Imustbedreaming

YaY NursesTakeFlorida.com !! They are taking the message to the public and going to community activities such as county fairs, etc. I feel that canvassing neighborhoods and setting up petition sites at community gatherings, colleges, libraries, tag/license buildings, etc to collect signatures from the public and forward these to state or federal congresses would help. They set up a GoFundMe site to get support. This can help keep nurses anonymous. Hire canvassers who are not necessarily nurses. I say buy billboards too! Lots of em. TV spots too. There are many state and federal bills right now that need support to pass ratio with acuity laws.

Agreed. As far as waiting until you get another job: It depends where you live and what's available. That might take more than the time for orientation.

How do you handle this on your resume and job application though? I had this scenario twice in the last 3 yrs while getting through BSN. Once 3 yrs ago and once recently. I gave notice within a month during orientation. The positions were a bad fit practice wise and for school. No other better offers were coming my way although I had applied for others before accepting my only offer. I feel like my resume is becoming a mess. Do you have to list every job you ever held?

How do you place this scenario on your resume and application?

Let's agree to disagree.....

Hopefully, this will help some nurses going through interviews. I found this on the Monster.com site: Legal and Illegal Inquiries Following are some of the key areas that are covered by fair hiring laws. You will see a trend in what is legal and what is illegal — essentially, you cannot ask questions that will reveal information that can lead to bias in hiring, but you can ask questions that relate to job performance. Affiliations: Do not ask about clubs, social organizations, or union membership; do ask about relevant professional associations. Age: Do not ask a candidate's age other than, "if hired," can a candidate produce proof that he or she is 18 years of age. Alcohol or Drug Use: The only allowable question relating to current or past drug or alcohol use is, "Do you currently use illegal drugs?" Criminal Record: Do not ask if a candidate has been arrested; you may ask if the candidate has ever been convicted of a crime. Culture/Natural Origin: You may ask if the individual can, "upon hire," provide proof of legal right to work in the United States. You may ask about language fluency if it is relevant to job performance. Disability: You may ask if candidates can perform essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation; and you may ask them to demonstrate how they would perform a job-related function. You may ask about prior attendance records. And you may require candidates to undergo a medical exam after an offer of employment has been made. Marital/Family Status: Questions about marital status and family issues are discouraged except as they relate to job performance, as in the child care example above. Personal: Avoid questions related to appearance, home ownership, and personal financial situation. Race/Color: No race-related questions are legal. Religion: If Saturday or Sunday is a required work day, you may ask candidates if they will have a problem working on those days. Sex: You may ask if a candidate has ever worked under another name. Be sure not to make gender-related assumptions about job capabilities. How to Deal with Information that is Volunteered Despite your careful preparation and question selection, some candidates will volunteer information that you would prefer not to know. The best way to handle this situation is not to pursue it nor to make note of it. You can't erase the information from your memory, but you can eliminate it as a discussion point and selection factor.

I went through orientation and I did not see anything about giving serious thought to the current nursing environment (which is only getting worse) or issues involving a student's diagnosis of anxiety or depression (or any behavioral problem) and how these would affect your future employment/financial future as an RN or APRN or DPN. There was a list of criminal activities that will cancel out a career as RN. Also, this information should be given BEFORE orientation- in the application packet or on the school's website. There is a lot of info not given especially in light of nursing school being different than actual practice (which is constantly changing - do more with less). Nursing is vastly different than most professions/trades.

Again, these role expectations need to be defined thoroughly before taking students' money for tuition to become a nurse - during the approval process.

It's tragic and unjust because the environment of nursing today actually creates these problems for all healthcare workers. I don't think a person should have to have the physicality and mentality of a Navy SEAL or IronPerson to be a nurse. With the current work conditions a nurse being pushed to take on 5 or more patients and pressured to "suck it up, buttercup" creates a very precarious situation for all involved. If this is the case, then schools need to be up front (and liable) about these prerequisites before taking money. Currently, many expectations and definitions for practice are nebulous at best.

I think all nurses/everyone needs to buy a legal plan through Legal Zoom or other sources for these kinds of questions. Know your rights and make decisions based on sound legal advice. There seems to be a lot of legal questions on this site and it's only wise to seek out the pros to help with these decsions. I have one to review contracts, etc and many plans include legal issues such as family, business and employment law. Worth the yearly charge for peace of mind.

Exactly, Horseshoe. I start feeling the body pain and fatigue 30 mins after work or when I get home. It's like my body knows it's safe to relax. Unfortunately, I can hardly function the next 24 hrs. I try to do 2 days in a row too to cut down on the number of zombie days.

Yes all above, I'm thinking that exercise and hydration helps remove the cortisol and increases serotonin. Orion, I feel this way now. Pixie and K+, great advice. I'm going to research this further. This is important.

How do you feel on your day off after working a shift? Today is my day off after working yesterday. Throughout my career the next day off is brutal. My muscles ache and I have such fatigue. I heard of this "nursing hangover". I can work consecutive days and not feel it during work. But, always, the next day- on my day off, I feel like *enter your expletive*. How many nurses feel this way and what do you do to counteract it? Do you find that it is worse after a more emotionally stressful day? I find that after a difficult personality patient day, it's way worse no matter how light the team. I don't know if it's related to cortisol or adrenaline. I can deep sleep for 10 hrs and wake up late and still feel like this. It ruins my day, especially when I need to work tommorow.

Some of the sitters on care.com or sittercity.com also offer before school care. I'd just make sure you feel safe for your child, are happy with them, and that they are flexible for your schedule. Maybe a 6-8 AM sitter to make sure your child gets up and goes to school safely.

I totally sympathize. You may find someone on a service like care.com. When you get a chance, I'd switch to days and/or look for homehealth or 8-5 clinic job. Homehealth charting takes away free time though. Check your hospital about when you can transfer to days (3-6 mos). Good hospitals work to put an RN in the right position for her/him. When you work days in the hospital, daycare/school will cover your childcare. I hired a sitter for after daycare closes (6-8PM). Some schools have YMCA afterschool care which will save you money! I'd get to know mommies but I hardly had time to socialize. I agree with the comment above about finding folks at church or hospital classified boards too. You may want to place an ad. I found a great sitter on care.com but had to interview a few and pay for background checks on those sites before finding her. I paid her $20/hr but for me it was worth it for 2 hrs of her time every shift. She spent some of it on my child and was very active (going to parks, community pool, homework, reading, playing games, art, cleaning, etc) . I would make sure that you feel your son is safe and that you have a backup. Build up PTO so that if you or your child is showing signs of being sick that you call off. I never tried to leave in the middle of the day. I just called off for the day my child showed getting sick or had a fever the day or night before. You may need it if childcare falls through too. I saw what happened to other nurses, even with emergencies when they tried to leave. I'm still trying to find a work/life/child balance in nursing. I'm developing side gigs.