gees_rn

Reading this as I sit at my workspace, freezing. I wear a tank top, long sleeve, scrub top, and usually a fleece or a hooded sweatshirt (unapproved; bad girl alert) and am usually still cold. People think I'm crazy! I have no solution.

...I'm just over here still offended by the comments about the younger nurses throwing themselves at doctors and staring at their phones instead of working. Barb's *moment* will come; she'll suffer an injury she can't come back from or management will sit down with her or something other thinning will happen. I feel like despite what she said she really wouldn't be receptive to the sit-down-lets-talk-about-it from a co-worker, because the fact that she acknowledged that she might need THAT talk someday speaks to her already be clued in that her time is up (for working, not living.)

Im probably a little lax on my glove usage to be honest, as I'm a hand-washing nut. I am very strict to the gloves-for-potential-body-fluids rule; but in the ED there is some wiggle room. oral meds? no. unless I'm going to have to physically put it in my patients mouth: think a shaky handed older person needing a chewable aspirin for CP. vital signs? no unless I'm taking a rectal temp or my patient is bloody, in soiled clothing, or covered particularly diaphoretic. ny hands are an in-between size gloves limit my mobility and my hands sweat something fierce.

Yeah I'm not sure, and I agree; sometimes I don't know what to tell people. Sometimes if the patient seems cool enough I'll make a little joke about how the IV hydration is the best part of coming to the ER or something like that and we'll all have a good laugh about how we drink too much coffee and soda. We really do do a lot of things that are designed for patient satisfaction (I.e. I came all the way to the ER for my xyznonemergentcondition give me IV meds and antibiotics and dilaudid) and things in the interest of time-saving (IV meds vs PO for example).

Commute time is so important to me. It's a huge quality of life factor that you don't always consider until it's taken you 1.5hrs to get home after nightshift more than a few times. However I understand the draw of more money. You decide what's more important to you and if you make the "wrong" choice you know in the future (which is how I know about the commute time regrets.)

I didn't work as a CNA, or in the medical field at all before becoming a nurse. I was not right out of high-school and working as an aide would have been a steep payout from the full-time job I worked through nursing school. I'm sure that experience is valuable, especially for networking, but it's more than possible to do your duties as a nurse and learn those aide duties along the way. While a lot of it is labor intensive and sometimes unpleasant, it isn't hard to master and is part of the nursing duties also anyway. During interviews I was fortunate enough to have had job experiences (ten + years in a customer service industry) that allowed me to answer all of their "in this situation with a co-worker..." type questions. No one ever asked my GPA, or questioned why I didn't work as a CNA first and I've been offered every position I've interviewed for since graduation. I agree with the poster above who said that a lot of landing a job is the job market in which you're applying!

I'm going to respond again, because the oily skin and acne comments really speak to me. An inexpensive good-skin makeup combination I love for 12 hour shifts is the CoverGirl Clean Matte BB cream with Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder. It's the only makeup (inexpensive or Sephora-quality) that stays on my face, covers my redness (i've also got rosacea AND acne scars), and keeps me looking fresh all night.

crackers and peanut butter are, in my opinion, fair game. I work nightshift in a hospital without a late-night cafeteria, in a town lacking in late-night food delivery options. Even the vending machine options are limited. If I forget to pack a lunch, or am out of food by my 3rd night shift, or if I just can't keep my self going without a snack.. theres always crackers :-) (i've never eaten off the trays or snacked on the sandwiches, but that's because there's never any left!!)

I think you actually just described what I look like except I'm ten pounds heavier, and despite all of that I brush my hair and put on my makeup and wear cute fitted scrubs and go on to work anyway. It never even occurred to me that I might be so ugly that my patients wouldn't want me to touch them! Now I have something else to worry about before going to work lol I think you're fine. Find something that makes you feel good (my above mentioned cute scrubs, fun work-appropriate shoes, headbands...) and go with it :-)

I am glad I left. I worked LTC for abouI 1 month total. I was lucky because this facility was giving me a long orientation, which I know just new LTC nurses don't get, but I left one shift shy of my first day on my own. I wanted a job so I'd taken the first one offered but knew it wasn't the right fit from the get-go. I am glad I left; the work was challenging and I actually enjoyed it but I felt like I was learning a skill set that was really only specific to THAT facility and that as a brand new nurse that didn't seem like the best option for me career wise. I regretted wasting their time, but it was the right descision. Stay till ya find something else, but don't stay long. I actually think that's what someone at that first facility told me :-)

I actually saw a really cute pair of white shoes recently that I contemplated buying. I like to alternate shoes every few shifts depending on which scrubs I wear so I don't mind having some variety.

Nothing to offer as I haven't taken it, but good luck!!

That bothers me. They really WOULDNT expect a day shift nurse to come in at 11:30 for a class to a meeting. They would also NEVER call them at 1:30AM to see if they could come in early.

I almost feel like this time you SHOULD accept... I know it doesn't sound ideal and that you don't really need to rush in to anything right now but those other potential job offers are just that, potential, and the sooner you start working the sooner you'll have that ever-so-magical experience that will get you closer to the job you DO want. But also... it stinks quitting a job soon after accepting it. Which is what you may potentially wind up doing if one of those other applications comes through. I've been there and as much as I didn't like the position I was leaving I still felt like a crumb for wasting their time / "using them" because I was too impatient to wait for something I truly wanted. I know I didn't quite give you the perfect advice, but those are my thoughts on your options. Good luck in whichever you choose :-)

I did it! My experience wasn't exactly the same as yours but I'll give you the short version. Went to college, majored in lots of things, graduated with a bullcrap degree in nothing, with a 2.49 GPA. Decided I wanted to be a nurse, spent 2 years retaking science classes at community college. Had dreams of an accelerated program, but was more realistic then I give my self credit for and applied to the community college ASN program instead. Graduated from nursing school 2 years later. Completed my RN-BSN in 2 semesters. It wasn't *fun* or fast, but anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do right. The time I spent retaking my science classes really boosted my academic confidence and prepared me to work hard in nursing school.