Peatness

A little background info to clarify the situation.... I graduated in 2005 with a BScN from a Canadian university. I am licensed in both Canada and the US and will be moving to Texas in the next few months. I will be looking for a position there (possibly on a three month travel nurse contract). Here is my issue: Upon graduation I was unable to seek immediate employment due to serious family issues. I was offered several positions but had to decline. I am only now able to seek employment as an RN. I have been 'out of the loop' for close to 2 years and I don't know where to start. Not only could one consider me a new grad but two years have gone by with no clinical skills review. I did some casual work with a general practitioner, general assessments, wound care, diabetes edu...small stuff. He is willing to provide me with a reference. Previously my profs and nurse preceptors provided references for me but I can't bring myself to contact them two years later for fear that they won't even remember who I am. So.... I'm getting the gears going with text book reviews, concentrating on the "how not to kill your patient" chapters. I am thinking of taking an ACLS course when I get to Texas, I figure this will help my chances of employment (any other courses that you recommend?). Suggestions on how to wedge myself back into the RN scene and to which area of nursing would be most appropriate would be wonderful. My anxiety is through the roof and it's over having to find a job under these circumstances not so much that I think I won't be able to do the job (although that plays a part as well). I have found so much wisdom on this site throughout the years and I hope a little can be sent my way. Peat

Out of curiosity, how does the pay compare to general nursing? What is a 'typical' shift for a correctional nurse? I have always been curious to know more about about working in a correctional facility.

I acknowledge that people need the opportunity to vent and that this forum is a great way to do so however I agree with vickster's point of view as well. I hope that these threads make all of us aware of the importance of maintaining professional and more importantly SAFE practices in our daily routine. We all make mistakes but there is no excuse for laziness or negligence when it comes to patient care. It is all of our responsibility to strive to maintain the highest level of practice and report negligence and inapropriate behaviour that we witness. I have seen both nurses and doctors do some of the most horrific things. All of these events were reported and followed up on to ensure that action was taken. In each event there was some form of change implemented. A flip comment during debreifing does not suffice. We need to take the time and energy to follow through with these complaints until we see a result. Is this not our responsibility as a health care worker? Are we not supposed to speak out for the rights of our patients when they are unable to do so? I don't mean to be 'preachy' but I feel very strongly about this, I wonder how many of the people who posted on this thread actually did something about it?...just a thought. Peatness

I just about fell off my chair when I read your post!! What I would do to only have one paper per course! On average we have 2-4 per class and these do not include our learning binders which must include all evidence of learning for the entire term. The papers range from 5-15 pages depending on the class. We have even been required to write 3 anatomy papers (15-20 pgs each), these were probably the most difficult to write but I definitely learned alot throughout the process. Consider yourself lucky! I have never had such a heavy workload in all my years of University, they really push us in the BScN program here at McMaster. Good luck with the papers you have and take advantage of the fact that you can really apply yourself to that one paper. Keep on keeping on... Peatness