Please define "bedside" Nursing.

Nurses General Nursing

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What is your definition of bedside nursing?

Our hospital doesn't even try to hide it. They use a chart for staffing that has nothing to do with acuity. They are changing dayshift to 7 patients. Due to the economy we now have medical patients on our surgical floor. So you get an active GI bleeder in one room, a seizure patient in another and five fresh postops with PCA syringes that need to be changed every hour and a half (Dilaudid). Everyone is taking ACLS so they can transfer to ICU so they can only have two patients. LOL!

Oh & btw Moogie. I didn't mean to project that I think Nursing is a miserable profession..and the nurses on here haven't made me think that. I think I am just kind of trying to go in with that attitude (not a miserable one..but expecting the struggles/suffering) so that if it's better..then it will be a delightful surprise :D.

*guest*,

Your attitude is a breath of fresh air. Some pre-nurses are very judgemental about nurses when they have no clue about real nursing.

Bedside nursing is very, very difficult. It's not the pts or the work itself- it's rediculous mgmt, clueless idiotic administrators who have no idea what we really do and no idea how valuable we are. It's rediculous computer charting systems, stupid JACHO regs, and tons of other things that get in our way, slow us down and make it soooo hard for us to do our jobs.

Sometimes, I hate nursing, and sometimes I think it will be the death of me... but for some reason that I do not understand nursing and being a nurse are very important and meaningful to me.

Good luck, and I'm glad you're going into it with your eyes open, and with an earnest desire to know and understand what real nursing is, and what it's all about.

Thanks :mad::redbeathe I try not to be judgemental. I think it's easy to pigeon hole others..but instead..I rather just try to understand them...because...well- that will eventually be me!

But like you said...I will never have a true understanding until I am actually a Nurse. So all I can do is try my best to go in with a positive/observant mind and take it for what it is. :nurse:

I'm all smiles now...just hope I still will be after a year of Nursing lol :typing

I HIGHLY recommend working as a nurse aide while you are going to school. The experience helps tremendously with clinicals and your future career as an RN. I worked as a multiskilled health tech for 3 years on a cardiac unit and the experience really helped.

I would REALLY love to do this. The only thing holding me back right now is not being able to take off work, and not having an extra $1000+ lying around to pay for my training. I also wasn't planning on working while I go to college. I live in NYC & I will be in school from 8-5pm Monday thru Friday....sometimes later if there are evening clinicals.

My college is 1.5 hours from my house...so I will leave at 6:30am...and get home as early as 6:30pm..or around

10pm. This leaves me the weekends to study, clean, cook, etc...and for some reason..I don't even feel like that will be enough.

I'm actually looking into courses to see if there is ANY possibility whatsoever...however..it doesn't seem feasible for the moment due to finances,etc. But I am going to try to find a way around it :D. About to email you :)

Thanks for replying. :)

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

Most places will train you to work as a nurse aide.

I took my nurse aide program at a community college. It was 9 credit hours, and included clinical rotations at two hospitals and two nursing homes. This was 19 years ago, and the total cost was $150.

Does it really cost thousands of dollars for nurse aide training now?

I worked my way through LPN school as a CNA, and worked as an LPN through RN school. It was tough, but I graduated with no debt, and I think it was worth it.

Hmmm interesting

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