nurses were so happy for me... they cheered and wished me well. i didn't get any ill feelings.. it was cool. maybe really depends where and who you work with... VCU fall 08 here i come!!!

Careful Jazz, I'm sure that your coworkers are happy for you but don't put too much faith in them. You've got some time on your hands before the fall gets here. Try to tone down your enthusiasm just a little. At some point, you might find yourself getting the pt assignments that no one else wants. The rationale on your unit may be, he's leaving so we'll stick him with the worst patients. Your days at the bedside are numbered and you better believe that your coworkers are well aware of that fact.

Army :twocents:

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.
I moved and started a new job after my applications were sent in. I didn't tell my new co-workers that I had applied. Now that I have been accepted I have been wondering about how and when to let them know. I may just wait until I put in my two weeks notice and if anyone asks, I'll tell them at that time.

Great idea since you are relatively new on your unit, wait until you put in your notice...

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when i applied for my transfer to sicu from ccu i let the manager and director know from the start that i only want to work in their unit for one year. i let them know that i wanted to pursue crna as a career path and that i was applying to crna programs. i don't know about other hospitals but the sicu and micu i work at is very short staffed. i worked previously in a ct-icu and ccu so my experience was there, i just didn't like bedside nursing.

i find that nurses are dominated by the female gender and some let you know how they feel right off the bat but many others hide behind their smile and then stab you in the back. i can never figure out the female mind, yes means yes or yes means maybe or yes means no and then they pretend to be happy for you only to learn from your coworker how they were talking smack about you behind your back. they pretend to be your friend and joke around with you and when they get into their moods, you hear from your friend about so and so was saying,"oh he comes up here for one year to gain some icu experience just so he can apply to crna school."

people love to crush your dreams and ambitions. it can even come from the closest of friends and family. i told my closest friends, family and coworkers. but the rest will eventually find out and you will see that the pt's u care for in your last months are the ones no one else wants to take care of. when i left ct-icu to go to ccu and ccu to goto sicu they give you the crazies and float you b/c they know they can and you won't be coming back.

sorry for the rant, tell you closest colleagues that you trust and then let the rest find out for themselves. i wish we were able to share the joys of others but many people give up on their dreams and the only thing left for them is enjoy other peoples miseries. schadenfreude as the german's say.

good luck to all who start their new career paths. don't let other ppl discourage you, and remember when **** starts to get tough in school, remember your last night wrestling with that spitting etoh'er who tries to clock you in the face and the finger painter and all that is a distant memory.

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I think it really depends on the culture of your unit. Everyone I've told is really happy for me and sad to see me go, including the physicians. I've made it clear to my colleagues that I do not think that I am better than them, but this was something I wanted to do since I entered nursing school. I also keep my CRNA-school talk to a minimum.

Before the application process, I was giving report to one nurse and CRNA stuff came up. I will have over 2 years of experience in ICU by the time I go to school, and she said that she thinks that no one should even consider applying to CRNA school with less than 5 years experience. I nicely pointed out that anesthesia residents go from med school to residency with less experience than a full time ICU nurse for year. Also, that the requirement for CRNA school is only 1 year of ICU--the minimum requirement must count for something, right? She scoffed, but that's just her personality, and I think she's envious. She has some personal things going on in her life, and so I take that into account when she makes sassy comments. Also, she saw me as a new nurse in the unit and has seen me grow, and I think that somewhere inside her mind, she thinks that I think that I'm better than the nurses there. But I don't. And if she doesn't believe me when I tell her that, well, it's not my problem. I can't help what other people think, do and say; all I can do is manage those things for myself and my reaction to other people.

But, that nurse was the only one who feels that way. The rest are excited. There is another nurse from my unit going to CRNA school this fall too, and people are also happy for her. And, you bet your bottom dollar that we're going to have a big potluck when I leave.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.
Don't let other ppl discourage you, and remember when **** starts to get tough in school, remember your last night wrestling with that spitting ETOH'er who tries to clock you in the face and the finger painter and all that is a distant memory.

Interesting you should say this. A good friend of mine is in CRNA school right now and she called me just to vent a couple of days ago. She's so busy with school that she is often unable to discern which way is up. Being a great friend, I reminded her that she could be back at the bedside still cleaning s**t for a living. She thanked me and resumed her studies minus the whining. Is there any wonder so many of us feel jealousy and resentment from those we'll be leaving behind to tend to those code browns???

Three months and counting...

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Interesting you should say this. A good friend of mine is in CRNA school right now and she called me just to vent a couple of days ago. She's so busy with school that she is often unable to discern which way is up. Being a great friend, I reminded her that she could be back at the bedside still cleaning s**t for a living. She thanked me and resumed her studies minus the whining. Is there any wonder so many of us feel jealousy and resentment from those we'll be leaving behind to tend to those code browns???

Three months and counting...

Nice! I'm so excited for you armynse!

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On a more positive note......I got into CRNA school at Mercer/MCCG!!!

Rock on baby! Congrats!

How was your experience interviewing and applying as an RT? Did you get in first try, second try? How many years/what kind of experience did you have as an RRT and then RN? Why did you choose that program over others? Was there much interest in your RT background during your interviews?

I'm so nosy! Forgive me!

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I find that nurses are dominated by the female gender and some let you know how they feel right off the bat but many others hide behind their smile and then stab you in the back. I can never figure out the female mind, yes means yes or yes means maybe or yes means no and then they pretend to be happy for you only to learn from your coworker how they were talking smack about you behind your back. They pretend to be your friend and joke around with you and when they get into their moods, you hear from your friend about so and so was saying,"Oh he comes up here for one year to gain some ICU experience just so he can apply to CRNA school."

Yeah, I always feel bad for the guys. They have it rough usually with all the cattyness that goes on. Sure, not all nurses are like that... but I have to say the majority are... at least where I am in NY. It's unfortunate, but you can never really trust your co-workers. And it's a sad lesson to learn.

Sure, some will become your "actual" friends but don't delude yourself into thinking you're any more than just a convenient acquaintance to most. I've switched hospitals, and people I *never* thought I would lose touch with at my old hopsital... I haven't talked to them in months. You get over it and learn to distance yourself a bit personally and cherish those that are your "true" friends... and I'm happy to have just a handful of those versus a whole department of acquaintances.

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