MachoNurse BSN, RN

When I first came across informatics a few years ago, I got really excited. I had left the floor and was working in Quality and thought these two skills (along with a previous career as a hardware engineer) would make Informatics a perfect fit for me...

Hi, I'm looking into online MS in Informatics programs and would love recommendations. I'm intrigued by the competency-based program of Walden and Western Governors (WGU), and get there are pros and cons to this design. Please share your wisdom and e...

Thanks, Tony. I liked UI Chicago's program. Also check out University of New England. What are the other programs you liked? What direction are you planning to take your career with an Informatics degree? I've been working in Quality Improvement for ...

Greetings, I've finally made the decision to leave the Bay Area in order to pursue my dream of becoming a pediatric ER nurse. I have one year's experience in pediatric med/surg, and six months of short-term pediatric clinical assignments. I'm wonder...

Thanks for asking, Danceluver. I found a great job in the ED at Children's National Medical Center in DC. I landed a position in their Fellowship program, which is giving me a 14-week orientation with eight weeks of didactics. This is twice as much t...

Hey there, I'm graduating in 36 days! :dncgbby::dncgcpd::dncgbby::dncgcpd: Things sure have changed since I started down this road two years ago, hiring bonuses and nursing shortages. I'm in the SF Bay Area, and there are practically NO jobs for new ...

Congratulations on your new job! When do you start? In what department will you be working? Are you in a new grad program? I'm hoping to have a phone interview with them this week. Thanks! Macho Nurse

I took the NCLEX this afternoon, it shut off at 75 questions, perhaps 10 of which I was sure of, and said "Thanks for playing!" Since I don't drink, I went to the bookstore and bought the biggest chocolate chip cookie I could find and sat and read c...

Congrats on the new job, SpunkyAggie! Where did you get hired? I'm out here in the Bay Area and it's slim pickins!

Congratulations, Chickidee! I just started my PICU preceptorship, and so far, so good. I think it's on the lower end of PICUs, but I'm grateful to be there. Let us know how it goes for you. Macho Nurse

Congratulations, Candiam! Where do you live and at what hospital will you be working? Will you be entering a new grad program/orientation? Rob

Hi Biggiecali, I'd say that overall, I'm disappointed with what appears to be acceptable of a nursing education in general. Everyone keeps saying, "Oh, I didn't learn anything in nursing school. You get it all on the job." As a former educator, I jus...

I can sell you the following books, all in good or great condition: Bastable. "Essentials of Patient Education" Ackley. "Nursing Diagnosis Handbook" Burns. "Understanding Nursing Research" Ebersole. "Gerentological Nursing & Healthy Aging" I al...

When sailing, one chooses a destination and then charts a course. If the winds or currents change, the navigator must chart a new course. You don't have to change your destination, but if you don't adapt to the changing winds and currents, you will n...

It's 7:20 am. I stood there for a few minutes, looking down the hall at my two companion student nurses scampering around with their buddy nurses. I watched with envy at how their mentors actually talked to them. Now, let me be fair to my mentor. Whe...

I'm in the Oakland ABSN program right now, graduating this May. I think just about everyone on my cohort is disappointed with the quality of education and instruction. Classroom instructors are nice and well-intentioned, but clearly lacking in teache...

This forum is awesome! I've watched a number of IV starts on kids, but as a nursing student, still haven't had the opportunity to try one. At the Children's Hospital where I volunteered, there were a few nurses who would usually be called in because ...

While on my pediatrics rotation last month, I found myself really interested in the hematology/oncology ward, and wanted to float there for a day or two. Our clinical instructor was so stressed and disorganized, she would let us float there, or anywh...

Congratulations on your job! Pediatrics is why I entered nursing school in the first place. We just finished our pediatric rotation, and our instructor was a disaster who got us kicked out of the hospital our final weekend. The good news is that eve...

Children's Hospital Oakland has a rehab wing. A cohort of students in my nursing program just did their peds rotation there and loved it. Good luck to you!

Sounds like it went well! Usually, the more people you meet, the better. Good luck!

Thanks for the great story! As a former fifth grade teacher and soon-to-be pediatric nurse, I appreciated your adventures from both perspectives. I grew up on the east coast, always a school nurse to be found. But here on the west coast (in CA), I ne...

Halfway through my program, nursing school has thus far, for various reasons, ranged from being disappointing to discouraging to despairing. I've been disappointed in the quality of the school and of the clinical experience. I've been discouraged abo...

Great idea for a thread! I was a fifth grade teacher prior to entering nursing school, and entered nursing school with the clear intention on becoming a pediatric nurse. I volunteered in the ER at our local children's hospital prior to starting schoo...

Hey shinyblackcar, Congrats on the two job offers! That must feel really great. In which department did you do your preceptorship? I'm trying to figure out if I should do it in ped's med/surg, the PICU, or the ped's ER. Any advice? Anyone else? Than...