delirium

I don't know, 6 weeks doesn't sound like an adequate orientation for a new grad. But maybe that's just me. Mine is 12 weeks with an 8 week transition.

My first visit to the gyn was horribly traumatizing. I was 12. There was something wrong with me... I had just reached menarche a few months before, and I was bleeding excessively. I remember one night I went to bed in sweatpants, and I woke up the next morning soaked in blood all the way to my feet. So I went to the gynecologist my mom went to. She was a nun. It wasn't bad, she used the smallest speculum, but the whole experience was terrifying. To this day I've never had a normal cycle. Just have her relax, explain how essential it is to good health, find an experienced and friendly female doctor.

I agree. This is what I did: I attended a few hospital open houses, I went to the job fair at my school, and I sent out my CV and a cover letter to area hospitals that I was interested in. I received immediate call backs and generally you can glean any information you're looking for from the nurse recruiter over the phone. Unless of course its one of those hospitals who won't disclose any wage/recruitment bonus information until interview.

They're against policy at my hospital. Also at my nursing school. So guess who doesn't have acrylic nails? My nails are nice and strong, though. Attractive.... but what I wouldn't give for a full set with a french manicure... (Or is that a freedom manicure?)

I had a great time in my med-surg clinicals, nasty unit secretaries notwithstanding. We take 5-6 patients each. I even did my first NG tube the other day. That was, uh, interesting.

I should have been a lawyer. Maybe there's still time?

I can't believe there are places where you still have to wear the caps. I think it reinforces a lot of negative sisters of mercy stereotypes about nurses, but that's another thread. I'm just glad we wear street clothes for our pinning and are not required to dress up like flying nuns.

Staple it to your head using one of those high powered staple guns as seen on Trading Spaces.

You'll be fine. All check offs are sort of nerve-wracking because your instructors hover over you waiting to pounce on any mistake (or mine were). Did they teach you the ape to man heart auscultation? (aortic, pulmonic, erb's point, tricuspid, mitral) Remember to breathe, don't let them rush you, and you'll be great. Good luck!

We had to do this with no cheat sheet and really its a piece of cake. Have you been in clinicals at all? Just truly do it from head to toe, think of the body systems.... like start at the head, do the pupillary response to light thing, palpate lymph nodes, ask a few questions, palpate pulses peripherally, heart/lung sounds, bowel sounds, neuromuscular checks, etc. If you develop a method, and perform it systematically, it will help.

We cannot miss any clinical. If we do miss, for a *really* good reason, we have to make it up by a certain time. GIT is "mandatory" but so far they haven't punished anyone for not attending. If you're absent the day of an exam, you have to call before you're scheduled to take it to reschedule to take it in the testing center, and they deduct 10 points from your final grade.

Hmm. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess she's referring to a particular poster.

We also have an instructor with us on the floor at all times. If we float to specialty areas such as ER or ICU there are only limited things we're allowed to do.... passing meds is *not* one of them.

I was not suggesting that any nurse graduates feeling competent and secure in his or her abilities. If you'd read my post in its entirety, you'd know that. I am suggesting that if you continue through all your clinical experiences only performing the role of a tech, you will be more clueless than those who had more relevant experience while in nursing school.

I don't know about having to repeat. More likely is that you'll graduate and feel clueless once you're actually working as a GN or an RN on a unit. You are paying to be trained, and you deserve appropriate, relevant training. You're not in a CNA class, and really its in everyone's best interest to train you to become a safe, competent nurse (and its my understanding that we will become safe, skillful, competent nurses in time). Besides, this is good situational training to teach you to be assertive and ask for what you need. We'll need this as novice nurses.

I am giving you advice not as a veteran RN but as a nursing student. Go to your instructor. The last semester of your nursing program is supposed to be for developing management skills and maybe perfecting some advanced skills, like IVs. You are *not* a tech, and you are not free labor. I think it was a bad situation because you were paired with a travel nurse who wasn't properly oriented herself (or that's the way it sounds from your account). I would have called her on it, which it sounds like you did, and pointed out that you are in the RN role and these are the experiences you need to have. If that didn't work, I'd go straight to my instructor and let them fight it out. Either she'll become more understanding of your role on the unit (and it could be that she has little experience with students) and help you, or your instructor can assign you to a different preceptor. You have precious little clinical time. Make it count. Edited to add: The first time I floated to ICU (last semester), I was assigned to a nurse with a patient in DIC. The head nurse of the unit instructed me to hold pressure at the femoral a-line site. I did as I was told.... for almost 2 hours. True, I spoke with the nurse and found out about the patient but I was stuck there holding pressure. My instructor did a walk through and was livid that they were placing me in the role of a tech or a nurse's assistant and not allowing me to have the best possible experience in the role of the RN (i.e. assessment, comparing blood orders, calculating gtts).

The hospital where I work pays incentives for specialty CERTIFICATIONS, such as the CCRN, CEN, yada yada yada. Those RNs who work in specialty areas but do not have the certifications are not paid extra.

That sounds terrible. I don't think you're petty at all, I doubt I would have stayed as long as you did. Good luck on finding a nurturing, supportive environment at your next place of employment.

You know its true, Deb. In fact there is one particular nurse in the ER that I credit with getting me through nursing school. So many nights I said to myself, "Dood, if dumb ol' Bonnie can do it, I *know* I can'.

Ah. But here we are describing the difference between a nurse and a good nurse, which I don't think was the question. Do you need to be super smart to be a nurse? No, in fact, some of the nurses I've worked with are definite candidates for Darwin awards.

Um, based on some of the nurses I have known and worked with, no you certainly do not need to be 'super smart' to become one.

Thanks for all your responses. I was actually raised Catholic (*gasp*), but have no experience with catholic (or any other religious affiliation) hospitals. All of my clinicals have been in non-religious affiliated facilities. Its funny because this hospital has a very religious sounding name, and when I read it was a catholic facility I was still kind of shocked. Go figure. Anyway, thanks for your collective input.

I'm considering going to work at a (*gasp*) catholic hospital when I graduate. Has anyone ever worked at a religious institution? What do you find the differences are between these and public, nondenominational hospitals, if any? I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks, Reb :)

I wonder if Bio is even hanging around to read any of this encouragement?

I'm sorry you had such a lousy experience, Bio. I was close to quitting nursing school last semester but it was nothing close to the situation you're describing. As an aside, perhaps you should look at the reasons you had for wanting to become an RN in the first place, and maybe look into a different school or any other options you have. I wouldn't want to see you let one controlling, mean-spirited instructor stop you from achieving your goals. Good luck in whatever you do. :)