Rainbow_RN

I have fairly significant hearing loss but don't require hearing aids (yet). So far I manage but masks do make it hard. There is one excellent nurse on the vascular access team I've met that is completely deaf. Has an interpreter at all times. If you have any experience with ASL it may be an option for you. Also the nurses on her team often wear a mask with a little clear plastic window so she can lip read easier. That's an example of an inclusive workplace. Actually why doesn't every unit have those window masks as a standard? Do you have any idea how many old people with presbycusis I could stop yelling at?? ? I especially love when they're like "I'M HARD OF HEARING" and I'm like "ME TOO BRO" I am ready to apply at your old facility as the manager so I can get hired & fire whoever made fun of you on sight.

The very experience of nursing school is inherently depressing. Don't let this hold you back if you really want to do it. But also don't be afraid to put school on hold if you need time.

I think you should try for it. The memory problems would be most likely difficult in nursing school. Nursing school is difficult for EVERYONE. In real life, you can look everything up before you do it if you need. Except in emergency codes, so learn those protocols really well. As far as your hemiparesis it may not hold you back at all. I do know of one nurse that had difficulties with their hand and couldn't start ivs, etc. So they worked on an area that didn't require IV starts, blood draws etc.

I trim mine fairly short but it's integral to my sense of identity. I have shaven before and mostly felt awful. We do carry Caprs at my work if I need one. I am not in a high covid case area though. Also, sweet username.

I wish I read this back then LOL

The grass is probably not greener. I don't have personal experience trying out other places though, so take that with a grain of salt. It's just that I've thought about it a lot, and then I remember that moving to a new place where I don't already have friends would probably make it worse. I guess I'm pretty typical since I am getting my masters degree right now. I play video games a lot and every 2 weeks I do dungeons and dragons. If you aren't a sporty or gym type, you might enjoy being a nerd like me! You can always go to local events or venues to try to make friends also. Granted, it's covid time so I think everyone feels disconnected and tired. There still may be safe events to go to around you, or bars. I met a good handful of my friends outside school or work by going to a community game night every month. There has to be some stuff that matches your interest. This is kind of goofy also but I know plenty of guys our age who will get tinder or apps just to make friends. And like, you could fall in love with someone accidentally too? It's gonna be OK dude

Check your organization's social media policy. In this day and age it's sort of a red flag if they don't have one. For me, I would avoid interacting...as stated, you may have no consequences now but anything on the internet is sort of "forever" and it would not help you if you ran into trouble later. At my place, it's actually prohibited for the patients to take photos or videos of the nurses or other employees. Makes it a lot easier to keep boundaries.

Depending on the culture of the unit, it may be common. I have learned that over-explaining things is almost never a good thing. Stand your ground, state your logic if they push, and that's it. I agree the next shifts charge should have supported you on this. Based off your listed experience level, if you're anything like me you may face some extra challenges in earning respect when in charge. Don't let the experienced nurses walk all over you. You are in charge because you wanted it/earned it. They are not in charge. Doesn't mean you need to act uppity, but certainly you can't stand for & don't deserve abuse from them. Stand firm, they will learn what you are like.

I'm in a similar boat. It helped to read through this thread. Thanks. 7:1 ratios are a lot for me to handle with 6 months'experience. I know of some nurses that transferred after 6 months. Perhaps you could transfer within your facility. Even still, I'm trying to hold out for my year at least. It's mentally taxing and I worry about mistakes all the time.

Hey all, I have been at my job since July 2018. I am on a busy ortho/geriatric med/surg floor. I know some people have a more difficult time so I don't mean to complain. And I love my co-workers and patients. But my ratio is consistently 6:1 and up to 7:1 lately. I feel unsafe taking 7:1 but I've had to, due to either being the most experienced RN besides the supervisor or nobody else being able to pick up. I have had two coaching forms, which go on my file. One is for not following up a blood pressure and the other is for not removing a nicotine patch. I am worried about this paper trail. I'm not sure what these forms exactly entail but I feel like 2 is a lot & I'm making mistakes like this from being rushed or not sleeping. I have also forgotten to scan narcotics before administration once recently, and remembered hours later, which really worries me. For all I know they might drug test me for that (it will come up clean but still hate the thought of making mistakes like this). I don't know if I'm worrying too much or what. Normally our organization allows transfers after one year. I think it is one year from hire date, but it may be one year since I was assigned to the current floor. Rarely they will make exceptions. I'm told these "coaching" forms will not affect a transfer but I am unsure. I think I want to transfer to a different floor that I trained on at the beginning. (Edit: that floor is surgical & has a 5:1 ratio or rarely 6:1). I'm afraid I made the wrong choice..I only got 2 weeks per floor to decide. I don't think that's enough to really know what I wanted. Do you all think I should see if I can transfer early? I have extreme anxiety about going to work because I never know what I'm walking into. I lose sleep and then I make mistakes. I haven't eaten a full meal at work since orientation. Sometimes I don't even snack. I drink a lot of really strong energy drinks and I'm worn out. Please send advice. I need to know if these are real concerns or if I just need to suck it up. Thanks for reading if you got this far.

I'm a new grad with similar feelings. I think it just takes time to get your brain used to the new career. I'm told nobody has an easy first year. Even the first two years can be tough. Hang in there. You are not alone

Dr. Laura Gasparis as in Dr. Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio? I learned ABG's by watching one of her talks and she is truly a hero among nurses. And hilarious. I always thought that 6 patients is a lot. And then I thought I'm just too new to the profession to know for sure. Thanks for this post and the information in it.

I see the "this is just how it is" attitude. It makes me glad that I work in a facility where mostly everyone helps each other. I never thought of it as having to do with the way women are raised or the culture in society. I have noticed as a male RN that sticking up for myself is almost rewarded, whereas my female colleagues are afraid to stick their neck out. I wondered why. In a predominantly female profession, I would have thought that it would be easier for the women I work with to advocate for themselves, I guess. I got some insight from this. You want to know something else that's strange? Do you all think male nurses get mentioned positively on patient surveys for doing the same things that the women do--but the patients think they're going above and beyond because it's an emotionally intelligent guy? Do you know what I mean? I think it's happening with me. I mean, I'm good at my job and I'll take credit, but I'm not that exceptional . That's not fair.

I cracked up at the superwoman comment--I'm a guy. But the sentiment is totally right. I had a friend in nursing school who would tell me all the time, "you're not Superman". The charge nurse laughed when I was late and told me don't worry, it will probably be 10 years before I am late again. I do have really high expectations of myself, which makes me good at what I do but can be to my detriment also. I'm just mad about the leadership grade because I had an A+ before this. The final paper was to be a manager interview. I conducted and transcribed the interview, then trusted 4 other group members (all RN's, professionals) to write the paper since I did 90% of the prepwork. I thought, "what a great group. They wrote and submitted the paper on time!" Turns out they earned us a 60 on it. If it taught me anything, it's that laissez-faire leadership does not work at all for me. Not to place the blame on others; I should have edited more. I think they finally learned that most of us new grads are night shifters and the rest of the gatherings are at 8 AM or late in the afternoon. Thanks for the responses so far.

We get a $100 gift card -- it's a bank gift card, to be spent anywhere.