randybayrn

We are all computerized. In the morning most chart on the flow sheet by system covering all systems. Then I was taught to just chart by exception each 3-4 hours after that depending on the babies care times. So each time I chart after the initial head to toe, I chart position changes, feedings, things like this that are done at each care. Our MAR keeps track of each med given and pain and IV's pop up automatically to be charted on every 2 hours. We also chart on safety/emergency once a shift and things like serocult test and blood sugars when necessary.

We use the Sound Ears in each pod. I find that because they are new, most nurses do not look at them much. I took a class on them and they related high noise levels to ADHD and all sorts of other stuff.

The nurse recruiter or your own college. It is usually called a practicum or preceptorship.

I am a new grad RN and love it so far. I was also an LVN for 10 years. The possibilities are endless in nursing. So yes, encourage encourage encourage!!

Our hospital is now all paperless and Docs must type in their own orders. Yeah!!

Just to add.......RN's used to have to work in med/surg for years to get to the ICU. I think some of them can be resentful of the fact that new grads can now walk into an area that they had to work hard to get to. I have heard many comments about new grads not paying their dues so to speak. If you really want to know the answer, go to forums and click on critical care, and then click on MICU/SICU and start reading. When I was trying to make a decision as to what specialty I wanted to pursue upon graduation, I started reading through all of the old posts for MICU/SICU and it helped me make my decision.

I have also been looking at house prices on realtor.com. I am an RN and live in Orange County, CA. My conclusion........NO as an RN you can't afford to buy a house in So. Cal. Sad, but true!!

UCLA Medical Center in Westwood is opening up a brand new replacement hospital in September that will be huge. 1 million 50 thousand sq ft. Supposed to be the largest in the US. It will have all the latest equipment etc. You can see pictures of it and where all the departments will be if you search UCLA replacement hospital. The new grad program is supposed to be great. Starting pay is 28.80, but you get a raise in 6 months. Parking is about 60.00 a month and union dues are about 45.00. Great place to learn as they specialize in everything under the sun. When I was there they have rotating shifts one month days one month nights for the first year. This was the ICU though so I am not sure about the ER.

I am a new grad in an RN residency in the NICU. Out of 8 of us, 2 had precepted on the unit extensively through their schools. They are way ahead of us, so yes, I think it helped.

I am also a new grad that has started in the NICU. My RN residency is 6 months and starts with about a month of classes before we get to the unit. It then mixes unit time with class time until near the end of the six months when you are pretty much just doing unit time. We precept on the shift we were hired to with a two week exception where we are scheduled to work the opposite shift to see how things are on that shift. I am basically writing because I had my first week on the unit last week. My program has an excellent reputation, but I still came home and felt completely overwhelmed. My first day was great. I love my preceptor too, but the second shift was completely overwhelming. We had so many admits. Such a high census and super acuity level. I feel a little better today as I wrote down all of the diagnoses of my baby and looked them all up on the Internet today. Wow, I had no idea my baby was so sick. Anyway, I hope this helps a little to know that you are not alone. I too feel completely overwhelmed!!

I also like the free lunch idea.

One thing that may help is to log onto the forum for PICU vs NICU. Read the overall attitude that the nurses have for their jobs and get an idea of what people think about their positions. It seems to me like NICU nurses are generally very happy with their jobs. They also seem to like to take on new grads and teach them. I have heard that starting in the NICU is great because the med calcs and dosages are so small that people from other areas have problems with it. Also what about cross training to the PICU after a year or two. Many times NICU floats to PICU and visa versa.

There is a very rare disease called Behcet's Disease that has canker sores as one of the main symptoms. It is an autoimmune disease that attacks the blood vessels, kind of like Vasculitis, but the main symptom is canker sores. This is a highly under diagnosed disease and very few general practitioners know about it. It is treated by a Rheumatologist, and the meds that are commonly prescribed are Colchicine and Plaquenil. People who suffer from this disease can have other symptoms that range from genital lesions and small red spots on their legs all the way to blindness and other more devastating symptoms. Some of the patients have been known to complain to their doctors about mouth ulcerations on a continuous basis only to be told that they have Herpes of the oral kind and or genital Herpes when these mouth ulcers were accompanied by genital lesions as well. Behcet's is not at all sexually transmitted though some of the symptoms can mimic Herpes. These patients suffer tremendous pain as anyone who has these sores can attest to. The sores can be anywhere in the mouth though usually not outside of it on the lips. They can also have anywhere from 1 to like 20 sores at a time and the one sore may be as large as a quarter. Symptoms can be somewhat continuous or not as frequent as this disease is marked by exacerbations and remissions. The sores may also be the typical size as well. Behcet's is more common in Japan and the leading cause of blindness in males. In the US it is more common in woman and does not usually progress to such an extent that it causes blindness or severe problems. It does however cause extreme pain in these patients where they cannot eat, drink, sleep, concentrate, they sweat and have anxiety as it can be severe enough to activate the sympathetic nervous system just slightly. Again the pain is severe and often a pain med such as Vicodin is needed to help these people have somewhat of a normal life during exacerbations that can last 3 weeks out of 4, for months on end. The meds prescribed generally suppress the immune system just enough to prevent these symptoms from ruining there life. Just food for thought guys!

25.05/hr is the "base rate" you get this rate 0-8 hours time and a half after 8 hrs is 37.58/hr for hours 8-12 Add all that together and you end up with 29.23/hr At HOAG if you work 7p-7a you also get an additional 5.15/hr

California has a law that requires hospitals to pay time and a half after 8 hours for a 12 hour shift, which is typical of most So Cal hospitals except Kaiser has some 8 hour shifts. It is the law, and so you DO get time and a half. HOAG pays 25.05 per hour for the first 8 then time and a half for the next/last 4 hours. This equals approximately 28-29 per hour. They also pay a 5.15 per hour night shift differential if you work 7p-7a. The only hospitals that are exempt from this law are the ones that are affiliated with universities like UCI and UCLA, and this is because they fall under an exemption for public schools.