sewillia

Hello New Grads... The only advises that I can give to you are,make sure you have a good preceptor and be in a good preceptor program for new grads. Ask questions,even if it's a simple one,because all questions are important. Be in the thick of it,even if it's a hard or challenge Patient,because all your experiences will replicate on different patients. keep you ears open,because other nurses will discuss their experiences with other nurses. Stay out of personal problems and politics....they cause arguments. BE PATIENT...you will get the handle of it within time. Stay on top of your nursing knowledge buy doing CEU's and your nurse educator. Remember,your Nurse Educator gets a pay check too,so use her to your advantage. Be at on time and don't call out because it's a beautiful day or " I don't feel like it" mood. You have your schedule days off to chill out and be with families or friends. Make sure you invest in nursing books and how to do charting and electronic charting and a legal aspects of nursing to keep you undated on legal matters. I have over 26 years in nursing under my belt and I'm still learning,because technology is constantly changing. The main factor in Patient care is LISTENING and getting the story straight. I hope this little advise will help. Good Luck,in you New Career as an Nurse. Cindy:nurse:

Since electronic charting has develope for faster and easier charting,it hasn't. If you are new to the system,it will take you estimated time...3 months to get it down pack and if you have medication administration also with electronic charting...God Bless you!! You have to get use to the computer and ask alot of question.

As nurse...part of your practice is dealing with life and death. There's no easy way in dealing with death of a family member or even a friend. Just being supportive to the family and the patient is the most you can do. How to be supportive...just being there,holding hands and even a hug will mean a lot to some people,but you have to maintain your Professionalism and keep it Professional.

It really depends on how comfortable you feel working in a different hospital and with different personalities. To be comfortable and confident as a travel nurse I would give it 2 years experience or more. I started out as a travel with 20years of experience and have been hired on a lot of travel contracts because of it. As long as you know your policy and procedures at the hospital and the role of the CNA and LPN, you shouldn't have a problem. Since the economy of the hospital across the US,a lot of hospitals have been cutting back on travel nurses and contracts. I would find if the Travel agency has a job for you before you resign. It's better to be safe and have a job then be sorry. :)

i know this is old news, but a lot of travel and agency nurses that i have talked with have been cancelled in the month of december and january due to the hospial fiscal buget and the poor economy. many nurses from the west coast to the east coast has lost their contracts and if they are luck...still have jobs. i know a lot of nurses are unemployed or using their savings just to get buy until another position opens up. with the many nursing agency and travel companies, a lot of nurses are competing for a travel assignment. one company which will be nameless has told me that if you have more then five years experience...you may land the job. i know some nursing travel agencies are combining companies to save the companies from closing. for the many travel nurses, good luck and let's hope the economy will improve.

G-tube residuals that are like 5cc, I would push it back in. but 300mls...No, I would discard it and let the stomach rest and Call the MD and let them know what's going on with the patient. That's like swallowing your own vomit. Yuck!

Hi Go to Hypodermichighway.com...they have the top ten nursing agency with questions to ask different agencys what they offer. I will warn you, each agency has their advantages and disadvantages, you need to ask questions and list your pros and cons of different agencies. I hope that will help you out.

When your Patient tells you thank you for doing a simple task, like a back rub when they can't sleep or fluffing their pillow or giving a blanket when their room is chilly. If they don't appreciate it, I still continue to perform comfort care.

When I worked in a LTC facility, we had the same problem. We the nursing staff did to be in guide lines, They would split up the hallway, One have would recieve medication at 0900 and the other have would recieve there medication at 1000. Since you can give medications 30 minutes early and 30 minutes after the hour, we were in the guidelines.

when I worked in NC hospitals, The nurse Patient ratio is 1 to 7 on the acute care Med/surg units. When I was in California the nurse patient ratio was 1 to 5. Now...you may say... 5 patients is a light assignment, sometimes it's not, because you may have all heavy patients.Five heavy patients feels like having 8 patients.

I have been a Travel Nurse for the last 4 years and it has it's moments. One assignment it could be great, you enjoyed the staff and the nursing assignment was fair. On another assignment, you really have to be on your guard to get a fair assignment and to protect your license. I have worked in certain hospitals who love to give the travelers the hardest assignments, while the other floor staff sit back and watch you work hard and won't lend a hand. Some hospital are travel friendly and others are not. Some nursing staff figure you are making twice as much as they are and can be jealous. So it depends on who is mature enough to welcome travelers and move on with it. I love the career, I love to move around from one place to another. I love to do my assignment and not get involved in the hospital polictics or be in charge and have the responsibilities of the of the staff and floor. :bowingpur

You may want to take an acute care nursing course or class to get a certificate, that may get you the job you want. It's a suggestion. I hope it will work.

Both nurses needs to assess. Just asking for permission, giving privacy and make the assessment. I have found many surprises when I pull back the covers and found distended abdomines, distended bladders or my favorite the chest tube was found dislodged. I could go on.

Congradulations! It's an acquired field, not everyone like this type of specialty. My advice, Ask plenty question, no question is dumb. Make sure you have a well rounded orientation. There days you will get frustrated and days you will feel like you accomplished something. Don't get frustrated if a smarty pants MD gets obnoxious...it only proves that they don't know them self. Oh! if you are in a situation and the pt is in distress and you can't reach the doctor, Utilize your hospital Rapid Response Team, they are there to help the nurses in any situation.

Hey Beccazn, Thanks Great!