LeesieBug

One of my colleagues is getting working on a DNP in Educational Leadership. It is an online program, with two 5-day residencies. She is loving it, and feels like it is extremely relevant to what we do. Maybe this is the type of thing you are looking for? Online DNP Program in Nursing Education | American Sentinel Also, know someone now working on dissertation for Ed.D at Nova Southeastern. It is available online: http://www.fischlerschool.nova.edu/doctoral/doctor-of-education

I struggled with this same decision, and the answer is: There is no right or wrong way to go! It just depends on your individual interests and goals. I decided to do a masters in nursing education for several reasons. 1) I had NO desire to be an NP. I wanted to be an educator. 2) I did not have a desire to teach in an NP program. 3) I knew how to be a nurse; I wanted to learn how effectively educate and inspire others, and be the best nursing instructor possible! 4) I (rightly) believed that there was much, much more to being a nursing faculty member than being a knowledgeable clinician. I worried the whole time I was in school, wondering if I had made the right choice. I loved what I was learning, but had concerns about whether I would be limiting myself, professionally. I worried needlessly. Just before graduation I was offered a management position in my ED, which I accepted. My MSN actually complimented my management role very nicely. So much of being an effective manager is about leading, coaching, and mentoring, skills that were well developed in my MSN program. I stayed with the management role for just over a year before deciding I needed to follow my passion for education. When looking for a faculty position, I found a fair amount of variation in requirements, depending on the school, program, or specific courses. Some favored the MSN in Nursing Education, some favored an advanced practice degree in a clinical specialty, and some just wanted people with an MSN, period. I easily found a full-time faculty position in a college, that I LOVE! I quickly learned that my MSN-Ed coursework was absolutely invaluable to understanding and excelling in my new role. At the time I was hired, the college was in warning status with accreditors, and were specifically seeking faculty with a degree in nursing education to help turn things around. Right from the start, I was able to jump in and be a valuable member of the team that worked on fixing our areas of weakness (we had a successful survey in February). I also had the opportunity to help design a new, concept-based curriculum for our BSN program. Had I not gone the education route, I would have been completely clueless. Our nursing faculty is a balance of nurse practitioners and those with education masters. It makes for a great team, where we balance each other out with our specific strengths. Recently, I was accepted into a PhD in nursing program, with no difficulty, and will start that new adventure this fall. My best advice is to think about where your passion is, and work from there. Advanced degree programs are too intense NOT to enjoy what you are learning. Good luck, whatever you decide! Nursing is such an amazing profession, with so many options. You just never know where the journey will take you!

Honestly, it is just doing them over, and over, and over......and over. Its kind of like learning to drive car...hard to give someone specific instructions on how to get better at it, you just get good with practice. I remember that being the worst part when I started ER out of school...I was always behind because it took so long to start my freakin' IV's, then after 30 minutes of trying and you can't get it you have to find someone else, wait for them to get it for you, etc. I feel you pain and can assure you that even though it can feel hopeless, you will eventually get better/quicker at it. If your workplace has IV therapy, you could request to spend a day with them doing all the IV starts, just to give yourself extra practice.

In the ER the problem has little to do with caring a whole lot about the report and a LOT to do with traffic flow. I don't really give a crapolla how much notice I have on pt information/condition...I care about having a couple minutes to figure out where the heck I am going to put the patient amidst the throng of other sick people. And yes....mistakes happen. But that does not mean it isn't frustrating when they do.

Had one a few days ago on a record breaking day...had a full house, 4 squads out we were trying to place, and one rolls in with a respiratory distress...."oh sorry, we forgot to call". Guy....seriously? I wanted to holller "WORK WITH ME PEOPLE!" A few weeks ago we had one bring in a homicidal mental health we had not heard about saying, "oh, the cops said they called so we didn't think we needed to"....sigh

:chuckleIndeed, I find something inherently wrong with something that is intended for "oral or rectal" use.....gives me the heebie- jeebies.

Very rarely....In three years I have done one once (thank God...I hate them). Have often sent a fleets home with patients on dc, though.

I am sort of an oddball in the pack. Never had any interest whatsoever in ER. Got shuffled into it as a new grad. I remember taking one look at the trauma room on my first day and thinking "ohhhhhh shhhheeeeit". I felt COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone. Couldn't stop thinking "What have I gotten myself into?" However, that's what I think made it great. Talk about a confidence builder! You go from feeling like you can handle nothing to feeling like you can handle ANYTHING. Three years later I can't really picture myself doing any other type of nursing. Its addictive. If you are interested in doing ER, I would not shy away from it just because, being new to it, you are intimidated by ICU patients in the ER. You will soon find that the ER is about prioritizing and teamwork...and it all works itself out somehow. P.S. For me the most annoying time of year is during stretches of winter when all the GI bugs hit. Sometimes I don't think I can take one more puking pooping person.

Also, recently read research regarding the fact that it is getting to a point where there is little difference in the actual numbers of insured versus uninsured using the ER for non-emergent complaints nowadays due to an increase in patients viewing it as "one-stop shopping" so to speak. It is easier to go to the ER than make an appointment for, lets say, your belly that has been hurting for three weeks and just get everything done there, rather than go to the family doctor, possibly be referred to a GI doc, who then orders a scan/Ultra sound which needs a separate appointment, which then takes a few days for results... then go back in to doc to get the results...etc. etc. This ties in to Whykiki's example of the lady who wanted all her various complaints that were completely unrelated treated in the ER. The fix me now...I don't want to wait mentality that is becoming very prevalent.

As an ER nurse, I also had such an experience where I gained perspective on why people...even the insured, are coming to us instead of an urgent care clinic. Couldn't get myself and son into the doc on a Friday for a step infection...went to urgent care clinic, told me Oh, yeah, yeah we take your insurance" (no reason to doubt them). 420 bucks later, after simply receiving an rx for abx ,found out that, gee, the place is in no way covered by my insurance, after all. Would have been cheaper to visit our ER where it would have been FREE ( since I work there) or 50 dollar co-pay if I didn't. Answered my own question about why no one seems to be using that clinic for minor medical issues.

I also agree that rotating areas helps keep things more interesting. One of the things I like about E R is that it has some variety, and that would be minimized if I was going in the the same assignment every day. I remember back when I was a new grad...we have one assignment they put new grads on for several months...and it was so depressing going in the the same gig, day after day, for months. ugh. I also feel that it is important to be well rounded, and rotating is the key to that. This is an area that tends to attract hyper, borderline ADD people, so why not keep us happy by mixing it up?

We do the rotation...I like this and prefer to have it that way. We have three groups so we only work any given holiday every third year (two holidays each year, a "major" and a "minor") It is very nice that way, and there is no arguing or discussion required when the holidays roll around. You know not days, or months, but YEARS in advance which holidays you will be working!:)

The thing I can't figure out is why nursing seems to so LOVE the "us vs them" mentality in various forms....whether it be day-shift/ night-shift, ER/floors, ADN/BSN, experience/new, etc.. There seems to be a tendency to immediately slap a group label on every annoying person one deals with rather that just realize that no matter what department, what age, what career you are in, there are going to be some people that drive you BONKERS:bugeyes:

Since I graduated, my husband affectionately refers to me as his "sugar mama".:loveya: He works for a community funded agency and makes a tad over half of what I do. I work with a guy that says all the time how he wishes his wife had a job that offered insurance so he could go part-time. Like anything else in life, it all depends on the individual. ( I never would have been able to marry/date a fella with loads of money....I LOVE the blue-collar guys!)

Another way to do it is to slightly modify your schedule on days off. I have been on nights for over two years and have found a rhythm that works very well. If I were to shift back and forth , doing a "day" schedule when I am off, I probably would have dropped dead by now. I sleep from 0800-1500 on work days. My first day off I get up a little early, usually about 1300. Then I usually go to bed at 0300am on days off, getting up the next day about 11:00. This works great for me. I still have plenty of time to do day-time things with family, but get a few hours of quiet time at night after everyone else goes to bed. I am also lucky in that other members of my family are night owls....my husband is usually up 'till 1:00 every night anyway.