PostpartumNurse'07

how did you make $109,000 your first year out?? Please do tell! I work in Vancouver, BC, where cost of living is terribly high...like California...and I have started my first year @ $27.17/hour. I am a community health nurse so I don't get any shift or weekend differential. Any ideas for making extra cash? I think I will make around $50K this year.

dang girl, this is my dream job!!! Take it!

caroladybelle, oh, girl, I know exactly how you feel. I definitely run aways from the 'fatherly' type that wants a maid to take care of them in their old age. I'd rather be single than in that kind of relationship.

I have to admit that "I love to be needed", which is probably a large reason why I went into nursing. I'm fairly young (just turned 26) and not married --single, no boyfriend --and I have found that men who seem to be attracted to me are often the needy, emotional, help-me-fix-my-life types. Luckily I never ended up marrying any of them. I have since decided that if I am ever to be in another relationship, there are some basic standards that the guy must meet. Not superficial ones, but things like having some kind of ambition in life, supportive, confident, and not always complaining. Also, must have a job, or be on the way to getting a job at some point. (In the past, my only 2 long-term relationships were with guys that were unemployed indefinitely.) I think I've learned that a lot of the time in life, we get what we ask for. If I make it a point to have someone who is supportive and capable, versus whiny and lazy, then there is higher chance of me finding someone like that.

Hey fortman, what kind of psych nursing are you in? Sounds like a residential facility of some kind?

Thanks you guys, for all the replies. I appreciate the advice. I don't think I'll be calling my old manager about trying to get rehired. I thought long and hard about it, talked it over with a few people, and read these posts...and yeah, I don't think it is the right thing to do.

Hi there, why don't you think they will rehire me? I have no absenteeism or tardiness on the record. I do struggle with psychomotor skills at first, but once I get some practice, I am fine. It was because this IV pump is brand new to the facility and to me, and I hadn't given this antibotic before...I was frazzled.

Hi there, I am in desperate need of some advice. I am a new grad as of June '07, got hired 3 months ago on a very busy, large, maternal-child teaching hospital in Canada. I did my senior practicum on postpartum in a different province than I am in now and got hired directly onto postpartum at this big teaching hospital. To make a long story short, a few weeks ago the nurse educators and the manager had a meeting with me about concerns re: my clinical skills with IV med administration. I didn't do anything unsafe or anything to compromise pt safety, but they observed that my psychomotor skills with this new pump that we got, plus doing some of the drawing up for some antibiotics were not up to par. Basically the manager was really supportive and told me that she could set up some extra days with the educators in order for me to brush up on my IV med skills, but that "if the educators don't feel that you've improved, we'll need to talk about terminating your employment here". Now that last sentence really freaked me out. This is my first real job as an adult and I didn't want to be 'fired' and have that be on my record. I was still on my probationary period as well. In any case, a few days after the meeting, I talked with some of the educators and the program coordinator and came to the conclusion that me and this job wasn't a good fit because I have found it extremely stressful. I ended up sending in my resignation a few days later. Now, after a few weeks of searching for a new job, I am regretting my resignation. I miss the patients and the staff...and the management is good too. I am also struggling to find another position in maternity, which is where I really want to be. I think I made a big mistake... ....I really want my old job back. When I resigned, it was on good terms, and the educators and the program coordinator were very nice about it...they just said that I need to find what fits best for me. How do I go about trying to get them to take me back? Do you think they will? The manager is on vacation until August 13th, so I will probably need to talk to the program coordinator first, early next week. Please help! Would be grateful for any advice!

Hey all, I'm a new grad and have worked for 3 months in postpartum. I find I am more interested in the psychological, counselling, coping skills etc side of nursing. I have a B.A. in psychology along with my BSN & RN. There is an opportunity for community mental health nursing position that is willing to look at new grads, so I applied. Just wondering - what does community mental health nursing entail? I was searching for some threads but so far haven't come up with one that has a thorough explanation. Would be grateful for any responses. Thanks.

Hey all, I'm a new grad and have worked for 3 months in postpartum. I find I am more interested in the psychological, counselling, coping skills etc side of nursing. I have a B.A. in psychology along with my BSN & RN. There is an opportunity for community mental health nursing position that is willing to look at new grads, so I applied. Just wondering - what does community mental health nursing entail? I was searching for some threads but so far haven't come up with one that has a thorough explanation. Would be grateful for any responses. Thanks.

Thanks rn/writer. Just wondering: so do you hold their hands at all while you walk with them to the bathroom?

anyone?

Hey there, First post :-). I am a brand new grad nurse in Canada and I have started working on postpartum at a tertiary care women's hospital in Vancouver. Anyway, here is my question: how do you help women up from bed (e.g. to go to the BR for the first time)? I generally don't pull them up or anything, but the other day, this patient who didn't speak English, just suddenly grabbed my hand to steady herself while she got up from the toilet. Later when I got home, my shoulder and upper back on that side were sore and aching. I really want to prevent hurting myself, so I am thinking that the best thing to do is to just stand by and make sure they're mobilizing well, rather than actively pull/anchor them. But how safe is this for the patient? What do you guys do?