nurse0977

I always wanted to be a nurse, but ended up getting a teaching degree and regretting it. I think that if you feel strongly about being a nurse, you should do it. I am now back in nursing school (almost done! ), and am so happy that I am finally doing what I originally intended to do. Don't worry about the pig. Find a way to get through that part. I have found there are things that make my toes curl (burns, orthopedic surgery, eye surgery), so I know I won't practice in those areas. But there are so many things I LOVE--like doing something small to put a patient at ease, or getting to try a skill I have never done before (I was so giddy the first time I checked NG placement--silly, I know). There are so many AWESOME things nursing and nursing school have to offer. All those pre-reqs are the sludge you have to walk through to get to the good stuff!!! You are almost there......

Don't ever let an instructor or nurse make you think you are inadequate. We have ALL been there! Keep your head up and keep working hard. Here is something that has worked for me: Instead of fuming (which I can tend to do), I try to frame everything differently. For example: When a nurse/instructor is being rude, I either think "That is what NOT to do as a nurse" or I try to be so awesome I blow them away with my skills and knowledge, so they have nothing to gritch about. A lot of the time I take it as a life lesson--I will deal with a lot of nasty people in my nursing career, but I won't let their attitude bring me down, I just remember that dealing with difficult people is a part of life. This sounds silly, but I have made it through almost two years of nursing school using this attitude to help me through some situations that could have caused me major stress. I don't want to be burned out early in my career because of pain in the neck folks who are looking to take everyone else down on their way to the bottom. A sidenote--we do evaluations of instructors and courses at the end of the class. I (and my classmates) don't hesistate to give scalding reviews of instructors who were rude or ineffective. These are anonymous, of course. Do you have this kind of system?

I have had my hair both short and long enough to put in a pony tail. In my case, I have the bad habit of tucking my hair behind my ears when it is down, which is a big no-no in the NICU where I want to work, so I wear mine at my shoulders so I can pull it back. It all depends on you! The only thing I have found in my years going between long and short is that when it is short, I have to style it everyday, which can be a pain, but with long hair, you can throw it up if you are in a hurry. I know a 7 am clinical comes pretty early when I have to get up at 5am!

Great advice. I have met nothing but helpful and friendly nurses in the NICU, and think it would be a great place to start my career. It's amazing how it all makes sense when you get someone's insight who has actually been there! :) Anyway, I think I am going to go for the NICU--THANKS!!!

I just finished my ICU rotation at a children's hospital. I spent 3 weeks in the NICU, and three in the PICU. I am having a really hard time deciding which one I like better. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in the NICU, and love getting to use my "loving" side to care for these babies. I really enjoy containing a baby and watching him settle down and sleep. I don't know if comfort with the environment/patient care is enough. Do you ever feel like you are seeing the same case over and over? I enjoy seeing the different medical conditions in the PICU, and it seems like a lot of the babies are in the same boat in the NICU. Gosh...sorry to be so wordy. I just want to know: what are the important things to focus on when making my decision where to go?

My husband's uvula was swollen--it took up the entire back of his throat. It was quite freakish, to be honest. I told him to go get a strep screen, and his doctor said he had uvula-itis (not sure if that would be uvulitis or uvulaitis). Anyway, it just went away on its own. I hope it helps you to know that someone else's uvula got really swollen without any other throat irritation. Let us know what your doctor says. Good Luck!:)

I am currently in nursing school and I LOVE my med-surg rotation. I too heard bad things about med-surg, but it has been our best clinical yet. I think your clinical instructor makes all the difference. Also.....if nobody has told you this, ask to do/see things, and people usually accomodate. You can't be shy and get any experience. If it makes any difference, I will probably go into med-surg when I get out to get some great experience and sharpen my skills. I think going into an ICU situation without med-surg experience would be cheating yourself. One more thought.....are you at a teaching hospital? With my rotation, we are at a teaching hosptial and the nurses are wonderful with students!

I myself am having a wonderful clinical experience. My clinical instructor is patient, kind, and lets us check off on skills on the unit so we don't have to check off for our techniques class. I talked to a lot of people who hated their med-surg rotation, but I am enjoying the experience of seeing so many different kinds of patients. I am so happy to hear that you are having a good clinical experience. Nobody wants to become burnt out or frustrated before they even hit the floor as an RN!