Hacker

Canadian RN who recently moved to Florida. Passed the NCLEX, 10y experience in nursing. Got a temporary Florida License. All is good. Sent 40+ applications to work - only one interview that lasted 5 minutes (both nurse and manager where nervous and giggling). There's no doubt I'm doing things that are working against me. I'm certainly not the best nurse out there (far from it), but I believe I have something of value to offer. I used to work at an ER in a large city, before moving to a small town where they had a small "ICU" - really anything that was unstable - I used to escort patients out by plane or ambulance to the nearest city, sometimes covering for them in their ER. Did 5 years as a Nursing Officer in the Air Force - amazing time. Had the chance to work in toxicology, addiction, military training, public health, etc. Now that I'm applying in Florida, I cannot get *any* job. I've applied to hospitals, public health, home nursing, LTC facilities, oddities, etc. Nothing. I feel like if I were a new grad it would be much easier. The only thing that makes sense is that my resumes and cover letters are working against me. I'm sure you've read many posts like this one, but I would really enjoy working in US. I'm very versatile and simply enjoy caring for people in almost any settings (except for pediatrics or obstetrics - because I never tried). Any suggestions or advices welcome. Edit: I'm not fat and can dance. 6'3" male, good looking, considering OF.

Thank you very much for this detailed reply offlabel!

I understand that atrial fibrillation (afib) can result from cardiogenic shock (CS), but I think in some cases, with rapid uncontrolled afib, cardiogenic shock can become a cause. What do you think? I'm having trouble finding white papers distinguishing afib as a cause, not an effect of CS. If the heart cannot pump properly, the blood would back up, decreasing cardiac output, which may lead to CS. Am I missing something?

Discovered this while reading The Cause of acute appendicitis - the hydro-mechanics in acute appendicitis, by Zwalenburg (Cal West Med. 1926 Nov; 25(5): 616) Today, it would be worth ~ $168 to play with stool and find a fecalith or something similar. Fun times. P.S. Please feel free to move this post anywhere you deem right, I haven't posted in a while.

I feel the same way, as I have chronic diseases that makes me think twice if I should go to work.

Hi all. After three years in nursing, I'm leaving it all behind. Considering how much I've invested myself in this field, this is painful. But it's also a relief. In the last three years, I've already worked in three different provinces, mostly in emergency and intensive care, sometimes in rural areas. I'd like to leave a few notes based on my personal experience for new nurses to consider. Don't extrapolate too much from it :-) Many health care providers don't like their job, but still do it because they believe leaving the field would be catastrophic (lower salary, lost of investment, fear of the unknown, instability, etc.). Some of these individuals can be a pain in the ass. Learn to recognize them and deal with them accordingly. You don't save a life, you extend it (sometimes a bit too far). How ever knowledge you've acquired, try to play by the rules, unless you're ready to loose your job. What makes a good nurse is: compassion, knowledge, and integrity What many managers are looking for is: workaholism, fear of authority, and subjective prioritizing There are many amazing nurses out there. Learn from them as much as you can and tell them about how much you want to learn. There are amazing teams out there. Look how they trust one another, how they love learning and teaching, how the chemistry is evolving. Get involved in projects with them. Update yourself on a constant basis. There's no need to go crazy, but every now and then, learn a small bit about a diagnosis, a drug, a pathology, a procedure, an organ. Don't loose your vitality. If you feel awful, take a break and look at yourself as if you were an "external observer", unjudgmental of your thoughts, but keen on your actions. Nurses are very much the "doers" of the health care system. They are often enablers without knowing it. In addition to the excessive amount of responsibilities nurses have, they are often required to take extra roles such as administrative clerk, social worker, maintenance, housekeeping, physician assistant, respiratory therapist, teacher, cook, security guard, legal witness, baby-sitter, etc. You *will* be asked too much on a regular basis. Don't do it all. Prioritize and consider leaving the non-urgent, non-important, non-legal tasks behind. Sometimes, when your patient is about to die, you have a choice: to act in the patient's best interest, or not to act; either way, it may lead to anger and resentment from the medical doctor, and you may be punished for which ever choice you make. Get vaccinated. It's worth it, especially before a few dirty needle sticks. Get used to blood, saliva, phlegm,faeces, urine, and the like.. Keep reading about the nursing profession and explore what's possible to do out there, including seemingly unrelated jobs - you might later decide to leave too. If you don't know someting important, admit it now and master it later. Don't get emotional with emotional people, especially the staff. Trust yourself. Follow your instinct. Poor management is a standard. Not all standards are good. If you wear spandex with your uniform, you're also a superhero with super-powers. I've had very bad and very good times in nursing, and will always respect you guys. The last few years really felt like a very long acid trip, mixed with academia, medical gurus, and free chocolate. Putting the dreadfulness apart, I must admit that if I was parachuted naked in a dangerous country, with only chop sticks and a stetoscope, I would surely make it alive. Wishing you the best.

Where are you from whatshouldido?

my situation was a bit curious. i moved from bc to ontario during the postal strike and only recently updated my address with crnbc and rerouted my mail. that means that the letter will be mailed to the wrong address or will be mailed here later. nevertheless, i received an email from crnbc stating that they updated my status from provisional to rn... as a result i'm pretty sure i passed. following is an excerpt: we are pleased to inform you that you have been issued practising rn registration by crnbc. this email is your official notification of your updated registration status; you will not be sent a registration card in the mail. please verify your registration online at http://www.crnbc.ca/pages/nurseverification.aspx . for the people who didn't passed the first few times: please, please, please, hang in there. remember how great you are, deep down inside and what a contribution your work will bring to the community. meanwhile, the cno is not accepting my application without a copy of the "passing" letter from the cna.. i wish they had a way to simply contact them instead. anyhow, after 5 years and a half of courses, it feels good to be done. "to absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due"

Another one for kids: CIAMPEDS C: EC + duration of illness I: Immunizations A: Allergies M: Meds P: PM Hx, Parents' perception of illness, Prenatal/birth hx E: Events around illness, sequence D: Diet, Diapers S: Symptoms associated with illness / progression of symptoms

I had one lady who waited to finally told us that she needed to know what time it was, since she needed to adjust her clock. I'm not kidding. It was in a small ER, and I had to do the triage and care for my pts, but still.... I also had people coming to update their prescriptions, or a small cut on a finger with a band-aid, claiming it was bleeding profusely..had a diabetic type 1 pt with high BS who thought insulin was just a fancy thing..

Hi peaches, Congratulation! I'm still a student nurse and my experience is minimal, but I've seen pregnant ladies working on post-surgical, especially ortho (maybe a better environment? What are your thoughts about that?). I suggest you pay special attention to precaution with any patients (handwashing, use gloves, mask if in doubt), and exclude yourself from patients with infectious disease, especially airborne. If your manager has a head on her shoulders, she will want to arrange something safe and functional for you (even lower pt load for a while). Anything like norovirus, H1N1, or chicken pox showing on the floor, and I would exclude myself. Anyhow, I'm sure something can work out for you two! Here's a site with some good info: http://www.noah-health.org/en/pregnancy/problems/disorders/infect.html

I'm seriously considering it! Thanks! 7 ?!? That's interesting. I think there is no man here. Do you have to spend other shifts in perinatal and peds, or can you simply stick to NICU where you are? Also, did you had to specialised yourself after becoming an RN? Anyhow, I think I would, just to increase my knowledge and confidence.

hi Chris, Sorry for the late reply. I'm in a "standard" 4 year BSN-RN program, and from the information I could get, there is no option to practice a speciality by the end, including working as an employed student nurse at NICU. I've heard that I would need more courses to be able to work, even after graduating. Anyway, it wont stop me; I had a great experience there (excluding a toxic nurse, but that's part of the deal anywhere). Meanwhile I'll keep learning as much as I can. I will let you guys know how it went. I'm pretty much finished my practicum for this year (a week left), and feel like a dead horse :deadhorse Any of you at school right now?

Hi lsvalliant, I think it really depends. I love working with men and women. I truly believe there should be more men working as nurses (and more female working as firefighters). I don't feel I get more respect simply because of my gender, but more because of my attitude toward the staff and the patients. Unfortunately, I've seen biased behaviours because of my genitals; senior patients believing I was an MD, some nurses openly saying that men don't have their place in the profession, etc. But those are the exceptions. Studying nursing as certainly helped me not only with female relationships, but all relationships.

Hi all, Yesterday was my first day at the NICU. I had the chance to give IV push a couple times, use a syringe pump, and feed babies. It was, so far, the best experience I had in nursing. I felt elated and very much whole at the end of the day. Coincidentally, it was my first time feeding a baby. Isn't that funny? Thought I would share that with you, since it was quite a positive experience for me.