Heather, R.N.

We triage them. Like our pt who arrived by EMS the other day for burping.

Even though I am an ER nurse, I have no qualms with taking my kids in or other parents bringing their kids in. They are kids and due to the way diseases process in their little bodies, something seemingly minute could be serious. And besides, no good parent wants their child to be in pain. I DO have problems with the parent who has ignored the symptoms for several days or weeks and refused to see their PCP or treat fever/pain with Tylenol/Motrin, only to come to the ER and demand prompt, immediate, and exclusive treatment.

No freaking way! I'm married to someone who isn't in the medical field (he's a real estate developer) and thankyouverymuch, I love that. There is no way I would ever marry a doctor...

By the way, I'm not trying to be rude in my above post and I always treat techs with kindness and consideration. I definitely value them and their importance to the team.

Please forgive me for finding those statements incredibly offensive. There is much more to nursing than "passing out meds" and starting IV's and foleys. Do you know how a med works, why it works, why you need to give it, the side effects, administration techniques, and desired outcomes? Do you know how to accurately and completely assess a pt who comes into an ER c/o chest pain? Because believe me, it isn't always cardiac. What about a pt c/o GI pain? Because THAT COULD BE cardiac. Can you go into every possible route with your assessment and ask the right questions to determine the correct diagnosis? Considering how only nurses are legally allowed to assess a pt and taught how to correctly assess, I'm going to assume the answer is no. Can you anticipate meds, tests, and treatments for various illnesses? Do you know what to look for with dig toxicity? I never treat techs badly, but don't presume that working as a tech for 25 years trumps the knowledge of a nurse.

That's a sweet story. I know, as a nurse, I always appreciate receiving an extra thanks from a patient or family member (especially a deceased pt's family member- that's the ultimate compliment for me). I became a nurse because of my L&D nurse from 7 years ago. We now work at the same hospital (where I delivered) and they are talking about wanting to do a big story about it. The other thing is that a patient can impact a nurse's life just as much a nurse can impact a patient!

The cutest pregnant girl I have ever seen was just hired on at my hospital and she's 36 weeks... I say go for it. Some things are worth it.

I think there is in some areas... I'm an RN who was precepted by a certain LVN and I wouldn't have had it any other way. She was by far one of the best nurses, regardless of her certification, that I have EVER seen. I've seen some scary RN's and some scary LVN's... I think it's all relative.

Yes, yes, yes!!! Absolutely!!! I have never understood why injuring a police officer is a felony, but not a nurse, fireman, EMS worker, etc. We are out there on the front lines as well!!!

I've had two eipdurals. With my first son, I received it about an hour before he delivered and it worked wonderfully. I didn't feel a thing and actually laughed the whole time... With my second son, I asked for an epi long before he delivered, but the lab took their sweet time with my labs, so it took forever for me to get it. I was a 6 when the anesthesiologist came in and by the time he was finished inserting the epi- 5 minutes, I had dilated to a 10. It was very tumultuos and did not work AT ALL until about 2 hours after he delivered (they removed all parts of it and everything)... The pain actually got WAY worse. The anesthesiologist and my OB both told me it was because the baby crowned in the process and was blocking the effects... So, I don't know??!! I know it didn't work for me, but it ended up being *kinda* cool since I got to feel when I needed to push. One push, actually!!!

You win!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

When I was in school doing my ER clinical, I heard an exasperated mother come screaming into triage that her 2-year-old had a "rare acute tropical rash" (Q: "Have you been out of the country recently?" A: "No, but we did go to Dallas last week.") developing on his hands and spreading rapidly up his arms. Her words. Blue Crayola marker. Washed off under running water. No rubbing necessary. :lol_hitti Oh, I'm headed to the ER in a few weeks. I can't wait!!

I just started an ER internship, but I've been a nurse for a year and a half. My hospital only hired 2 interns out of 20 applicants. The other intern is a new grad. January/June are typical start dates for most internships. But, my med-surg internship in 2006 started in October for me. Orientation is usually 12 weeks, but can be longer if you need it. We need ACLS, but some facilities require PALS also. I think we're a level III center, but we are a "foremost" cardiac ER.

When I started out in med-surg, I oriented for 12 weeks. I just got a new job in the ER and my orientation will be 12 weeks after 2 weeks of classes.

I found 10mg Coumadin tabs in the 81mg ASA drawer. Oops...

Hi! Several of my friends did this as well... Unfortunately, I didn't... (Sigh.) But, yes, DFW offers this! Good luck!!

Thanks! I figured there was a difference, but wasn't sure what it was!

The NET was pretty easy if I remember right. That was 3 years ago, though, so... Who knows?!! :) I guess they changed up the HESI a bit? We had to take a specialized HESI as a "second" final for every class and then after the senior II semester we had to take a comprehensive HESI to graduate. We got two chances in order to graduate on time. All but one person passed and graduated on time from our class, but that girl passed it on her 3rd try. Ah, patho... PM me the name of your instructor if it's not Dr. Handy. She had these great books that she wrote and at the end of each book was a list of review questions that were pretty much identical to the exams. That's pretty much how I passed. Patho was hard. I think the one thing that helped make it click for me was to break everything down into body systems and learn it that way, rather than trying to incorporate everything all at once. I barely remember that class, though... lol... But I do remember that it doesn't matter much about the info. It's just hard. Luckily the rest of your education relies more heavily on pharm rather than patho!

Well, I think the application rate was just crazy that semester. And they look at your science GPA more than anything... Thank God I live in Denton now!! (Oh by the way, I was driving from north of Denton to Arlington everyday, so it's doable if you're looking at schools up here. Boring, but doable.) I don't know what the HESI A2 is, but the HESI we took was a cumulative exam over EVERYTHING- every subject- we learned during school. It was difficult, but I passed it the first time and I was pregnant and brain-dead. So, you can do it.

Oh yeah, I graduated with $20,000 in student debt, but I deferred the interest... A lot of hospitals will contract with you and pay for your education if you promise to work for them for a few years. I wish I would've done that... Well, not really b/c I had a baby a week after graduation, but aside from that, it's a good deal.

I'm a December '05 grad from UTA- yes, the class with the 100% NCLEX pass rate! :biggringi I loved UTA!! It is an excellent school, very well-respected, and the faculty is awesome. I transferred from TCC with a 3.65 GPA. They accepted my hours with no problem. That semester, over 800 people applied, so you can see where I'm going... (Go to their site and print out a copy of the course list.) The drive on I-30 was hardly ever a problem for me, but I was coming from Fort Worth. I don't think I-20 was ever too bad either. Definitely apply. They do have an interview and essay, but I think that's what sealed the deal for most of us. I don't know if they still require the NET exam, but they did when I applied. They also changed the curriculum up quite a bit to make it easier on the students, which I'm happy about. When I was in my first semester, they had us take Patho, Pharm, and Concepts along with Foundations and ?? (I forgot the course- lol!) They also now require the HESI exam in order to graduate (we were the first class to test), which is a good indicator of NCLEX rates...

Yeah, 2 years for me. But my bonus is being paid out over time so I've already allotted a payback if I have to! Are there any hospitals around DFW that don't offer a bonus, though?

I agree w/that. I know that Baylor does offer both a sign-on and retention bonus... But they're all located too far from where I currently live- which is a shame b/c I really wanted to work there. As far as the hospital you're referring to, that's what I've heard, but I don't have initmate experience there. I was offered a job there as well and they're close to where I'm moving next year (Aledo), so I was considering a transfer. I'm currently at an HCA hospital, which I swore I would never do anyway... lol. Will you PM me and tell me why I should stay away from there??? I really don't want to end up somewhere that is horrible!

I understand what you're trying to say, but virtually every hospital in DFW (Baylor, THR, and HCA) is offering a sign-on bonus. The hospital you're referring to has an excellent reputation. DFW is growing at a crazy rate- faster than almost anywhere in America- and if resorting to hiring new nurses helps fill the void, it is still better than taxing out and overextending more experienced nurses.

Well, girl, lemme tell you a story. The stork visited my nursing school. I got pregnant (while taking OB- well, not while taking it, mind you- it happened at home) with my second son during my senior year. He was born the week after graduation, but was a month early... One of my friends got pregnant literally 5 days before me and her daughter was born the month after graduation- almost 2 weeks late. Another friend had her son 6 weeks before I did (born in October) and another one of my friends got pregnant with twins. We were all pregnant at the same time! And we all made it, all passed the HESI on the first try (we had to pass in order to graduate), all graduated, and all passed the NCLEX on the first try. It's doable!! Speaking from experience, it can be done. My hard thing has been going back to work. I've been fortunate that I've been able to take the past year off (I start a new job in 2 weeks) and 2 of the other moms took some time off for maternity leave as well. That is more difficult, imo, than trying to finish nursing school. Also, we all freaked out a little more than most pregnant moms because we were well aware of every minute thing that could go wrong. lol... It does take a little more effort, but it's not the end of the world!! Good luck in whatever you decide!!! (Oh, that I know of, only one of us actually planned the pregnancy, so what happens, happens!!)