Cree8ive1

Ha ha ha! LOLOL!

Thanks for the advice, Emergency RN, and for sharing your experience. I want to go to Haiti, too, but hit dead ends with the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. Google searches proved fruitless as well. Most everything I found doing Google searches wanted you to pay exorbitant amounts of money (like, thousands of dollars) to come do a volunteer stint. Not that I'm opposed to paying my airfare, etc., but most everything I saw wanted you to pay your own airfare AND that lofty thousands+ dollar fee to participate. God bless the people who can afford to do that. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. Anybody know of other groups sponsoring relief missions? To Haiti or elsewhere? I've always wanted to go to Africa to work with HIV/AIDS patients. Sigh...I'm sure it would be a life changing experience. Any thoughts or suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!

LMAO, "Leroy"! That's only true of ONE instructor! And are you really telling the truth when you say it's a good program? Is that just because you made it through? LOL! Just yankin' yer chain, man...

Wow. I'm shocked to hear that South Jersey supposedly has more openings than North Jersey. I graduated last year and, while I was lucky to find a hospital job, MANY of my friends STILL don't have jobs, or accepted temporary, per diem-type jobs giving flu shots, working per diem (no bennies or regular hours) at Ancora, etc. It's true. It seems like unless you know someone, or worked in the hospital in a different capacity before/during nursing school, you were left out in the cold. I don't like my job and it's not the specialty I want to be in, but I am grateful for it, and the learning expeirences it has provided me. HOWEVER, I do find the hospitals down here to be extremely "cliquey" and somewhat wary and unaccepting of "outsiders" (which I am, having been transplanted here several years ago from a far-away state, due to my husband's job transfer). Also, I find that a lot of the people who work in my hospital (docs and nurses) are kinda "too big for their britches..." like they think they're brilliantly smart, etc. Truth is, in our po-dunk little rural-ish hospital, the kinds of patients we see in our ICUs are probably comparable in acuity to the patients on the med-surg floors of Philly hospitals. By all means, give it a shot. A job's a job. But I, for one, can't wait to get outta south Jersey as a nurse! Best of luck to you!

Congratulations on your new position! If you're at all a night owl, I predict you're going to love night shift! Like a previous poster, I prefer to work my three shifts in a row, primarily because it allows me to live like a "normal" person the other days. ;-) Another benefit to three in a row is that you really get to know your patients, their histories, their meds, their routine, etc. If you work one off, one on, etc., you could have a completely different patient load each night...lots of research to really get to know your patients. You'll find what you prefer on your floor. On my first night in, I'll try my best to get in a 2-3 hour nap; usually from 2 or 3 until 5 p.m. Then I get up, shower, and am out of the house by 6-6:15. I come home and go right to bed (truly important for me if I have to go back that night) after a quick shower and two OTC CVS "Sleep aids." LOL. I only take them on the days when I have to go back that night. If I'm off that night, I don't. But if I don't get a good day's sleep on the nights I work back to back, it really is a struggle. I'm usually in bed by 8:30-9 a.m. With the help of my "sleepers," I tend to wake up once somewhere between noon and 3. I let the dogs out, etc., then go right back to bed until my alarm goes off at 5 p.m. Then I get up and do it all over again, minus the shower, because I took one when I got home. :-) Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. On my last night, I'll come home and follow the same routine, minus the sleepers. When I wake up around noon or 1 for everyone's potty break, I just stay up so I don't lose the whole day. Honestly, doing this, I get more sleep than I did on day shift. Think about it. Who comes home from day shift and is in bed by 8:30-9 p.m.? I NEVER was. I'd stay up until 11 or 12 with my family. And I'd still have to be up by 5 a.m., so I actually got LESS sleep. But then, I'm a night owl, and going to bed at 9 p.m. is just nearly impossible for me. Also, you might want to get a blindfold thing. I have room-darkening shades, but light sneaks around the edges of them. I need to get some lined drapes or something, I guess. And you might even consider some small foam earplugs to help drown out the noisy neighbor. By all means, let the neighbor know your situation, but don't always count on him/her to remember your work schedule. :-) Maybe look for a quieter place? ;-) And don't forget to turn the ringers off your cell phone and land line!!!! Unless you're a single parent with kids in school and need to be available for emergency phone calls -- everyone else can leave a message! Good luck, and let us know how you adapt to life "on the dark side!"

Hi, everyone. I have a couple of questions for any Bayada nurses out there, if anyone's listening. I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks in advance. 1. I graduated last year, May 2009, took my boards in June, and have been working on a cardiac stepdown (tele) unit since July 2010. I have passed IV certification, telemetry, critical care and my ACLS courses in this first year. I'm coming up on my official one year of experience and now really want to pursue the reason I went to nursing school: to work in home health/hospice. Does anyone know Bayada's policy on hiring newer nurses? Do they require one or two years of experience? 2. Do Bayada's current/starting pay rates compete with local hospitals? 3. Are most cases just like hourly (+/-) home visits, or are there a lot of private duty cases where you spend the entire shift with one patient? 4. How is scheduling handled? More specifically, do you work 8s, 10s, or 12s? Days, or nights, or a combination of both? How are weekends and holidays handled? 5. What kind of training/orientation is offered? 6. I know there's a whole host of situations you encounter in your day, but if you could describe a "typical" workday, what would you say (including time actually spent with patients, what skills needed to be performed, how much time is spent in documentation, etc.) Thanks so much for your insights. I'm getting ready to apply as I close in on my first year as a nurse, and would love as much feedback as y'all can muster. Thanks again!

Thank you so very, very much for this heartfelt account of your journey into hospice nursing. I am a new nurse with just six months' experience under my belt. I have so very, very much to learn. The way you described your experience working in the hospital before you became a hospice nurse is how I feel every single shift. I get sick to my stomach, sometimes, before heading into work, never knowing what's going to greet me...no support staff, not enough nurses, patients too sick for my unit, supervisors that just don't care, etc. I went into nursing school with the sole intent of working in hospice. Both of my parents were in hospice care at the end of their battles with multiple sclerosis. The heartbreaking problem I'm having, besides a supposedly saturated job market, is the fact that I don't have nearly enough experience yet to be a hospice nurse, my true lifelong passion and dream, and I don't know if I have the mettle to make it through two years of the hospital hell I need to make it through to even get a hospice company to talk to me. Anyway, thanks for reconfirming for me that I need to figure out how to get on the palliative care/hospice path. Do you know if newer nurses are ever hired into the hospice specialty? I'd welcome every minute of orientation they'd give me. I'm in southern New Jersey. Thanks again for your moving words. They were beautiful!

Just September for now. It's possible that the LPN-RN program might start in the spring, but I have no idea. Best to consult your nursing school admissions book.

Nurses get to do the coolest things! I had a blonde moment, though. LOL. I thought you were hired to "play" an "extra" nurse, like in a hospital scene in the movie. LOL! It would kinda make sense, wouldn't it? To use real nurses as extras in scenes that require a lot of medical personnel? They'd have some idea what they were doing, at least, and the scene might be really true to life. I'm thinking it would be cool to be a medical advisor (for medical accuracy, etc.) to any of the TV shows or movies about life in a hospital. How cool that you had this experience! Do you work elsewhere -- I guess what I'm getting at is, did you have to take time off from another job to do this one?

Hey, Nightwolf. While I totally admire your supportiveness of your wife, I sense that there's something she's not telling you about her reasons for not wanting to return to nursing school. Heck, she may not even be aware of the real reasons herself! Often, when we're afraid of something, we offer up excuses that may sound logical, but can be easily debunked. Is it possible that being a nurse is not her dream anymore? I get the sense that she's afraid, more than anything. Childcare, finances, and even age are definitely valid concerns, but thousands of nursing students across the country find ways to deal with all these issues and more when they're passionate about achieving the goal. I'm not knocking your wife, by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just wondering if maybe her priorities have changed. Or if she was so scarred by her first negative nursing school experience that she doesn't want to put herself through that again. Or maybe she's just not all that into it now, not into the insane amounts of work it is, all these years later, and is telling you what she thinks you want to hear (that she still wants to be a nurse, but...). I don't know you or your wife, so I'm just speculating here. Age: Being "too old" to go to nursing school is just plain silly, as your frustration with this argument indicates. LOL. The average age of a nursing student in this country is 33. I am 40. I'm getting ready to graduate in May. The oldest in my class is in her 60s. The youngest is 19. She could be a nurse by, say, age 46. That's a good 20+ more years in the workforce. Childcare: Challenging, yes. Impossible? Absolutely not. I believe you said you're a nurse, right? Assuming you work 3 12s (I know, never assume), you'd have some flexibility to be able to hang with your son. And you mentioned that your wife has three older kids. Perhaps they could contribute to the childcare issues. I know it's not easy, but I've seen people in my school alone, like many of the posters here, who have 2, 3, even 4 little kids, are pregnant and/or delivering at various points during their nursing education...they seem to be motivated by keeping their eye on the prize -- the understanding that a little bit of sacrifice now will pay off later. And it's not like they never see their kids -- they do things like take local weekend trips, etc., during school breaks and such. It's doable. Finances. Hundreds of thousands of nursing students figure out ways to finance their education each year, knowing that their financial situation will improve when they're a nurse; a reward for a couple of years of financial sacrifice. I also hear that there are a lot of scholarships out there in the world that often go unclaimed simply because people don't know of their existence. I guess the most important thing you can do is to listen to what she's NOT saying. I guess the most important question you can ask yourself is: Is this your dream, or hers? I think a previous poster said that. Good luck to you and your family as you continue to explore the issue!

Thanks so much for the clarification! I must've missed something in the reading somewhere. Thanks, too, for your words of encouragement about starting right in psych. It's definitely my number one plan. You all are a great bunch of people!

Wow! What day is the interview? Best of luck to you! I am jealous! LOL!

Wow, Dolce! Sounds like you've scored an amazing interview for a new grad! I'm graduating in May, too, and really want to enter directly into psych. I'm curious as to what state you're in and where/what this hospital is! Sounds like a great place to start, with lots of opportunity! Good luck on your interviews!

Thanks, Whispera! So you graduated at 42 and have been doing psych for 16 years with no regrets? You're my hero! LOL. I'm pretty darn sure it's for me. What types of facilities have you worked at? The place where I did clinicals is a little intimidating. It's huge -- 700+ beds -- with all types of folks including a criminally insane ward! And it's a creepy old hospital. From time to time you hear news stories of nurses being beat to a pulp by residents, etc. Not sure if it'd be a good place to start, but it might be the ONLY place to start, KWIM? Do you ever wish you'd done the med/surg thing? Or that you hadn't pigeonholed yourself in psych? Thanks so much for your response!

I'm just curious...as an upcoming new grad (universe willing!) in May, with a passion for psych, where would you recommend we get that critical/crucial year or two of experience? I'm not trying to be snotty -- just really concerned that I won't be able to get a year+ of behavioral health without having that year of experience in mental health. Get my drift? I'm 40. I am making a major career change, and pretty much went into nursing school with the idea that I wanted to specialize in psych nursing, and my school experiences thus far have definitely confirmed that. Any suggestions for how a new grad can "break in" to the world of psych nursing straightaway? And as for the OP, I'm so sorry you're having a tough time at work, and I, too, thank you for your willingness to show eager students the ropes. Our psych rotation was a bit of a joke. Half our class was at the second-largest state psychiatric hospital in the country (my half), while the other half spent their time on a regular hospital inpatient psych unit. Very different settings, but pretty much the same experience -- talking to the patients (residents....do you call them something else in a psych setting?) for a half hour or so, then going to various groups/therapies, etc., to observe. A friend and I who were on the same rotation and both have an interest in pscyh nursing STILL say to each other, "Did we even SEE a nurse on that rotation?" How can we say we'd like to specialize in psych if we don't even fully understand the nurse's role in such a setting? KWIM? Incidentally, the facility where we did that three week rotation (too short, in my opinion!) DOES hire new grads and above-mentioned friend and I are going there this week to pick up application materials. Does anyone have any thoughts on how an older new grad who is 99% sure she wants to be in psych can get a job in the specialty right out of school? Thanks, everyone.