tdrynelle

I've only been in hospice for about 1 1/2 years, but absolutely love it. I started out in case mgmt and now just do admissions, which I actually like a lot more than I thought I would when my manager first asked me to take the job. I work for a fairly small agency, so I do the prequalification assessment to make sure they qualify, do admission mtg with family and explain all about hospice and the services we provide, do initial order of supplies and meds, then do all the paperwork and turn it over to an rn cm. the hard part of the job is that it can be very crazy at times when last minute urgent admissions come up, so it makes it very hard to plan your day. but as long as you are flexible and can roll with changes, it's a great job. best of luck to you. hospice is very different than hospital nursing, but (at least in my opinion) is so much more rewarding.

I use this same bag (http://www.hopkinsmedicalproducts.co...|5673&id=18456) and love it. Highly recommend!

RockinChick66, I, like you, went in to nursing (2nd career for me) to become a hospice nurse. I only worked one year in the acute care setting (oncology unit) and then one year home health care before I finally landed my dream job as a hospice RN case manager. Yes, it can be stressful at times, but I think it is much better/more rewarding stress then hospital work (which I absolutely hated). Compassion and being a good listener are key, as well as the ability to think on your feet. Also the ability to have open, honest conversations with people, and to really enjoy working with a family, whatever that is considered to be for that person. I will say - it is a hard shift in the beginning, because you are no longer focused on fixing things. Everything you do is focused on comfort. But keep on pursuing the dream. If you feel hospice is your calling, go for it. I did and I think this is the most rewarding job ever. I feel so blessed to be able to do it.

I too worked for them as a PRN in Minnesota - and I had to do oncall as part of the position (in fact, 2 weeks after starting I was on call). The company itself was good, but at the time I worked for them they did not have enough hours to keep me busy (only did 1-2 visits per week). They did reimburse for mileage and they pay rate was a per visit rate.

WS582 - I work in home health and work mostly 4 days per week. Each RN case manager manages a case load of 45-55 clients and are required to do 25 visits per week. If we can get all the client visits done by Thursday, we do not have to go out on visits on Fridays. I know this schedule isn't true for a lot of home health agencies, but it is for some.

Not a deal breaker for home care. If you don't know how to do it, they will gladly teach you (if you even need to learn at all - at my place, we very rarely do blood draws in the home, most of our clients go in for that).

I think it depends on the company you work for. One place I was at all the nurses wore scrubs (choice was scrubs or business casual, as it was a lot of wound cares, 99% choose scrubs). The place I'm at now, casual/jeans are the norm

I too choose nursing as a second career. I have only been working for about 8 months so far (and not really in the area I want to), but I have no regrets because I know there is so much I can do with my nursing license. The only two things I wish I'd done differently were 1) gotten a job as a nursing assistant while I was in school (even if only working 1 weekend a month), just to get more familiar with the hospital environment, along with basic care skills (i..e bathing, linen changes while a patient is in bed, etc.). 2) It would have been nice to either do a nurse externship program as part of my schooling (working on a floor alongside a preceptor) or worked as a graduate nurse immediately after graduation while studying for my NCLEX (both of these give you experience with juggling numerous patients and a great, safe way to practice your clinical skills while having a "real" nurse alongside you, so you're not working out on your own). I did not do either of these things when I started working as an RN, so not only did I have to learn the hospital/floor P&Ps, I also had to learn how to juggle 4-5 patients without killing anyone and gain confidence in my basic nursing skills. Although I did go through orientation on my floor, the other new grads who either did an externship or worked as a graduate nurse seemed to have a much easier time transitioning to working on their own then I.

Totally normal. I'm off orientation for 2 months now and still feel like that. I do have to admit, though, working on the night shift is way less hectic then days. Although you have more patients, you remove the doctor's bugging you part. Yes, you have to call them in the middle of the night and wake them up when things are going bad, but that's not an every day occurrence either. Might be worth trying in the beginning (I have also found the nurses on night shift are, at least in my hospital, very team orientated and very helpful - making it a great place to learn). As for making mistakes, I agree with others. Just slow down. Better to get behind than it is to injure a patient. Personally, I say a pray on my way in to work each night, something like "God, please protect me from my patients, and protect my patient's from me. Give me the knowledge I need to keep them safe, and the courage to admit when I don't know something". It's my daily mantra, but it gives me a boost of confidence before I walk through the door...

I too am starting my nursing career on an Oncology unit, working nights (which I hadn't done before). I have now been off orientation for about months. As for working nights, I have yet to get tired on nights, mostly because I'm too busy to stop and relax enough to get tired. In fact, the nights usually fly by. Part of working Oncology is that (at our hospital anyway) we end up doing most of the lab draws, as most of patients have ports or piccs. Drawing labs on 4-6 patients certainly eats up a chunk of time. As my schedule is 2 12-hr nights on the weekends, I usually try to stay up a little later the night before I start. Then I (try) to take a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon before I start. I sleep all day the day between my shifts. Then after my last shift is over, I come home and sleep 3-4 hours and make myself get up for the rest of the day. I end up going to be early that night, but after a good night's sleep, I'm back to my normal sleeping schedule for the remainder of the week. All in all, I really like working 12 hour nights. There are not as many doctors around and things are a little calmer. However, having said that - there are nights when things are just crazy too! Keep an open mind. As a new grad, you may really like the somewhat slower pace and the commodore of the staff during nights. It's a great environment to learn in!

IndyMitchell - You are not alone. I'm 43 and in the same boat, coming from another career (where I was the expert and knew everything) to now knowing nothing, feeling overwhelmed at times and feeling like it's just me that is not getting it. From all the posts I've read and all the nurses I've talked to - this is normal. I'm coming to the conclusion that all the other new grads on my floor (who are all way younger, and this is the first career) feel the same way (to a degree), but no one wants to talk about it in person to admit how they feel (cuz they don't want to look like they are struggling too). I am lucky in that I work a weekend program night shift, so I'm always working with the same core group of nurses - who are all awesome and very team oriented (which I don't see during the weekdays). I ask them tons of questions - even things which I think I should know, but I doubt myself and ask anyway. They are all very patient and willing to help me - without them, I'm not sure how I would be handling all of this. One bonus to being an "older" new nurse is that patient's often think you are a seasoned vet - even when you don't have a clue what you're doing. I think that helps to put patient's at ease, making your job easier, as they aren't watching your every move wondering if you're doing things correctly (so when you do make an error or miss something, you can just nonchalantly go back in the room and redo whatever without your every move being scrutinized). Trust in yourself (I know, easier said than done). Get help when needed. Ask questions (I've decided it's better to have me look like a fool asking a question than risk hurting a patient). Plow through. I've been told it will get easier - someday. Personally, I can't wait for that day to arrive!

As a fellow new grad, I don't think you're overreacting. I think no one feels prepared to be out on their own without the security of a preceptor to help get you through the day. But once you go on your own, you won't really be alone either - your fellow nurses on your shift should be around to help you out (or point you in the right direction) when needed. As November17 pointed out, no one expects to be masters of our jobs once we come off orientation either. Although I am still in orientation (have about 2 weeks left) I have just finished up with 7 weeks on the floor, mostly day shift. I too was up to 4-5 patients, and feeling overwhelemed on a daily basis. I did get some experience on PM's, and liked that much better. Last weekend I started on nights, and like that a lot too. The advantage to both those shifts is that there isn't as much going on (doctors, new orders, tests, OT/PT, etc.), so it's easier to keep ahead of (or last on top of) things. Although there are times those shifts can be crazy as well, my experience has been that they aren't as hectic on a regular basis. Were you hired strictly on day shift? Or can you work another? If you can, I would highly suggest you try either PM's or nights. As a new grad,I think it would really help boost your confidence level. I know it has helped me. Best of luck and hang in there. I have been told, it will get better with time.

Student2Registered: I totally feel your pain. Although I have an assigned preceptor, she's out on vacation a lot right now, so I end up with different people each day. For the most part, it works out for me. I like to learn difference people's styles and hints for doing things. However, some days are better then others, and some preceptors are more patient with others. I also can't understand how I did so well in nursing school, but feel like a total idiot on the job. The unit I'm on hired 8 newly graduated nurses within about a month (I am the second to last one hired). The other new nurses (who only have about 2 weeks of experience on me), seem so confident and do the job with ease, while I feel like I'm struggling just to get all my meds passed in a timely manner! Then, they hired another new nurse two weeks after me, and I think she's already up to the same patient load as me! (again, making me feel like a total idiot). At the end of the day, the preceptors I work with say "Great job today", but I wonder how much of that is just a line that they say to everyone. I just don't know. Some days I think I'm doing ok, other days I can't even get my assessment charted until after my shift is over. In addition, I also moved out of state to take this job, so new hospital, new state, new home, new career. Thank God I still have the same husband to support me and help me get through all this! :wink2:

Tua15395, I wouldn't worry about jobs yet. A lot can change in 2 years. When I started school 2 years ago, the job market was pretty open for new grads. Of course, all that changed during my last semester of school. So when I graduated in May, there was not much out there. My only advice would be to start applying for jobs (especially graduate nurse type jobs) during your last semester of school and apply to a lot of them. I had done an internship with a hospital the summer before graduation and was pretty much guaranteed an "in" with them for a graduate nurse position when I graduated. Thus, I didn't look too hard for anything else. Then in March, I got word that they were basically canceling their graduate nurse program due to lack of jobs (I lived in Minnesota, and they were laying off massive amounts of experienced nurses, so if there were any openings, that's who they were hiring). Luckily, I quickly rallied and widened my net of where I would work and what I would do. I ended up getting a fabulous job at a Magnet hospital in Wisconsin. Yes, it required that my husband and I move to take it, but we were lucky in that we could do that. Out of my class of 26, I think there are a total of about 9 of us that have jobs so far. I and another gal are the only ones that are working in a hospitals, and we both tooks jobs out of state to do that. But like I said, I really wouldn't worry about jobs at this point. Just focus on your schooling for right now. I'm sure the economy will turn around while you're in school, so hopefully jobs will be yours for the taking when you graduate. Best of luck in nursing school!

First off, I would like to thank everyone who contributes to this thread. Although I don't contribute much to it, I do read it a lot and am thankful for all the advice I got from it. However, since I could never really find answers to a few of my questions, here is some of the information I wanted to know before/after taking my test: 1) When you get your ATT, schedule a date (they fill up fast!). You are not locked in stone to that day/time - you can reschedule (as long as it's more than 24 hours) - dates/times seem to appear (and disappear) randomly, so check back often. 2) Even though it says to get to your appointment at least 30 minutes early, if your scheduled time is at 8am (which mine was, at Brooklyn Park), no need to get there too early as the doors did not even open until 7:30am (which just meant time sitting in the hallway getting nervous) 3) If your appointment time is later in the day and you want to go earlier, call the testing center. I had a friend who was scheduled for 2pm and she called in the late morning and they told her to "come in whenever", so she was actually able to take it 12:30pm. 4) There is a small locker at the testing center (about 1x1x2) that you can fit a purse or whatever in to. You are not allowed to bring gum, lip balm, food, drink or even a watch in to the testing area (need to leave it all in your locker). 5) Results: I don't know how much I really believe in the "Pearson Vue Trick" that others refer to - but it did prove true for me. I tried it Saturday afternoon and was blocked from entering my credit card info. 6) If you take your test on a Friday, you can pay to find out your "unofficial" results on Sunday after the same time your test was scheduled for (so for me, I could find out after 8am on Sunday). Cost is $8 via the web through Pearson Vue. Just sign in to your Pearson account and it will tell you the "unofficial results are available for purchase". Here in MN we can find out our results for free through the BON website, but they didn't update the official results online until this (Monday) morning (my friend who took it Friday afternoon got her official results first thing this AM too). So that $8 was the best money I ever spent, as it gave me my results a full day early! (and trust me - the waiting is a killer) And all the results (unofficial and official) were THAT I PASSED!!!!!!*wine Hope this info helps give a few of you some answers to help make your experience a little smoother. The best advice I can give is to get a good night's rest before you take your test, and take your time answering the questions. Best of luck to all!