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Not sure if I chose the right place to post this, but anyway need some support/shared experience.... Had my 1st needle stick after administering heparin to a pt. The facility ran some tests on the pt and he's + for hep C(hiv is still pending). I was started on truvada and isentress last week, and hoping he's not HIV +. I know the chances of getting hep c through needle stick is low, but it does not make me feel any better. Did any of you have to go through similar experience? Need a few kind/supportive words. Thanks

Hi everyone, Im going to describe my situation first, so you'll have an idea. Please don't judge. I've been an RN for 2 years( LTC), but completed periop 101 this May. About 2 weeks ago, I had an interview w/OR nurse manager from Camden, NJ (I live in Philadelphia, PA, so Camden is about half an hr drive). He made me a job offer today and I'm really excited about it because I've been looking for a OR RN position since May and applied to every hosp within an hr from me. During the interview he said when on call I have only 30 min to get to the hosp. I said ok because it took me about that time to get there. However I did not consider traffic and weather conditions (of course I was not thinking about it at that point). And today again because I was excited about the job offer, I completely forgot to bring this up to his attention. He needs the answer by Mon. So, I know i need to clarify this before saying "yes" (I am accepting the offer because it is the only offer I have on the table after 4 interviews and numerous rejections). So, I guess my question is how would you ask again about 30 min on call requirement and me possibly not being able to fulfill it (without traffic google gives me 30-32 mins)? should I even ask? mb it would be better/easier if I just move closer to the hosp because I'm scared if I bring it up he would withdraw the offer. Also, for current/former OR nurses: how strict was your hospital when you were scheduled for on call and was not able to be in the OR on time? Like, lets say it was 30 min requirement, but you were 5-10 min late? Or you got a flat tire or there is a snow storm or an accident and you are super later? Thank you everyone for your info/opinion/thoughts!

Hi, I need a piece of advice here. Just some background so you would get an idea: I've been a LTC nurse for almost 2 year, but was always interested in OR. So this spring I took periop 101 course and completed 90 hrs of clinical rotation at a level 1 trauma center. In april, I applied for OR position there and had an interview in May. My preceptor really wanted me on board and mentioned it to the hiring managers, but unfortunately it's not 100% up to him to make a decision. I've contacted HR twice already,and was told they were still interviewing other candidates because they want to hire experience OR RN (plus they hired 3 RN without or experience several months before me), so I sort of understand their concerns. However, they did not send me an official rejection email yet and it online it says considering, so I guess there's hope. While that hospital was taking too long (almost 3 months since interview), I decided to apply to other places, and last week was interviewed for or position at a small community hosp. They made me an offer, but I'm not really excited about it though because: -they offered $6 less than level 1 hospital (unlike the 1st hosp they did not consider previous nursing experience other than OR and it's even less what I was getting at LTC when I first started); - the hosp is 45 min away; -they do not offer 12 hr shift. So, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you accept the offer and get experience (I'm sure a small hospital is a great place to start for a nurse without OR experience)? Or would you take a chance and wait for a call from the hosp you had clinicals (but again, what is they never call)? Thanks everyone for your thoughts in advance!

Thank you for you answer!I'm almost positive about 75 hrs because that's what it says on the certificates I have to sign issued by our agency, which cannot be transferred to other agencies, that a person had 75 he training. And that's what state requires for HHA training. And the thing is we have a lot of ppl coming to the agency who wants to be direct care workers to their parents/grandparents etc. And my administrator wants everyone to stay regardless test results,which is ridiculous because the majority of these ppl fail the test!

Hi, I need some help here. I accepted a job at one non skilled home care agency (PA state) as an educator. The problem is when I started there was no nurse to teach me what to do or to give an idea how everything works. So, I sort of have to figure out everything by myself. But now there is another problem, i have no previous home care experience, so you can imagine how frustrated and mad at myself I feel. The administrator is rarely at the office to answer my questions. I was wondering if there is anyone working in this field, who can guide me or answer my questions, so at least I am familiar with standards and regulations. For example, the initial HHA training should be 75 hrs in PA, but our program is not that long. New applicants have to watch videos (8 hrs long maybe), then I have to answer their questions and visually show how to lift a person in a bed for ex or do partial bath. The administrator is sure that as we are non skilled agency the training is about 40 hrs, but anyway 8 hrs is not even close to 40. And also, she keeps saying that a non skilled agency does not have to have RN, but is it really so? Does anyone know?...So, I'm just so confused with this position. I enjoy education process and getting new experience, and the pay is way better than i had working at LTC, but I'm scared for my license. Anyways, if anyone who is doing similar job can answer my questions, I would greatly appreciate it!!!