Rocketskates

Starting off, you're going to be task oriented as you begin to integrate everything you've learned into practice. It's like driving: after you've been doing it for a while, everything becomes second nature - buckling up, signaling, maintaining speed, anticipating other drivers' moves...you'll get it if you stay the course. I know it's hard to fathom now but you have to believe in yourself and you'll get there. Consider making a custom brain sheet in your spare time that you can bring to work so you can note all of the important things to report during hand-off. Lastly, I just finished up orientation in the OR; I've been coming into work about 15 minutes early just so I can get my tasks started ahead of schedule since I'm taking so long. I'm not allowed to clock in early, so I'm doing this using my own time, which I don't mind because I'm so determined to succeed in this new role.

The field of nursing is a huge buffet of options, hopefully you can find something that works. The fatigue though stood out to me - I'd consider talking to your doctor about this. Are you getting enough sleep, are you getting good sleep? Maybe a sound machine or a sleep study can help. I've heard people say they didn't realize what horrible sleep they were getting until they found out they had sleep apnea and started using a CPAP machine. I know alcohol can cause me to get lousy sleep. Overeating, lots of sugar...perhaps an elimination diet like "Whole 30" may help pinpoint what, if anything in your diet is contributory. Maybe you could also benefit from a thyroid study; when working in the OR there tends to be a lot of radiation, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get this checked out anyway. I'm a firm believer that there is a key to every lock, so keep doing what you're doing by reading forums and networking. No job is a utopia but it's possible to find one that's really good. And if one job doesn't satisfy all your needs, consider a side hustle or hobby. I enjoy nursing for the challenges and the personal fulfillment but I also like to come home and garden for its therapeutic effect because it's a slower pace and I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, literally.

I've struggled with anxiety for a long time and just when I felt like it was under control (when I was comfortable in my last work environment) I switched to working in the OR. I feel like it's eroding my mental health because I'm stressed all of the time. While I realize that being new in this role means things can only get better with time, part of me just wants to go live in a tiny house on a mountain and do farm work or something. Then again, if it weren't challenging, I know it wouldn't be as fulfilling. Would be great if I could always pick the cases I work in and the teams I work with...but that's not gonna happen.

I am enrolled in a perioperative course right now, I'm more and more of the understanding that this role doesn't entail much patient care, if any. If you are a scrub nurse, you're handing tools to the surgeon... if you're a circulating nurse, you ensure that the patient has signed all of the consents, you initiate the 'time-out' before surgery and go over things to make sure everybody is on the same page. Then you document the supplies that get used throughout the procedure and send any specimens to the lab. Aside from helping to transfer a patient onto the operating table, there is little to no patient contact as far as I can tell.

Have a look at BUNAC that company is great for facilitating working holiday visas, relocation and orientation to the new host country. They may have age restrictions which vary from country - it was 30 for New Zealand when I went (as an American) in 2008 (before I got into nursing). Now that I’m a nurse, I’m also interested in traveling abroad but I don’t know how to do it permanently. My best bet now might be to find work in the USA as a commercial medical escort or on an air ambulance that does international missions...

I’m sorry to hear. I’m about 3 years into the profession and my only deaths were comfort care patients; they were expected to pass anyway. Best I can say is that death is a part of life, and so are mistakes. It seems cliche, I know, but just like mistakes with cooking (only higher stakes) you learn as you go and hopefully never make the same mistake again. If every nurse quit after making a major mistake, the profession would be much more understaffed. If it weren’t for the high stakes, we might not have as much pride in our ability to do it, either. Everyone has made mistakes, myself included, and many of us keep them bottled up inside. You probably only need one or two confidantes to swap stories with to reassure you that you’re not alone.

No, (and to preface, I’m in a happy relationship!) But years ago, as a patient on two separate occasions (snowboarding injuries) I had one nurse during each admission who stood out to me, I admired and was mesmerized by. I asked one of them out, and she politely declined but she didn’t want to be my nurse again (I know because she was there on my day of discharge and didn’t say goodbye.) I was pretty sad about that. I considered going back and asking her out again a year later because I thought for sure she might think differently with me being able to walk and not being in a gown LOL) but I didn’t because I didn’t want anything construable as harassment. I’m fine with the past though because as I mentioned, I’m in an awesome relationship! My respect and admiration for those nurses though may have played a minor role in me wanting to become a nurse... if it weren’t for them, I suppose I might not be in the great relationship I’m in now...

I'm looking for a bike, is there anywhere I can get one at a discount as a nurse?

We have an appointed Safety Agent who monitors donning/doffing of PPE of all RNs entering/exiting COVID rooms; they spend their downtime decontaminating all surfaces on the unit and responding to RNs who need supplies/help inside COVID rooms. They also maintain a dedicated COVID binder which contains all updates published by our hospital's infection control officer. Mgmt is said to be lenient about delays (presumably this is true; no one gives me a hard time when I give lipitor/other non-critical meds late). Visitation is restricted to those on comfort care/impending mortality

"I know someone who" voluntarily admitted themself for severe depression in NJ a decade ago. No self-harm, just overwhelming emptiness and feeling unfulfilled. This person has since become an RN, is OK now and legally practicing nursing with full scope of RN license in an acute care setting. Not sure if that is of any help to your question, but I would like to encourage you in your endeavor. You've traversed a major mountain which is just a pebble in the rearview. Now you have a boulder ahead but it is nothing compared to what you went through initially:)

Sorry to hear about your time management struggle; I feel it, too. Best ideas I can recommend (though a disclaimer: I don’t always practice) are to arrive 15+ minutes early to read up on patients charts, figure out their plan of care and map out your evening. I use a detailed brain sheet I made myself to stay organized. Also, I work nights, so I sleep ALL day to maximize my potential energy reserve throughout the night. I try to eat midday and/or prior to going in so I am well fueled, but avoid over-eating so I don’t go in in a food coma. Having a good handle on my responsibilities outside of work helps me to stay focused on the job and therefore better economize time on the job - I tend to zone out, work slower and make more mistakes when distracted/preoccupied. I chew gum and listen to fast tempo music on my way into work to get amped up; this helps to counterbalance the slow-down I inevitably hit five hours into my shift. Obviously, patients with the most pressing needs should come first; I usually let the first-due meds dictate who I see first (apart from post-handover meet-and-greet.) Sometimes though I see merit in handling the easier/less needy (and less chatty) patients first to get more done in less time. That way, I can spend more time with those who need more attention and I can give them my undivided attention. Being comfortable delegating tasks is huge; I’m still working on this area but getting more comfortable because I know it’s not a reflection on my failure as a nurse, it’s about the patients’ needs. Most CNAs/PCTs understand this. If I’m not comfortable asking someone to do something for me, I ask them to help me so together we get it done in half the time. Lastly, a minute of prevention is greater than an hour of cleanup; we’ve implemented hourly rounding to ensure bed alarms are on, call bells are within reach, pumps are plugged in, everyone has some water or whatever other basic need met. We’re not obligated to chart it, just move the hand forward on a small paper clock inside the doorway. I would much rather do this than have a fall occur on my watch. Best of luck (to all of us)!

WAKE UP MR. JONES IT’S TIME FOR YOUR 4AM CIWAAAAAAAAA! HAVE YOU BEEN HAVING ANY TREMORS? HOW’S YOUR ANXIETY?!

I've got about $400 of MY MONEY in my FSA and unless I spend it, I'm going to lose it after 12/31. The only things I can think of buying which don't require a letter of medical necessity and which I might need though are compression socks, sunscreen, Breathe Right Strips and band-aids. I'm considering buying a better stethoscope, but am unsure if that would be allowed though. On the one hand, nowhere does it say stethoscopes are ok. On the other hand, the website stipulates I can purchase DME, First Aid Kits, First Aid Supplies and other items 'which include but are not limited to' blood pressure monitoring kits, thermometers, pulse oximeters and other items. I would assume then that a steth should fall under at least one of those categories. While I would primarily use the steth at work, I would use it for my own BP monitoring should the need arise (so I'd like to think that my company's FSA administrators should therefore not have anything to say about it.) Can I get a majority in favor? I'm open to any feedback. TIA

Many nurses with BSNs have admitted they feel no more qualified than nurses with ADNs. I think this is supported by the fact that many ADN programs have more first-time pass rates than many BSN programs, see here: Best Nursing Schools in New Jersey for 2

Staple1027: I haven't talked about this to many people, so you are the first person to conclude in words similar to my own: politically motivated, get more people in greater debt, indoctrinate everyone with a government-endorsed set of ethics...as if the gov needs to tell me how to be a decent human. Some of my old nursing professors did a great job of showing me how to be a horrible nurse/person (one in particular showed me a pic of a parasitic twin right after it was born...taken with her own cell phone without any authorization.) If you look at stats on schools' first-time pass rates for the NCLEX-RN (at least for NJ), it shows clearly that BSNs are no better prepared than ADNs. I was fortunate though in that I stumbled into one of the better ADN programs, which scored higher than many BSN programs and so I passed the NCLEX on the first try. As you can probably imagine, that fueled my belief that a BS was not going to make me much better, if any. It just goes to show that much of the difference between a BSN and ADN is fluff.