kersti

i've never heard that poem- i really like it! and yep, it sure does some up our profession! thanks for posting it.

I'm so glad to hear that it went so well for you- what you had imagined would happen was ten times worse than what actually did happen. Thanks for telling us your story, and all the best!

You have gotten such great advice from the above posters, there's not really much to add. Just want to say, as bad as the situation seems now- a few weeks, months, years down the road, while you won't have forgotten what happened- you won't be experiencing the awful, sinking emotions that you are suffering from right now. Good luck to you.

gale- don't give up! as already stated, you've waited so long already- a few more weeks won't make a difference. and if things don't work out then you can still get to australia. i am feeling for you- so sorry this had to happen to you! hang in there! i don't really know you- but as a fellow ogp'ler- here's a :kiss from me!

Thanks for your answers!

I was just wondering if it's normal that when you work a 12 hr shift- say 7pm to 7am, that you are expected to be there 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes later in order to receive/make report? And if yes, does this get payed separately? Because the hours do add up if you're doing this 3 times a week, the whole year round. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hoped that the title would grab your attention;) I have a question- do any of you know anything about Union Medical Center? I'm a foreign nurse- still living in Germany and I just received notice that I will be having an interview with this hospital in 2 days. It will just be a phone interview and I won't have the chance to visit either the hospital or town before I have to decide if I will go there with my family or not. (If the interview goes well for me, that is:uhoh3: ) I'm extremely nervous because North Carolina is our first choice state but I know nothing about Union or the surrounding area. I would greatly appreciate any information that you have either about the hospital or the surrounding area. I'm going to do some surfing on the Internet to see what that pulls up- but nothing beats personal experiences. Thanks ever so much in advance!!!!!

Is it possible to remain privately insured and to get paid more from the employer without benefits? Would the employer have to give you more wages if you decide not to take their health insurance, or is this negotiable? This would be very interesting to know.

You guys and gals are scaring the living %#+ out of me:eek: That seems like an awful lot of money to pay for insurance that you aren't too happy with. Event though a few of you seem to be paying reasonable amounts. I'll have to make humungous amounts of money to afford health insurance that costs more than 500$ for me and the family. I think I'll crawl back under my German rock now.....

We get a few neuro patients in our mixed ICU- and I have to say, apart from the fact that sometimes it can be beyond heart wrenching and agonizing.....many times it is amazing to see how patients who had the worst prognosis in the world, open their eyes one fine sunny day and come back to the land of the living. Doesn't happen all that often, but when it does, it makes it all worth it.

Personally, I would prefer working with someone who appears frazzled on the outside but is basically in control where it counts rather than the other way around. Besides, in this job, those frazzled days just come with the territory and they don't make you a lesser nurse. If you want to do er- then do it. Keep up your confidence and stop worrying about those naysayers- give it a try and good luck!:loveya:

Nice to hear that sometimes those very obnoxious, awful family members/patients can turn sweet-as-pie if the "right" things are said to them in the "right" way. Now if only there were some sort of secret code so that we could always figure out the correct way-!

Woohee- I think I've (finally) found a big aspect of nursing in Germany that is lots and lots better than the states----Patients and their families really have a ton of respect when they are in the hospital. On my unit, what the nurses (and supportive doctors) say, goes. If a family member acts up, then out the door they go. This has been the same for every unit I've ever been on. And no open-end visiting hours. Only if somebody is dying are exceptions made.

Best wishes to you- I can understand your reasoning and wish you all the strength you need to succeed on your next adventure. Good luck.

Like everybody else here (Yeah!) I always introduce myself with first name and something along the lines of "I'll be taking care of you until tomorrow morning"...I don't have to explain that I'm the nurse because there are only nurses in our hospital- we have no CNA's or anything else like that. I have noticed though, that quite a lot of my coworkers tend to forget to introduce themselves. I always think that the patients must feel a little lost if they don't know how to adress someone with name- A "hey nurse, I'm in pain here," just isn't as pleasant to hear as "Nurse, Kersti, something seems to be bothering me."

This question should probably be in the international forum- lots of folk there who can help you out. Good Luck.

Thanks for giving me a chuckle early in the morning! Did you apply to a military academy, or what was that all about????:)

:yeahthat: couldn't agree more.....

Hey full of questions- I seriously think you should think about not studying in Germany. While the studying here is quite okay- it's really great to get payed for going to school because that means no debts when you're done- after the fact is when it starts to get problematic. It's pretty much a dead end job- not even close the oppurtunities that are available elsewhere- especially USA. And right now, it's really difficult for a german to get accepted to nursing school, I think it could be even more difficult for a foreigner. And you would have to speak German as well. Just some food for thought. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hey all- I was wondering how long it took before you received your first job offer from OGP? Did any of you end up where you had requested/wanted to go? We got the green card in April. I've had the placement call with them over 3 weeks ago, but haven't heard anything yet. (And wasn't that a little late for the placement call?) I know of one or two of you who knew where you were going before you even had the green card. But I'm wondering if that is the exception or if I'm the exception? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I guess that we are lucky here in Germany- every hospital provides scrubs- each and every worker gets their own locker(with key) to keep valuables, clothes, a snack, drink in. What do you all do with your valuables? Is there a place to lock up/keep your street shoes or change of clothes or whatever?

I so agree with that. Show me festering wounds, dripping innards, puking people left and right and I'll say BRING IT ON! But don't ever hawk up anything from the nether regions of your lungs/throat and dare to spit it out....because I will go ballistic. (I keep waiting for the first time when I will get beat up by some teenager who I've yelled at for hawking and spitting on the sidewalk in front of me:lol2: )

I don't know if anything has changed or not since then- but way back when I had moved to the U.S. for the first time with my parents and applied for the Green Card I did get one- even though I was only about 8 or so at the time. But maybe things have changed?

The crooked nose one is a new one- I'll have to watch out for it. What I have seen nose-wise is that white-ish triangle around the mouth and nose before people pass on- that seems to happen quite often.

I really like my crocs- not too thrilled with Birkenstock- they kind of get too wide on me. Clogs I find too hard- I always seem to end up with a back ache. Haven't tried Dansko's yet, but seeing all the great reviews- I think I might give it a shot since it's always good to have more than 1 pair of working shoes!