stpchc

I am one of the many MN nurses who is a union member of MNA. Your union is only as strong as its members...so if your union members in Ohio were not involved, this could be why nothing changed after it became unionized. I for one will not put profits before patients and continue to be the patients' advocate.

I know some of the nurses I work with work 3-12 hour shifts, stay with family or friends and then go home until the next group of shifts........they drive about 2 hours (in good weather) to home................take the new job and hope hubby could try to move sooner if possible! The hospital you are working for now could have a problem if you wanted to push it and there was a signed contract at hire but who wants to go there when you know you will be moving soon.

How many shifts in the month? Have you seen an orientation checklist? Will you be working on the assigned shift you were hired for during orientation? Is the month orientation all hands on or how much classroom? If it is near full-time hours with hands on training...........that sounds like plenty. Many ER's are now the substitute for "clinic/urgent care" needs of patients vs. the emergent needs..................so your 2 years of med-surg. has prepared you for alot of that and you really would only need the critical situations for experience.

I love working in the float team. As the units get to know you, they will eventually be glad to see you come because otherwise, they'd be working short. Try to pair up with another float team nurse if they get sent to the same unit with you..............we support each other all the time. Also, it helps if you pipe up and are willing to assist the unit nurses with cares if you have a free moment....answer call lites, phones, do some orders, etc. I never mind not going to the same unit in the same week.........that's why I joined the float team. And if there are problems with feeling like the float staff is getting the "dump" on patient assignments, then let your nurse manager/unit council/charge nurse or someone above the bedside staff know that this is becoming a habit..........be sure to have the documentation to back it up. Good luck!

Too OLD??? NEVER!! I got my LPN at 29, my AD at 35, and now after many years of nursing, I am working on my BS online at the young age of 54!! And there are only a few nurses in my online classes who are younger than 30.............keep going and good luck!

I work in a MN hospital and Joint Commission was just here..............and yes they still want care plans. The focus was on how we individualized care plans along with risk assessments on falls, skin, pain were included when risk was assessed. We are doing everything electronically for nursing documentation using Cerner. Our care plans electronically are still being tweaked to become an active part of our care that we are doing. Some of our documentation automatically updates pieces of the careplan but other parts still needs to be done separately. Many of our nurses are not always doing that part...................I think in part because of all the EMR changes over the past 2 years and the care plans continually being changed/updated to a better way of doing them. So keep doing those care plans!!

:wink2::)I am sorry your 30 years of nursing has been so negative to you------why did you keep doing it all those years if you weren't happy? Sometimes we need to look within ourselves and decide is it the place I work or is it me? I have wonderful experiences in my many places of employment since becoming a nurse. Remember the quote, "attitude is everything" and "you are the only one who can change that!":)

I am 54 with my Associate in nursing and just started back for my BSN! Go for it!! Bobbi

Have you tried looking online for the Chemistry class--like The College Network or Excelsior College? Some of those classes are modules that you read and prepare yourself for an exam..........or do you need a lab with it?