annaRNC

Honestly yes. Although your experiences and recs are great the competition to get into an acc program is rough. I'd think about taking some classes especially any sciences you can get your hands on. I did a 2nd degree program and had a 3.5 with a comp sci degree and had worked for 8 years prior to going back to school. I got right in and did really well but 2.35 is low. Don't want to burst your bubble but don't want to see you waste your money applying either. Community college is a great place to do the classes--I loved my time there before I went for my BSN. Did all my prereqs to save money. Great teachers too.

I'm a nurse that was a tech before. There are lazy nurses (which I cannot stand) and lazy techs. However the hands-off of direct patient care that I've seen as a nurse disgusts me. Yes, critical thinking, passing meds, starting IVs, chemo, blood (basically everything I get to do daily) etc. require a basic (hopefully high) level of care but seeing other nurses sitting on their butt while some of the techs run all day is awful. Everyone asks why I'm always running around -- I think it's the nurse's job too to do direct care. It's probably really hard in LTC because of the ratios. I have 6-7 peds patients which is doable although lots have no family or need complete care. This is in an inpatient environment. You need to make clear what the tech needs to do. If the patient needed something right then you might want to say to the tech I need you to do x for Mr. Jones now and you can finish passing drinks after. You have to set the expectations. Also as a tech I had 10 trauma patients with some nurses that did absolutely no direct care. Please help your techs if you can because they can make or break your experiences. Don't ask one who is running around to do something you could easily get off of your butt and do yourself. I still get ****** at how badly some nurses treat techs/CNAs/PCTs. Nursing is a team sport and everyone needs to get it there or get the heck out.

Wow--that's a hard question because of your gap between when you graduated and when you took the boards. Do you have any related experience outside of clinical that you can put on your resume? A BSN doesn't mean anything to most hospitals--that's the minimum that a lot of places want now. It's the experience that helps more. Do you have any clinical references from professors or school that you can show? I wouldn't use your friends as references-I'm sure they write great ones but it isn't as meaningful. I think the main problem is the big gap that might be a red flag to some HR people. Good luck--

A couple of quick questions for you--when did you graduate, did you take the boards already, and do you have experience? NJ/NY markets are very very tight. Applying online isn't going to cut it and attending a few job fairs won't do it either. You need to really put yourself out there. Look at places with new graduate programs. People are so desperate for experience that I'll be precepting 2 unpaid nurse externs this summer. It sounds like I'm being harsh but the jobs are out there but you have got to do it all yourself. Good luck!

I have a pretty good relationship with the doctors that I work with and I think that it works because it's a two-way street. On my end when I do have to call them off hours for something I make sure I have all of my stuff together as well as what I'd like an order for prior to picking up the phone. Nothing is worse than the nurse that rambles on and there is no surer way to **** someone off. I keep current on what's in the journals for the more complex patients I take care off (lots of seizure kids, hemo/oncology) so I have a basic idea of what's being discussed. I listen whenever I can and go on rounds. I feel like my suggestions and questions are treated with respect and I get really good feedback from doctors in terms of the care I provide including taking the time t explain why something may not be right to me. I've never felt talked down to and I actually really feel valued which is one of the main reasons I've continued to be really passionate and advocate for students coming up. Sadly I'm only one that seems to really take advantage of this which I don't understand at all. If you're busy with your patients that's understandable but facebooking/myspacing/texting does nothing but waste time. If you aren't learning or at least trying than it's impossible that nurses get the recognition they deserve. On the doctors' side I've only had two episodes where someone crossed the line. The first the doctor immediately apologized without me even saying anything--he was having a off day and I think he felt awful b/c he's actually a really nice guy. The second involved a oncology doctor that I was discussing a patient with. I wasn't familiar with the patient so I said that it was difficult to assess where he was at since there wasn't much documented regarding his baseline status prior to diagnosis. This was a kid with behavioral problems compounded by a brain tumor as background. He said to me that the difficult patient had a difficult nurse to which I replied that he (as a doctor--slightly ****** of me) should know the difference between a smart nurse and a difficult one. Never had another episode after that. Doctors are just people and people will yell if you allow them to get away with it. Call them on it without getting emotional and I can almost guarantee the behavior will stop. If you're going to be a nurse be in there and be willing to learn because I think that's made a huge difference between where I'm at with my professional happiness versus those that started around the same time. If you aren't willing to learn in whatever way whether it be reading, attending conferences, talking shop with your peers, or rounding than get out of the way of those that want it. Off the soapbox now!

Bipolar II here as well. Stable on meds for about 9 years. Have been told by coworkers and patients that I'm a really good nurse. Most of the time I think I am. Medication, therapy, and support group makes it possible. I think I'm a better nurse for having gone through my own struggles.

This is a good question. I think that there some nurses are more upbeat than others (that is pretty much how I am) versus those that aren't. I think it's a matter of personality. Some people complain all day long whereas some of us (not nearly enough) roll with the punches. There are certainly a lot of sad moments on peds ie when a family finds out their child has a terminal illness, abuse cases, etc and it's totally normal to feel sad. There's plenty of times I've cried in the car or the med room or with a family if we've gotten close over an extended stay. I think it comes down to how one chooses to live their life. I have not-so-great parts of my life like a seriously ill mother and a difficult sister who doesn't help too much but I've made the choice to try to get the best out of every moment I'm lucky enough to have. After 4+ years my coworkers have accepted that is how I am and it seems to have rubbed off a little on some although some of them really don't get it. There are good and bad days but your outlook has a huge part in how well you manage things. I have a good support system too and know what helps me decompress. Wow, this is way too long a post!

You all sound like nursing students I'd like to have. I think it's the clinical instructor as well b/c she is not too hot. There is a real need for clinical instructors but the pay is not as much as one can make on the floor plus it is so hard to make sure that 7-8 students get what they need. If only I could take 2 or 3 students I'd love to do that job. I guess I can dream!

I'm a nurse that loves to teach and precept but I've noticed a couple of quick things that I think might help students to keep in mind. 1) If you come to get your clinical assignment before clinical please don't wear a tank top with a leopard print bra. It just looks really nasty especially on a peds floor. 2) I don't mind hanging meds with you or guiding you through an assessment but please know what the meds are and if the dose is safe. If I tell you the patient has a history of asthma and was admitted for respiratory distress please do a respiratory assessment etc. 3) Please tell me what you'd like to learn or see so you get the best experience. 4) Please don't take all of the seats at the nursing station and sit around talking. Please don't spend 2 hours reading the chart and 2 seconds seeing the patient. It's great to review it but the assessments/meds are more important. 5) Please pay attention when I'm giving you report. I don't remind repeating it once but three times is too much. Please review the chart if you wonder why some medication isn't being given--there has got to be a discontinue order somewhere. 6) Please don't give me vital signs that are clinically wrong. If you had an infant with a temp of 94/95 that would be a bad thing (actually any age unless there are some thermoregulation/sepsis issues) if you get a blood pressure of 180/100 please don't tell me the child was kicking. Just go and give it another shot or ask for help. 7) Unless it's an emergency (and I get those happen) please don't text or answer the phone when I'm talking to you because it pisses me off. Any experienced nurses have things like this happen? I really like teaching but some of these behaviors make it impossible. Maybe I just had a couple of not so hot students today but they were seniors and I'd think these things are basic knowledge. I'd like to know how you all handle these situations if they arise and if my expectations sound unrealistic. I'm one of the few nurses willing to take students and I don't want that to change but I found that I was really really frustrated today. Thanks for letting me vent! Anna

I think the fact that you're asking questions and have concerns means you'll be a great preceptor. I love doing it and wish we had more new grads on the floor. Students are awesome too though. I'm about 5 years in and have been only been doing it for about a 6 months because it turned out that the nurses that were preceptors didn't really like doing it which I guess someone finally figured out. Patience and liking the job make a good preceptor. I ask them what they're comfortable with and what they'd like to get out of the day and then just go from there. It makes you feel great when someone gets it. I had a nursing student do her first cath perfectly on a feisty two-year old and I thought she might cry with happiness. It rocked!

I have stayed in Peds but my original plans weren't for peds at all. When I interviewed something clicked and when I started doing it I found that I really love it. I'm going for my NP now so I think I'll be with peds the majority of my nursing life. One nice thing is that I could work in another area if I wanted to (and on bad days I dream about it) but the rewards from peds are so nice. When I was working yesterday and it was not a good day a family whose son I had taken care of through his ALL (he's okay now) came by with a picture of him and me. I was so touched that they brought this picture for me and even more touched when they said they have it in their house too. It's those moments that make you pause and realize that this job with all of its stresses, crappy staffing, and complicated patients is something that makes your life so much richer. I teared up a little too!

I'm lucky because my parents think that having a daughter that is a nurse is a great thing. That's the first thing they'll say when they introduce me to someone. When I got into a big name grad program it became "This is my daughter, the nurse, and she's going to big name grad program." They love to throw in the various certifications too. I'm pretty sure their friends are sick of hearing about it but it's really sweet how much they supported my dreams to be a nurse and my desire to continue my education. When I tell my dad that my day sucked his response is always "Did you learn something?" which always seems to make me feel better. I'm pretty blessed. I do have some really snobby relatives whose children went to xyz fancy undergraduate school and it was pretty darn nice to tell them I'm at a big name school and watch them all shut up. As I've gotten to do more at work too and been recognized that gives that seems to stop some of their comments. I'll never understand why people feel the need to really put others down to feel smart. If you're smart that should be enough. Sorry for the rant!

I work on peds so what we get back is an order sheet that gives the orders to flush qshift with x amount of heparin (units dependent upon patient weight either 10U or 100 U) as well as a spot that the doc checks to state that placement has been verified by chest x-ray. If I don't get that back on a kid I won't use it until I get an order from the IR doc that it's okay to use. What drives me nuts is when kids have a double lumen in the IJ and other nurses tell you that one doesn't draw but the other is fine because then you have to get a TPA order and fix it. When I've brought it up the excuse is always that they didn't want to do anything because the PICC is in the IJ. Anyone else think this is insane aside from me? The double lumen is there for a reason so one drawing isn't acceptable to me. This has happened quite a bit in the past several months.

In Central NJ with 4 years and pediatric certification about $35 on days. Cleared around 80K with some OT last year. Wind up working about an an extra 8-12 a week most of the year. Good benefits for me and the husband--full medical/dental/life insurance-$150 biweekly before taxes. Patient ratio not great but I don't think it's better anywhere else. Work every third weekend and every other holiday although people will gladly take a holiday if someone will work it. I'd rather have time and a half than a holiday any day!

I took a 1 week review offered by my school and then sat for the test about 3 weeks after I graduated. Had done NCLEX questions (about 50-100) a day throughout nursing school since it helped me do well on all of my nursing tests. Had 75 questions and was done in 45 minutes. Take it as soon as possible!