Karebear29

Rose...you summarized my exact feelings!!! I entered this journey in nursing with a dream of being an ob nurse but on my first day of clinicals in ltc I found my true passion...☺️ I truly love the longevity of the relationships you can build and each of my patients touch my heart in a special way. I feel very blessed to share my days with them and they appreciate me just the same!! I am proud to be where I am and could not imagine doing anything else. The job is very challenging at times but thankfully some of us find joy in it!

I will be working the Holidays at a short-term rehab facility....I am sure many of you have had to work the holidays too. Do you bring small holiday cheer ups ( ie cards, goodies) to your patients?? If so what have you done in the past to lift the spirits of your patients who are unfortunately in a place they would rather not be during the holidays...? should I just bring my smile...? Thanks in advance for your advice!

I am a new RN, graduated in May 13 and just got off orientation in a sub-acute rehab facility. The ratio is up to 1:16 - the work load is not totally crazy but I can honestly say I have not had a "good" day so far in the 2 weeks I have been off orientation. My shifts are hectic during med pass and once I get through that I feel a sense of relief and things slow down but inevitably something "out of the ordinary" happens each shift which throws me off schedule ie. a pt fall, pt condition deteriorates, helping pt's to the bathroom (b/c cna's are too busy), new admit, g-tube or iv malfunction, f/c pulled out by pt and etc...). I have been leaving 1 - 2.5 hours past my shift just to finish up paperwork, charting, entering VS and etc. Everyone says "don't worry about it, you will fall into your own rhythm" but I can't help but feel discouraged and incompetent when it seems everyone else leaves nearly on time. I am not sure I can make it through my med pass any faster than I am doing now and I am consistently about 1 hour past policy (taking 3 hrs vs 2 hrs). I am an organized and thorough nurse but by the end of my shift something always happens to throw me off... We have an overwhelming amount of support staff (tx nurse, desk nurse and great cna's). I am wondering if you / how you overcame these feelings and developed into a confident and successful nurse. I really want to be successful in this position so any suggestions or words of encouragement are welcome... Thanks!!

Same thing with me...took NCLEX RN yesterday and became a very anxious because only had about 5-6 sata questions based on what others were saying. I do feel that I had a very equal mix of various question types - so dont worry about what type questions you are getting!!!! I had 75 questions - got the good pop up about 2 hrs later and passed with only a handful of sata. Hope this helps!