mol42

You said you work 1.5 yrs total as an RN all of it in the OR. I gather you don't need the benefits? What about looking for other prn jobs in other hospitals or surgery centers near you? Lots of ads i see want "two years of experience". For that reason may want to keep your job until you find another before stop working all together. It may bode better for you if you are currently working while looking. But family comes first. do what you have to. I hear you though. im in the same boat. I actually quit for the same reasons you did with thoughts of spending a year at home with the kids and then they offered me a great schedule. I've been there over ten years. Now I'm on the fence but i've already given up my childcare so now i don't have any until school starts back up. im in a quandary as they say. but then not really "Family comes first" as theyve said above me. There arent any open prn positions in the hospital i work at either. I wish you luck. IMO, it only makes sense to do your best to accommodate those you have working for you. cheaper than training someone new than to lose someone enthusiastic about the work they do.

I can appreciate your comments and thoughts, CirqL8. If you don't have your BSN I would get it. I can't say if it will make you a better nurse but I do believe you'll be paid better and the money you spend will be worth it in the long run. I am a BSN, BTW. master's degree----I'm not so sure. My hospital is a magnet hospital and they are requiring BSNs and certification in your specialty to advance up the clinical ladder. When I got frustrated iIstarted looking at other opportunities and it seemed that most facilities were looking for "BSN required". it seemed that a lot of hospitals across thenation are going in this direction because they want to look better to get magnet or other accreditation. those accrediting bodies have made these education requirements important for facilities as well as the public. at least in regard to the BSN. For my part, i have periodically looked at getting my Master's degree and trying to figure out if THAT would be worth it. So I hear your frustrations. I don't want to go back to school again I want to read for my enjoyment when I want to. but depending on what i want to do with my future i may be better off going for that further degree but I think BSN is in your favor. But really, what i probably should have done, is pay more attention in that typing class in high school instead of blowing it off. Sorry for all the typos.:)

Again I wanted to say I appreciate everyones comments/advice. thank you. I think you're right. My real preference would be to work "mother's hours" 3 days a week (or less). Something where I can drop kids off at daycare/school and finish when they finish school and be home in time to pick them up. I did ask my supervisor if I could come in 30 minutes later and stay til 4 (i currently work 0730-4PM) to help facilitate child drop off and just yesterday my request was denied. I respect her reasons but this is going to cause some increase in family stress. i appreciate her at least considering because she did take some time to think about it. SU does morning drop offs already but his job is wanting him to come in earlier) So i think I'll stay employed and see what i can find but i agree with you I do want to continue to work SOME hours and not completely stop. My preference would be to continue working for my current hospital b.c my youngest is in the daycare there and i really like it. We will see. In the meantime i'll be revamping my resume.

I really appreciate everyones comments. In my best scenario I could work 4 hrs 3 days a week and still keep my status. that's what I'm hoping for actually because as most of you have said it is good to keep your foot in the door and stay current, adult conversation, etc. Still would love to hear about peoples thoughts and experiences whether you decided to stay home or not.

You are correct. if i loved my job and felt worthwhile there quitting my job or not would really not be an issue. it probably wouldn't even enter my mind.

Interested in some of your insights. Currently work part-time. Make a decent salary. after taxes and 401k money pretty much goes to childcare. Hesitant to quit my job but then when i'm there feel really annoyed by my assignments the managers what have you. My husband works and we could live on his salary. Would def have to budget better of course. Interested in folks thoughts. Although would save money not having kids in daycare one would still go to preschool and the other two are thriving in their environments. but cant help thinking things would be less stressful as far as homework, kids activities generally getting stuff done around the house etc etc but concerned about prospects or what to expect if i take time off from my nursing career. Interested in personal AND factual comments. But then here i am spending time on the computer when i have loads to get done.

Hi- Just received a blanket email yesterday that my hospital in VA is requiring ALL STAFF involved in patient care to get the flu vaccine this year. (incl nurses, physicians, clinical aides etc) I always get the vaccine voluntarily but feels wrong that this can be mandated. I still intend to get it. Is this legal? I remember something similar involving a group of NY Nurses some time back.

I am interested in taking that AORN course. I know it is 30 ceu how long did it take you to actually complete? Like most people i am trying to figure out how i will fit it a study course like that into my life. Did you think that it alone helped you pass? If I did that course i wouldnt buy any of the other materials too expensive.

Recently I've had a bunch of people tell me I should join AORN. Including managers. I recently had an yearly eval whereI scored very high on but was encouraged to Join AORN as "being a member of a professional organization" helps to illustrate self development. I have been a member of AORN in the past when our clin spec was a past president and bought us all memberships. Other than receiving a magazine and putting forth safety guidelines i didn't really feel like my $125 dollars did anything but pay for the board members to attend AORN congress. 25 Free CEUs available but you can get free CEUs anywhere these days surgically relevant or otherwise. The pat answer I always get is to"support the profession" but I have to say my vision is clouded and i don't really see their worth as far as working for the welfare of the OR nurse in their institutions just "guidelines" for OR nurses to work IN. They charge extravagant prices for their publications even with the AORN discount. I'm told you get discounts on cnor exam etc but doesnt really save me anything as my hospital won't reimburse me for my membership just the exam and a review course so I'd actually pay out more by joining I really tried hard to read the magazine every month but more often than not it sat on my coffee table because to tell you the truth that's THE LAST thing I want to be reading when I get home to work. Does anyone know the breakdown of where you're membership dollars are spent? If you can think of any other points that I have been missing about how they support us i'd be willing to hear them.

for anyone who's considering this I happened on a copy that was at my library. for what they are charging a total waste of money. stick with the tried and true study materials. If i was only using this one i would not feel confident that it would help me pass at all. The only good thing is it has sample questions at the end of the book and a section on test taking strategies but the book itself was very poorly constructed as well.(I'm speaking of the oft advertised CNOR Exam Secrets study guide)

I would agree with canesdukegirl. I too worked in PACU and currently am in the OR. I would've stayed in PACU but it was an outpatient facility that closed down and i didn't have the critical care experience to go to the main pacu. My hospital was offering an or fellowship so i took that instead bc I really didn't want to go back to med surg either. If they offer an internship for the PACU go with that. The sterile nursing analofy is a good one. that was my second favorite job I've ever had. My first was being a nurse at a diabetic camp when I was in nursing school. I loved THAT!

If you are still looking when i was in school i worked at the Elliott P Joslin camp for boys with diabetes (Camp Joslin) To this day it was the best job i've ever had. i loved it! they also have a camp for girls called Clara Barton. That was way back in 1991 but they still have a strong program and I learned alot about caring for kids with diabetes. the camp is in Charlton, MA not far from Worchester, MA. They usuallyhire about 5-6 student nurses per summer overseen by anRN as medical director. Check out the Joslin diabetes center website (Boston,MA) if you are still interested.

I appreciate everyone's honesty. Nice to know i'm not alone in this either. I too am in that scenario of loving the work hating the job but the great commute, preferred shifts, current pay status makes it more challenging to leave. I am currently in the scenario of trying to decide if staying is worth forking out all the money I'm paying in daycare because it seems that work has become more about fighting the beaurocracy to deliver better patient care. The whole rush, get em in get em out scenario is ruining it for me not to mention feeling like you constantly have to bow to administration and surgeons all day long....

Anyone use this study guide for the CNOR exam? What did you think? Most folks I know say they didn't even crack open the CNOR study guide put out by the testing company and didn't find it (the study guide from testing company) terribly helpful. (They all had passed the test) Has anyone used the Independent study guide for rec practices put out by AORN with the CEUs? What's that like? Did you find it helpful as a resource with the soul purpose of helping you pass? Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi- I am considering taking the CNOR exam. First off I am taking it under duress and not happy about it as my job will be requiring it of all RN 4 nurses. I am already an RN4 and would like to keep my paygrade. Looking at the study guide it looks like it is mostly all text and very few question oriented material. I think i do better with drill questions for studying as opposed to reading a book. also for such a "comprehensive " test not to mention HUGELY expensive in my opinion the studyguide seems relatively small. I am interested to know what was the best way to study and if their are any study materials you would recommend? Their are lots of refresher courses out there but not sure if this would be the most efficient use of my time and money. Again they are expensive and my employer covers them only if you take the test within one year and pass. Any advice would be appreciated? This requirement has not become an official mandate yet but i'm hearing the rumor from department heads.

Hi- I am currently doing our nurse educator job as an additional duty for the past 3 years. My unit will now opening a new job up as a full-time educator for staff education/ orientation because they have finally figured out that it doesn't work well to have the person in charge of all the education for staff to also be in the staffing numbers, charge nurse and team leader when needed. This means I'll have to apply for a job I'm already doing (don't get me started on that one). I'm currently part-time employee. this job is a full time opening. I have 17 years as an RN (BSN) with the last 8 years on my unit. The hospital I work at is in Northern Virginia I would love advice on 2 questions: 1)What can I expect would be the avg salary for the unit educator (and should I ask for)? 2)I definitely would like this job but I don't necessarily want to increase my 3 (8hrs) day a week schedule. Since this is currently part of my job I personally don't feel that if my sole job was unit educator and I wouldt have to do staff nursing, charge nurse etc that it really wouldn't be necessary that the person taking this position has to be full time, since when I am given time to work on educator duties at least 1-2 days a week I am able to catch up with everything. Any advice? Thank you Mary