KSELRN

I did almost a year of med/surg after graduating, and I'm glad I did. It actually wasn't my first choice of jobs, but I really liked the hospital and decided to just do med/surg even though I wasn't crazy about it. I learned a lot of the basics, time management, etc.

You've gotten some great replies so far. I started out in hospice with only 1 yr. experience as an RN. I didn't expect to like it as much as I do! I do mostly hospice admissions, which tends to be a little different than what the case managers do on a daily basis. I think you'll do fine. Even though you're kind of "on your own" out in the field, there's usually a nurse on call, or a supervisor that you can call with questions. Good luck!

At a hospital I used to work at, there were I/O sheets on the bathroom door (on the outside), so that it was easy for everyone to record I/O's. If your unit doesn't require all pts to have recorded I/O's, maybe you can make your own sheet and put up on the walls in the pts rooms to remind everyone to record everything?

I'd have to say Critical Care was the best and hardest class. It was so interesting and challenging.

I work per diem for hospice. I don't do the on-call part, I do mostly admissions and sometimes repeat visits for established pts. I've found the pay is pretty comparable to other nursing jobs. I really like doing hospice. I originally got into hospice because it was the only job that would offer the flexibility I needed (I have 2 little boys and want to stay with them during the week, working only weekends). I actually like it a lot more than I expected to. I go to pts homes, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. Please feel free to ask me any more questions, and I can do my best to offer advice! Good luck.

It's possible that the nurse could have narcolepsy... kind of unlikely, but possible! Narcoleptics do fall asleep like that, even if they are completely rested. I have been researching narcolepsy lately, because I think I may have it... and it's very under-diagnosed. I think you did the right thing by reporting her behavior. I am not trying to start an argument, just trying to give other possible reasons this nurse might have been so sleepy.

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! Even though these are the things I tell myself practically every day, it's nice to hear it from an outside source!

Hi everyone! I'm having kind of a hard time right now with my career choice, and just need to hear about others who might be in or used to be in the same situation. I'm an RN, and I graduated nursing school in '02. I worked almost a year (med/surg) and then had my first son. I wanted to stay home with him as much as possible, so I started working just one day per week. I felt like that gave me the best of both worlds-- being with him most of the time, but still being in the nursing field a little bit. So now I have 2 sons, and I am continuing to work one day/week (now doing hospice admissions) which works well for me and my family... BUT... it's so hard knowing that I STILL don't have that much experience, and I haven't been able to get started in the specialties I'm interested in because I only want to work one day a week, and most places aren't going to hire and train someone who only wants to work minimal hours like that. I still think I'm making the right decision by staying home with my sons, but it's hard to know what I'm missing out on in my nursing career! Anyone else out there in a similar situation? I do want to start working more hours once my kids are in school, but that's still a few years away (they're little, ages 3 and 16 months!).