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Our BP cuffs have measurement ranges on them. So if I'm unsure as to what size cuff to use, I can measure circumference of pt arm.

No - b/c Homan's sign isn't a reliable way to diagnose DVT. Plus if it was a DVT could you actually turn it into an embolus by dorsiflexing the foot?

Peds: 3 - 4:1 On nights we have no aide so we do everything ourselves.

On our peds med-surg floor, we have 3 - 4 pts each. I think I would die if I had to take 5 or more kids.

I'm 40 and graduated 1 yr ago from nursing school. It's not too late! Your life experience is useful - gives you an edge. Have fun pursuing your new career. And, hey - 20 to 25 years in a career is a good long time.

I work 3-12's (7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) , rotating between days & nights. This month I work 2 weeks of nights and then switch to 2 weeks of days. I find that sleeping at 4 or 5 a.m. and getting up at noon allows me to still have a day life. If you can't find another job to go to, maybe rotating shifts would be a way to have some days while you search for your ideal schedule.

I'm often excluded from conversations and there are some RNs who appear to not want my help or who won't take time to help me with questions. I think that confronting the situation won't really help - of course I'm in a culture where people don't like conflict and confrontation. I'm just waiting it out, and being a team player best I can. I like my job and don't want to be chased away by unpleasant people.

I'm a peds RN with 9 mos. experience and I'm still hanging in. I started out having a tough time but it's getting easier. I read on this forum that most people have 5-6 pt load; I only have 3-4 pts. Maybe 1 kid is equal to 2 adults or maybe we have a good contract - who knows. Anyway I find I can handle the work okay, even on nights when we don't have an aide and must do it all ourselves. I liked my job less when I had a preceptor; she seemed to expect me to know everything and her idea of the preceptor role was to overwhelm me and then quiz me on everything. Now we work opposite shifts and I'm much happier. :redpinkhe

I find cell phones helpful sometimes, but it is awkward to have the phone ring when I'm trying to assess my patients. Once when I was in the middle of a complicated dressing change, I was called and paged multiple times by the clerk. When I finally answered, it turned out to be something that could have been easily handled by the desk clerk.

I feel exactly the same way and every time I go in to work I feel like I want to give up because it's too hard (and I only have 3 - 4 pts) and I'm not smart enough, organized enough, fast enough, and on and on. It's stressful learning the job and trying to live up to the expectations of others. Anyway, my suggestion is to take it one shift at a time. You can always quit if it's too much, but don't let the negative thinking knock you down. Think about what you love about nursing. Maybe that'll inspire you to keep going. You said you were a good nursing student in school; to me, that means you can be a good nurse. Hang in there.

I've been orienting with a preceptor since September. I go off orientation in just 3 more weeks. I'm not very excited about it. I was considering quitting because the workload is just too stressful, with too many interruptions, too many priorities, too many tasks. I come home exhausted after a 12 hour shift and can only stay asleep for 4 hours b/c I start thinking about all the things I did or didn't do during work and how I might have harmed patients by my actions or inactions. I'm going to try for six months of experience and then look for a different type of nursing job. Maybe public health will be less stressful.

I'm a new grad in last month of orientation. Time management is something that I need a lot of work at, but I have found that clustering tasks is useful. If I have a pt w/ 0800 med & a 0900 med - I get those meds ready at 0800, do vitals/assessment and give both meds at 0830 (0800 med half hour late and the 0900 med half hour early). That way I don't have to keep coming back in the room. I guess that doesn't always work - there are reasons why sometimes you do want an hour between meds - but for most part, it's helpful. Good luck to you...:balloons: