jalilly

First of all, take a deep breath. You WILL get through this. Being a new nurse is challenging and stressful and overwhelming. This is expected. There are things you can do to make this situation better. Next, please reach out to family, friends, and a counselor/ therapist for support. You need a great team of people who will be there for you during this difficult time. Next, you need to make a meeting with your manager ASAP. You need to talk to your manager. Tell your manager that the relationship you have with your preceptor is not adequate for learning in the ICU setting. Tell them you are overwhelmed and anxious. It is unacceptable that you feel humiliated at work. Request a new preceptor and request to have meetings with your managers and educators weekly to talk about your goals and progress. If you are not able to switch preceptors, your new preceptor is not supportive, or you continue to be in a toxic work environment then you can think about next steps. If you still don't like ICU after a preceptor change then you should consider moving to a different floor. Please, take care of yourself and do not give up on your nursing career. There are so many areas of nursing to work in and you will find a good fit. Keep us updated on how it goes!

Hi! I understand this must have been an awkward and anxiety provoking experience for you. First of all, you CAN be a L&D nurse even though you fainted during your first lady partsl birth. I have a friend who fainted during her observation in the OR and now works as an OR nurse. Syncope is a natural physiologic reaction and sometimes it just happens. I know you aren't squeamish but you were standing for >40 minutes, it was probably a crowded room, maybe you were sweaty. If L&D is your passion don't give it up entirely.

Hi there, To be honest, this was hardly an error. Nystatin is a topical fungal cream that is harmless. It's a tiny, tiny mistake that you did not verify the order beforehand. You are a student and it's ultimately the nurse's and the instructor's responsibility to make sure you are doing things correctly. You did absolutely nothing to harm the patient and you corrected the mistake efficiently. I can tell that you care a lot about your patients and that shows! Don't be so hard on yourself. Mistakes like this happen. Be alert and cautious always but remember you are human. If your anxiety is affecting you in clinical and in school, reach out to your primary care provider and find a therapist. You are enough and you can be a great nurse if you believe in yourself! Best of luck.

I agree with everything said above. First, please prioritize taking care of yourself. I would recommend that you start seeing a therapist as soon as possible. They will be able to guide you through this. Do you have Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at your hospital? Look into this and contact them. Reach out to trusted family and friends who can support you. You don't have to go through this alone. Please put yourself first. You are being harassed. Report these coworkers and put together as much evidence as possible including pictures, texts, and specific stories from specific situations. Go to management, HR, and other leadership positions. Stay strong and please keep us updated!

Hello, I don't know exact pay rates but it is well known that Rush offers one of the most competitive salaries in Chicago. Rush also has great benefits and a great reputation. Good luck with your job search!

I don't think it's necessary to include 10 years of work experience especially if your prior work experience is unrelated to healthcare. I would put your prior education, for example if you received a degree in another field I would put that on my resume. It's most important to highly the last 5 year's worth of nursing experience. Keep your resume to 1 page. Yes, you should include your experiences with different EMARs. At the bottom of my resume I have "relevant certifications and skills" section and I have "EPIC Software and Meditech Software" listed. If you want to emphasize your oncology and step down travel nursing experiences, you should arrange your resume so those travel nursing experiences are closest to the top. It's all about trying to get people to read those things first! Hope this helps.

During my first semester of clinical I felt nervous before every clinical. It was because I was doing new things every week and never knew exactly what to expect. By the end of nursing school I was no longer nervous before every clinical and felt more confident. It just takes time! My advice is to write down your specific worries, make a solid bedtime and morning routine, and write down a list of everything you need to do at clinical. You may want to journal to process your feelings or talk to a therapist if you need more support. I think it's a good thing that you have a cautious personality and want to keep your patients safe. Safety is always the #1 priority in nursing. At the same time, you need to learn how to do all the skills and you can't let your anxiety overwhelm you. The only way you can make sure you won't harm anyone and are doing skills the right way is to practice! You should volunteer yourself to do things like vitals and blood glucose checks. You should tell your clinical instructor that you need more practice and maybe make more time in the skills lab. I promise the more you practice the better you will feel. In terms of being excited to do skills, I think most nursing students get excited to try new things but you aren't out of the ordinary. A blood glucose check isn't exactly the world's most exciting thing. You may go to the OR or ED and think those skills are exciting and your classmates think it's all boring. It all depends on your perspective. Good luck!

I believe you are a very strong applicant! You listed all the reasons why you will be a good applicant. Nursing schools look for strong academic potential, healthcare experience, and passion for nursing. You obviously went to a good college and have a strong GPA. You are certified as a emergency responder meaning you went above and beyond to getting a training and learn more skills. You are immersing yourself in the healthcare environment through volunteering. With strong references as well, you are a great applicant. Make sure your passion for nursing shines through your essays and interview. Don't stress too much- you have done lots of great work already. Good luck!

No, you should not quit this unit. Don't let this unfortunate situation define or break you. I can tell that you are thoughtful and have strong critical thinking skills because according to what you wrote, your actions are appropriate. First, the patient arrived to you stable. When you saw the critical lab result, you responded efficiently. You called a rapid response quickly. You did absolutely everything you could for this patient. From a larger perspective, there are always things that could have been done to change the end result. But don't doubt your skills. You had the correct train of thought from the beginning by asking the ED nurse about pertinent lab values and questioning the timing of CT.

First, accelerated BSN programs are extremely challenging and they smash a ton of information into a very short period of time. It's normal to feel drained and confused. My advice is this: just because you don't like a rotation in nursing school does not mean you should rule it out completely. You might hate med-surg during clinical because you have one patient and you have to get to know them over your clinical. You probably have to talk to them a lot to get your clinical paperwork done, which I'm sure is extensive. When you work as a nurse you won't have to do all this clinical paperwork so you won't have to small talk with patients for that extended period of time. Have you thought about ED or ICU? These are more fast paced and there's more critical thinking involved. All healthcare providers, whether thats RNs/NPs/PAs/MDs all have to be empathetic and good at small talk. This is because it is our job to make patients feel comfortable when they are vulnerable. Don't choose to go the NP or PA route to escape the RN role- these jobs build on the RN knowledge and skills you are learning. If staying in nursing school doesn't sound right to you, I would talk to your professors and ask for their advice.

I would choose the BSN program. First of all, it's less time and less money. When you are working as a RN, it really doesn't matter if you have a MSN or BSN. You will be doing the same job either way. Also, in order to become a FNP you will need a MSN or DNP. It's way more time efficient for you to get your BSN, work for a few years, confirm what speciality you want to go into, and then go to graduate school. Good luck to you!

Hi, Both are wonderful career options! My best advice is to gain experience as a RN before you make any decisions in graduate school. The exact amount of time you need for grad school depends on a lot of factors, but I think at least 2 years is a good amount of time to become confident in RN skills and gain a variety of experiences. As a NICU NP, you will work with neonates who are critically ill. You will work with families, but your patients will be babies. NICU NPs work in hospitals. As a CNM, your focus is on caring for women, not babies. The majority of your patients are healthy. CNMs often work with a group of CNMs in the office and hospital or birth center setting. CNMs also do general well women care for non-pregnant women. CNMs have a holistic view of health and many promote natural birth. My advice is to work as RN in L&D or postpartum. You will meet CNMs and NPs. Which people do you gravitate towards? Who do you connect with? Which job matches most with your lifestyle?

Hello, There are many NICUs in Chicago that have fantastic reputations. I would look into University of Chicago, Northwestern's Lurie Children's Hospital, Rush, Loyola and University of Illinois. North side of Chicago is a popular place for young people! Especially Wicker Park, Old Town, Logan Square Most nurses I know have a car. New grads in Chicago make about $30/hour. I would guess that with 3 years of experience at a Magnet hospital like the ones I listed above, your salary will be around $35/hour. Hope this helps!

Hi! I am a student on the Urbana campus. Feel free to message me on here. I can't really speak for Chicago or Springfield because I don't go to either of those schools. I would recommend visiting Champaign before applying or committing here. I've had a great experience here in Champaign. There are 60 students so we have small class sizes and the professors know us very well. I'm very close with my cohort and clinical group. Champaign is definitely a classic college town... lots of bars, sports, etc. It's a lot of fun! In Chicago, the nursing school is much larger and there's a lot more nursing activities such as speakers and nursing organizations to be part of. But Champaign is known a world class research university and there's a lot of activities that might not be directly related to nursing but lots of leadership opportunities. Also, if you to go school in Urbana you pay tuition to UIC but fees to U of I. Let me know if you have more questions!

In general, if there is a 2,000 character maximum you don't want the essay to be more than 1,800 words. It's best to keep the essay around 1,000 words in my opinion. I would make your essay a little bit longer since it's 700 words. Being concise is a good thing though! The real question is: Did you answer the question thoroughly? Is grammar and punctuation perfect? Have someone who is a great writer edit your essay to see what they think!

Hi! I can tell that you're nervous and that nursing school is something you care a lot about. This is one of my life mottos: there are things in life that are in your control and things in your life that are out of your control. You have to accept the unpredictability of the 'out of control' things and do your best to organize everything that is in your control. In your situation, there's a lot in your control! You have a 4.0 which is a great GPA. You have a CNA license and work in healthcare. What you feel most worried about is the proctored essay. In order to feel more confident you need to practice writing! Find some essay topics online and give yourself an hour to write them. Then find someone to edit them with you. There's lots of writing tips and essay tips online. No matter what the subject is, you CAN write a good essay if you have prepared well. If writing isn't your strong suit you need to reach out for help. You seem like a great applicant for nursing school! Try your hardest to get in and don't give up. Whatever happens, everything will be okay and there's always another opportunity to apply.

Hi! I completely understand how you feel, I was also very anxious before my first clinical. First, take a deep breath because everything will be okay! Since you have your first clinical in a nursing home, you should expect to meet with your clinical group and instructor first. You will probably be assigned 1 patient. Your tasks will include providing basic care for the patient including a bed bath, vital signs, walking the patient, etc. My advice is to learn from the nursing aides that work on the floor. They will teach you a lot. Don't hesitate to ask for help. Good luck.

You say you are lost and do not know what decision to make. After reading this post, it is clear to me that you want permission to follow your passion! Social work is an extremely rewarding profession. You said you do not have strong grades in your science classes and that your strength lies in social skills. This is perfect for a social worker! You recently attended a seminar and you feel drawn to the profession. If you have nursed someone for 16 years and want a change, you shouldn't go into nursing. This post was a list of reasons why you want to do social work! Yes, it's true that nursing will probably pay more money up front and it may be easier to get a job. But social work is still an in demand profession and many social work jobs offer great benefits, especially social workers in hospitals and schools. Talk to an advisor and students who have graduated from social work programs you are interested in about finding jobs and job placement statistics. In my opinion, you've been taking care of you wonderful son for so long. You deserve to begin the career that your heart is telling you to! Good luck

Nursing school can be exhausting emotionally, physically, and mentally. Your experience is valid and you should not feel ashamed for being burnt out. You are doing the very best you can. Accelerated programs are hard because they pack so much into a short period of time. Don't feel bad for your GPA dropping, a 3.67 is still a great GPA! You have not screwed up at all, you are succeeding. I have no doubt that with work experience you will be able to get into FNP school. Burn out is caused by chronic stress. In order to decrease stress you need to reach out for support. I highly recommend speaking to a therapist or counselor. They will help you process your stress and come up with coping mechanisms to help you through. Reach out to friends and family and tell them you are struggling. Reach out to your nursing peers because a lot of them are feeling the same way. Do you have a professor you trust? I would go to them and tell them how you feel. Don't isolate yourself, reach out for help. Take it one day at a time. You CAN do this. You ARE doing this. After graduation, take a few weeks off to decompress and chill out. Then study for the NCLEX. Don't go into grad school for a few years. Get RN experience and then when you are 100% sure that FNP is right for you, go for it. Good luck!

You don't need a ton of extracurriculars to beef up your resume. Important traits in an applicant include solid grades, clinical experiences, interview skills, sending in your application early, and connecting to the interviewer. You DO have extracurricular activities though. You said you've had summer jobs. Have you been a waitress? Customer service is a huge part of nursing and you can talk about that in your interview. Did you work in retail? When you work in retail you work with a wide variety of people just like you do in nursing. Did you teach swim lessons? Patient education is a huge part of nursing and those skills will carry over. The mentorship program also sounds like something you can put on your resume, even though I don't know much about it, you can explain how you made strong connections to other students and how you helped them. All experience is good experience in my opinion, and if you want to volunteer at a hospital then go for it. It would especially be a good idea if you want to work at that hospital and haven't had clinical there. If it sounds too stressful to add volunteering to your schedule then don't do it and focus on NCLEX and getting good grades. Hospitals want nurses who are dedicated to caring for people, who have a strong work ethic, interpersonal skills, and critical thinking. If you've had summer jobs and a mentorship program then you should put those on your resume. Make sure your resume is reviewed by someone who is trained. Good luck!

First of all, I totally see how this must be a stressful time for you. My best advice is to not make any decisions too fast, and whatever decision you end up making will be a good one. Both medicine and nursing are very rewarding careers. As a nurse I could spend lots of time convincing you to be a nurse because I love it! My best advice is to spend more time with doctors and nurses. If you have any friends who are doctors or nurses, ask them to get coffee with you, shadow nurses and doctors, get a job in healthcare, or volunteer at a hospital. Meet the doctors and nurses, ask them what they like and dislike about their careers and go from there. If you meet nurses and you connect with them, could see them as future friends, and relate to their passion I would recommend going for nursing (or vice versa). Make a pros and cons list. Remember that plenty of doctors get married and have families. Don't let that desire keep you from medicine. Also remember that you can be a leader, manager, educator, or nurse practitioner if you go the nursing route and there's lots of flexibility in the career. If you aren't 100% sure that nursing is the path for you, don't go to nursing school because you can always apply again. In the meantime, get volunteer experience and a job in healthcare (such as a CNA job). I hope this was helpful for you. Good luck!

I love this essay! Your passion for nursing shines through. I can tell you are confident that you want to become a nurse. You should have this edited for grammar and punctation but someone who really knows their stuff. Do you know anyone who majored in english in college, any teachers or writers? Colleges and libraries often have events where people will edit papers as well. Ask two people to edit this essay. I loved the sentence where you said " I have watched nurses save lives right in front of their eyes...". Can you give a 2-3 sentence story of that experience in your essay or pinpoint a specific experience that made you want to become a nurse? Consider putting that story at the very beginning of your essay. The profession of nursing is a rewarding, selfless and stable career that I am eager to become a part of. I would change this sentence to" Nursing is a rewarding and selfless career and I am eager to become part of this profession. Consider changing the last sentences to " With a nursing degree my scope of practice will broaden which will allow for more rewarding experiences throughout my career and I will strive to achieve excellence in all aspects of my studies." Good luck!

I understand where your anxiety comes from- you don't know what to expect and people are telling you scary things. Yes, nursing school is hard. But don't forget, YOU got into nursing school! You earned your spot in this program through hard work. You will continue to work hard, and everything will be okay if you stay positive and stay focused. For me, the hardest part of nursing school was learning skills like IVs because of the limited time in clinical and learning how to do NCLEX style questions. I am a 'people person' and connecting with patients came easily to me, I have strong critical thinking skills, and I learned a strong work ethic in my prerequisite classes so nursing classes weren't too difficult. My advice is to take it one day at a time. Keep a calendar. Keep a 'to do' list. If you can, cut down on the hours you are working during nursing school. If you take care of your kids or have other responsibilities, ask for support. Make friends with other nursing students. Study in a quiet space. Everyone talks about how horrible and hard nursing school is. It is true, nursing school can suck. But no one talks about the great parts of nursing school. You will spend lots of time with other nursing students and make lifelong friends. You will get to know your patients and you will remember them forever. There's nothing more rewarding than your first IV stick. You may see open heart surgery, a baby's first breath, comfort someone who just found out they had cancer, etc. Don't stress too much! Good luck!

If your goal is to become a CNM, it will be extremely beneficial for you to take the L&D job. It will be harder to get into a CNM program without L&D experience and CNM school will be easier with more births under your belt. But, you have a little one who needs your attention and working nights will be hard. If you truly feel that your daughter needs your attention at this point in your life there is no shame in that. In my opinion, if you take this job now applying to CNM school will be more straightforward. If you take this job- don't do this alone! Ask for my support and help from your partner, family, friends, etc. Remember- your daughter will outgrow this phase in a few years. But most importantly, trust your gut instinct. If you truly feel inclined one way or another let your heart guide you. Ask your loved ones what their opinions are. Write a pros and cons list. And remember, whatever happens everything will be OK. Good luck to you.

Hello Labor and Delivery nurses! I am wondering how you all got a job in Labor and Delivery. Was it because you knew someone? Was is because you volunteered on a floor? Did you work in another area of nursing before Labor and Delivery? Please share your experience and advice for those who want to go into this specialty.