JenRN30

They’re going to burn their nurses out quickly, and will probably have a mass exodus at some point. Sounds like you should find something new, no work/life balance at all.

If I were you, I'd listen carefully to the advice of those who are doing, or did, what I wanted to do. Whether or not you take the advice is your choice, but calling people that are trying to help you ignorant is probably not the best decision.

Yep, Banner is infamous for this. They put up a job listing with no specific information about the job, just the generic crap that was in the job you were interested in. I don't know how they get people to apply without even a short summary of the open position. Not a Banner fan, if you couldn't tell...

I'm so glad to hear that your son is doing well, and of your great experiences during a difficult time! Good luck with your studies, and keep us updated...

This. Possibly a hiring freeze altogether since there is no positions listed. I'd apply to other positions as they come up, but if you see the same ED position posted again in a few weeks, I'd apply again and see what happens...

This is very accurate. I think your problem is a mixture of both being a new grad, and the acuity level. I have gone through the same feelings that you are and almost gave up altogether. Your feelings are normal, and you'd have many of the same feelings no matter where you were working. The feelings of anxiety will pass once you start feeling more comfortable. When you have a situation come up (code, procedure, etc.) that you haven't dealt with before, you need to rely on coworkers to show you how to handle it correctly. Hopefully you have strong coworkers/charge nurses that assist you when they see that you're in over your head. If they're not recognizing that you're having a hard time, you need to speak up. If they still aren't willing or able to help, then you need to get out of there. New ICU nurses need to be able to rely heavily on their experienced coworkers. Once you've seen how situations should be handled, you'll know what to do the next time you see it happening. Looking from the outside in, I think you should try to stick it out for a year, or until you can get an ICU or NICU job in your hometown (if you want to move back). Try to get into a large facility, because there should be more opportunity to transfer between units. Hang in there. It WILL get better :)

So, are you saying that they make someone triple with a post-code? Wrong, if that's the case. I work at a large hospital with neuro, cv, surgical, medical, and trauma icu's, so we usually have a few beds open. If we didn't and had someone that needed to come to the unit, we'd try to see if any of our patients could be transferred to the floor. If not, and we had no beds, they'd have to go to the ED to be held until a bed opened. ETA: just reread your post. If we had an admit that needed to come to our unit, we'd send a patient to one of the other units to make room.

Try states where the economy is good, low unemployment, etc. Think places like North Dakota and Oklahoma.

Oh Adam, very unfortunate.As well as applying locally, you need to start applying out of state, as others have mentioned. Try places where there still is a nursing shortage, especially for specialties like ED. A few places come to mind (middle of the country). Make sure and look at smaller, community hospitals. Hopefully they'll be willing to overlook your mistakes, and gossip won't follow you. Good luck, I hope you find something quickly.

This seriously makes me sick to my stomach. That poor woman. The family probably feels so guilty, even though they couldn't have known.

It's extremely difficult. I have a 5, 3, and 10 month old. One of the things that makes it work for us is me working night shift. Everyone likes this better because I wake up @ 1430, get the kids from school/daycare, and have a few hours to spend with them and make dinner before I go back to work. If I worked dayshift, I'd leave before they got up and get home after they went to bed. You'll figure out a system that works best for your family, but it'll be a big adjustment. By the way, my first job was in Tulsa :)

How about Thurs - Tues? 6 in a row, then 8 off. Those 6 shifts are hard, but the 8 off is so nice. You have time to be a normal person.

Not to discourage, but I would never be able to do it without my husband. We have a 5 yr old, 2 yr old, and 5 month old. I work nights, and he works from home and travels 2-3 days per week. I'm able to self schedule, and he travels on my days off. They go to daycare 3 days per week. It's very difficult because there are many hours working shifts in a hospital that most daycare hours do not cover. Nannies are great, but you're right, they are very expensive. And as a personal preference, I would not want anyone except my husband or a family member to be with my kids overnight. I hope that your friend can get something worked out, but it will be extremely difficult without a lot of family support. Especially on a new grad budget.

You will most likely qualify for pell grants/subsidized student loans. I think you should go for the cheapest, quickest option ($40k?).

I would definitely take the job. The hardest part about night shift and being married for me is not sleeping in bed next to my husband 3 nights per week. But, as others have said, we spend time in the afternoon before work. in my experience though, once you get your foot in the door of a unit and make a good impression, day shift positions open up pretty quickly. I think you should try it and see how it works out.

Can't you just get a sitter to pick her up from school and stay with her until you get home?

I got my first job in Tulsa, OK. Nice place to live, and relatively inexpensive. Starting pay around $20/hr.

I agree, wouldn't usually call on this unless the pt had a significant cardiac hx. I'd just wait for the doc to round in the am and make sure some PO K+ was ordered.

TheCommuter is right on with the pay scale for SJMC, and Tulsa in general. Good hospital to work for though, best in the area, IMHO.

I recently switched from taking benadryl to melatonin, and it works great! When I get off after 3 days, I'll go to sleep as usual and wake up between 1 and 3. Then I'll take melatonin around 10pm, be asleep by 10:30 or 11pm, and wake up the next morning ready to go. It's been working out really well for me. OP, I hope you can get this figured out because I know how frustrating it can be.

Aww, I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. You should definitely see your practitioner about the anxiety you are feeling because it does not sound normal. Some anxiety is normal, but anxiety attacks before and during work is not. Secondly, working every other weekend is just tough, especially at this point in your life. When you have kids it will get even tougher knowing that you're missing family events and time with the family unit. It does become kind of routine and you get used to it, but I still dread the weekends when I know something fun is going on and I'm going to miss it. Stick it out for awhile, and after a year or two you can look for a M-F, or a new job with less weekend responsibility. Good luck, everything will be ok! Congrats on your marriage.

Congrats Sweetsleep! What a weight off your shoulders!

I just had to go through this same situation, except it was a new facility for me. I interviewed at 12 weeks, not showing, started on the unit at 16 weeks. I ended up telling my boss at 20 weeks because I was really starting to show at that point (I work nights, rarely saw my manager, and my coworkers were starting to notice). Just as A&Oxnone said, it's going to be awkward, no getting around it. I would think about making an appointment with your new manager pretty soon, maybe before you start, and let her know. Then there won't be any "surprises" when you show up for your first day. It will be a pain in the butt to schedule around you during your leave, but if you show up on time and don't call in sick before you take the time off, then you'll be fine.

I definitely think PCU, if CRNA is your goal. Like you said, you'll be able to transfer to ICU after a year or so which is where you need to be. In OR, you might get to meet some CRNA's to shadow, but you will probably have to transfer to med-surg for awhile before going to ICU. Interested to see what others say...

It's really not bad. I'm 6.5 months pregnant with my third child, working the floor again on night shift. I'd say the worst part is being really sore in my back and not being able to rest much on my shift. I think it will get tougher towards the end when I'm huge! I do agree with RN1555, people are nicer to you and more respectful. Go for it, you'll be fine! With a year at your company you can take FMLA, so plenty of time with the baby and then decide what to do after that. Good luck to you!