pieinsky

Hello there... I see that this is 7 years ago! But any of you can point in the direction of current avenues of training. I am in the Boulder, CO area. I know there is RN Faces down south. I appreciate any information. I have 6 years in med-surg and looking for a change. Thank you!

I understand this strange social phenomenon. I experienced it when I first started my floor job (not ICU) as a new nurse 6 years ago. Now, for the most part, I love my team of nurses. That said, our ICU has a reputation of nasty nurses, mean, and don't even think about going there. No intrigue on my part, thank you very much. This is one thing I can't stand about nurses in general who are so mean and eat their young. Though things are OK with me now on my floor, I'm actively looking for other opportunities outside the hospital. I feel your pain, but all of the suggestions above are great. When I was experiencing this, I just found the people who were truly kind and helpful and didn't give anyone else the time of day, worked hard, and cashed the paycheck. Hang in there!!

I have to say that my nursing job is the most challenging and difficult job I have ever had. And I've been around the block, in the over-50 crowd. I went to nursing school at age 45, always had that itch to be a nurse. I was "pie in the sky" (hence my name), was going to save the world, make a difference, blah blah. And I wasn't just a young thing when I embarked on this journey, mind you! I hated my first job (the same one I'm in today!). I'd be nervous as hell going to work each day. I almost quit too. But something happened: I found my own ways to deal with the floor, the art of adaptation. PistolChick said: "The truth is, when you set for yourself a very high standard of care and have a good work ethic, finding that you're never able to meet your own standards is very very depressing to say the least. " That is SO true. But you get your own style of nursing and adapt to the situation. I know, easier said than done, and it has taken me over 4 years to feel more confident in my abilities. And I love my job now, at least most days. That being said, the hospitals and the powers that be make it very difficult for us. Work us short, make us play RN AND aid for patients, require us to attend so many hours of education (which of course I don't mind, but . . .) . . . I have rarely ever taken my full lunch hour in the four years on the floor I work on. In fact, I would have me a nice little bonus if I would have clocked that I had no lunch all those times. The families can be very draining as well. You are literally running your ass off most days, keeping all the balls in the air. So how do you adapt? Take care of yourself, on and off the job. Don't get to work late, it throws you off. Drink plenty of water and have healthy snacks at work cuz baby, forget the lunch hours most days. Develop efficient practices. Have a talk with those family members, i.e., you have 5 siblings of a patient calling in to check in on their brother. You say, all right. I need one volunteer who will be the go-to on information and talk only to that family member. Tell them you are trying to spend more time with that patient, but being called to the phone every 10 minutes is thwarting that effort. When things get really crazy, call on your charge nurse to help you, or in impossible situations, say "I just can't do this all." To sum up, I do love my days off and live for them and thus look at this job as any other: clock in, take orders, institute orders, do your thang as a nurse, hopefully make someone smile and appreciate health care some days, then clock out. Period. As far as holidays, I've been divorced for years, and my family has had Christmas a week early, a week late, the next day or whatever. You adapt. So I'm being frank when I say nursing is a hard profession and things can be really bad out there some days. But sometimes, you just have to take yourself personally out of the situation, adapt, do the best you can, and then be satisfied with your effort. Amen......

My first year was absolutely horrid for me. Now almost 4 years later, it is improved, but let's face it, floor nursing is physically and mentally taxing, requires much multi-tasking (which experts are questioning may lead to early dementia!). I'm not sure what you did before nursing, but if you're comfortable with computers and the IT part of the hospital, you may consider nursing informatics. It's an up and coming field in nursing. BTW, not sure what you meant by you didn't want to go into med-surg because you wanted a challenge??? I take a little offense to that. Good luck with figuring it all out.

Thanks to everyone who responded to me! You don't know how much I appreciate your input. I am going to shadow a nurse next week for 3-4 hours at the DaVita center where I have applied. I don't expect it to be easy, and I can't believe how technical it all looks. I have a feeling I will opt out on it due to the distance in traveling plus I am sincerely not dissatisfied with my current position, just looking at other opportunities. Thank you again for your time So sincerely, Pie In Sky

Hi Everyone! I have only posted a few times but have thoroughly enjoyed reading all that's out there! I need some advice. Are any of you out there dialysis RNs? Work for DaVita specifically? I'm a fairly new nurse (a little less than 2 years) and have worked on a very heavy med-surg floor, postop, ortho-neuro, etc etc etc. I feel like I've come a long way in a short time (esp at my age!) However, since I'm almost 50, I'm thinking I want to specialize. DaVita really appealed to me from the standpoint of being a Fortune 500 company with great training programs, no work on Sundays and not much on holidays. I've had an initial interview and I think they want to hire me. I'm going to shadow an RN at the center for a half day next week to get a real taste of what I would be doing. What is holding me back is that it is almost 3 times the distance in drive time (as there is not currently an opening in my city). But I would work 3 days and not 4 and could also transfer if an opening became available closer to home. I also have 5 years in at the hospital I work (I worked in a non-nursing position before becoming RN). I know it would be less hectic than my current position and that appeals to me. I'm just a little disenchanted with hospital floor work with the understaffing we have (work many times without aids, etc) and definitely don't want to be doing it as I really get older! I would love any feedback from anyone that has been in dialysis, esp anyone who has worked for DaVita. It struck me as a nice atmosphere when I toured with them. An RN friend of mine said, "But do you want to work all day long with your patients hooked up to a machine?" Any advice would be SO appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!!

Dear KayceeLee: I have never posted on this website, but your posting left me so empathatic. I too am a new RN, almost a year now on the job. I work on an orthopedic/neuro floor which also added telemetry PLUS if there is an empty bed, we'll take WHATEVER! The RN who oriented me (for 2 weeks and then I was on my own) was leaving this floor because she hated the pace). I'm thinking, "Wow, thanks, you're orienting me but you hate the place." I have to admit now that it was the most awful 6 months of my life. The pace killed me as a new nurse. I felt a terrible anxiety each day as I drove to work. I almost quit. Then at 6 months something happened: I discovered a new confidence that just came about from being there on the job. I prayed for confidence each and every day and vowed I would just stop, deep breathe, and accept each new experience that would come about. I can't say I'm totally the confident RN I want to be, but I don't think we ever stop learning and growing. But I can say that I truly can relate. Try to give it a little more time and get confident in the most awful circumstances. I've been told the floor I work on is the hardest and heaviest in the hospital (aside from ICU and ER). So I'm proud of myself for having endured it. Yes, you can believe I'm looking at other options. But you really need to have a few good years before you can start being too picky. Bless you, child! If this "old lady" at almost 50 who got nursing degree a year ago can get through it, you can too. Hang in there, persevere, believe in yourself, find your allies, and you will find success and confidence. Yes, in the meantime, ALWAYS be looking. pie in sky RN in Denver area

Hello Fellow Nurses! I wanted to say hi and say that I've looked a little bit at this website, curiosity sort of thing and decided to introduce myself. I live in Colorado. I am a new graduate as of May 2006. I was counting on a new grad program at a hospital very close by me in fall, so took the summer off, traveled (nursing school was tough!). Then at last minute, the program fell through and I ended up taking a job with the hospital where I precepted and also was employed as a medical transcriptionist for 5 years previous. The new grad program sounded so nice, with lots of orientation and following with a mentor for a good amount of time. It's just that they put it off until Jan 07. In the meantime, I didn't feel I could just sit for another 3 months and not get a nursing job. So I took a position with the hospital I work at already, working 3-11 on an ortho-neuro floor with lots of medical cases as well. I've been orienting but feel so overwhelmed. The shift is crazy with D/Cs and direct admits and postops happening as I hit the floor. I am expected to be "on my own" in less than a week but feel totally overwhelmed. This orientation has been 6 weeks (with 4 on the floor). I'm frustrated w lack of help with aids (many times we don't have one...) There are a lot of other issues as well. Before I go ad nauseum with this, I'll say that I'm giving it my best to go to end of year (my 3-month break-in period) and if at that time I still am feeling lost, I am considering reapplying for the original new grad program(they assured me they were having it in Jan 07, that they wanted to hold on to my entire application and be considered. I guess I can still consider myself a new grad, less than a year?) Any feedback would be useful. I just feel overwhelmed that I am expected to know everything in such a short period of time and feel I am a liability to the floor rathern than an asset. I have never felt this way in any other thing I have done in my life. BTW: I am 48 and went to nursing school (a life-long dream) later in life as I got my kids in college. My grandmother nursed until she was 70, got her BSN at age 60, being an LPN from her early 20s, so I figure I could do this! I love my patients so it's not that I don't like nursing. It's being slammed with so much so fast! Any feedback is welcome. Take care Everyone! PieInSky:uhoh3: