gracie05

I make $20.49/hr with 3 years (ICU included) experience...welcome to IOWA!!!! I believe Iowa is one of the lowest ranked for RN wages. I live in Illinois and commute to Iowa (15 minutes across the bridge) because the hospitals on the Illinois side pay the same or less and they have a bad reputation. Maybe I should move!? BTW my sister will graduate in May and if she gets hired at my hospital, she will wind up making about 70 cents an hour more than me because of shift differential...yep...

I would suggest looking into a local community college. You can take all of the pre-reqs, which would help your GPA and also help your chances of getting into a program. If your local community college does not offer an ADN (associate degree nursing) then look into online programs. There are a lot of programs that do a lot if not all of their classes online. Good luck!

Some people are not able to have children at 20. Be thankful for your blessings and mind your own business about "advanced maternal age"

A patient of mine had a sign that said "No free water" on her door. One day she put her call light on in a rage and yelled, " I AM NOT PAYING FOR WATER IF THE OTHER PATIENTS HERE GET IT FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!" :chuckle

They attempted this where I work too. I am not sure where they stand with it, but i frequently clock out past 1930...nothing has been done yet, but I am sure they will find a way to get me. Actually, I probably won't get a raise at my annual review! in any case, I have doubts about the legality of this practice.

I LOVE the smell of Kayexalate too!!!!!!! The result of Kayexalate never smells as good...curious

Hey...how about we cut the OP some slack...she had a bad night...let her vent!!

I DID IT!! I finally decided to look for another job a couple of weeks ago, and found one. I currently work in SICU 3rd shift. This new job is a critical care hospital that many of my co workers have gone to. According to them it is great. I know that I will have some of the same issues as now (staffing issues, pt overload, etc), but we have a manager that actually puts on scrubs and helps out when needed. In fact, he wears scrubs to work just in case. I am told that the support staff is amazing. I am so excited and also very nervous. Did I mention they pay more and it is a DAY job!! Yah!!!! Just thought I would share my joy! I am already starting to feel better. I knew that my current job was bringing me down, and I am starting to see how down I was. :balloons:

I made my first mistake (that I know of) after 1 year and 1 day of nursing!! I got report from the day shift nurse on a patient back from OR that afternoon. He had an epidural...in a PCA (my first clue). He did not have a button (for demand dose)hooked up and the nurse told me that he was just getting a basal dose. I SHOULD HAVE LOOKED!!! HOW STUPID OF ME! This morning the docs came in and discovered he did not have his button. They were more than a little upset (understandably). I was asking the patient's pain level every hour (this is ICU) and he was never out of control and if he was having unacceptable pain, I gave him IV morphine, which helped. I did talk to the patient and asked if he had been lying there in agony all night, and he said no. I feel awful about this!! I hope hope hope the pt was not in agony!! I know I am going to have trouble sleeping today!! I have never worked with an epidural, so never thought twice about not having a paper to sign off on...which is dumb cause there was fentanyl in the epidural! Oh and the cherry on top is the doc of this patient is the devil. So, I have made the devil mad...it figures. I just want to cry! :chair:

I think that calling the families "idiots" is ignorant. These families may very well be uniformed about how traumatic coding someone can be, or perhaps, they just see their mother, or husband or wife, etc. in that bed and cannot bear the thought of letting him/her go yet. I understand how frustruating it is to have patient with a terminal illness a full code. I work in MICU/SICU and see it all the time. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I think it is an unethical practice.

I am closing in on one year in the ICU and I think one of the most important things you can do for yourself is realize that it will take A LONG TIME to feel even semi-comfortable there. I still am not 100% comfortable and know that I won't be for awhile. You will learn a lot and will feel stupid...a lot! Try to learn as much as you can from each patient and listen to the seasoned nurses...they are a gold mine of information. Good luck and Congrats!!:balloons:

I am also approaching my year mark in June. I started in ICU and I have to say, it has been insane. To say that I have had a very difficult year would be a HUGE understatement. This has been the most overwhelming, challenging thing I have ever done. There have been days (actually nights) that made me want to walk out of that place and never return. But, there have been times where I actually like it and feel like I am going to make it. Who knows what I am going to do. My goal had been to make it to 6 months, then I decided to wait until a year to decide if I want change. Part of me wants to leave and part of me doesn't. I sometimes feel like I would be leaving because I feel too overwhelmed. I guess one of the main factors that will help me decide is if a day position (on another unit...I would not want to work days in my ICU) becomes available in the coming months. I am so ready to be off nights and I think my family would like that too. But, we shall see. So...I guess my answer is: I have no clue what I am going to do, but will probably stay in the hospital setting for now.

I love my Danskos and New Balance tennis shoes. Of course, it helped that my mother-in-law bought them for me as a graduation present last year...they are expensive!!

I graduated May 2006 and went straight to SICU after passing boards. I am now 8 months in and still it is overwhelming at times. The best advice I can give you is to be recpetive to your preceptor and LISTEN. Study for you critical care classes and study for ACLS, etc. I got made fun of by some of my co-workers for studying ACLS, but I feel more comfortable in codes and did well during the "mega code" to pass ACLS. Learn the routine of the unit and develop a routine of your own that fits you. It is a difficult transition to make from student to ICU nurse, but it is so worth it!! I have learned (and continue to) so much in the past 8 months. I work night shift and the crew is also awesome. Oh...always, always ASK QUESTIONS!! That is so important. You have a wealth of information in the veteran ICU nurses. Good luck and CONGRATS!! Keep me posted as to how things go for you. :mortarboard: :smiley_aa

I add Johnsons Baby shampoo to the hot water....makes for a very clean and pleasant smell. I cannot take credit for this...one of the veteran nurses taught me this one!! (One of many great tips)