Obiwarz

Preceptor is required to have an MSN. That was actually part of the difficult part for me, plus, they have the ability to reject the application. I will know in a few days if they reject mine and thus, wouldn't be able to start my practicum in two weeks. I was on the late end turning it in (after deadline) so I won't have the option to turn it in again either, forcing me to wait until the next class. Here's to hoping for acceptance!

Before the end of 2009, it was the M.S. in Nursing, but Walden was recently given the designation to award the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Everyone graduating after the beginning of 2009 will get an MSN now. I just have my two practicum classes left and cannot wait until it is done this Fall. I poured A LOT of work into my last two years. I echo my previous post above -- make sure you are READY before taking the plunge. By the way, I'm doing leadership & management, am a cardiac floor nurse, and only 25 -- just real motivated already, but had a hard time still. From a recent newsletter to students available publicly here : Dear Walden University Nursing Student, Walden University is now approved to award the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Walden recently requested and received approval from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (MOHE), our state regulatory body, to change the degree designation from the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Nursing to the MSN in order to align our program with national trends in graduate nursing education and to meet the needs of our students. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) has fully accredited Walden University's graduate program in nursing and has acknowledged the change in designation of the program. Before the end of 2009, Walden's graduate nursing program will change from the M.S. degree program in Nursing to the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). All students who are currently enrolled in the M.S. degree program will automatically be enrolled in the newly designated MSN program and will receive an MSN degree upon successful completion of the program. However, current students who do not wish to be enrolled in the newly designated MSN program may remain in the M.S. degree program in Nursing by submitting a form to the Office of the Registrar by August 24, 2009. This form will be available on Walden's Web site on July 13, 2009 and you will receive email notification once the form is available. If you wish to earn an MSN, you will not need to contact Walden regarding this choice or complete any forms--the change will be automatic and will be reflected on your records, including your transcript.

Congratulations on your choice! I have now gone through five classes and have one more before I start my Leadership & Management specialty. I've noticed that some professors are much better than others. I've also noticed that my colleagues and friends are not well versed in Walden's mission. It is difficult for me to really brag about it because they don't know about the school. One of my nurse colleagues was saying how annoyed she was of all the e-mails/spam she gets from the university. This is unfortunate because it is a respected institution, albeit their advertising campaign may not be the best. People must know that many graduate schools for our profession are online anyway. Good luck... make sure it is what you want to do though.

I am almost at that year point at my progressive care job (interventional cardiology). I am currently a quarter of my way through graduate school as well. I've realized that bedside nursing is not for me. The stress of patient loads, horrible day/night rotating schedules, the need to work weekend shifts, and long 12-14 hour days has gotten to me. However, the most important thing is, I have not planned staying a bedside nurse, nor do I want to. So I am looking for job ideas. I just applied to a public health one that coordinates mass immunizations. I would love to have a desk-type job with much less stress. My ideal job would eventually be in the CDC working in epidemiology, or some sort of bioterrorism prevention effort. I am also very computer savvy. My first undergraduate major was computer science (though for only one semester) before I changed to nursing. I thought about doing informatics and working for an electronic charting company. However for those, you would likely have to relocate. I'm also not sure if I would have all the skills either. Any ideas for a person like me... in graduate school (MSN Leadership & Management), does not want to do bedside care, enjoys the idea of public health, extremely into politics (I lobby, write for blogs, friends with legislators), wants to make an impact on a large scale, and would eventually like to teach in a university? I'm also a diverse, half-Japanese male nurse, hehe. Thanks everyone for any direction! (I'm located in the Twin Cities, Minnesota)

It'll be a stressful time in the beginning, but very rewarding. Although, I probably won't be staying at the bedside much longer, don't let my thoughts deter you from staying :). Ask questions in the forums if you need to. Good luck!

I work 12hr day/night rotations. I use this brain sheet I created in addition to the one our floor uses which outlines all the body systems. You will notice small boxes so I can make checks when I complete the items. For example, on the right side where VS, Med, mar, etc... two boxes that need to be checked. Once for AM, once for PM so I know I did them. I used to have a problem of quadruple checking if I documented things. Now I just check the box so I know if I did it, and I don't look again! Pt. Assignment.doc

congrats on the job! i'm going on one year on my tele floor and i do 12 hour day/night rotations. both shifts have their positives/negatives. as you are just starting out, i recommend you take advantage of the day shifts. you will find you will learn much, much more when you are surrounded by the whole healthcare team (physicians, nurses, pharmacy, etc.) during the day. night's are typically more relaxed, but of course your patient load doubles. i enjoy 12 hour nights because i start at 1900, get most of my work done for my patients by 2300, then pick up about two more patients, get everything done, and i'm smooth sailing. they do get long and your sleep schedule is completely messed up. this is why i look forward to my day shifts because i can actually get a good night's rest. so if you want the best learning experience in the beginning, try going for the days. if later you decide you want to try a less stressful (although it can be more stressful due to lack of resources), then consider nights. just be ready to purchase sleep aids to help regulate your sleeping. good luck with your first job!

So I have this grand idea. As Heart Failure is the #1 hospital admission diagnosis (even more than pregnancies!), the need for HF management is there. The direction of our healthcare system is going toward preventative medicine as well. In Sweden and some areas of the U.S, nurse-led HF clinics are decreasing hospital admissions, costs, and in effect deaths of those with unmanaged HF. My girlfriend is a nurse, her sister is a nurse, and I have friends that are rad techs, cardiac rehab personnel, and social workers. I was thinking... wouldn't it be a great idea to start a heart failure clinic run by nurses? The only difficulty would be to have an NP or MD sign on for prescription management. As I am in an MSN program right now, I was thinking I might go the route of NP just so I could do something like this. I would love to own my own business and this seems like a really good idea. I have the people, the patients are out there, and healthcare needs this. Any ideas or thoughts? Anyone see HF clinics around in there area?

Salary?

Thanks, that sounds great! Any recommendations on study materials? I am thinking about this book, AACN Essentials of Progressive Care Nursing (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/AACN-Essentials-Progressive-Nursing-Chulay/dp/0071480129/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202186703&sr=8-1 I want to get a head start as I am about 1,000 hours away from the requirement, hehe.

I work at Abbott Northwestern and new graduates with a BSN start at the same, $27.27.

Does anyone know if there is a specific requirement that you need to practice for so many years (rather than for hours) to take the PCCN exam? Pasted below is the actual eligibility from the AACN site, which is unclear to me in terms of length (years). I am guessing it's just hours, which would be awesome! CLINICAL PRACTICE PCCN exam candidates must have completed 1,750 hours in direct bedside care of acutely ill adult patients within the 2 year period preceding date of application, with 875 of those hours accrued in the most recent year preceding application. http://web.aacn.org/DesktopModules/Certifications/pages/Certifications/general/pccn.aspx#Eligibility

I have to completely agree with you that working one or the other would be much better. I am having a tough time adjusting my sleep schedule every two weeks. Do you have the same troubles? Maybe it's a new nurse thing and we'll get used to it. One thing I do like about nights is that I have time to read the physician notes to get a complete back story on the patient. Unfortunately, I can tell you I catch at least a couple errors a week when I work nights. Just recently I had a patient that was waiting to be discharged until her PFT results came back. She did her test two days prior to my shift. Well I had time to sit down and read the respiratory note which said that she was non-compliant and they could not finish the test. Twelve physician notes later, most copied-pasted, the plan was "still awaiting PFT results." Needless to say, I reported my findings to the day shift and we got the ball rolling that AM. That's the one thing I like about nights. Hopefully we'll get used to it!

I have been a cardic nurse for four months now since I graduated this past May. I love my job! Just recently though, I had an interesting patient who was high school aged and on my floor for an overdose (attempted suicide). She had a prolonged QT interval which is why she was on a cardiac floor. This patient got me interested in the psych field (I do have a psych minor as well), but am wondering what sort of jobs are out there for RN's wanting to work with adolescents/psych/suicide attempts? Any volunteer work positions so I don't have to change from the floor I am on for a couple years? Thanks!

Heh, cardiac GUY here too and loved it :)

This is the exact way I was thinking as well. I thought that I could be juggling for two years what I wanted to do and by that time, I could have an MSN already! Even if I decide to do NP or something along those lines, I'll have many pre-req's out of the way by getting this MSN. I am starting my 2nd week now and things have been going great. Just go for it!

Thanks so much, these are great resources! If anyone finds more, please feel free to share. I am going through orientation right now and officially start at the end of the month. I look forward to working with this patient population. -Jason

Hi everyone! I am a cardiac telemetry RN at a large hospital in MN. I just accepted a volunteer clinic nurse position at my local Planned Parenthood as well. I am curious if anyone has suggestions for nursing resources. I am new to the contraceptives/STI/reproductive systems/women and men's health aspect of nursing, but am very interested in it. I am into public health (have my PHN) and am currently working on my M.S.N in education. I figured PP would be a great place to expand on this. Any books or websites would be great. The only books I could find are geared toward medical doctors and not necessarily for nurses. Thanks! -Jason

Thanks. Admin can delete this thread. Retrospectively, I don't know why I included male in the title, oops. -Jason

Hi everyone! I am a cardiac telemetry RN at a large hospital in MN. I just accepted a volunteer clinic nurse position at my local Planned Parenthood as well. I am curious if anyone has suggestions for nursing resources. I am new to the contraceptives/STI/reproductive systems/women and men's health aspect of nursing, but am very interested in it. I am into public health and am currently working on my M.S.N in education. I figured PP would be a great place to expand on this. Any books or websites would be great. The only books I could find are geared toward medical doctors and not necessarily for nurses. Thanks! -Jason

Thanks for the responses everyone. With PP being a large provider of reproductive health services, I know I will get a completely different experience from the cardiac telemetry job I hold. I can't wait for what I will be able to offer! Anyone have suggestions for reading? I want women (and men) to feel complete trust in me while providing them care. I always like to brush up on my current knowledge, so any advice is appreciated :) Thanks! -Jason

I am chuckin away looking :) What is the MSEd in your name? -Jason

What kind of hours/week are you putting in? I think I might start on Oct. 29th... -Jason

As men only represent ~5% of the nursing demographics, are there places that offer scholarships for us? I've been looking at attending grad school for my MSN nurse educator degree, then eventually move on to receive my PhD and teach at a university. I feel that part of addressing the nursing shortage is to get more men in the profession... and more male professors to help advise potential students. Any ideas? -Jason

I think I'm going to apply for the Oct. 29th start date. I'm about 75% sure right now! I just graduated in May from my BSN program and will be balancing my awesome, new job with the MSN-educator program if I do it. I hope the commitment won't be too time consuming. I'll be volunteering at Planned Parenthood (hopefully) as well. -Jason