Ruby Vee BSN

CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching

Original Member of the Crusty Old Bat Society

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All Content by Ruby Vee

  1. Ruby Vee

    a healthy fear?

    Ruby Vee replied to hmarine88's topic in General Students

    Fear is a good thing. It's what keeps you from making a really big mistake. The thing that scares the experienced nurse more than anything else is a student or new grad who ISN'T fearful! Being...
  2. Ruby Vee

    Already Tired of Bedside

    Ruby Vee replied to Cruzan_RN's topic in First Year After Licensure

    That first year is miserable. Let me say it again -- that first year is miserable! You are tired all of the time, you're overwhelmed and feel stupid. Everyone around you seems stupid, and it seems...
  3. Ruby Vee

    Frustrated and Ready to Call it

    Ruby Vee replied to Idiosyncratic's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Night shift is a fact of life for nurses. I've worked them on and off for forty years. If you change jobs or move to a different city (husband in the military), you'll be back on night shift. So...
  4. Ruby Vee

    New grad competency - what do you think?

    Ruby Vee replied to esrun13's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Everyone is a little different, but it usually takes about one year to become confident in your job, and about two years to become competent. Do you see the problem? At one year, you should have a...
  5. Ruby Vee

    How do I transition specialities?

    Ruby Vee replied to paulahill's topic in Critical Care

    Is your goal PICU, or just any ICU, adult or pediatric? Do you belong to any hospital-wide committees? That's a good place to meet managers, educators and other folks with some pull when it comes to...
  6. Ruby Vee

    So what have you been doing while the allnurses.com upgrade was happening????

    Ruby Vee replied to traumaRUs's topic in General Nursing

    I enjoyed a white Christmas in Idaho. I drove four thousand miles over at least four mountain ranges, three time zones and seven states. I'm happy to be home, but I had a great
  7. Ruby Vee

    Is it wrong to ask

    Ruby Vee replied to Meredithhg's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    It sounds really tacky to
  8. Ruby Vee

    I'm Shocked

    Ruby Vee replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    Perhaps they used "Dr. Blue" or "Blue Cart" or some other "Code" where he did his previous rotations. Or perhaps he had been up for 36 hours and was more or less brain
  9. Ruby Vee

    Any advice for a new grad trying to stay afloat?

    Ruby Vee replied to Rainbow_RN's topic in General Nursing

    Sounds like typical first job stuff to me -- we all went through it. I felt like the most stupid nurse ever licensed, and had a really hard time my first year. The hospital mostly hired their own...
  10. Ruby Vee

    Force to change unit in the middle of shift

    Ruby Vee replied to Anon143's topic in General Nursing

    It's floating, and it's covered under the ever-popular "and other duties as assigned" part of your job description. You cannot be FORCED to go at gunpoint, but than can terminate your employment for...
  11. Ruby Vee

    Holiday Bonus

    Ruby Vee replied to sunnyskies9's topic in General Nursing

    I've been a nurse since the late 70s, and I've never received a holiday bonus. We used to get turkeys or gift cards to the grocery store, but it's been a long time since I got even
  12. Ruby Vee

    New grad feeling incapable or incompetent?

    Ruby Vee replied to ICURN5305's topic in MICU, SICU

    I agree with much of this post, but disagree with the part about asking for different preceptors. Our unit gets so much turnover that there ARE no different preceptors. Anyone who has a pulse and...
  13. Ruby Vee

    My coworkers dont like me because I bragged

    Ruby Vee replied to esrun13's topic in First Year After Licensure

    You've learned a valuable lesson. I wouldn't advise going out of my way to apologize to anyone for your bragging -- you aren't 100% positive that this is why they don't like you and if it's not, you...
  14. Ruby Vee

    Help! Not sure which unit to choose.

    Ruby Vee replied to foxhoundma's topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    There's a lot to consider besides ratios, which probably won't be what they project anyway. Pay, benefits, commute, and hours are all considerations. Length of orientation is another, and even more...
  15. Ruby Vee

    Remember pagers?

    Ruby Vee replied to Davey Do's topic in General Nursing

    Man's Best Hospital was still using pagers for their critical care transport team when my husband retired a few years ago. We had a bowl near the front door where we'd drop our keys and phones when...
  16. Ruby Vee

    Rude Nurse

    Ruby Vee replied to RNGraduate.18's topic in General Nursing

    I'm not sure where people get the idea that being a nurse means you have endless compassion for all. That simply isn't true. Nurses are people, too. Some of them are kind and compassionate and some...
  17. Ruby Vee

    after med surg ...

    Ruby Vee replied to medteleER's topic in General Nursing

    After five years of Med/Surg, you can probably transfer anyplace you want to transfer. If you want to go to ER, apply there. Seriously. You already know how to be a nurse, how to talk to physicians...
  18. Ruby Vee

    Return to Med-Surg, new way of charting slowing me WAY down

    Ruby Vee replied to Persephone Paige's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Ask your preceptor if it's possible for you to spend a day with the computer while she does the patient care. I did that with one of my orientees, and it only took one day for her to catch on the the...
  19. Ruby Vee

    What to expect from orientation

    Ruby Vee replied to bnm65435's topic in Emergency

    I am not now nor have I ever been (or aspired to be) an ER nurse. I've been quite happy in ICU since 1982. But I have oriented a good many new nurses, so perhaps I can give you some generally...
  20. Ruby Vee

    pre-nursing student soon to be military spouse

    Ruby Vee replied to bremvr's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    How long is your husband-to-be going to be in California? If he's just transferred there and looks to be there for another three or four years, it might be to your benefit to move to California to be...
  21. Ruby Vee

    What To Expect From Your Preceptor

    Ruby Vee posted a topic in General Nursing

    We all have had these fantasies of what our preceptor would be like: warm, nurturing, a mother who protects you from doctors, managers and raging Physical Therapists and a friend who welcomes you to...
  22. Ruby Vee

    Drowning on the floor...only 2 months in. HELP!

    Ruby Vee replied to NewKidOnTheFloor's topic in Nursing Career

    It sounds pretty much like what we used to call "reality shock." Most new grads go through it, but the good news is that it DOES go away. It takes about a year to feel comfortable in a new job, and...
  23. Ruby Vee

    Changing departments

    Ruby Vee replied to NikethaR's topic in General Nursing

    I've stayed at my last two jobs for 14 years each. It was a major switch from the west coast to a new job on the east coast, but it turns out I loved that job even more. I never got bored because I...
  24. Ruby Vee

    How do I become stronger clinically?

    Ruby Vee replied to alexamasan's topic in General Nursing

    At two and a half years in, you're just becoming competent. (It takes about two years, although I cannot recall, at this precise moment, the name of the genius who wrote that.) So if you are...
  25. Ruby Vee

    Pts who insult you?

    Ruby Vee replied to 2018nurseandbeyond's topic in General Nursing

    You cannot change another person. The only person you can change is yourself. So, either make up your mind not to let it get to you, or work with his doctor to change the time of his