swiftdr

Can't say that I exausted my search efforts, but I could find no such legislation in NY but as many things get passed from one generation to another they morph and gain credibility. I know that my current institution reuires a "12 month" orientation process in the rare cicumstance that they hire a GN. Let me know if you get any supportive info for what I incorrectly stated - Dana [email protected]

I work in the ER at BMC in Cooperstown, NY and have about a ten year work history there - SCU, ICU, Nurse Educator and now ER. All of the advice from above is great - my advice: take a deep breath, relax, be yourself and answer truthfully. It is a great organization to work for. email me if you'd like [email protected]

Dear Phlebitis, I am an ER Nurse since February and before that an ICU Nurse and Nurse Educator for 10 years prior to this. In addition, I was a Paramedic from 1988-2010, fulltime Paramedic Educator for 7 years and continue to work as a per diem Federal Disaster RN. 2 observations - 1) you will never know everything about your specialty area and 2)comfort comes in 6 month and 2 year increments in my experience. In my state, new grads can't work in the ER by law unless the hospital can get a waiver from the Department of Health showing no experienced RNs are available. While I don't necessarily agree with this policy, there is a LOT that Nursing School and clinicals didn't teach you that you will be expected to know in the ER. Emergency procedures, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, med-surg problems/care, OB/Gyn problems/care, Peds problems/care, Ortho Problems/care, et cetera ad nauseam.... Plus composure with patients and families in critical situations. You will slowly develop comfort in the ER but each day I learn something new. In regard to trust and relationship building, this takes time too. If you approach patient care from the standpoint of "what would I want for my loved one in this situation" you will rarely go wrong... I would suggest to you that you may have too much on your plate with the responsibility of going to school while orienting the ER as a new grad, but the ultimate decision maker of this is you. I can tell you that despite my extensive advanced pre-hospital experience prior to my first job as a new grad, I drove to work nauseated for the first 6 months - worrying about what that shift would bring and if I was up to the task. I wish you luck in your journey. We are generally our own toughest critics so be gentle to yourself. Learn from mistakes and move on. Best, Dana

I am a fulltime ICU and ER Nurse in Upstate NY. I have Muscular Dystrophy which causes me to have a gait distubance and causes me moderate pain by the end of a 12 hour shift. I have lived with this disablity my entire life and have served as a Paramedic and Fire Fighter up to 2010. I am also a per diem Federal Employee through HHS and the National Disaster Medical System's DMAT NY-2. We deploy to natural disasters, terrorist events and National Special Security Events (think DNC, RNC, State of the Union Address, Inauguration, etc....). All members are required to be evaluated and cleared by the team's CMO annually and prior to austere deployments. There often can be no ADA accomodations in a disaster situation like Haiti or post Katrina New Orleans. I must be able to perform all of the required tasks of my job description and function in some of the most difficult environments without any special accomodations for my disability. I am not certain what type of Reserve Corps you are looking into but you need to be able to perform your duties under taxing circumstances often with no accomodation for your disability. Please feel free to contact me via email if I can help you navigate your decision making or for moral support... [email protected] Good Luck! Dana

I didn't go to nursing school until I was 31, with a 6 month old daughter and plenty of bills to keep up with. I can tell you from personal experience that being a male in nursing school definitely had its moments... I can also tell you that being a nurse is the most amazing career I have ever experienced. I had been a Paramedic, taught Paramedics at the community college level fullitme and before that I worked in rape crisis/domestic violence/child sexual assualt couseling and had been a Social Studies teacher... I have been an RN since 2003 and I am extremely happy in my career. It isn't for everyone, but it offers the opportuniy to touch others in extraordinary situations and in turn be touched yourself by these situations.The pay isn't bad, the shift work can be exhausting but overall I am grateful for the opportunity nursing has brought me.

I occasionally get the Doctor comment from patients and families and I quickly but politely correct them. I interact with physician and other HCP staff as a colleague but I work in an ICU where we work together with a small critical care team where everyone knows the others' strengths and weaknesses very well. It shouldn't matter what your gender is, it should matter what your knowledge, skill and compassion is. While I am respectful of nursing's origins, I am tired of the white dresses and caps vision of nursing. I came to this profession with a wealth of critical care knowledge from paramedicine and my intent is to apply that knowledge for the best possible patient and family outcome. I shouldn't get paid more than a similarly experienced female colleague and if I was I would complain. With 7 % male nurses vs. 93 % females I don't think there's much risk of it being over-run with males. I can not give you good reasons why males reflect a higher than average number of management positions, but I just resigned from a management position to go back to the bedside and anyone who wants my old job, male or female, can have it ...

I am a male nurse who went the typical route of practicing as a paramedic for twenty years before I became a nurse... I am not certain whether it is my age or whether it is my background in critical care (or whether it is because I am male) but I get as much if not more respect from patients and other Health Care Providers. In the past 8 years I have had two elderly female patients who wanted a female aid or other nurse help them with toileting or a bath but even those patients were willing to let me help them once I demonstrated that I cared about them as a nurse. I think it is important to keep a positive, caring attitude when caring for any patient and this attitude will carry you through a lot of "male nurse stigma..." On the flip side, I have had young male patients assume I was gay because I am a male nurse. I don't wear my wedding band because my finger rots off from all of the handwashing but I have pictures of my wife and 8 year old daughter on the back of my work ID if the subject comes up about family...

I am currently leaving a Clinical Coordinator position in a 24 Step-Down Unit where for the past two years our turn-over rate was so bad that the only option was to orient those "new grads" with one year or less experience to Charge Nurse role... The improtant caveat to any of this is - "does the relatively inexperienced nurse show initiative and critical thinking skills?" I look forward to the day when there is enough depth of experience in our profession NOT to do this, but currently it is necessary. Oh, by the way, I'm at a Magnet Hospital too. Lofty goals get run over by reality sometimes....

I came to nursing in my mid 30s and love my career. I touch people's lives positively everyday and I make a difference everyday. I was a paramedic for several years, got a BS in Education, taught paramedics at the community college full time for several years.... then my daughter was born... I looked at how much I was working in my full time job (60-80 hours/week) added to that my part time medic job (12-24 hours/week) and how much I was making (50 K/year)... two years later I was an ADN RN working three days/week and making more than I had been as a full time college instructor and a part time medic. My daughter is 7 next month and I am the Clinical Coordinator of a 24 bed step-down unit at a academic/magnet hospital and I have an amazing life - both professionally and family. If I were to tell any young person a career to look at it would be Nursing. It certainly is not for everyone and I think the wrong types of people are being attracted to the profession (either not physically, mentally or emotionally capable of being a nurse) but if you have what it takes this is an amazing profession... In Upstate NY where I live, this is the only career where jobs are readily available and starting pay is in the mid $20/hour with an Associate's Degree... There is extraordinary flexibility and diversity in this field (school nurse, flight nurse, ICU/SCU/CCU, clinic nurse, research nurse, et cetera ad infinitum) potential advancement -- NP, Clinical Nurse Specialist, CRNA and most institutions are paying for education... My long term plan is to attend CRNA school. My institution has tuition agreements with 5 schools AND they will pay me a living stipend while I am in school. They start CRNAs out at $140,000/year... What other profession are jobs readily available, there are diverse opportunities available, education is paid for and pay is above average?

I came to nursing in my mid 30s and love my career. I touch people's lives positively everyday and I make a difference everyday. I was a paramedic for several years, got a BS in Education, taught paramedics at the community college full time for several years.... then my daughter was born... I looked at how much I was working in my full time job (60-80 hours/week) added to that my part time medic job (12-24 hours/week) and how much I was making (50 K/year)... two years later I was an ADN RN working three days/week and making more than I had been as a full time college instructor and a part time medic. My daughter is 7 next month and I am the Clinical Coordinator of a 24 bed step-down unit at a academic/magnet hospital and I have an amazing life - both professionally and family. If I were to tell any young person a career to look at it would be Nursing. It certainly is not for everyone and I think the wrong types of people are being attracted to the profession (either not physically, mentally or emotionally capable of being a nurse) but if you have what it takes this is an amazing profession... In Upstate NY where I live, this is the only career where jobs are readily available and starting pay is in the mid $20/hour with an Associate's Degree... There is extraordinary flexibility and diversity in this field (school nurse, flight nurse, ICU/SCU/CCU, clinic nurse, research nurse, et cetera ad infinitum) potential advancement -- NP, Clinical Nurse Specialist, CRNA and most institutions are paying for education... My long term plan is to attend CRNA school. My institution has tuition aggreements with 5 schools AND they will pay me a living stipend while I am in school. They start CRNAs out at $140,000/year... What other profession are jobs readily available, there are diverse opportunities available, education is paid for and pay is above average?