sunneeRN

The interview went well. She said that she is going to offer me the position. She was trying to tell me how busy it is, and how I have to be able to do all this teaching, which is exactly what I expected...but she did manage to get me second guessing if I could handle it. I keep coming back to this...if I can take care of 8 sick, sick oncology patients with a ton of meds, I can probably manage my time on a busy post partum floor once I learn everything that I need to learn. What do you think? Also, I called my current manager to tell her about my interview but she hasn't called back yet. I am just so nervous to tell her that I am going to leave. I feel such a sense of loyalty to my current unit and I feel so bad for leaving them at a time when staffing is very low and the unit as a whole is just in bad shape. Any tips on how to make that phone call a little easier to bear? thanks!

OK so I have my post partum interview today. Why is it that I all of a sudden feel like a new grad? I'm all nervous and driving myself crazy! I feel like I did when I was brand new to med/surg....I feel like everything is so overwhelming and that I won't be able to handle learning a whole new world again.... In need of a pep talk!

Hi, I have posted before about possibly moving from my women's health/oncology position to antepartum, however, a few post partum positions have opened up and that is what I have ALWAYS wanted to do. I have applied, and we are setting up an interview (so nervous!) but before going into the interview I'd like to know a few things. 1. I've been in my current position for 2 years. how long do post partum units typically orient nurses that aren't brand new but are brand new to OB? (I will ask at the interview, but I'd like to know what is normal) 2. Will it be a really difficult transition for me, going from having 7-8 patients to having 7 pairs of moms and babies? 3. what is the normal nurse to patient/baby ratio? (again, I will ask what their's is, but I need something to compare it to) Thanks a lot!!!!! I sure hope I can be among the OB nurses soon!

thanks for the posts so far! my manager's response to our staffing concerns were " i guess it's time to be creative." i wanted to ring her neck. Hard to be "creative" when I am trying to assess, pass meds, walk patients, help them to the bathroom, chart, try to find a working computer, try to find supplies, do a million dressing changes, try to make patient's families happy, pass water pitchers and nourishments, and deal with cranky residents. just to name a few. day shift says that she leaves every day at 2:30 regardless of whats going on on the unit. takes 4-5 smoke breaks a day, and never asks to help anyone. one day, they did try to put her to work and it took her 45 minutes to straight cath someone and draw blood from a port. and she still doesn't have a clue. sorry about the vent haha

I feel like a clumsy fool in my dansko's. (great description by the other poster about walking on wooden blocks!) At the end of the shift, my arches and the top of my feet hurt so bad, i want to toss them in the river. i've tried wearing them several times because they were so expensive, but i had to admit defeat and give them to one of the nurses that loves them. I have a pair of K Swiss that I really like, however a lot of the nurses swear by those nike shocks (not sure if I spelled that right) Good Luck!

OK things are progessively getting much worse on my unit as far as staffing and staff morale. The attitude is "if my patients are still breathing, than it's ok." That is not OK with me. Last night, I cared for 9 sick oncology patients. One of them was a nun, and we talked for 20 minutes. When I walked out of that room, I cried. She told me that she felt we were failing her..(poor thing had actually been DROPPED off the OR table, and then proceeded to have a lot of unfortunate events happen post op). I did not become a nurse, only to hear my patients say that. Thankfully, I have stayed true to myself and give my whole heart, and 100% dedication to these wonderful people but my morale is going down the tubes as well. Nurses have tried talking with the manager and nothing is changing. budget, budget, budget. I can't sit back and let this happen. So I need some help. Please, if you are an oncology nurse, or even med surg, what is your nurse to patient ratio, or what do you feel is a managable patient assignment on oncology? And do you feel that the morale on your unit is the same? I keep hearing that it's worse at other places, but that really makes me sad. I'm considering taking an OB position now, so that I can feel like I'm making a difference. (They are better staffed in our hospital than we are.) Oh what to do! Thank you for listening and for your help!

i take care of A LOT of post ops and to be truthful, the only time I really look at the intraoperative notes is if I have concerns about something. If they get to the floor and have a sky high blood pressure, I will look at the trends and everything, but I'll tell you what I DO review everytime is the PACU notes. How much pain medication they required, their vitals, etc. Sometimes if they complain of weird pains, I will check out their positioning in the OR but the only things I am really concerned with are VS trends, intakes, outputs, and EBL. Don't really have time to look at much else!

Hi everyone! OK I've been a women's health/oncology nurse for 2 years now. I love the people I work with, and I love most of the patients, but I've always, ALWAYS wanted to be an OB nurse. I work in a women's hospital, so transferring would be very easy for me to do. However, something is holding me back and I'm not sure what it is. I don't know if I'm afraid to lose med/surg skills or what, but I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. Here is my question. When you decided to become an OB/Gyn nurse, did you feel like you were losing skills? I know I would have to learn an entire new area of nursing (which I would love) with an entire new area of skills to learn, but something in me wants to always keep up on whats new in the med/surg world. maybe i'm just afraid of specializing? I'd really love your input. There is a position open now in high risk antepartum. Should I go for it?! thanks!

I have to say that we hired a nurse that was 7 months pregnant and while I don't know the details, I do know that our manager had to let her go after she had the baby. The manager said, though, that when she was able to return to work, she could rehire her.

Pittsburgh, PA I started at 19.03 an hour. Now, it is 20.03/hr. 21.03/hr if you work night shift

You know what?! Those are wonderful suggestions. Thats what I needed, a kick in the behind to start LIVING my LIFE! Thank you!!! You are all great!

I am a young nurse (24 years old) and I work steady night shift. I was just wondering, if you are my age (or when you were my age), what do or did you do on your days off? Sometimes I feel like the entire universe is at work while I sit at home during the day and honestly, i get sorta bored. (married but have no kids) Would you recommend nights to someone my age? I realize the solution would be to work day shift, but the day shift is so busy, hectic, and crazy, that I'd really rather not. Those nurses don't end up leaving until 9:30 pm anyhow! So what do you do to occupy your time on your days off?! Thanks!

Glad you are considering Pittsburgh! There is the West Penn/Allegheny Health System, and West Penn has just become magnet, but I work for UPMC. So really, I can only tell you about what I know...UPMC has a TON of hospitals all over Pgh and surrounding areas. What type of nursing are you interested in? Magee Women's Hospital of UPMC specializes in womens health and OB, there is Children's Hospital of UPMC, Presby(lots of trauma and transplants), Montiefore, and a lot of other smaller UPMC hospitals all over. They also have Western Psych if you are interested in psych nursing. My starting pay as a new BSN grad was 20.03/hr and that was around 2 years ago. UPMC always hires new grads. Now the hospital that I work for has its problems, just like any other hospital...but I find that I work with a lot of supportive, smart nurses and that made starting as a GN very nice. I would suggest going to www.upmc.com for nursing info. I just got a list of all of the hospital's HR departments and started calling. It helps if you know someone, though. If you are ever in the area, the best thing to do is to just go to one of the hospitals and speak directly with nursing unit managers. a lot of times, HR says that they aren't hiring, but the unit managers beg to differ! As far as apartments, there are a ton everywhere. I'm sure you will have no problem at all finding one of those. Good Luck with your nursing career in pittsburgh! its a great place for research and learning! Here is a website for upmc that summerizes what each hospital specializes in: http://www.upmc.com/HospitalsFacilities/HFHome/Hospitals/

at my hospital, they want us to say upon discharge "thank you for choosing (our hospital), we know you have a choice as to where you want to receive your healthcare and we are glad that you chose us"....i'm sorry but if i say that, I will truly feel like I work at a hotel or something. I'd rather say have a safe trip home, feel better soon....or something heartfelt in my own words!

I have to agree with above poster. At our hospital, RN's wear all white. On weekends when my boss isn't around, I wear printed jackets and my onc patients love them. They always make a comment on how a bright jacket is so much nicer to look at than the white all of the time. To me, as long as you look clean and professional, it shouldn't matter what you choose to wear.