justjill

i'm currently in my third year of psych nursing on an inpatient community acute care facility. i've working in several other areas of nursing....but psych is very different for me than the other areas. nursing as a general profession is draining...but for ME, psych nursing is challenging me in ways other areas have not. i've found i'm a better listener. not only do i have to hear what the person is saying, i also have to hear what they are NOT saying and try to determine what is really going on. because of this i've become a better communicator/listener/helper/friend. i understand now the devastating toll mental illness takes on people and families. but i've also seen people rise above--people who refused to allow their mental illness define who they were. i'm a much more cynical person now. i've been lied to, manipulated, and tested by the best of 'em. i don't like this part of psych nursing. i don't like being skeptical of people and their motives, but i feel if i had NOT learned this, i would not survive in psych. i am an assertive person after working in psych. people do not take advantage of me any more......i've seen first hand what could happen if you allow people to walk all over you. i have no problem telling it like it is.....and i have no problem confronting people who need confronting. i've learned what real teamwork is in regards to nursing. when i am working night with just two female mental health workers and a full unit of clients, i know my safety lies in my MHW's hands. we work as a team....look out for each other....and have to trust each other. these are the things that come to mind. i do think working in psych has changed me. some negatives, some positives.....but for me, the positives outweigh the negatives.

nurse midwives... i know this is not what this forum is for, but i'm getting desperate for some real advice. i love CNM's....i've actually been to hyden, ky to the frontier school....stayed in the dorms as a student studying cultural issues with rural nursing. (my fav. room was the living womb :)) anyways, to my broken heart... my husband and i have been trying to get pregnant for 2 years. i'm almost 26, he's 25. been married for 4 years...have a wonderful relationship.....desperately desire to add a little one to our family. i've gone to an ob/gyn due to lack of options here......DH's sperm count was great, way above normal. My HSG was perfect. the problem is my progesterone level. the doctor immediately put me on clomid, which i took for 7 months. absolutely NO CHANGE in my progesterone level, regardless of the dose of clomid. my progesterone level has not been higher than 2 this whole time. i have long cycles....approx. 35-39 days. other than the long cycles, my periods are normal. i never, ever skip a period.....no bad cramping or any problems. i feel like i've tried everythnig within my realm of trying....we did the robitussin, aspirin, pillow under the hips after sex.....i've been desperate. my OB wants to continue treating me.....says he does not feel like i need a reproductive endocrinologist because i'm too young (he says 'don't worry....you're young....it will happen'). do you think i need a RE? do you have any ideas of things to try, or advice? i just feel broken right now.

hi, everyone! I need some advice. I'm getting ready to start working on my master's degree and right now i'm weighing the different options and programs. My ultimate goal is to teach. I love teaching...right now i'm a clinical instructor and teaching part time at a community college when i'm not at my full time job working as a psych nurse. I would love to teach psych nursing. What do you recommend I do for my masters? the options right now are getting an advanced practice degree in psych or getting my masters in nursing education. i'm worried if i get my degree in psych, i will be limiting myself as far as teaching goes. and if i get my masters in nursing education, i'm worried i will be less marketable because i don't have a 'specialty'. any advice? what would you do? thanks!

hi cheerful! :) i'm a proud hoosier, and i think indiana would be the best choice! yes, the winters can be kinda bad, but it makes for a beautiful christmas! and fun for sledding! are you looking for a big city atmosphere or smaller town? i'm from northwest indiana, right by lake michigan, and it is a great area cause you are so close to the beach; you can have a small town atmospere, yet you are really close to chicago (i've heard they pay really well in chicago). my neighbor who is a nurse takes the train into chicago every morning and says the hospital makes it well worth her while. anywho, those are just my thoughts! good luck on making this big decision....and have fun with it :)

Right now i would have to say OR....i can not stand wearing a gown and mask and gloves....i always feel like i am going to pass out whenever i do clinicals in the OR.

hi michael! :) my advice would be to NOT work the 10-6 shift...i know from personal experience that it is terrible to sit through classes after working all night....once i sat down and stopped running around it seemed like my body just shut down and i was exhausted. 3-11 sounds like a good option for you, although it might be difficult to get homework completed. as for hospital or nursing home....i would reccommend working a hospital as a student. i am a senior BSN student and i have been working as a student nurse on a busy surgical floor. it is great! i have learned so much and actually get to experience some things i learn about in class. BUT, if you want to work in LTC, then you should try the nursing home. i think either way, it will be a great learning experience. good luck with whatever you decide!

i'd get checked for mono....especially if you are a student....i had mono my junior year and i had two big swollen lymph nodes-one on my neck and one in my arm pit area. good luck, prarie girl :)

good point, plato....i hate it when people make comments about nurses being "under" doctors or less than doctors....i consider nursing and doctoring to be totally different things these days...the focus of care is completely different

Plato....welcome, welcome, welcome! :) don't worry.....not everyone is back stabbing and cliquish....some people are just more bitter than others hope you enjoy it here....i know i have learned tons from the amazing nurses who post here!

...young nurses wear clothes that would make my head turn in a night club to work.... umm....i don't know where these "young nurses" you know work, but most of us wear scrubs...which are not flattering or even fitted! and no, cqc, i do not think that most young women go into nursing to meet or marry a doctor. you quickly learn that it is bad enough trying to work with most of them, let alone live with them! and to be honest, as a young nurse, i am a little offended by this post.

boomer....i know the two males in my graduating class felt like they were treated differently than the female nursing students. i'm not really sure exactly what it was they felt was different, but i know they believe they were treated differently. i think as a male entering a female dominated profession, it is easy to stick out and not 'blend into the crowd as much. sorry i don't have more to offer you.....good luck with school :)

hi! i'm a student, too, and i have heard that medsurg is a great are to start out in, especially if you want to get some experience under your belt. i know that every hospital is different when it comes to hiring new grads. some are very willing to hire for ccu/icu positions, others require experience (such as medsurg) i have three friends who graduated with their BSN this past april, and all three started in icu. they love it, and wouldn't want to work anywhere else. so, from my limited knowledge, i know it is possible, just check out the hospital to see if they hire new grads for critical care positions :)

hi sarah!! i have quite a few.....we used one for our dedication ceremony Nurse's Prayer Lord, please help me to bring Comfort where there is pain Courage where there is fear Hope where there is despair Acceptance when the end is near and A touch gentle with tenderness, patience and love or... Let me dedicate my life today to the care of those who come my way. Let me touch each one with healing hand and the gentle art for which I stand. And then tonight when day is done, O let me rest in peace if I have helped just one. those were a couple we were thinking about using...hope they help. :) good luck!

hmm...so many memories!! and i'm still in nursing school! how about me passing out the first time i saw an NG tube go down.....i was so embarrassed! i fell right into my friend Lacey's arms.....my face is turning red again already! and once i had an older male patient say to me "sweetie, i just want to let you know that i just love having nursing students take care of me! i wish all nurses had to wear those see-through white pants." i never bent down in that room again!

i really like our call light system....every nurse and aide has a small cell phone, and when the light goes off the aide's phone rings. if the phone rings more than four times without being answered, the call goes directly to that patients nurse. Once you answer the phone, the patient can tell you exactly what they need and the light goes off. these phones are great because you can also call anyone else on the unit or in other parts of the hospital. it saves a lot of needless time wasted trying to hunt a nurse or CNA down.