yellow rose

I've been a nurse for about a year and I work on a very busy step-down unit!!! Time management is hugely important, but it really only comes with practice! And just when you think you're learning....tonight I didn't leave until 8:30 pm!!! :)

When a patient is admitted, the nurse has to explain HIPPAA and the 4-digit PIN number to the pt. The number is given to them, and they give it out to whoever they want. If anybody calls asking for info, they must provide this number. It's not too much of a pain, but we have had some very angry family members. Also, some nurses don't follow the policy. I hear this a lot- "Well, I called last night, and the other nurse told me everything I wanted to know!"

I'm a lefty also...but not remotely ambidextrous The only problems I've had was in school. When I was first learning procedures, all my instructors were right-handed and I had difficulty copying their actions in reverse, so they'd try to show me using their left hands...which was rarely successful :) It wasn't a huge deal and I learned how to do procedures as well as anyone else.

When I started nursing school, I was totally convinced that I wanted to be a NICU nurse! Pediatrics totally changed my mind. Then I did clinicals in adult ICU and loved it and thought that I could never be happy anywhere else. Well, when I graduated no hospitals in my area had ICU internships for new grads, so I took a job on a stepdown cardiac unit and I love it. There is just so moch to learn, it can be overwhelming, I learn something nw every day. I think that's the most important part of whatever you do....make sure you're always learning and you'll never get bored.:)

Our last semester we had to start Iv's on one another in lab..and it was terrifying! But it was a really good experience...nurses were then more likely to let us "attempt" while we were in clinical. When I graduated, I was the only new grad in my program who had any experience at all...skimpy as it was! Plus, patients are much more tolerant of students "practicing" than "real" nurses!! Soak up all the experience you can!

I sympathize with you....I'm 22 and a new grad! I've been asked several times "Are you sure you're old enough to be a nurse?" On my 21st b-day, I was working as an lpn at the time, and I told a pt it was my birthday. The reply "Happy Birthday! You'll be able to get your drivers license now!" On night shift, I am affectionately known as "Lil Bit" or "punkin head." Usually I just laugh it off...and remind them that I am a nurse w/ a license.

Approximately 20,000 for a BSN, not including books, lab fees etc...I don't even want to think about how much I spent on books!

Our nursing school required caps...as well as blue pin striped dresses.... and we all hated them! My cap fell off too many times to count, in addition to getting tangled in multiple IV lines. Getting the stripes on our cap was a very proud moment but also exciting...we never had to wear the thing again!!:)

New grad- ICU stepdown $18.37 base

Just thought I'd add my"student two cents" Someone mentioned that nurses have a great deal of autonomy in LTC. I have spent the last three months on an extended care/rehab unit, and this is definitely true. In all but the most serious of cases (which usually end up transferring to acute care) the charge RN will tell the doctor what the pt. needs, and he will give a telephone order. Most of the time, this works very well. :)

I am a nursing student at a very traditional school. We are required to wear caps to clinical, which nobody likes, and students from other schools make fun of. However, I have recieved comments from pts- mostly elderly- about how nice it is to see a "nurse that looks like a nurse." Caps can get in the way though- one of my friends was changing an incontinent brief, and her cap fell into the soiled one. Nasty!!