gemini901d

I bought a pair of the Chung Shi's (all white leather). Their similiar to the MBT's. I've worn them for about a month now. They did feel strange for the first few minutes but I think they feel great so far. I had/have what feels like a serious heel spur on my left foot, but these shoes do help out a lot. I almost don't feel it with the Chung Shi's on. Although I still do some after they're off. I'm hoping that after a few months with these maybe I won't need cortisone or surgery. At $250 they're steep, but still a cheaper alternative than the former. We will see. J

Well I worked at Lehigh Valley's Muhlenberg (Regional Heart) campus and for a few months and HATED it. While some of the night staff were pretty nice there were a few coworkers, mostly really snotty day shift nurses who made it simply unbearable. If you get in with the right unit you would probably be fine. Some of the other units at least seemed kinda happy and close. That however was not my experience there. I guess that's why that particular unit has had so many problems, managerial and otherwise in the recent past.

Well I worked at Lehigh Valley's Muhlenberg (Regional Heart) campus and for a few months and HATED it. While some of the night staff were pretty nice there were a few coworkers, mostly really snotty day shift nurses who made it simply unbearable. If you get in with the right unit you would probably be fine. Some of the other units at least seemed kinda happy and close. That however was not my experience there. I guess that's why that particular unit has had so many problems, managerial and otherwise in the recent past.

Well I worked at Lehigh Valley's Muhlenberg (Regional Heart) campus and for a few months and HATED it. While some of the night staff were pretty nice there were a few coworkers, mostly really snotty day shift nurses who made it simply unbearable. If you get in with the right unit you would probably be fine. Some of the other units at least seemed kinda happy and close. That however was not my experience there. I guess that's why that particular unit has had so many problems, managerial and otherwise in the recent past.

Hi All, I'm an older(42), male, second-career, recent GN(BSN). Almost all healthcare professionals, (mostly friends, so I don't think they'd TRY to steer me wrong) that I've spoken with (RN's, CRNA's,Docs, etc...) have said that they believe that I should start my career in CCU. They have said that from their experience that they believe that that is where the best opportunities for me to be successful later on will come from. With that in mind, I have scheduled an interview at a big, busy, CCU nearby (ie. they've said that those with some experience here typically do well in grad school.) Since this is my second career, I don't have a lot of practical, clinical experience. I mean, I've done well in school, know how to read the books and take the tests, get good grades, always show up for my clinical assignments, do what's expected of me while in clinicals, etc... I, however, don't have a lot of confidence going into the work phase of this process yet (like I think some of my LPN classmates have). I hope that once I start (hopefully) on the CCU that I will have time to concentrate on CCU stuff and not have to spend so much time with OB, Peds, Psych, etc.... I'm hoping I'll get more confidence then. What should I highlite/downplay during my interview? What should I review prior to? How much should I review before I get there? I don't expect a lot of technical questions but I don't want to appear lost either. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as well. Sorry for making it kind of long but its really important and some background I think is necessary. Jeff

Hi All, I'm an older(42), male, second-career, recent GN(BSN). Almost all healthcare professionals, (mostly friends, so I don't think they'd TRY to steer me wrong) that I've spoken with (RN's, CRNA's, Doc's, etc...) have said that they believe that I should start my new career in CCU. They have said that from their experience they believe that that is where the best opportunites for me to be successful later on will come from. With that in mind, I have scheduled an interview at a big, busy CCU nearby (ie. they've said that those with some experience here do very well in grad school) Since this is my second career, I don't have a lot of practical, clinical experience. I mean, I've done well in school, know how to read books and take tests, get good grades, always show up at my clinical assignment, do what 's expected of me while in clinicals, etc.... I, however, don't have a whole lot of confidence going into the actual work part of this process yet (like I think some of my LPN classmates have). I hope that once I start (hopefully) on the CCU that I will have time to concentrate on CCU stuff and not have to spend so much time with OB, Peds, Psych, etc .....I'm hoping I'll get more confidence then. What should I highlite/downplay during my interview? What should I review prior to? How much should I know before I get there. I don't expect a lot of technical questions but I don't want to appear lost either. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated as well. Sorry for making it kind of long but it's really important and some background I think is necessary. jeff

I'm sorry if you were offended but I don't really think that I said anything disparaging about Louisville or Columbus for example. I've never been to either place. I was at least certainly no more disparaging than about my own home town of Scranton, PA. I simply included them in the same similiar category. A mid America category that could included 90% of the country. Our AAA sports teams play each other. I was just wondering if there were any compelying reasons why one would switch from one of these similiar cities to another. Although I was born near Scranton and have lived my life so far there I have no dillusions that it's Miami, LA or even Anaheim. The single, solitary reason that I could see someone remaining in Scranton (my only reason) is it's cheap, cheap, cheap. There would be no other reason for anyone to ever move here willingly. But there are plenty of people moving to places like Vegas, Tampa, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego and I understand if you could swing it. I was just wondering which of the moveable places would be possible or best for a recent graduate nurse.

Well, i'm glad to at least get a rise out of some of you. I've spent quite a bit of time in Cali and have never really found people there to be overly rude or obnoxious. At least not noticibly more than anywhere else. Have you ever be east to NY or NJ? I don't mind crowds so much and I really don't care all that much if everyone is falling all over friendly. Just wanna live my life pay the bills and feed the kid. I've experience the traffic in LA and San Diego and SanFran but haven't found it any worse than the Philly Skukyill Distressway trying to get outta town on Fri nite. Can't imagine traffic in Anaheim with so many lanes even on downtown streets. In Cali at least most of the expressways have been built with 8-10 lanes for the modern age, In Philly, just for example, the roads were built for horses and carriages REALLY, The Skukyill has 2 lanes each way and I'm not joking. Besides, as new grads working off shifts, would traffic really be a big commute consideration? I'd like to live in a real city if possible but why not at least pick a good one? Why would you live in cold, cramped, expensive Boston (big city) and not Anaheim or (Vista (east) or Carlsbad (north) commutable to SD).

Halinja, Thank you for the response. What I was wondering and trying to get some opinions on is Where and Why newly graduated nurses have actually chosen to live and work. I'm trying to figure out why someone unless you're born there like me in Pennsylvania and have family there would possibly choose to live in Pennsylvania (I did list a Few positives) or any other similiar area (ie Columbus, Louisville, Detroit, Kansas City, Omaha and on and on and on... Unless you are making ALOT of money who would actually chose to move here (Pa) or any of those other places. I understand about cost of living but doesn't Anaheim or San Diego area look ALOT better as examples only? I'm mean nurses do work there, right? I mean, if I'm not making alot more money in Spokane why would I move there? All other things being the same I'd rather be a little poorer due to the cost of living in a nicer place. Who would move to Buffalo for 22/hr.????????? I've heard that all nurse's in CA are unionized and therefore make more money than other states? Is that not true? $35.00 /hr in Anaheim even after cost of living looks ALOT better than $22/hr in Atlanta or Birmingham or PA. Am I missing something????

"Wow, why so quick to jump to a negative stance? " Quick?????????????? Noone has posted Anything to this thread in a week.

Well thanx to the 4 "secure" people on this board who bothered to respond though 200+ took a look. As underwhelming as I could have asked for. I guess "tell us what freaks you out" is a more amusing and gossipy subject worthy of 5+ pages of responses. I guess I can file this in the "If I'm happy where I am I'm not telling dept." It looks like the nursing field is the same as any other.

Thanx for the replies. South Jersey sounds like the best of these suggestions. At least so far :-( but still nothing all that encouraging. Unless the starting salaries are really good ($35+?) Columbus and Louisville sound kind of out there. The salaries in Northeast PA are Very Low along with the low cost of living but at least we have access to NYC (2.5 hrs), Philly (2), A.C. & Jersey shore(3), Baltimore (3) , Washington (4) and so on. Where would you get away to in Louisville or Columbus or for that matter if you live in Denver, Dallas, Detroit, Memphis or Boise for that matter. Like most I'd love to live in an urban/semiurban area like Anaheim or a SanDiego area but can't imagine it's affordable even though we don't have expensive tastes or needs ( just want to pay the bills and feed our child). I mean there are working nurses in these places right? Any other suggestions or ideas or am I way off with this question?

Hi All, I'm a 42 y/o married father of a 3 yo from Northeast PA. (low cost of living but low salaries too). Better in Allentown and Philly I'm told. I'll graduate with a second degree BSN in May and am starting to decide where to start my Nursing career (after 15 years in the computer field yeah everyone's heard of the dot.com bust) . Could I get some opinions on what City/Area is best for recent nursing graduates considering salaries/working environment/weather/cost of living/culture/schools. I've just read on Salaries.com how bad New York/San Fran/Honolulu/LA are and how good Huntsville/Knoxville/Reading, PA/and York, PA are but apparently culture and weather weren't part of their equation. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx once again for all input in helping me with this assignment. I really do appreciate you're taking the time from your busy schedule to help me. I really do promise to do the same when I can contribute.

Hi All, This is my first post so PLEASE forgive me if it's in the wrong place or any for any other reason inappropiate: I need some help with the following questions for my class (Nursing Issues) . We need to get some opinions from an actual nurse/some nurses about the following: 1. Have you ever met the ideal nurse? What characteristics do they have? 2. How do you define nursing? What activities are important for you to carry out? 3. What are the 3 main issues facing nursing? 4. Do you care if nursing is a profession? Will it affect the way you practice? 5. How would you change the current educational process for RN's? 6. Have you ever been to an N.P. for care? How would you rate your experience? If not, would you consider going to one? 7. Should unlicensed nursing staff be used to reduce health care costs? 8. How would you feel if a lawsuit was brought against you? 9. What traits did the best leader that you've known have? 10. What traits did the worst leader that you've known have? 11. What qualities do good/bad delegators have? 12. How do you perceive unions? 13. Do you use computerized records? How do you like them? Thanx soooooo much for ANY and ALL help that anyone could come up with to add about any of the topics above. I really appreciate you're taking the time to read and add anything you could to help me.