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Working in hospital nursing part time is, in my experience, extremely difficult and typically reserved for those semi-retiring nurses. Hospitals want to ensure nurses are available and specifically available two weekends a month. Since firefighters are called out of town to assist with out of town fires, or expected to work overtime when there are shortages, this seems like a nearly impossible juggling act to do both. Also, that is a lot of time and money dedicated to getting an RN just to vary your experiences or have more options. I think most firefighters just opt to work overtime for the big money, rather then get regular pay at a second job. Another strange fact that perhaps others can verify is that it seems that the experienced firefighters no longer are hands-on with medical calls. They may go to the calls, but they act as backup support for the younger medics.

My suggestions would be to look at one of these, not nursing: 1) Physician's Assistant school. These programs, MEDEX in particularly, were designed for just such a transition from military corpsman to civilian practitioner. 2) Firefighting. Someone else already mentioned this one, but this is your best bet for a rush (depending on where you end up working) but also is least expensive path. Firefighting is more likely to provide a pension, unlike most nursing jobs and you can be working almost right away as a medic somewhere building that resume. You could also just be a part time paramedic while working on something else. This will expose you to more ideas from people in that world. 3) Medical School. This is the longest and most expensive route, but if you are already going to commit a few years to school, why not go all in? If you become a hospitalist as either a doctor or PA you will have plenty of stress caused adrenaline rushes as you try to balance your patient load. Plus its less gross and higher paying than nursing. 4) Respiratory Tech. This one is quick and inexpensive in terms of schooling. If you work for a hospital, this puts you right there in the code team. Respiratory is usually the first person to show up when that code button is hit and they have arguably the most critical job in establishing and maintaining that airway.

Successful people take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them. They may internalize the pain that comes with them for a short while, but they fight on and vow to do better. This is what you must do. Nurses are in huge demand. Yet, as a new grad it can be difficult to get that first year of experience. You got that first job and you can do it again, but you must learn from this experience and be prepared to explain how you learned from this experience if it comes up in a future interview. Or, given the short length of time, perhaps you won't mention you ever worked there. Despite the high demand you can still get fired if you put patients, other staff, yourself, or the facility at risk. As for med passing specifically, the correct protocol is as follows: 1) Identify the source of truth for incoming patient orders and stay on top of any new orders coming in. This is typically a medication administration record or perhaps your workplace has binders with orders. 2) Work on time management and being organized so that orders are not too early, too late or forgotten. Right Time is the most frequently broken of the five rights of med passing. 3) When you go to pass medications, you are expected to check the source while obtaining/dispensing the medication and again when you administer the medication to the patient. You are checking that nothing has changed with the order and that you have the right patient, right med, right dose, right route. You are also checking any additional administration notes and asking any questions at this point. You may need a witness for controlled medications or insulin and you need to be documenting what happened with every medication. 4) Never leave a medication with a patient no matter what. Technically this applies to simple things like eye drops, inhalers, ointments, etc. Your job is to oversee all details of every medication that patient receives in any form and to document this. Think about it from a legal or investigative perspective. If something rare and unexpected happens, how do we know where to look if everything isn't precisely managed and documented. Okay, that's a lot of information but understand that medication passing is both one of the most common activities nurses do but also the highest risk and most dangerous activity nurses do. There was once a nurse who was giving a patient insulin, actually both long acting and short acting insulin and was preparing both. She was required to have another nurse witness the amount of each insulin that was being prepared for the patient. However, during this process, the nurse had switched the amounts of the two insulins and the witness also did not catch it. The patient received the medications, though I don't know the outcome. How did this happen? Neither nurse was checking the actual order relative to the blood sugar value and what was drawn up (the witness was not really witnessing). The syringes were likely not labeled or not labeled correctly. The patient wasn't included in explaining the meds at the bedside (also an expectation and best practice), and the order was again not checked at the bedside prior to administration. All of these checks are there for the safety of the patient and when they are skipped due to distraction, laziness, a sense of being rushed, or whatever, the patient's life is endangered. You did not do these checks or you would have caught the timing mistake. As for second mistake, perhaps you were never taught that you cannot leave medications unsecured with or around the patient. Other nurses may do it. You have to be better. So learn from your mistakes and keep working on being a sponge, learning, and asking for help. It is a very tough environment out there, but you will find good people to work with and you will become confident. Good luck.

Some of the community colleges, like Palomar for instance, have accelerated EMT programs. I think I completed the whole thing over a Summer and they may have a Winter break one as well. You'd have to figure out if this is doable with your schedule and compete to get in. ER's typically want previous experience such as on an ambulance. Hopefully there is an easier route where you can just study up and challenge the test. You can contact the community college EMS secretaries and ask. Honestly though, if you have to go back through that many units of schooling plus experience (as sort of a glorified taxi driver), why not just enroll in an LVN to RN program and work your way to being an ER nurse? 6 cheap units going backwards or 30 expensive units going forward.

The California PHN license now expires and requires a renewal fee of $125 for two years (unless you are late and then it is even more). The only requirement is that you first renew your RN or have an active RN. The California RN renewal is now $190.

This seems cowardly and passive aggressive. He might try to ask to speak in private and assertively and not threateningly express his concerns and what he thought happened. Or go to grad school and move beyond working with children.

I resisted the worksheets at first. Eventually I committed to one and simultaneously had to update a Kardex (shared worksheet). I stopped writing down meds and just circled times for meds. I learned to keep labs and vitals and abbreviated versions of test results as well as outstanding status updates (things the doc needs to know) on my worksheets because this is what docs ask about on rounds. I learned to abbreviate things and note tasks, calls, etc in a chronological way with small notes of other small goals or notes. I ended up with maybe a page per patient. I think the key is to be on top of orders, tasks, meds while checking in with staff, pt, family. You must be prepared for the interruptions and answering questions often without a computer. Every hour or two prioritize small amounts of charting and update your worksheets. Know where to look for things. You have to shut off conversation with patients, families, etc on busy days and master the backwards walk out of the room even when they are still talking. You aren’t there to make friends. Every day learn a new trick to save time. After a few years it is all practically automatic. The charting gets easier. There are many tricks to master. Watch the good experienced nurses and ask questions.

As a medic, all that can be assessed is PMS. Is there still good pulse, movement, and sensation. In other words, any risk they will lose the finger. Do you ever offer to buddy splint or otherwise splint the finger? That will at least relieve and protect the break if there is one. If the pain seems extreme after given time to calm a bit, call the parent and let them decide.

I think this is extremely common and they will have no problem letting you start anyway. Schools are a business after all. Write a check. Keep moving.

To flip the script and work backwards, no actual harm came to the patient, right? So there is nothing to defend legally. Cases against nurses revolve around harm caused and provable negligence that caused that harm. You were neither negligent nor was harm caused. I would want to see that POA documentation or explain that it needed to be shown before you are ‘allowed’ to listen to the son. Without that document, I would remind the son that you are under orders and you will let the doctor know that he wants to talk over the orders. Correct me if I’m wrong, but without POA, sharing treatment information with the son (without verbal or written agreement from dad) is a HIPPA violation.

Seems silly. I would never do that... unless they’re hot!!! Just kidding. I’m old and find no joy in life or virtual life.

You all are doing what needs doing. Still you can work hard in life or work smart. There are hospital units that I bet pay twice what you make and you only have one to two patience that require very little care. Do research. Ask around. Move.

Now I sit down at a card table in Vegas and tell everyone I’m a nurse. You know, just to intimidate them with how much experience I have.

The Med Surg and Pharmacology material cost my cohort one or two. Otherwise it ain’t crazy hard. Just adaptation, friend making, loss of sleep, and the ability to absorb ideas quickly for 2 years. Mostly it is just repetitive busy work to get you to remember things.

Generally speaking, schools operate as a business. They want to fill seats and get confirmations early. They don’t want risk. Will they hold a seat for an unknown, last minute. No. Slow down. Apply if you want. You will get in give or take a few months. Congrats early!