mich321

It sounds like hospital B is very supportive of new graduates since there is a one year residency. A supportive environment is worth SO much more than being able to say "I work for a very prestigious hospital."

I've done a lot of embarrassing things. Last time I worked, I was starting to ask a pt to tell me his name and birthdate when my phone started ringing. I ignored the phone, but asked the pt to tell me his "name and phone number". His wife and daughter were in the room, and you should have heard the comments that I inspired. My face was BRIGHT red!

Yes, I would try to stay on PRN or part-time at my current job if at all possible in order to avoid "burning bridges". Thanks for the advice!

There was no sign-on bonus, so I wouldn't need to pay back any money. The consequence of breaking the commitment is that I would not be eligible for re-hire. (And of course, having the guilt of it on my conscience!) I'm not sure what I could change at work. I work night shift (which I don't like), but I also worked day shift for 6 months and REALLY didn't like that shift on my particular unit. I like my co-workers and the hospital organization. I just don't like the type of nursing unit. I can't switch units within the hospital for another 1.5 years.

I have been working as an RN for one year on a med-surg/stepdown floor. I didn't really want to work in this area of nursing, but that is what was available after graduation and I knew it would be good experience.....and it has been good experience. I'm just miserable there even though it is a great organization. I'm depressed, gaining weight, and generally not myself. I now have the opportunity to take the job I REALLY wanted right after graduation, but it is at a different hospital. My only problem is that I have a 28 month commitment (not a contract) with the hospital I work for now. I am really torn between (a) not wanting to break my commitment to a great organization and (b) not wanting to be miserable for the next year and a half. I feel really guilty for even thinking about breaking my commitment, and I'm fully aware that this decision could come back to haunt me someday. My thought was that maybe I could still work at my current hospital on a PRN basis if I took the new job. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry if this was already posted by someone, but I saw this video today and found it inspiring. The hospital employees in this video all wore pink gloves to promote breast cancer awareness and choreographed a dance to go along with the gloves. It was nice to see people having fun at work, especially for a good cause. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpo-7bHeJyk Hopefully the link works. If not, go to www.youtube.com and search "pink gloves dance".

If you have a chance to be part of a new grad program/internship, take it! The first year of nursing is SO overwhelming. You will need the support! If you start in the casual pool, you will likely be on your own after a very short period of time. Good luck to you!

There were some nurses laid off in the summer from the hospital where I work. They were nurses who helped with admits/discharges and transported pts to procedures on monitors. It was sad!

I had never heard the term "para-nursing", so I did a quick google search just to see what I could find. It appears that some countries use the term para-nursing to describe the role of a CNA or Patient Care Assistant/Tech. I don't believe that a Respiratory Therapist would fall into this category (at least not in the United States).

You are not alone! I cried twice during orientation, and I didn't even wait until the end of the shift! It's ok, it happens. Nursing is stressful and overwhelming, and you need an outlet for that. It is NOT your fault the test didn't get done the day before.....you weren't even there! Take pride in the fact that you noticed the scheduling error and got everything in order for the next day. You saw a problem, and you took action to correct it. That's what we do!

Finally made up my mind to get the IM vaccination yesterday. My arm is a little sore today. No other problems!

I believe each hospital/facility has its own clinical ladder for advancement from novice to expert nurse (level I-V). You would probably have to check with your hospital for specifics.

I felt the same way when I was off orientation and probably for the first 3 months on my own until I switched to night shift. Night shift has been much better for me!

It's been about 9 months for me. I have some days where I feel somewhat confident and some days where I feel like I really don't know anything yet. I know I'll never know it all though, so I just keep asking questions and looking things up!

ABC news tonight stated that one of the companies donated 100 doses of the vaccine to a children's hospital in new york.

My friend is a human resources manager (not in a hospital though). She told me that when potential employees don't send a cover letter, it comes across as though the person does not care enough about the job to put in the effort. She also mentioned that it is easy to tell when people are applying for a lot of jobs at the same time......apparently it is common for people to forget to change the first line of the cover letter (where the position of interest is listed)! For example, person fills out application for sales position but first line of cover letter reads something like "I am applying for the janitorial staff position...." So make sure to double check before sending!!!

Thanks for all your replies! I have taken a basic EKG class, so I think I'll get the ACLS book and start working on it!

I have been working on a med-surg/telemetry/ICU stepdown floor since January 2009, and I have been off orientation since May. I would like to go for ACLS as I think it is important and would help increase my confidence at work. I'm just nervous that I do not know enough yet, and I don't want to look foolish. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I agree with the previous comments regarding clinical hours and experience....I think it varies by school and instructor, not necessarily by degree. In addition, I think clinical experiences are what the student makes them to be. For example, when I was in school there were 2 types of students: 1. Students who showed up late to clinical days, asked to leave early, whined about having to help with patient care, disappeared from the floor randomly during the day. Did the absolute minimum amount of work necessary to not be dismissed from the program. 2. Students who showed up on time, ready to learn, sought out experiences, and asked questions. These people all graduated with the same degree, but I'm willing to bet some were a bit better prepared! Nursing school really doesn't prepare you for the 'real world' of nursing though. By the way, I have a BSN......and I didn't feel very confident or prepared when I started working.....many days I still don't!

Originally Posted by IMABSNRN I'm disgusted with my situation, too. I'm stuck at a job in a LTC facility and it's getting on my nerves. I've got a BSN and know I could go to a big hospital where the excitement is but it would be at the expense of doing what is best for my family; first of all I live in a little hick town and the big high tech hospitals are far away, my toddler loves his daycare, which is 2 minutes from my job, I work the 7-3 shift doing QA projects (office work, no patient care), I'm at home in my cozy bed every night. The problem is that I hate doing QA projects and administrative tasks, but they won't "let" me work the floor. So much for career advancement, I had more job satisfaction as an LPN! But I've got children depending on my steady predictable income and convenient hours but I'm in a rut with no way out and I hate it. Still, I make way more than $16/hr, that pay rate more than sucks, you need to do some serious negotiating. I would love to trade jobs with you! You can have the excitement and action, and I will gladly take the QA projects and 7-3 schedule!!! :) The grass is always greener in someone else's yard eh?!

The hospital where I work has released H1N1 guidelines which state that a pregnant woman may not refuse an assignment provided there is appropriate PPE available for use. I would personally offer to trade assignments with a pregnant co-worker, because I would feel wrong about putting that person at risk if another assignment is available.

Always ask for help when you need it. When I was first "on-my-own", I thought I needed to be able to do it all myself. That got very overwhelming. I quickly learned that everyone needs help sometimes, and that I was never truly alone. Once I realized that even the charge nurses asked questions, I felt very comfortable asking for another opinion. I was SO nervous before my first shift, but I found that I was actually less anxious during the shift because I didn't have a preceptor watching my every move. My preceptors were great, but they each had their own routine....and I just needed to find my own routine. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to do things the way each of my preceptors wanted things done! Good luck tomorrow! You can do it!

Ahhhhh, thank you! Prolonged periods of stress (such as pandemic panic) can have detrimental effects on the immune system right?! :)

I'm a new grad, working since January. I have the same problem. It's getting a little better as time goes by, but I still feel a lot of anxiety prior to my shifts. I've found that listening to audio books in the car on the way to work helps me focus on something other than my anxiety. (I drive almost an hour one-way.) I get caught up in the story rather than thinking about what kind of crazy situation I'm going to be thrown into that night!

When I was in nursing school, my leadership rotation was in a small rural OR. The OR nurses also acted as PACU nurses, but were not required to have ICU or ER experience. During the day, there were always 2 nurses in the PACU, with one pt each. If an OR nurse was called in at night/weekend, the OR nurse went with the pt to PACU and recovered the pt- no second nurse there for backup. My preceptor said they lost a lot of good nurses who were uncomfortable being alone in the PACU at night. I currently work at a large hosptial on a med-surg floor. I went to the OR one day during orientation to observe the surgeries. The OR nurse told me that OR nurses there NEVER work in PACU. PACU nurses are required to have atleast 2 years of ICU or ER experience because PACU is considered a critical care area. Maybe because of the more involved surgeries being done at the larger hospital- transplants, pts on vents, etc.? I'm not sure, but I found the differences between hospitals interesting.