ok2bme

I hear ya..my hospital gives shift differentials but no differential for weekends

Yay! How generous of you to share. I am excited that a Bliss Spa is in my area, and I look forwad to treating myself!

I agree with everyone else. I specialized in psych right out of school. I love it and don't want to do anything else. The city I am moving to has plenty of psych jobs. The problem is..they are located on psych floors in general hospitals and the nurses occasionally have to float to Med/Surg. I don't have this issue currently because I am in a psych only hospital. I am terrified to float. I am looking at refresher courses, and I have only been out of school a year! I am a good psych nurse, but I am not a versatile nurse anymore. My advice to new grads..follow your bliss. I did it with no regrets. But do consider the fact that you may lose your general knowledge and skill base.

congratulations!!! :dncgbby:

clonazepam, tylenol, seroquel, trazodone, neurontin psych hospital

Well... Do you want to live to work? Or work to live?

That sounds about right. My first Med/Surg care plan took literally 20 hours! My whole weekend. My peers said it took them about the same. Still, I was determined to save some time and stop the craziness. This may to obvious to some, but it took me a while to realize that I could use old care plans as resources for new ones. I did a lot of copying, pasting, and modifying. Saved me hours. A lot of abnormal lab rationales, meds, patho maps for infection, nursing dx goals and interventions, etc. are the same for different pts. Also, instead of looking up drugs in my drug book and typing everything out, I went to drugs.com, searched the drug, and copied and pasted the drug info. Just cite the source. I stopped slaving in the library doing care plans. Care plans, especially once you do a couple, are "busy work." I started doing all busy work in front of the tv. It didn't take me any more time and it made the experience a bit more pleasant. Good luck!

Are you married? Do you have kids? If at least one of those answers is affirmative, I would go with the generic BSN program close to home. If not, then I would consider the ABSN program. I faced a similar dilemma, and I chose to move 4 hours away to attend the ABSN program, and I am so glad that I did. I saved time and money. I have increased pride and confidence as a result of excelling in the program. Because it is so intense, my classmates and I bonded, and they are some of my best friends. My experience was very positive and I try to share it with others taking the plunge. Of course, yours may differ. I would list out the pros and cons to help you make the right decision. Best of luck and congrats on the acceptance!!

No state requires a BSN. Many employers, however, require their hires to have BSN's. This is especially true of new grad fellowship programs. My hospital is one of them. I asked the DON why they only accept BSN grads, she said that an evidence based practice project is incorporated into the fellowship and research is generally more thoroughly taught in BSN programs. Magnet hospitals and those vying for magnet status often prefer BSN's as higher education is one of the magnet standards. Know your local industry before enrolling into a diploma/ADN program...as great as they are, not having that BSN may limit your opportunities in this scarce economy.

Yes, I got accepted to 2 accelerated bsn programs. I chose Texas A&M over University of Texas - El Paso. It was an easy choice...TX A&M is located in a much safer town than El Paso. Also, TX A&M was a shorter program (12 months vs 15 months).

Good Lord...with friends like her, who needs enemies? Friends support each other, friends root for each other's efforts and aspirations, friends validate each other's potential and worth. This chick is demeaning and devaluing you and all you are working towards. I have learned to carefully consider the source before I internalize any comments; in S's case, she is so mean-spirited that I would disregard her words..and her period.

of course..I had something thrown at me the other day. It was my first inevitable experience of being the target of violence in psych. Although my life was not really in danger..my reaction was "fight or flight", specifically the former. Any other context, omgosh it would have been ugly. I am very professional but I am afraid at how I will react if I am truly threatened.

:hug: I'm sorry to hear you had this experience. If I was in your program I would have bullied your bullies!

If my assessment is incongruent with the pt's complaint and prn request, I process with the pt and offer alternatives. I discuss the triggering event with the pt, and help them identify and implement coping mechanisms. If the pt is not receptive, or if they are but still want the prn, I give it. Can't say I didn't try, lol..

Yes! I have a BSN and one year of experience. I am applying to jobs that state they prefer at least 2-3 years of experience, heck I have even applied to a few that state more experience is required. Employers want optimal candidates..so they inflate the requirement criteria. If other things make you shine, I say take a chance and apply! :)