amyrae76

Swellz and Trixie13, if you're willing to share, I'd love to know what company you do abstracting for and how many hours per week you work. (I'm trying to PM you but the site is not cooperating, or maybe it's user error -- ha.) I'm also an oncology nurse and I'm thinking about reducing my hours at my full-time job to do abstracting from home, but I've read some negative reviews from oncology nurse abstractors about one company in particular so I'm curious what your experiences are. Thanks! Amy

I know this has been posted in the past but I can't find a recent post. I'm looking for a 100% online RN-to-BSN program, with no clinical hours. I'd really appreciate anyone's suggestions/advice/experience with any programs. Thanks in advance! Amy

Thanks, dreavt! Those are the 2 books I have, too. I'm doing the ONS online self-paced course that has me reading content from the book, but I'm not a big fan of the outline format of it. Other people have done what you did, so I think I'm going to switch to the study guide and start doing questions, questions, and more questions. Fingers crossed!

Are you doing that online self-paced class through ONS, the one that's like $160? What do you think of it? Is it helpful? I'd kind of like to do that but I don't want to spend the $$. My work will pay for us to do a one-day review course here in town, so I'll do that, but that ONS online thing looks cool.

I'm using the ONS Core Curriculum book as well, and I also bought the accompanying study guide with practice questions. I'm taking the test in November, so hopefully plenty of time to prepare. Good luck to everyone!

I work in a treatment center where we treat hemachromatosis patients, and we're able to use a patient's port for a therapeutic phlebotomy with a doctor's order. I don't think our state BON addresses this -- it's our institutional policy. (I'm in Nebraska if you need that info to take to your BON) Incidentally, I was surprised to see one poster say she rarely draws blood from ports. Our treatment center is a well-known oncology/chemo center, and that's one of the main reasons our doctors have their patients get a port. amy

I'm taking the OCN exam this November to get oncology certified. Does anyone have any advice on the best way to study for this? Amy

We use Alaris pumps and I really like them. I work in an infusion center that gives a wide range of meds including chemo, blood products, fluids, antibiotics, and more. I like how programmable they are.

I'm pregnant right now and I work in an outpatient infusion center where we give tons of chemo every day. Like you, we don't mix our own chemo. There are several of us at my job who are pregnant now or have been and have still worked here throughout pregnancy. My feeling is that as long as I take recommended precautions, I should be fine. I worry more about my exposure to certain infectious diseases during my pregnancy. amy

I work in an outpatient treatment center with mainly oncology patients, and we hear this a lot. But we've actually found a solution: for these patients, we don't use the pre-filled syringes but draw the saline up from individual 10-ml vials. I know that if you read the label on the vial and the label on the pre-filled syringe it looks like they should both be exactly the same thing in terms of preservatives, etc. that could cause the nausea, but we've concluded that there's some kind of difference because this solves the problem for these patients. This has baffled all our RNs, doctors, and pharmacists, but this solution has worked for us. amy

Qaqueen, since you're a recent graduate, your nursing school might have some resources that wouldn't require you to go to considerable expense for this seminar. At my nursing school they had mannequin arms with real "veins" with red dye in them, and you could practice starting IVs and actually see "blood return" if you were in the right place. I'd probably check this out first. Otherwise, it's really just practice that makes you better. You might do like I did and find an older coworker who is good at IV starts and ask her for advice on technique. amy

Yes, there are jobs available like what you describe. For example, one of the hospitals in my city has an IV Team. These nurses start IVs and insert PICC lines at the bedside. You don't necessarily need any specific training other than being an RN and having an interest in IV therapy. I've also seen a lot of job ads in our newspaper for home health infusion nursing. It's a growing field, so check into it in your area -- you should be able to find something. Good luck! amy :)

Hello, I'm about to start a new nursing job, and I'm 4 months pregnant. I have no idea how long of a maternity leave I should take because this is my first baby so I don't know what to expect. How long should I ask for? I know I don't want to put a little 6-week-old baby into daycare, and my friend said she didn't even start to feel human again until 10 weeks. Any advice? Thanks! amy :)

Did you end up taking the job at the endoscopy center? I can't tell you how jealous I am!! I would LOVE to have that job. I'm a new grad too, and I started out on a med/surg floor and quit after a month and a half. Just yesterday I accepted a job at an allergy & asthma clinic, and I'm not terribly excited about it but it's a job and I didn't want to be in the hospital. It seems to me that as long as you have some sort of nursing experience under your belt, you will usually at least be considered for other positions down the road. Some positions will require previous OB experience, but I've known plenty of new grads who have gone right into OB, so you should be fine if that's where you eventually want to be. Good luck! amy :)

Not sure if you're still looking for advice since this post is over a month old, but I thought I'd offer my 2 cents. :) I'm a new grad too, and I started out on day shift, along with 4 other new grads, on a VERY busy med/surg floor. 2 months after we all started on that floor, all 4 of us have now quit because it was such a bad experience. However, the new grads who started out on the night shift on that same floor tell me that they absolutely love it and have a blast on night shift. The pace is just different, from what I hear. You mentioned a couple of considerations, like fewer people calling you, fewer family members around, etc. Well, the scary thing to me was that if I ever had to call a doctor for anything, it would be in the middle of the night!! You'd have to be pretty darn sure that phone call is necessary, you know? That would make me nervous. amy :)

I need some advice. I'm a new nurse -- graduated in May, passed boards in late June. I worked for about a month and a half on a very busy med/surg floor and HATED it and ended up quitting. (Long story, but it wasn't a good floor and all the other new nurses there have quit as well). Now I've been offered a position at an Allergy & Asthma clinic. My concern is this: if I take this job, will it pigeonhole me into this field? Or should I still be able to find another nursing job in a different field down the road? I'll get that all-important "1 year of experience", but it won't be in med/surg. I figure I should be OK, because you hear all the time about the widely varying jobs that nurses have had in their careers. But I'd appreciate advice/reassurance. Thanks! amy :)

Thanks for your reply, Mike! Did you ever work in med/surg, or have you always done OR? I worked on a med/surg floor for about a month and a half right out of school, and I hated it and ended up quitting (along with several other new girls -- the floor was known for very high turnover). I don't think I ever want to do floor nursing again. But from what you said, it sounds like OR nursing can be stressful too. One thing I like is that you're only responsible for one patient at a time in the OR. Being responsible for 6-7 patients on a very busy floor was just too much for me. Are you on call a lot? Do you get called in a lot, especially in the middle of the night? I'd be applying at a good-sized hospital in a city of about 250,000, so I'm guessing that would mean more OR nurses and therefore more people to spread call duties around to. You said you love to scrub -- what do you love about it? When you scrub, do you get stuck on your feet in those hours-long surgeries, with no bathroom breaks or time to sit down and rest your feet and back? When you circulate, what exactly are you responsible for? Thanks so much for the info! amy :)

Hi! I'm a new grad and I'm considering applying for an OR job (yes, I actually found an OR posting that will consider new grads!). I've always been interested in surgery, but I'd like to know a little more about the OR nurse's duties: What's your typical day like? What hours do you work? Is it challenging/interesting? Is it stressful? Do you like it? How does it compare to med/surg? What are the differences in duties of the scrub nurse and circulating nurse? I appreciate any info you can give me so I have some idea what to expect before I apply for the job. Thanks bunches! amy

Yep, hubby had a talk with me the other night because he's concerned about my anxiety level! (I'm about to start my 3rd week with my preceptor on a VERY busy general medical floor). I tried to explain to him how many new nurses, on this website and even those on my floor, have said that they cry when they get home from work and cry in the morning before work because of all the stress! People in the business world can't relate to the stress of being a nurse, ESPECIALLY a brand-new nurse, you know? Hubby tries, and he's supportive, but non-nurses just don't understand how stressful it is to try to learn everything about being a nurse, plus being concerned about not killing our patients on top of it all! My "therapy" has been talking with my classmates about their new jobs and realizing that I'm not the only one who's about to go out of her mind from nerves! amy

Do you mean you just got accepted to nursing school? You might want to post your thread in the "Nursing Student" forum. The forum you posted in here is for nurses who just graduated and are in our first year of working as a nurse, so you probably won't get many responses here. Amy, RN

Where do you live now? I'm one of the people who told you about the 11a-11p shift. I live in Omaha, NE. I work at Methodist Hospital, and I know a nurse on the labor and delivery floor who works 11a-11p. I don't know what other floors offer that shift. Like the previous person said, let me know if you're interested because I'll get a referral bonus. I just did a search on Yahoo for "11am-11pm nursing shift" and it came up with several hospitals with job ads. That might be another way to find a hospital that offers that shift. Good luck! amy :)

Actually some of the hospitals in my city are offering a $10,000 starting bonus to new grads. But like other people have said, there's usually a reason a bonus is so high. You have to commit for 2 years, which didn't sound too bad to me. But then I worked there as an aide during nursing school and I HATED it. The nurses are horrible to each other and the morale just stinks. I ended up taking a day shift job at a magnet hospital where I didn't get a bonus, but they don't have to offer bonuses because they have a good reputation so nurses want to work there. Bonuses are certainly not guaranteed once you graduate, but tell your classmates that before they accept a job with a bonus, they should talk to people who work there and find out if it's the right fit for them. amy :)

Hi there! Have you looked around at other hospitals in your area to see what shifts they offer? I know of at least one hospital in my area that offers shifts at kind of odd hours. One girl I know works in a pediatric emergency department from 3pm-3am, and her sister works on a labor & delivery floor from 11a-11p, the same shift you mentioned. This is in Omaha, NE, and we have quite a few hospitals here, so if you're in a large enough town with several hospitals to choose from, there might be other options for you. Take a look around. Maybe your body is telling you that this shift is not for you. Good luck!

Hi Christine! I actually just finished my orientation this week for my new job on a general medical floor, so I can tell you what you can most likely expect! The specifics vary by state and by institution, but you will probably be given some form of nursing/patient scenarios to respond to. I had some in a packet to complete, and some where I had to watch a video of brief vignettes of patients, then stop the tape and write down what I thought the diagnosis would be, significant signs/symptoms, and nursing interventions along with rationales. For example, one patient is presented as a post-op woman who will go home tomorrow but she is very reluctant to get out of bed and do her ADLs. As she goes to get back into bed, she looks down at her calf and sees that it is very red, swollen, and tender. Obviously she has a DVT, so you write that down and then write what you would do (call the doc, put her on bedrest, anticipate orders for a heparin drip, etc.). Once you've finished this packet, it will be graded by one of the nurses and this will be used to tailor your training to your needs. (For example, I missed one on pulmonary embolism, so I had a remedial video/quiz on the computer to do). My orientation also consisted of a rather lengthy skills assessment in which I had to do a catheterization, IV starts/piggybacks, NG tubes, etc. (all on dummies, of course). From there and based on what skills you feel comfortable with and what you think you need help on, the nurse will record what skills your preceptor should go over with you. At the end of orientation, all of this information will be sent to your boss and your preceptor to help personalize your training. I hope this answers your question. Don't worry about any of it -- it's ALL designed simply to help you get the kind of training you need! amy :)

I just passed boards and I'll be starting my first RN job soon, and I was wondering -- do most nurses carry their own malpractice insurance? It was highly recommended to us in school. Do you carry a policy? How much does it cost? Where did you get it? Thanks for the info! Amy, RN (I just found out I passed boards, so I'm still infatuated with seeing my name w/"RN" after it! )