ScrappinSpidey

ScrappinSpidey's Latest Activity

1. 

   Night shift/..........new....report.......vent

   ScrappinSpidey replied to evolvingrn's topic in First Year

   This is the thing that drives me batty! Shift Wars. Someone always wants to start them. (not you) I think there is a huge misconception that night shifts are slower and don't need the help. Some nights this is very very true. Some nights I even have a chance to clean up! lol. However, most nights are NOT this way. Where I work they have 2 aides, a secretary and 2 Rns during the day. Then at night it drops to 1RN (me) and 2 aids till 10pm, when it drops to 1. No secretary to speak of at all. Yet I still have the same meds, the same IV/PICCS to handle, family members don't leave with the day shift, docs writing orders etc. Night and Day shifts are busy. Sometimes the busy is different shift to shift, but its still busy. I don't understand why there is such a lack of compasion for either shift. Some days we just get overwhelmed with the work and have to pass things on. Im sorry you had to deal with this on top of a rough sounding shift. Lynn/BW
2. 

   Orientation, what's that like?

   ScrappinSpidey replied to grateful2010's topic in Nursing

   I work at a Rehab center/Care center. My orientation was 8 day shifts then I was put on nights by myself. Im only three months in as a new grad and already I can put charge RN on my resume. I won't lie...its scary. I have gone to my bosses and asked for help (had some very overwhelming shifts) but have been ignored. I would love to get out of this company but jobs are so few and far between for someone with my lack of experience. Lynn/BW
3. 

   New Grad about to go out in the world...

   ScrappinSpidey replied to tlg1971's topic in Nursing

   Be prepared for others not understanding that you work night time hours, this includes administration. I work nights and I love them, but I hate the mandatory 2 hour monthly meeting that is held for the night shift because it is always after my 12 hour shift. Why they can't make it before shift start instead of after I don't know. Day shifts meeting is in the middle of their shift. Also friends and family might expect you to be able to bounce between night hours and day hours. It isn't easy to do that depending on your schedule. Right now my schedule rotates and I have every other week were I only get about 1.5 days off between shifts. I learned quick that I can't bounce to daytime hours for that day and a half. I have to just act like Im going to work in order to keep from being exhausted. I much prefer my shifts to be all in a row, but right now at my current position it isn't possible. There will be an adjustment till you figure out how your body reacts and how much sleep it needs. Some people stay up for a few hours after a shift, others go home and straight to bed. I agree with the poster that said get black out curtains, getting all your stuff ready before shift and having the room colder. All of those work for me. I usually get my stuff ready for my week the last day I have "off" then I don't have to worry about getting ready much. Meals are already made and ready to go, uniforms ready etc. I also need a pick me up around 1-3am. Usually a soda works fine or some chocolate. I find it is more about the sugar than the caffeine. 5am used to be my hard time but now its my busiest time so I don't have a chance to get tired. Oh yeah.....Night shift can and does get just as busy as dayshift at times. People don't always sleep through the night. Sometimes they don't sleep at all!! Emergencies happen and sometimes the docs like to come and play and give you all kinds of orders in the middle of the night. I have nights where Im not sure Im going to get all my charting done and then I have other nights (few and far between so I enjoy them when I can) where Im cleaning out cupboards and stock drawers to stay awake. Good luck and welcome to the night shift :)
4. 

   Is it hard to get a job as a new grad?

   ScrappinSpidey replied to JenWork's topic in Arizona

   I can only speak for myself but yes it has been very difficult to get a job as a new grad and I work for a hospital! I had one place hire me, only to call me three days before my start date and change their minds. Most places see that I am a new grad and don't bother to call. I had one hospital actually call me and tell me not to apply for 8 months because they just don't have the spots and it would be a waste of everyone's time. I personally have never had a hard time finding employment so this has been extremely hard for me to process. I have applied at LTC, Hospitals, Subacute Places, assisted living, state prisons, county jails, etc. The only place I haven't started yet is Doctor's offices. I was called back this week and offered a position with the department of corrections. For that job I applied in February, Interviewed in March and then jumped through a ton of hoops to get offered a position in late April lol. The market is saturated with new grads. Lynn/BW
5. 

   Anyone Work with Juvenile Corrections? Looks like I have a job there!

   ScrappinSpidey posted a topic in Correctional

   I finally heard back from the state this week and they offered me a position at the Juvenile Correctional Facility. I am a new grad but am excited about this opportunity. When I interviewed we discussed the schedule and it is one I like, even though it is 5/8's :) My start date is May 3rd since they start at the beginning of a new pay cycle for new employees. I don't know yet what the training schedule is like but I know we discussed my shifts being 3 evenings and 2 nights. Love it! I have so many questions lol. Can anyone just give me a brief rundown of the Juvenile facilities they have worked for? Obviously a lot of things vary based on department but I just was curious. Im also very nervous because this isn't just a new job for me but also a total career change. That said I still can't wait to get started :) Any advice for someone coming into this new?? Thanks! Lynn/BW
6. 

   What to keep and what not to keep?

   ScrappinSpidey posted a topic in First Year

   I took my final this past week for my last semester of school. I passed :) With that comes lots of company to my house for graduation and my poor house hasn't been kept up to standards the last 2 years. Up till this past June I have been pretty organized with my school stuff but 4th semester hit and there was no room for anything. Im now trying to gather and organize all my school stuff from the last two years and put it "away". I was curious how long to keep, or if to keep at all, things like notes, power points from lectures, note cards, what textbooks etc. Its amazing how much of this accumulated over the last 2 years lol. Thanks for your ideas. Lynn/BW
7. 

   Structured Nursing Review-Worth it?

   ScrappinSpidey replied to wmg246's topic in Arizona

   I took it at GCC and have taken it every semester. I would say I found it to be worth it. I have taken almost every "optional" course and have found them to be very helpful especially the Math reviews, the NCLEX reviews, and the Lab explaination courses. Lynn/BW
8. 

   Everything Just HIT THE FAN!

   ScrappinSpidey replied to RudyMvp1's topic in General Students

   I can sympathize! I had this happen to me last semester in my 3rd block of four. I had been really sick and didn't study as well. Took the test and thought I did relatively well (within the 75% range needed). I hit the submit button and WHAM! I got the worst score on that test that I have ever gotten on any test in this program. To make matters worse, in my shocked state, I ran my test scores and found out my average had dropped from an 81% to a 66% with only a final left. I thought I was done. Luckily my hubby is more rational and figured out I had added in the final to my score and given myself a zero. It was horrible. I learned that I should never run test averages when in a state of shock Going to see your instructor to review the test is a great idea. From there see where you can improve your study habits. Was this a matter of slacking off just a little? Did you not study the right material? not understand the question? I have a hard time with Fluid and Electrolytes and every time we have a test, I tend to do slightly lower than my other tests. So I picked up a few extra books to help make the subject matter easier to understand. The good news is that your still passing :) You still have a chance to bring that score up! You are already taking the right steps. Let us know how the next one goes! Lynn/BW
9. 

   Nursing school Experience

   ScrappinSpidey replied to MystyqueOne's topic in General Students

   I agree with this. Also everyone's experience in NS is very unique and individual. Sure we all stress over grades, care plans etc, but NS is also what you choose to make of it. I can tell you all about the stress, care plans, crazy instructors, crazy classmates, impossible scheduling etc, but until you are knee deep in it, you can't really prepare for it all. I have found my experience to be more positive than not. I have made life long friends because of school. I have been able to let my lazy genes have complete reign over the housework. There are going to be days where you wonder if you can put one foot in front of the other, or wonder when the last time you got more than 3 hours sleep was. There are going to be days where you are flying high from some huge accomplishment, new procedure in clinicals etc. You are going to have days where you wonder when the last time you saw your family and friends and they will wonder the same. Then one day will come in the middle of all the crazy assignments, up coming tests, etc. when you take a few hours out and go hang out with your classmates at some fun place just to give your brain a break. (remember this sentance. I just did it last night and it made a world of difference when having to study for four exams coming up in the next 2 weeks) Just remember it is what you make it. Get involved with your school, get involved with your classmates. Congrats :) Lynn/BW
10. 

    What do you know about SNA?

    ScrappinSpidey replied to Qka's topic in General Students

    I am a rep for our local SNA. Our fee isn't optional. If you want to attend pinning, you have to pay the fee. Apparently the SNA pays for the pinning with the dues. That said, I was skeptical at first. One of our instructors required attendance for points. It only took one meeting and I went voluntarily to the rest. We had great speakers come in and talk. Our SNA also does a community service project every semester and they are great to be involved with. Ive heard rumor that you can also put it on your resumes if you are a rep or hold an office title (pres, VP, Secretary etc) They are also good for networking in the nursing community. Lynn/BW
11. 

    clinical hours

    ScrappinSpidey replied to tiggerdagibit's topic in General Students

    Rumor has it we get high risk OB in semester 3, but none of the rumors we hear about up coming semesters have proven true. I hope so as that is the field I want to get into, but I'm not holding my breath at this point. Lynn/BW
12. 

    clinical hours

    ScrappinSpidey replied to tiggerdagibit's topic in General Students

    Ours seem to change every semester and nobody really knows in advance. Ive heard the reason is that there are so many new nursing schools opening that spots are getting harder and harder to find. our first semester was 8 week clinical rotation, 6.5 hours x 2 days each week. This semester gets a little funky: OB = 12 hour rotation x2. (1 a week for 2 weeks) Peds = 6 hour rotations x 4 (2 days a week for 2 weeks) Med Surg = 6 hour rotations twice a week for 8 weeks ish Leadership = Not really sure as they haven't really gone over this yet. I have no clue how 3rd and 4th semester rotations are run. It seems to change all the time. Lynn/BW
13. 

    Care Plan Organization...There has to be a better way

    ScrappinSpidey replied to ScrappinSpidey's topic in General Students

    I don't quite know how to quote so here goes: More than a careplan, our pre-clinical homework included looking up lab values and medications, as well as medical/nursing interventions so we were prepared to work with our patients when we got on the floor the next day. We have to do all this as well. All information short of physically assessing the patient is required. But I did notice that the information in my pt's chart didn't seem to match up what I saw when I met him. Im so confused due to that one factor. To answer the other questions: Yes we do a chart review. I did end up making two trips to my facility and am glad I did so. My pt is a new admit so some of the information was not complete. We have a form to fill in, we can skip the physical assessment parts till we do the actual assessment, but Im finding it makes it more difficult especially given the inconsistent information in the chart. I know at this point Im probably not making much sense. Im so exhausted from this process. My question was more of a personal preference. When you start digging through charts for information do you have a process...how do you organize the information you get? That kind of thing. Lynn
14. 

    Care Plan Organization...There has to be a better way

    ScrappinSpidey posted a topic in General Students

    I admit Im one of those people that was looking forward to care plans. I learn so much more by doing the actual process than being lectured. Needless to say we have had a bit of lecture and not much practice in this area. This week was our first shot at going to the facility, picking out a patient and then filling out the care plan worksheet given to us. I find that the last two days have had me ---- > There has to be a better way to organize information and a better routine. We cannot assess our patient prior to Monday. All we can do over the weekend is introduce ourselves and get their permission. This is making my care plan difficult to say the least. I have no clue what my instructor is expecting. The little practice we did in with these did not come with feedback from our instructor so I feel like I am flying blind here. Im getting almost done (about 6 more hours to go I estimate) but I feel like this care plan isn't making any sense anymore. Mostly I think this is due to disorganization. So after a long winded post, my question is do you have an organized approach to gathering information and completing your care plans?? Lynn
15. 

    Vent Warning: My clinical instructor REALLY ticked me off!

    ScrappinSpidey replied to justme1972's topic in General Students

    Im hypoglycemic as well. I'm sorry you were caught in a situation like that. I always carry something with me. Maybe not a full meal, but always something that will hold me over if something like your situation occurs. We just had an instructor yell at our entire class for something the people in her rotation were doing. The rest of us had no clue because we weren't doing it, but she proceeded to yell and tell us that we were all clueless and not safe as nursing students. Sometimes I think they get stressed out like we do and take it out on the closest person....us. Lynn
16. 

    Can anyone recommend a good book on Documentation?

    ScrappinSpidey replied to ScrappinSpidey's topic in General Students

    We haven't had any charting at all. When the instructors talk about certain things, they always end with document your findings, but that is it. We haven't seen any examples etc. That is why I'm looking for a book or something that can help point me in the right direction. Thank you for the links :) I will check them out!! Lynn