kyliebear

Damn right your going to make it!!!! With that attitude you're gonna rock as a nurse. So many give up, and it's so good to see someone who won't let their spirit be broke.

it is soooooooo hard in the beginning. i felt the same way and almost quit before i ever even got started. i'm so glad i didn't. i still have those days even after 5 years. first you have to remember that every single nurse you come into contact with was in your shoes at one time. it does seem that some of them forget they were once a new grad. personally i think that some nurses are uncomfortable with new grads, because they think they will ask a question they don't know the answer to. as a new grad you come out thinking that things are one way, when in fact they are completely different. i found a wonderful nurse who took me under her wing and taught me so much. i've experienced some new grads that think they know more than they really do, and when they have this attitude they block out the opportunity to learn new things. take advantage of everyone around you, not just your preceptor. the techs, the unit sec., the pharmacy, the laundry, the dietary, the phlebotimist. they all know things that can make you job easier. nurses are a small part of a big system, and we need each other to get our jobs done properly. don't give up just yet. we have all been there and look at all who made it through. i'm sure you can too. just take one day at a time and don't think about the next till you are in it. good luck and don't give up!

i so understand. i'm doing excelsior right now and i find it hard to study also. i have taken three test so far and none of them were easy to study for. what i do: i have a room just for studying and computer use, i lock myself in there and MAKE myself study. if i find my mind wondering, i go to the computer and print stuff r/t what i'm studying. i will take small breaks and then go back to studying. it's not easy. you are smart in that you are doing if fresh out of school while it's still fresh in your mind. i'm sure you may be a bit burned out from all the books, but at least it's still fresh. good luck.

first of all i don't want to start any trouble, but i do want honesty. for those of you that work at a hospital, how do nurses from ltc usually do when they first come to a hospital? are their assessment skills up to par? do they drown? do they adapt pretty well, pretty quickly? i'm thinking about trying to switch areas and trying to figure out what to expect.

did you go to another ltc facility, or another area of nursing? what differences have you noticed between the two?

i'm interested in everything. i love to learn new things, so anywhere i could learn something new would be great. change is hard. i know i need it, it's just easier said then done.

i more of a lurker than a poster, but you all have been a great support system either way. i work in ltc and i've about had it. i've been at the same place for six years and my stress level has risen a little more every year. i love my coworkers and my residents, but i HATE the politics of it all. i'm so tired and anxious anymore it's starting to spill over into my family life. this job has pushed me to effexor and now i fell like i need to up the dosage, because things are just getting worse and worse. i use to be able to do my job go home and feel good about the days work. now i want to poke my eyes out with my ink pen when i'm charting. i know nursing is extremely stressful, but are all fields so bad? is there anywhere you can go and enjoy your job? i don't think i'm being unrealistic here. i understand it not going to be rainbows and lolipops all the time, but gesh theres got to be somewhere that's not so stressful and unhealthy to a nurses mental health. i'm working toward my rn at this time so i'm looking for options that might fit. i'm tired of it being all about money and not the resident. i'm tired of working my a$$ off and not getting any recognition for it. i'm tired of not being able to do enough. i'm tired of all the chiefs and no indians.:angryfire please some advice here would be greatly appriciated.

Has anyone ever heard of having TPN in LTC or has anyone dc'd a pt to a LTC with TPN? Personally I think the fifteen minute inservice we got is an acident waiting to happen. No one where I work has a clue about it. He was a res and went out to the hospital and was stable enough for transfer but not stable enough for surgery. If anyone has any tips for me that would be great. thanks.....

I'm currently in the process of earning my Rn from excelsior. My question is since I'm already an LPN will I get the same quality of orientation a new grad RN once I graduate? I work in LTC right now but once I pass my boards I would love to move on to the hospital setting. Will they expect me to know more than I problably will? Will I be able to take advantage of the long orientation of other brand new grads or will it be shorter since I already have some experience? What has been your experiences? What's the policy of your hospital? I would appreciate any input. Thanks....

Thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know others feel the same. I'm just in a wierd funk right now, I'm sure it will pass. I've been a nurse for 5 years and haven't switched jobs yet. I'm in the process of getting my RN through excelsior, hopefully after that I will have the courage to switch to a different area of nursing. I think I might be afraid of change, even though I know it's for the best. Once you get comfortable and confident in your job you almost hate to start over in a new area, but I love to learn new things and I'm just not learning as much as I use to. I guess that's the good thing about nursing there will never be a shortage of things you don't know. thanks again

HI. Just wondering if anyone else was feeling the same way I do. I love my residents and some of my coworkers. That said I'm so tired and so bored. I work 7a-7p two to three shifts per week. It's a very nice LTC/rehab facility and one of the nicer ones in our area. I know many places are worse and some nurses can't go home feeling like their residents were taken care of the way they deserve to be R/T poor staffing. I just don't feel like I'm learning much new. Not that there aren't people there that could teach me, it's just I'm to busy making sure pills are passed, colostomies are emptied, charting on 25 residents ect..ect..for me to learn anything new. It's not like I never learn anything new it's just not nearly as often. I use to learn something new everyday(no longer the case) Do you all go through this and rebound or is this a sign I need to get out? I'm just so bored and feel like every night I've been run over by a bus by the time I get home. Thanks!

How common is it for an adult to contract hand foot and mouth from a toddler? A neighbors child has it and was over this weekend. My DD has no signs as far as I can tell, but I woke up with what feels like a cacker sore in the back of my throat and on the side of the back of my tongue. I'm not to worried about it, I just don't want my DD to get it from me. Thanks.....

Just wondering what are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a nursing union. Before I was a nurse I worked for UPS and was in a union and for the most part liked it, just wondering about nursing unions. Also were any of you at the same job when the union took over? How did it get started? How was the transition? I know this can be a touchy subject but would love some info. Thanks;)

Bless your heart. Sometimes when I don't feel like my DH understands where I'm coming from I write him a letter, just so I know he hears what I have to say. Maybe he doesn't realize how important this is to you. I'm an LPN and I just feel like I need to prove to myself I can succeed as an RN. I totally understand why this is something you need to do. No matter what your age is. Don't give up. Give him some time and then try again. Let him know why it's important to you to do this. Do you really think he would give up his marriage because of this. I'm sorry you have to be put in this position. Good Luck