tropsnegRN

I knew I recognized this username! I think the best option here is for you to talk to the agency that you worked for to determine why you were placed on these lists. Can it cause you to not be hired at a facility? Sure. At the worst, you can apply for those positions and they can refuse to offer you a job. With that being said...being asked not to return to one job is frustrating. Two jobs, I imagine would be very upsetting. FOUR seems a bit excessive. Maybe some self reflection would serve you best in this situation. You’re not creating a strong track record if you’re wanting to create a solid resume by stacking up a list of facilities that have requested you to not return.

Either way, your new employer is going to ask during your interview about where you presently work. If I read your posts correctly...you work PRN at a facility, you work in ICU at a different facility newly off orientation, and you have applied for a CVICU position at a facility owned by where you work PRN? If they're considering it a transfer, a lot of places have a minimum of 6 months in current position requirements. This could be different for your position, I don't really know. From my initial first review, it looks like job-hopping. You had a poor time on orientation because of two singular employees and you're not giving yourself time to adjust to the culture of the new space. However, just staying somewhere you're not happy isn't that great either.

Congratulations. You’ve embarked on a journey so many of us have trekked before you, yet in a crazy whirlwind of a pandemic. Obviously, you must have dreams and goals that pushed your desire to enter into the world of healthcare and conquer the beast that is nursing school. Remember why you chose this journey: you will refer back to it many, many times. I decided to go to nursing school as a second career student. Having received a Bachelor's in Political Science just 4 years prior to mustering up the courage to attend nursing school; I knew I had to buckle my seatbelt, grit my teeth, and just bear it. Oh, did I mention that I also now had two children, a husband, a dog, and a full-time job? I had none of those when I experienced college the first time. I learned so many things in those two (seemingly never-ending) years before I could officially call myself a Registered Nurse. Let me share some things nobody told me—or that I just didn’t listen to or find important until I was neck-deep in chum water. 1. YOU are your top priority. Period. The number one thing I hope you take from this is that you are important. After all, how can you be a good student, mom, wife, nurse, employee, etc. etc., if you’re running on fumes constantly? Believe me, it is hard to balance everything on your plate when the food is running over. I spent 6 hours in an ED with a stress-induced migraine the night before psych clinical during my fourth semester. I thought that my sleep came after everything else until my body shut me down. I was working two jobs, one full-time night shift, one PRN second shift, classes and clinical during the days, and somehow squeaking in about 2-3 hours of sleep a day. DON’T DO THAT TO YOURSELF! I missed an entire night of good sleep and was irritable in clinical until I was able to get the rest my body was screaming at me to have. Once I started prioritizing myself, I had more quality sleep, performed better at work, and studied better. It doesn’t take much to prioritize yourself: Make a routine and stick to it Eat more than once a day for the sake of your sanity Take a hot shower Listen to a podcast Make it a point to do something even if it is just an hour to appreciate yourself and recharge It’s the most important piece of advice I can give you. Then, carry that over to your first nursing job! Your career is going to feel like it is sucking the life out of you and you will be burned out very quickly if you don’t take care of yourself! It is perfectly FINE to let that discharge paperwork wait for 20 minutes while you eat something for lunch so you’re not laying next to your patient’s bed passed out while trying to pass medicine because you didn’t eat. It’s okay to tell your family, friends, and loved ones that you need some space when you get home to recollect yourself. You can’t be YOU when you don’t take care of yourself. 2. YES, you CAN work in nursing school (and be a parent, spouse, etc.). We have ALL heard the horror stories and the threats prior to starting school. “You can’t work in nursing school.” “You will have to sacrifice everything for this program.” “You can’t have a life when you’re in nursing school.” Granted, this little point depends on how well you are able to balance, but so often you hear that it is not possible and it is discouraging for those wanting a career change, but their budget doesn’t allow it. Let me tell you a good tip: try to find a job working where you may want to work as a nurse! This worked fabulously for me. It helps you build connections and may also open the door to scholarship opportunities. I started with my place of employment as a night shift nurse tech. I worked every weekend (SSM) through nursing school; my job paid for the remainder of my ADN, and again for my BSN. I learned a lot about the nurses that I would potentially be working with. I gained critical thinking skills for the department that I would join as a nurse. Once I graduated, I became a nurse on the unit I had been a tech in for two years. I already knew where the supplies were. I knew the codes to doors throughout the unit. I knew my colleagues and some of the physicians. This gave me a huge leg-up for those first few months of nursing that were some of the most stressful months of my life. Nursing school did NOT prepare me to be a nurse. It prepared me to take the NCLEX. The unit I worked on shaped me initially and continues to shape me today. Also, because I was seen as a future asset to the unit, my manager was much more willing to work with me if I needed to make changes with my schedule. I honestly don’t think I would have survived working during nursing school without my colleagues' support. Some of them became my biggest cheerleaders in nursing school. I did not have the option to not work, and this ended up being one of the best decisions I made. I’m now a charge nurse on that very same unit that I started as a tech in my first semester of nursing school. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 3. Reach out to faculty in your program. Is there an instructor in your program with whom you feel comfortable asking questions? I formed a relationship with some of my instructors that have carried over well after school. The former director of our program wrote my recommendation letter for graduate school. I’ve been asked to be a reference for instructors applying at other positions. These people have been invaluable to me during my education at their institution and also in shaping my career after graduation. A former instructor has served as an adviser for me during projects while obtaining my BSN. It is nice to know that they support me not only as a student but as a professional in the career field. Reach out to your teachers, show that you’re making an effort. Attend office hours if you’re struggling, and ask for assistance or guidance on how you can improve going forward. You won’t regret these connections that you’re forming early on. They could be writing you recommendation letters for future job endeavors. 4. Find a SMALL group of students to help hold you accountable and also encourage you. Nursing school is hard. It is cutthroat and competitive. Find some students that you can journey through this with. I didn’t really find my niche of friends until about half-way through my program. However, these two girls became my closest companions, and to be together at the pinning ceremony was very special. We laughed together. We cried together. We cussed together. We each taught the other something, whether it be class-related or personal. We encouraged each other when NCLEX was around the corner, and we pushed each other when a test was coming up. If one of us didn’t understand something, we worked together until we were all on the same page. Sometimes when the work was too heavy, we split it up and then taught it to each other. You can’t read everything assigned — you just can’t. It's far too much. We would divide reading and sections and then we would make outlines and review. Prior to tests, we would spend days in the study rooms in the nursing department writing on whiteboards quizzing each other. Once, we took a 5 hour day trip to the beach on a weekday to give our brains a break. We are still friends now. Even though each of us works in totally different places, we keep in touch. It’s a bond that will last a lifetime. In conclusion I hope these four tips help you to thrive during nursing school. It isn’t always going to be easy. I had times that I laid on my living room floor sobbing to my husband, asking, “why did I do this” losing all hope in myself to push forward. However, here I am…a year and a half later…workin’ it in a pandemic and pursuing a Doctorate. Not exactly what I had pictured my first year to look like, but I am so grateful that I never gave up. Remember your reasons, take care of yourself, network, make connections…then go be the nurse you knew you would be the day you applied to your program.

Being a new grad nurse is difficult no matter what. Your co-workers need to be understanding of this. When I first started on my floor as a nurse last year (started out cardiac and now we are strictly COVID), I was shy and timid. Even though I already knew the nurses because I had been a tech all through nursing school. I was nervous that I would do something wrong. I didn’t really have any time management related to nursing — I would get so frantic trying to get all of the little things done and my meds passed on time and I felt like I was not doing a good job. I rarely ate lunch because I never felt like there was a “good time” or that I was “caught up enough” to be able to do so. This made me very tired, very quickly, and the burn out was real. One day I nearly passed out because I hadn’t eaten anything and admin was pushing me about discharges because the ED was crowded and the cycle continued BUT one of the nurses finally told me something and it kind of changed my perspective. “What are you doing right now that is SO important you can’t grab something to eat for 10 minutes?” I said, “well I have this discharge and another one waiting and I’m getting...blah blah blah.” She replied, “Can you do any of those things when you’re passed out in the floor? I always make sure that I have an opportunity to at least eat some crackers because if it is not life-threatening to any of my patients it will be fine if I stop for 10 minutes.” Something about that small conversation made a big difference in the way I looked at things. I do have days where maybe I eat a pack of crackers and that didn’t happen until 1600, but for the most part I always get to eat a lunch. I have become better at prioritizing my time and I QUIT PUTTING SO MUCH PRESSURE ON MYSELF. You are a person. You are a nurse. To be an effective nurse you must take care of yourself. Find some co-workers on your unit that you can lean on and ask questions and get help from. Surely one of them can help you out by answering your call lights if you know you’re going to be busy with a task for a while. For example, I would let the nurse near my section know I am getting an admission and I would be doing their Part 1 and Part 2 in just a minute - does she mind watching my other lights. I’ve only had one nurse have a problem with that and so I asked someone else.

I tried to get him to go stay with her at his parents but he refuses to do it. He said that he doesn’t want me to get sick and be by myself. I’ve insisted and he’s pushed back and said if I have to go through this then he’s going through it with me. We’re young(er), I’m about to be 30 and he’s 35. I wasn’t really concerned about myself getting sick until I read about the 30-year-old baseball coach, Ben Luderer, who passed and was seemingly much healthier than either me or my spouse are. I pray this virus stays out of my home.

My facility, initially two weeks ago, stated that we weren’t allowed to wear masks because it would “incite fear” unless we were directly exposed to a PUI. That same day, they placed a PUI on our floor. So, if I am taking care of a PUI (strictly only on droplet precautions, mind you — no N95) wouldn’t that entitle my co-workers to wear masks because I have potentially exposed them now, yes? Thankfully, that was my last day of my rotation. when I came back, we were told to sign for a N95 and a cloth mask was acceptable over the N95 and that’s pretty much it. Well, at least we got N95’s. (My PUI tested negative, thankfully. However, I start my rotation and tomorrow with 3 positives on the floor, nearly a dozen waiting for results, and I’m just a wreck.)

I’m a nurse. I’m a mom. I’m a wife. I didn’t get any option or any warning when they turned the med-surg floor I work on into the designated COVID-19 unit. I’m a NEW nurse. I will hit my year mark in the middle of a pandemic. This is NOT what I signed up for. I didn’t sign up to carry a N95 in a sack that I had to sign out and pray that it lasts me an indefinite time period. I wanted to help people, yes. I did NOT want to have to send my daughter to her grandparents for an indefinite amount of time. My house is so quiet. There is no Paw Patrol on the TV. There is no running down the hallway. There is no laughter on the couch next to me. It’s just me and my husband...in silence. Facetime sucks. I love seeing her and talking to her but I can’t hold her. I can’t give her night time snuggles and It hurts my heart when she says, “Mommy can you come get me tomorrow? I miss you.” I signed up to be a nurse. To help my communities. To help my neighbors. To help to heal the sick and to comfort those who are hurting. I didn’t know it would cost me my own comfort. I didn’t know I would wake up for work in an intense anxiety full of fear to go to work. To worry about my mask. To worry about getting sick and possibly infecting my spouse. I keep seeing things around here and in other places that say, “...this is what you signed up for.” Definitely not. I never in my life thought I would have to beg, borrow, cheat, or steal just to find ONE can of disinfectant spray. I don’t even live somewhere that is hit the hardest. I called around to several locations begging them to please just give me a call when their trucks come in to make an effort to disinfect my car. None of this gives me peace. None of this gives me sanity. All I know is my house is too damn quiet and my mind is too damn loud. I know I’m not alone in this but it sure feels like it. Honestly, I’m just really scared. Thank you to everyone that is helping battle this virus. Thank you for putting in your full effort. My heart goes out to those that have lost loved ones. ❤️ thanks for letting me vent.

Night shift nurses be like “lemme see if I can scan that wristband...”

When the IV pump is beeping, Occluded - Patient Side, and your patient who hasn’t slept in 3 days FINALLY falls asleep. ??‍♀️

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will try offering other choices when their request just isn’t feasible. I have learned very quickly that the best way to grow a spine is to become a nurse! ?

I do agree with pain is what the patient says it is. I actually did call the doctor about her pain medicine and he asked me to describe what she was doing, etc. Evidently, the nurse the day before had called him regarding the same exact thing and it had already been explained to her once why he wasn’t increasing the dose and they didn’t put in a note, so I didn’t know, and said MD was not very nice about being called regarding the same exact thing. When I went to tell the pt what the MD said the situation was extremely awkward and then her husband starting yelling at me about how she’s laying there miserable and can’t do anything and all we are doing is working up a discharge to get her out. ??‍♀️ The shower scenario, I guess just would’ve been different if she had literally not had 4 showers leading up to this particular fit. My aid has 18 patients and can’t keep sitting in the bathroom every hour for a relaxing shower. I hate that staffing is what it is, but I can’t change that.

So, I’m a new nurse. I’ve worked as a CNA all through nursing school, so patient care comes as a breeze. However, I am struggling with communication that patients “don’t want to hear”. Such as, “The doctor is not going to up your Norco 5 to IV pain meds” (while you sit there playing games in your phone, laughing, and chatting up your husband about what you’re going to order for lunch). Also denying patients things they want to do — like showering for the 5th time when I just have you phenergan — due to patient safety risks. I encountered both of these situations yesterday, on top of trying to care for 8 patients. It makes me feel so awkward when the patient gets all pissy because they have been told no. One of them was even going to fire me as her nurse because I “wouldn’t understand that the shower is relaxing and I didn’t care”. Even though I explained why she couldn’t and shouldn’t get in the shower, fall risks, and safety risks and education pertaining to medication. Im sure this will come with time, but how do you handle your difficult patients/communication with them when it isn’t what they want?

No idea. It started as allergies and then developed into a nasty sinus infection. I got out of my habit of getting yo early to go to the gym and would rather stay in my bed. It’s been about 3 months since that.

I have a free gym membership that I was using for a while and I stopped going to classes because I got sick and then after I got over being sick I just felt so tired constantly. I think I’m going to pick up their yoga class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and see if that helps some. Thanks everyone for the tips. Y’all mentioned things I didn’t even think about.

I didn’t even think about that but now that is all I think when I read the topic. ??‍♀️