Kelky

Do any of you get 'punished' for calling out? we get 'occurrences' and if it's a holiday or closest shift to a holiday double occurrences and lose holiday allowance. Double occurrence if you can't get to work because of weather too - even if the rest of the city can't you are a superhuman and should have foreseen that event presumably. Too many occurrences and you are fired. Are all hospitals like this? I love my job but I am so tired of feeling threatened and bullied by the punitive policies.

about 2 weeks ago, mild soreness if I pressed my arm was all.

US nurses about fall over in amazement when I tell them I never did IV insertion in the UK, it was the doctor's role. I am still lacking in that area, but I work in the NICU and it is not quite the same there, so not much chance to practise.

Dofarel - you will have to do an orientation but it will be tailored to your needs, not as long as a new grad one. The GA board is sometimes a long process, if you don't hear from them call, as they have been known to take a lot longer than they should :)

Egleston in Atlanta, I don't work there though so can't give you any more details. Good luck!

I was out for 10 years, took a refresher course, and went back to L&D, not just in a different hospital but a different country, and yes it was hard but I did ok. I am now in the NICU and am very thankful that nurse managers took a chance on me, yes you may need to learn new stuff and procedures etc but there is still a lot of knowledge there. I know I've found it easier than all the new grads I've worked with anyway. I'd suggest you talk to another nurse manager.

Yes, Dundee Scotland, and it is NLN accredited. http://www.celticscholar.com

Previous studies may well earn you credit, I got credit for my Diploma.

I'm doing it through the University of Dundee, which bypassed a lot of the transcripts/qualification issues you mentioned and also they 'understand' what my British qualifications mean. I did have an issue recently on starting a new job, where I gave a qualification and on calling them to check they were told no never heard of her. Since they'd moved sites all my stuff was lost, and it looked bad for me! Anyway I sorted that one out, but finding old transcripts has definitely been a time consuming and frustrating ordeal for me.

In my state you don't have to have any formal qualifications, but even if you are an RN you get paid as an unqualified aid.

I have used the ATT line and in person translators. I found the ATT line difficult, yes they may both speak spanish, but there can be different dialects, words used etc, and the pt is in a scary situation and may not understand the words used by the interpretor but agree anyway. I find it very nerve wracking and don't always feel comfortable that the pt really understands everything. Also it is hard to hear, the phone lines are not always great. In person translators are much better, a lot of communication is non verbal and it is easier to ensure understanding face to face. I expect they're much more expensive though.

I work in a brand new hospital here in the US, and yes all rooms are private, own bathroom, TV's etc, it's like a hotel. I just worry because you can't just quickly scan your eyes over the floor and see all your patients, they're all behind walls and you have to physically go in to see them to make sure they're ok. The many bedded wards i worked on in the UK had lots of drawbacks but it was easy to see when someone needed help.

Wow thanks for the update, I have a 13 year old and I did not know that. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you, what a nightmare.

Strange, I was out of nursing 9 years but they still counted the experoence I'd had, even though it was in a different country. Don't get disheartened, maybe brush up your resume and keep trying. Good luck.

I get less than that as a school nurse. But no, I would not work as a hospital RN for that amount, way too much responsibility and stress.

wow talk about baptism by fire! I know exactly what you mean about the doctor's attitudes, I have never been spoken to like I have by some of them ever, anywhere. L & D was too much of a culture shock for me, I have taken a job on postpartum instead, I haven't started yet but hope I enjoy it better. As you said though, the nurses are just great.

Good luck Belinda! Looking forward to hearing about your experiences :)

Midwives in the UK are a combination of the OB RN here and midwives here. There are no OB RN's as you cannot work as an RN in maternity in the UK, you have to have a midwifery qualification to provide care. I don't think doulas necessarily have any medical training do they? There are no lay midwives in the UK either, illegal, but aren't they illegal in parts of the US? sorry getting sidetracked here but it got me thinking :)

Not used in GA to my knowledge, much to my dismay when I was having my 2nd here as it was great with my 1st in the UK. The vast majority in the hospital I gave birth at have epidurals I was told, and that's a hospital having 18000 pa. No TENS either, although I don't know if that's still 'in' in the UK. Where I work it's IV nubain or stadol, or an epidural. L&D was too much of a culture shock for me, I switched to postpartum.

Basically I think it means that the nursing bigwigs over here have looked at the course and decided yes it's good enough, big stamp of approval. I'm sure someone could explain it better but that was the gist of it. I do know it is the only UK course that is approved by the US accrediting authorities. NLNAC - National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission Does your Mum know you're inviting strange sassenachs you met on the internet over to stay with her!! Very sweet of you though. As I understand it, should I actually finish the course I can attend the graduation ceremony, I don't know that I want to, I'm not an 'on-show' type, but it's an excuse to see Scotland and have a party after all. You did say 'big house' after all!

I wondered if there was a Dundee in the US when I saw the course advertised, so no, not stupid at all! I'm just so excited that there's a British university that's NLN accredited, it made the application process so much easier for me. I've never even been to Scotland but who knows, maybe this will give me a reason to get up there

Yes, all online/correspondence. It's a long commute from Atlanta to Dundee! Not all L & D's are as medically oriented I'm sure, I had a baby here with a midwife and it wasn't at all like that. I am not in a position to do midwifery education here as yet and I'm not sure I want to.

Hi! I trained as a nurse and then midwife in the South Wales area, moved to the US in 1996 with hubby's job, to the Atlanta area. I stayed home for a while then did a nurse refresher course as well as NCLEX etc. I now work as a part time school nurse at my youngest son's school, and also work PRN in a small maternity hospital. I was in L & D but found that hard as an ex midwife, it is so doctor dominated in that unit, so I am switching to postpartum next month and I'll see if I can cope with that better. I enjoy working as an RN here, the other nurses are from all over the world and it's very interesting, everyone has been very friendly. I'm also starting a BN with the University of Dundee soon, I just didn't feel I was busy enough

Hi Lizzy, I PM'd you too but in case anyone else was wondering, I have credit for a diploma in midwifery and that means I need to take less courses. I pay the same amount as any other US based nurse.

Yes, online. But going there for graduation sounds good, vacation woohoo I've never been to Scotland.