BagelBomber

Are you thinking of focusing on long-term mental health/psych issues related to CTE? That might fall under neuro vs psych. But I'm not sure.

I think the circumstances that are making you more likely to get hired are a double edged sword. Yes, nearly every unit in every hospital is short, but I think that makes it difficult for new hires to have a solid orientation experience. We have three people orienting to my unit right now, and they've each had at least three different preceptors. While I think it's important to gauge how different individuals work on your floor, I think having a solid "go to" primary preceptor is crucial for success. Your previous floor experience will definitely give you some help in that department, I'm sure, but I would aim to fall into a unit similar to what you worked on previously.

I agree with a lot of other responses and have found that people who do not work in health care simply don't "get it." I work Sunday Monday Tuesday nights to mesh with my son's basketball schedule as much as possible, and I can understand why my boyfriend (and frankly my son as well) may feel like I'm less than present during that stretch in the beginning of the week. As far as my romantic relationship- there are absolutely some trying times, but at this point my boyfriend will also look at me and go "take a nap" when I start to get snippy or whiney. We have meals together when we can, and in the beginning of the week the Crock Pot is everyone's best friend. Like another poster said- we are not here to judge you or shred your relationship. That being said, I don't think my boyfriend would have the thought to be upset with me for being exhausted. His birthday this year falls on a Monday- smack dab in the middle of my three shifts- and our solution is to simply have his "birthday activity" (whatever that may be) the Friday of the same week. Compromise is CRUCIAL for any relationship but I think it is especially important when people plunge into relationships with someone with careers as emotionally tolling, mentally draining, and physically exhausting as ours (even more so if you're an introvert like me and work drains you of nearly all of your interaction energy). If I can offer any advice: compromise whenever you can- sometimes that means you don't even see your partner for a full day because we all need to sleep and eat; communicate (preferably without arguing or getting heated); remember self-care is crucial; and shoot a spicy text on a random Thursday to give his ego a boost.

When I was in my nurse residency program last year, the educator was adamant that malpractice insurance was not necessary. However, SEVERAL veteran nurses on my unit suggested getting it, so I have malpractice insurance through NSO. I don't know whether having or not having malpractice insurance is something that can be accessed by attorneys, but I can't imagine a patient's attorney suggesting to come for an individual nurse versus a huge hospital corporation because of malpractice insurance.

I have indeed been vaccinated (though before my vaccines, I admittedly changed in my vehicle a time or two...or seven...after I had been pulled to COVID for the night ? ) I love reading everyone's stories and I can't wait until I'm able to contribute stories of my own!

Newbie Nurse, here! I'll complete my first year as an RN later this Summer and I must say it has been a truly wild ride. I agree the "everyone is mean to me because I'm so young and hot" type attitude is far more likely to happen with the youthful lot of new grads. I interacted with a good bit of people with that kind of attitude through nursing school. I don't comment all that often on this site (aside from when I could offer actual advice or give an answer based on experience) because I know I'm still getting my feet wet. Although I have a fair amount of "life" experience that has helped me adjust to my nursing career, I know some things will just come with time. I have two "Crusty Old Bats" on my unit that I absolutely ADORE working with! I think they offer amazing advice (and keep me on my feet by asking me what I think and working through solutions with me), and when we have a rare spare moment, I love hearing their stories from the battleground. I peruse threads often, soaking up the advice (and occasional snark) that the seasoned nurses provide. Thank you for paving the way for newbies like me ?

We have a "float tracker" sheet in the charge RN binder. We list the dates we're pulled and to which unit. You're up to float if everyone else on the schedule has floated more recently than you. You have the option to volunteer to be pulled (I for example, agreed to back to our COVID unit so I could keep my patients). There are some restrictions to who can float- you can't be pulled to ICU if you're not cross-trained, for example. We also don't float pregnant nurses or those with immunocompromised family members to the COVID unit. The system you guys use seems to be a tad unorthodox.

I started as an RN almost one year ago, and one of my fellow orientees finished orientation (against her primary preceptor's wishes) and ended up having full-blown panic attacks at the start of nearly every shift. She too, was a very sweet woman, but our floor was simply too fast-paced with a very high acuity that she simply wasn't prepared for. I think YOU as her preceptor have done everything right. I LOVED when my preceptor would flip questions back to me and really get my critical thinking going. I was taking a full team of patients and my preceptor was simply double-checking documentation by week eight (obviously if there was something that I hadn't done before I would ask her to observe). I don't think you've set her up to fail at all- but is it possible to extend her orientation period?

I had two of these individuals on my shift last night, and I was hoping to find some tips and tricks here, too- because right now, I just grit my teeth through my shift and give the oncoming nurse a "warning" during report. I've tried explaining that it's easier for both them and myself if we tackle multiple questions and requests at once to no avail. I do like the list idea, though.

Thank you! I went to the Community College of Baltimore County. The Essex campus offers an evening/weekend program, but they only do admissions every Fall (the day programs have both Spring and Fall starts).

I am so sorry, that sounds really frustrating! I got my finger prints and photo done in the first week of April, finished my application April 16, graduated May 19, received my ATT May 23.

I think it's much easier to schedule a test date if you're flexible in where you decide to test. I graduated in May and was able to take NCLEX June 5th, but my time slot was at 6:30 am in DC (I live in Baltimore so not the longest drive, so I consider myself very lucky). I have classmates who are stuck with testing dates in October and November.

@SARAH_DICKSON No problem! I stressed myself out wayyyy too much during first semester. I was convinced I totally bombed my first exam, and honestly never really felt "good" about any nursing school exams but that's just my test anxiety. And one other thing- skills testing is suuuper frustrating if you're someone like me who just doesn't like being watched haha.

Hi everyone, I just graduated from the Essex evening/weekend program and will finish with my BSN at Frostburg in December. Now that orientation is over, get ready for some of the most annoying semesters of your life ? I'm a single mom that has worked full-time throughout nursing school and I want to let all of you know- CONTENT is not the hard part about nursing school. Do not get caught up in tiny details about how something works and trying to memorize everything. The hard part of nursing school is making sure you stay organized and on top of all of your assignments and requirements (highly recommend getting a planner), and learning to "think like a nurse." Basically, you need to be able to think critically and anticipate interventions and patient needs. SAFETY is huge. Use your PowerPoints. Take notes on said PowerPoints during lecture. When in Ms. M's class (she teaches a chunk of Funds and Concepts I)- bulleted PowerPoints tended to become SATA (select all that apply) questions. There will be a lot of what seems like "silly busy work," and for the most part, that is true (hence "the most annoying semesters of your life"). I do hope you're able to participate in clinicals for the fall semester, especially if you have no patient care experience. I came into nursing school with zero patient care experience and my clinicals at Oakcrest and Franklin Square really taught me a great deal about the basics. You're also able to have a shadow experience in your first semester where you just follow a nurse around for the day- that was by far one of my favorite clinical experiences. Good luck- do not stress yourselves out more than necessary- nursing school is entirely doable and not at all impossible.

I'm in my last semester of my ADN program, but my school offered a dual-enrollment option so I've also been taking classes that count toward my BSN. I'm sure it depends on your area and the job market, but I've found when I was interviewing a lot of hospitals were requiring enrollment in a BSN program within six months to a year of your hire date. If it's any consolation- the BSN program has been a serious breeze compared to the ADN. There's just some papers to write and a handful of PowerPoint based projects (I'm enrolled in Frostburg's RN-to-BSN; all online).