BayAreaRN

Orient or Orientate? The word orient as a noun means "east." It may be capitalized when referring to the geographical location of the Far East. Example: Hong Kong is located in the Orient.Orient as a verb means to "find direction" or "give direction." The noun form of this kind of orienting is orientation. Sometimes people in their speech will form an imagined verb from orientation and say orientate. There is no such word as orientate. The correct word is the verb orient. Incorrect: Melanie is helping me get orientated to the new job. Correct: Melanie is helping me get oriented to the new job. by Paul Niquette

1. why did you enter the nursing profession? the money. i was clueless that nursing is a hard-work profession. all i knew when i applied was that they pay well -- and for good reason. you really work hard for your money. 2. what do you like about being a nurse? able to be able to see different things all the time. it's a pandora's box of learning opportunities. it's up to you to open it. 3. what do you not like about being a nurse? the politics. it is sooo true that "nurses eat their youngs". beware of it! i also don't like how you don't have enough time to really take care of your patients because of all the million of things that are going around you. there's just not enough time.... very very frustrating. 4. do you think you get paid what you deserve? no. rns deserve more. 5. do you think that nurses are respected by the doctors you work with? doctors are trained to see nurses as handmaidens i believe. although there is a big push to change that image, a lot of mds still think that way. but things have changed i think. i work in a university hospital, and a lot of mds (interns and residents) listen to rns... but that does not equate to respect. 6. what do you wish you would have learned in school to help you in the real world? the basics... bring back the basics. i think during nursing school a lot of students lose their common sense. 7. what is the worst situation you have ever been in? worst? my floor always get a rapid response at least once a day. it's the wastebasket of our hospital. but the worst, i would say was when i had 3 pts - all of them needing constant care. one case however was really bad. she needed a one-to-one constant care. she was a patient who was having some alcholol withdrawal and was exhibiting delirium tremens. so she was really anxious, agitated, confused and constantly fighting treatments. we placed here on a posey vest, wrist restraints, and was receiving valium every hour, haldol and ativan every 2 hours. i had to start 6 ivs, had to get 5 blood gases, had to hold here down everytime we gave respiratory treatment.. and just being at the bedside constantly! acck!! impossible. 8. what is the most rewarding thing about being a nurse? that i didn't screw up at the end of the day. i always get "thank you's" at the end of the day... but it doesn't help aleviate the stress, fear and my sore feet i had after 12 hours. 9. do you think new-grads should start in the er? i think so. i believe that anybody is capable of starting somewhere , no matter how much experience you have. 10. are you thinking about leaving nursing? floor nursing yes. i actually got a non-bedside nursing job offer and will start next week! please also include your sex, age, what department you work in, and your type of degree (asn or bsn)? male, 27, iicu,bsn

Hey! I'm a new grad as well and been in the job only for 8 months and I feel exactly the same way as you do. However, I figured that if I feel miserable in this job.. why stay? I'm starting a new job as a cardiac data and quality coordinator in another hospital and so I'm quitting floor nursing (for now at least). I heard so many bad reactions from my co-workers saying that it's the wrong move, that I need more time doing bedside... but IT'S NOT THEIR LIFE. Figure out what you really want and go for it. Life is too short to be miserable.... nursing is not just bedside... there are lot more opportunities out there. Goodluck!

There are a lot of hospitals in the SF Bay Area that offer new grad training programs. Here are some of the hospitals that you can check: 1) UCSF - San Francisco 2) Alta Bates Medical Center - Berkeley/Oakland 3) VA SF - San Francisco 4) St Marys - San Francisco 5) St Francis - San Francisco 6) Kaiser Permanente - Oakland/San Francisco/All over the Bay 7) John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek 8) Stanford - Palo Alto 9) California Pacific Medical Center - San Francisco

Well if you go to the Bay Area, the average starting salary for new grads is $40. I don't think any newgrad RN earn less than $35 (if you're employed in a hospital... I'm not sure about nursing homes... but I'm assuming it should be close to $40). Goodluck!

I'm in the new grad program at Stanford and I'm loving it! Our batch is the first one to start with the RN Residency program and it offers us UHC classes year round, where we get ongoing support. We had classroom training for 2-3 weeks (depending on your unit). You get ur own preceptor for another 6-10 weeks. Stanford is a great place to work --- great teamwork, new technology, excellent benefits! We are also in the process of applying for Magnet status. We also do electronic charting so bye bye to lots of papers! I would definitely recommend Stanford to new grads!

I work in the Bay Area (San Francisco) and I am a new grad (graduated July 2006). I work in a teaching hospital and my starting pay is $40. I have a friend that works at a nursing home and she gets paid $32. So you def. get paid more when u work in an acute setting. :)