Rabid Response

Go for the tech job at the trauma hospital. The experience itself is probably not going to count for too much on a resume for RN positions, but you will have a foot in the door at an acute care facility. Never underestimate the power of networking. Also, you can work on basic nursing skills and become comfortable in a fast paced environment. In my opinion (I will get reamed for this) long term care is kind of a dead end/career killer. Good luck and congrats on having two job offers.

I've only attended one funeral for a patient, and I'm not sorry that I went. He was in our ICU for a long time, and I got to know his wife very well. I came to work the morning after he passed and did not realize he was gone. His wife was there to sign some paperwork, and I gave her a big cheery wave hello as I breezed past her on the way to my assignment. By the time I learned that he had died the night before, she had already left the unit. I felt terrible. I don't think I could have lived with myself unless I attended the funeral and was able to express my condolences to his wife. The amazing thing about that patient's funeral was that it gave me the opportunity to learn about the man he was before he became ill.

Ugh. This post brings back bad memories of my own student clinicals. So few of the nurses wanted anything to do with us, and the ones who were forced to work with us either ignored us or hid from us. Some of the blame must fall to your clinical instructor. Our clinicals improved (slightly) when we got a clinical instructor who worked at the hospital where our clinicals were held. Apparently it's a little harder to be rude and condescending to someone who you will have to work around in the future. Because of my own past experiences, I have gone out of my way to welcome students into our ICU and always offer to work with them when I can. I have rarely regretted agreeing to work with a student and only then because I had a really busy/crazy day and know that they didn't get to do much besides follow me around. Some nurses are going to be less than welcoming no matter what you do, but there may be a few things students can do to make themselves more welcome on the floor. One student automatically started changing my patient's bed linen right after we had gotten him out of the bed after extubation. I remembered that thoughtful gesture and asked specifically to work with that student again. Also, while I like answering questions, there is a time and place. If I look super busy and distracted (probably more often than I wish I did) maybe that's not the time to ask a very detailed question. Write down questions to ask later during lulls in the workload. One student did that, and it worked really well for both of us. While I understand that students are not placed in our unit to do scut work, my ICU has no nurses aids and so doing any of that sort of work for me (serving meals, helping to turn patients, toileting patients, emptying foleys) frees up time for me that I can spend helping them to learn some of the more interesting and challenging stuff. This too shall pass! I once got YELLED at by a CNA when I was a student and just trying to help. I left clinicals that day on the verge of tears. I now work in the same hospital where that happened and I see that CNA often during my rapid response rounding on the med-surg floors. Now that I've had a chance to get to know her, I realize that she yelled at me because she is incompetent and stupid, and I was the only person lower than her that she could take out her frustrations on. She is lucky that I'm not a vindictive person. Hang in there, students, and try to remember how crappy it felt not to be welcome so that you can change things when you are the nurses.

A few days ago, a patient's wife was irate with me because I hadn't brought HER any breakfast. "You didn't even bring me a coffee!" she shouted. I explained to her that I am not allowed to provide food or beverages to anyone who is not my patient. I told her that there was a cafeteria downstairs. "But then I will have to PAY for it!" was her response.

I work with one of those too. When I first started on the unit, I helped her a lot. It seemed that she didn't know how to set up/use the majority of our equipment and never had any idea where things were stocked. Also I was constantly running to answer her call lights and alarms. One day I asked one of the veteran nurses how long Wingnut, RN had worked on the unit, assuming that she had started a few days before I had. 15 YEARS!!! She has worked IN THAT UNIT for 15 years. It seems she gets by because her friends (and idiots like me) pick up just enough of her slack that she hasn't killed anyone. Needless to say, I no longer help her unless it is a matter of patient safety. I won't even double check meds with her because I don't trust her not to make a huge mistake later and have it traced back to me. In short--I feel your pain. Working near someone like that always increases the labor load and the stress.

I really wanted to love clogs. I never felt quiet right in Danskos or Sanitas. Although I don't ever really run while at work, I don't like the feeling that I couldn't if I wanted to. I wore Crocs for a while but I would bump the toe of my foot on the floor every once in a while and pitch forward--ugh. Then one day, while transporting a critical patient by gurney, I did the toe bump thing, my croc flew off and got run over by the gurney while I hopped on one foot after my co-workers trying to retrieve my shoe and catch up in time to get the elevator. So awkward! After that I started wearing shoes that would stay on my feet, that let me feel the floor, that I could run up stairs in if I had to--Adidas Sambas and Converse Chucks. My shoes have no arch support and no padding. Other nurses think I am crazy, but my feet feel better than ever, and I never trip anymore. I save my squishy, comfy shoes for when I get home.

I have a 2.0 GPA, a criminal record, and I'm pregnant. What are my chances of getting into nursing school? Should I wait to apply until after the baby is born? Should I wait until I'm paroled? Also--do these pants make me look fat?

Our Pyxis always prompts us with a message like--"Are you going to give the whole 4 mg?" to which you must answer yes or no. If you answer no, it will not let you continue without a witness. If your patient is still on the unit, you can go back in the Pyxis under that patient's name and see what exactly you pulled out.

I would get my CRNA license and then work with an organization like Doctors without Borders. I would also get a Masters or higher in Disaster Management or some such degree so that I could be a useful volunteer at large disaster sites. Teaching nursing school would also be fun. I would not ever want to leave nursing completely but would enjoy more flexibility and excitement (and less charting and red tape).

I'm reading this while recuperating from a surgery I had three days ago, in which I did have part of an organ removed. Really the thought that some silly nursing students and (I'm sorry but it must be said) a callous OR nurse would think it was amusing to post with my removed body part for a photo on freaking Facebook has brought tears to my eyes. My God, HIPAA aside, where was the sense of common decency for a fellow HUMAN being??? Really a nightmare for anyone who has been a surgical patient. Those students and the nurse got at least what they deserved. Why would you think otherwise?

I had a similar nightmare recently. In the dream I was in attendance at some bizarre educational post-mortem the attending MDs were holding for the new residents. There were three bodies laid out on gurneys. The one closest to me was the body of a young woman who still had an ET tube in. At one point during the presentation, the young woman opened her eyes and started moving her hands. I yelled for the doctors to do something, that she was still alive, that we needed to start bagging her or remove the tube or SOMETHING. But the attendings just said, "Oh we declared TOD an hour ago, we can't revive her now." Everyone was just standing around watching. I was so frantic and horrified that I woke up with my heart racing. Then I went back to sleep and swear I had the same freaking dream two more times that night with no resolution. Ugh.

Horrible.

We usually have one or two notices posted on the back of our bathroom door. Often they are announcements of the time and date of the next unit meeting. My favorite was the flyer advertising free pap smears offered to hospital employees that week during breaks. I can't think of anything I'd less like to do on a break than have a freaking pap smear. Nothing like holding your pee for six hours and then getting socked with that message when you finally get a moment to relieve yourself.

Great work on the resume and cover letter. I'm in the process of revamping mine for a CRNA program application, and you have given me the inspiration I need to finish that tedious job. Thanks for posting, and congratulations on your new and well-deserved position.

We got an overdose patient in the ICU once. His medical history contained a diagnosis of known etoh abuse going back decades. His roommate brought the guy's home meds to us in a paper lunch sack. Among the contents of that sack were three bottles of benzos, a bottle of Ambien, and a bottle of Viagra--all prescribed by the same doctor. That little brown bag told a sad story.