MH_RN

Thank you so much! I'll definitely look into agency per diem. There are more than 5 large hospitals within a 15 mile radius of me and a few smaller within that 15 miles and a little further. I hope so! I mean I've lived here for 20+ years but it just isn't something I pay for. I just don't want to get hit with tax issues later when this is really where I call home.

Hello! I am very interested in travel nursing but I am not sure how to figure out if I'm ready for it or if it's for me. I also have so many questions about traveling and so I have come to you all in the hopes that you can help guide me. Realistically, I'm thinking about starting traveling in about 7-12 months at the earliest. I would like to know what you all think I should do to head in the direction of traveling. How does one know when they're capable of travel nursing? How does one know if they're made for travel nursing before taking the leap? Here is a little background on me: So I've been an RN for 2 years on a med/surg oncology floor (really a medical floor with some onc patients and the rare chemo administration) at a small (~200 bed) community hospital right outside of a large city. This is a hospital that I was a volunteer at in high school for 4 years and then a year later started working on the same floor I work on now but as a nursing assistant and was there for 3 years during college. So I've been in the same place with the same people for 5 years, granted only 2 years have been full time. I used to love my floor and my hospital and have the best manager in the world, but as the past year has gone on, I've found more and more that I don't like about where I am. COVID has truly shown me that I need a change from my coworkers and workplace. Though, I'm worried that my facility is so small that I may start traveling and I might not have broad enough knowledge to be able to work anywhere and everywhere there is an assignment. Would going to a big medical center be impossible and not in my best interests? I have a BSN and have taken the ONS chemo/immunotherapy course, but (d/t COVID) have never given chemo/immunotherapy. I have a decent amount of telemetry knowledge, but we really don't take care of true cardiac patients. My floor is the kind of floor that maybe gives IV metoprolol a few times a month and we don't touch IV dilt or anything similar, those would have to go to our PCU or ICU. We also really don't take surgical patients, unless it's someone who had been with us and had a toe or 2 amputated or a lap cholecystectomy. My coworkers are known to call the surgical floor RNs or the surgical PAs to drop NGTs, as we have so few of them. Very rarely do we see chest tubes. My hospital has an IV team who does IVs, but pre-COVID I planned on being trained on IVs and was unable to during this time. I plan on taking the CMSRN within the next few months. I have not done charge, but at my facility the charge also has an assignment. I do not have my ACLS, only BLS. My floor gets LOTS of hospice patients and I have a pretty good handle on CMO care and medications. My floor, as many others, was a COVID floor from the beginning of April until mid-June (and hopefully never again), so I do have a decent familiarity with respiratory patients. I have minimal Meditech experience (2 years of my nursing assistant years and 0 nursing time with it) and am very comfortable with EPIC. Also, how exactly do the taxed/non-taxed stipends work when you live with your parents and they do not make you pay rent. Do you still get housing and meal stipends? Do you just get more taxes taken out or do you not get those stipends? What are your must haves in a contract? What are things to look out for in a bad contract? Thank you so much in advance!

First and foremost, make sure you are taking care of yourself. Make sure you are sleeping, eating, and taking breaks. Go out in your yard or neighborhood and get some fresh air. You can't do well on an exam if you aren't taking care of yourself. That's a major thing in nursing, we don't take care of ourselves. After that, keep doing questions. Read each question and see what you know and what you are trying to find. Don't look at the answers until you think about it. Also, remember that just because the client in the question is maternity/psych/ect., does not mean that it's asking you about one of those specialties, most likely it is med/surg. Once you've thought about what information you have and what you're looking for you can look at the answers and right away, you can usually get rid of one answer. Beyond that, look at each answer individually and compare it to the question. Think back to what you're looking for. Also if you get a question wrong, right down what you need to study. If it's on UWorld, they give you those fabulous rationals and that will guide you. Do all of the questions you can and that should help (within reasonable sanity). The more comfortable you are doing questions, the better you will do. Plus, UWorld looks and feels exactly like the NCLEX and honestly UWorld is so much harder. You should also try to reach out to your peers and professors. See of they have any suggestions and you can always study with your classmates over zoom or skype. If in a week, you're still not doing as well, consider rescheduling. I wouldn't push it off too much but all of your graduating class pulled the short straw this year and you are allowed to take a little longer to take the boards. Remember also that you can always book longer out than you want to take it and check everyday for cancellations if the date you want is unavailable. I got to take mine a week and a half earlier than scheduled that way, but I also only had 24 hours notice to take them at that point (I cried approximately 14 of those 24 hours, needless to say). Also, passing the first time doesn't always happen and it is NOT the end of the world. If anything, it teaches you that you can survive anything and it makes when you pass even better. You have got this! I wish I could remember more to help, but it's been a bit.

Hello, I am a new graduate nurse who has been working on a medical oncology floor of small community hospital, just outside of one of the biggest medical cities and have been there for 3 years as a nursing assistant. My boss called me yesterday asking which position I would prefer: 36 hour nights (3 12 hour shifts) or 32 hour days (4 8 hour shifts) Every post on this website is all about how hard it is to find a day job and so I can't really find the advise I need. Please let me know which you think would be better for a new grad. Additional information: I have primarily worked day shift while being a nursing assistant and know that staff all too well. I have done a good chunk of evening shifts and one overnight (I did it specifically thinking that when I graduate I'll start on nights). I did well on the night shift and I've known that I like the staff. I've loved eves. I am a morning person (but that could be because who I live with are morning people). I have student loan debt, but will be living with my family until I get it under control (I was hoping to leave sooner rather than later even though I love them). I know that on nights you you have more time to learn the whole picture. I worry about being able to keep up on days. My school did not have preceptorship in our last semester, we had 5 person clinicals and so I feel at a disadvantage, as I've only had 2 patients at once. The nurses on my floor typically have 4-6 patients. I know that my boss wants me on days, as the day staff was advocating for me to work there upon graduation. I worrry about not being able to get all my work done within the 8 hour shift (I know it will take me a little bit to get into the swing, but I'm concerned for long term). I admit that I need to not say this, but my pride may be slightly broken because I want to be working full time (and 32 hrs is considered part time with benefits at my work and the benefits I'll use will be at the same level as full timers).