HipsterNurse

well... i graduated in december of 2006...i started orientation with an ip but a month or maybe more later, i took the nclex and failed. after that, i had to take it 2 more times. the total process was about 6 months. orientation for peds is 6 months. i had the problem that after i came back once i passed the nclex, i worked for umm i dunno maybe 2 more months? i then sprained my foot twice and couldnt walk-- had to wear various orthopedic devices... so i was off again... i returned to work after that for almost 2 months-- and i had 2 more days left on orientation i remember... but THEN I got into a car accident because i had a seizure when i was driving... and i kept having seizure problems throughout the whole year. by this time it was november and i decided that i needed to go stay somewhere where my family could help me instead of having no one to turn to when i have the chronic disease... so i moved to texas for 2 months... i returned back to cali seizure free... and orientation maybe another month or so... my time lines might be a bit off but im sure its clear that i had a very broken up orientation.

thanks for the words... it has scared me away... but i dont want to give up after working so hard to become a nurse. i just hope it gets better in time. i've had my share of crying episodes at work, after work... and sleepless anxiety filled nights the night before work. i was never much of a cry baby until i became a nurse... eek. just a word to everyone... especially those new nurses-- no matter how stupid you think a question is, if you don't understand something, ask for help. in the long run its better to look "stupid" to some doctor, nurse, or other person rather than having a patient harmed... im sure a dead/hurt patient will feel worse than you feeling stupid for asking a "dumb" questions =(

i have been working as a nurse for 2 months... #1: I gave a kid with a g-tube a med by mouth and was not supposed to. the order said po. the mom wasnt in the room, but she walked in after i gave the meds and the baby was coughing. she started yelling at me "didnt the other nurse tell you to put the meds in the tube!?" i traded patients with another nurse. #2: I had a MRCP kid with a trach and a mist collar. When I was changing her diaper her trach fell out and she turned blue and desat to 50% i thought maybe she was having a lot of secretions in her trach because she had been all day but not to 50%. another nurse came in the room and put her trach back in in a rush thank god. we had to call rt to put another trach in and assess her. we had to put the % on the mc up to 35% instead of the 28% that it was on before. her sats went back up into the 90s eventually after multiple deep suctioning and trach replacement. i was supposed to wean her to room air that day. think i did it? nope. i felt horrible. the nurse asked me why i didnt call someone sooner and said that i seemed oblivious to what was going on. i have been learning some hard lessons in these first 2 months of nursing =(

i would have hated nursing if i had to do some time in adult med surge. just gross. not my thing... i was hired right into pediatrics at the place that i work it. and most of my classmates were hired in the specialties that they wanted to be in. it really depends on the hospital. in most metropolitan cities, i wouldn't doubt it that they hire new grads because the demand is so high for nurses. I'm in long beach, ca and it seems like we are ALWAYS short of nurses. THank god for peds. I thought I was going to hate working with kids when I was in nursing school, but after that semester was over i realized i loved it!

does anyone else feel this way? i did my preceptorship as a student for 3 months from last september to december... i am now working in the same hospital, department, and have the same preceptor... everyone is great, yet i am still very nervous to be all on my own. does anyone feel this way at all? actually... i'm pretty terrified to start on my own. i feel like my head is going to explode when it gets too busy. I always write out what I need to do for my patients when I start, but it still seems like there is so much to do. I love working in the children's hospital, but it's so stressful. Any suggestions? I'm so stressed out. i have dreams about getting to work late and wake up ever hour the night before work...

There are so many jobs that people don't like. Problems exist in every profession. I can't really vouch for liking my job or not because I've only been at it for 2 months... So far I like it. It is definatley stressful being a new grad. THere are so many options in nursing. You could do anything from bedside care in the hospital, to community health, to teaching, to working in salons in beverly hills doing botox injections.

because babies can't talk back to you, you can hold them down, and force them to take medications, and they are just so adorable and huggable... well that's why i like to work with the babies most of all... haha... but i love peds =)

Don't go to san bernardino! I'm sure the school is not bad, but the city sucks! I grew up there. There is nothing to do! Housing is cheaper there and it is more suburban than L.A... But there are so many things to do in LA. THe city is filled with so much more culture then san bernardino.

i took the test 3 times... just don't give up! i think in the first place, i did not do enough practice questions... make sure to do questions questions questions. i know it is a teious process but it will all be worth it! it was the worst 7 months of my life! but you can do it if i could! good luck.

my assistant unit manager said it took her 2 years to feel comforatable. it takes time. it's not something that comes so easy. but it's a good thing to worry because that means that you obviously care about your job.