scratchgolfer

I was in HD for 2.5 years and would discourage a nurse early in their career from choosing this path. While HD is very easy, there are a lot of senior nurses with a personality and attitude that result in a toxic work environment. Additionally, most patients are going to die within 1-2 years which is tough to see. For example, in 2.5 years over 250 patients have died on my 45 station unit. So... Pros: Easy physically Lots of OT Good hours Cons: Toxic coworkers Toxic patients Boring This is me being transparent and it is only my opinion of 1 HD unit in a major hospital in Canada

I used to get that pre shift dread so I left the field for a clinical specialist role. Life is too short to not make a change.

I gave nursing 5 years of my life and I am finally out. I just accepted a job as a clinical specialist with the biggest medical device company in the world. I worked on a renal inpatient unit for 2.5 years and in HD for 2.5 years. The stress from toxic management, ungrateful patients, lazy and hypocritical coworkers, the physical labour, lack of free parking, lack of car allowance, and being underpaid made my decision to leave the field an easy one. Why would I want to stay in a job where my efficiency is greeted with more work rather than appreciation or reward? Why would I want to stay in a job where lazy bullies are protected by a union? Why would I want to stay in a job where management ignores the nurses needs then does their own thing without consulting us? Why would I want to stay in a job where we are treated like slaves? Some of you might judge me and just say nurses go what they go through to provide patient care. Well that is ***. You do it for a pay cheque otherwise you would be a volunteer. I am staying in healthcare because I love helping people. However, my mental and physical health is more important to me than "the grind" of nursing. I am staying in healthcare because I have always enjoyed helping people and want to continue using my skills and abilities to make a positive impact on the patient. However, I will now be doing it through indirect patient care while making more money and enjoying a better work life balance. A lot of nurses are leaving the field for greener pastures due to the unacceptable stressors associated with this career. I guess I am another statistic and happily look forward to this new adventure.

I passed the NCLEX. Licence first or what?

Thanks for the reply. Im thinking about working in Texas, Washington, or Oregon first in order to reach my end goal of Cali. The questions still remain: What do I deal with first? Job, immigration, or licence?

I need advice about moving to California for work. Anyone thats a registered nurse and made the move from Canada to California (or any other state) for work please comment. I understand its a complex process moving to the states for work... here are my questions: -What do I apply for first? immigration, job, or licence? -What was your experience (sequence of events, set backs, successful, etc...) -Should I use a service to aid with placement? Pros/Cons Thank you in advance for your replies

I feel your pain on every level. this job sucks sometimes and were extremely underpaid for what we do. plus it doesnt help when coworkers are dick heads. i finally took time off after working for 7 months straight (3 months preceptorship, 1 month studying and writing NCLEX, 3 months of paid work) and ive been reflecting on how hard this job is. one of the biggest things that pisses me off is the lack of recognition and encouragement from coworkers and management and how they only point out flaws and mistakes. anyway, im going to keep my head down and power through until i have enough experience to work somewhere better that pays more and has better management and a less toxic work environment. rant over! all the best to you!

I just graduated with a BSN in Canada and I have been taught that all of my clinical interactions need to be patient/client focused. The way I perceive this situation is that the patient/client's experience validated something clinically unimportant for the healthcare professional, which made me feel uncomfortable and one day a patient/client may be offended by the line of questioning. In the future, do not forget that therapeutic communication works best when the patient/client is encouraged to say as much or as little about what brought them to the healthcare facility. Using "that must have been very difficult for you" or "can you tell me more about how that made you feel" is the safest approach to tough situations.

I have been using uworld for 7-8 days now to study for the NCLEX and I like it a lot. The questions range from easy to hard, there is a lot of variety in question type, and there is no gender bias (for example: "the nurse said" instead of "he/she said"). A lot of my text books and powerpoints in nursing school had gender bias and a lot of the time men were described in a negative way, which really pissed me off