Rocknurse

I thought you guys might find this article interesting. It's about a doctor in MA who went through recovery and what he thinks about the 12 step program: Former opioid addict turned Harvard doctor hits back at faith-based rehabs | Daily Mail Online

Any behavior that makes you feel uncomfortable at work can actually be classed as sexual harassment, believe it or not. Back when I was with my ex-wife, she would casually mention me at work (she is an RT. I'm a woman and we were a lesbian couple). One of her coworkers complained about her because they were anti-gay and didn't want to hear my ex-wife mention me, even when she was just innocently talking about how we were gardening or something equally innocuous. Her manager actually wrote her up for sexual harassment based on that. She never mentioned sex or anything improper. It was just the fact she was with a woman and it made her coworker uncomfortable. Sad but true.

It makes more sense to become a nurse first and then a nurse practitioner. If you have some healthcare experience and really good science grades then PA might be the way to go. But if he already has a Bachelor's he could do a direct entry BSN and work while going to NP school. He'd then have independent practice which a PA can't. I would say that all three professions have equal ability for relocation and generating income.

Nursing is the best thing that ever happened to me. This year marks my 30th year as a nurse and my entire life has been an adventure because of nursing. I was a homeless teen, working crappy jobs in my 20s and then I had an accident on my motorcycle and while in hospital decided to become a nurse. I then used my licence to emigrate to the USA and since then my life has been amazing. I got to travel the world, meet some amazing people and live a comfortable life, all because of nursing. Yes, there have been crappy days and difficult times, but the lifestyle nursing has afforded me has allowed to be absorb those hits and keep moving forward. If you truly love the profession then you'll find a way to navigate it. If you work hard and position yourself at the top of the tree, you can have some amazing experiences. After a few years working a non-clinical office job I am now going back to the clinical area (my last day is today!) and I'll be back among the crazy next week and earning 6 figures for my trouble. My father always used to say that you can't say you don't like something if you've never tried it. If you try it and don't like it then fair enough...move on to something else. At least give it a shot. The best thing about nursing is you'll never be unemployed and you can make money when you need to if you work for it. Just go into it with a "can-do" attitude and don't look for the negative.

Have to update now: Location: New England Experience: BSN RN, 30 years, CCRN and Epic certified Specialty: Critical care and emergency medicine Facility: Large city teaching hospital Base Pay: $50.00/hr Differential: $5/hr for nights OT: Time and a half for any time over 40 hours

This is upsetting to read. I think the first mistake was choosing an online school, although I understand your reasoning. I too work full time and am the sole breadwinner for my family. I attend an excellent bricks and mortar school with a reputation for world class research and the education I'm getting there is stellar. We are in a small group with close oversight. For example, last night we had a class with 12 students, and throughout the whole class we had 3 professors sitting there and giving their input. All 3 professors have been intimately involved with the group and we can speak with them at any time, call them or book an appointment if we need. One of them is my preceptor in the ICU so I've gotten to know her and she makes sure I have what I need to succeed. They've taught us to read x-rays, CT Scans, put in central lines and chest tubes. This semester has focused heavily on disease management and we're already very comfortable with patho. Now we have to apply that and learn how to come up with differentials, apply decision tools, use research and use guidelines to treat disease. We have 3 whole semesters of learning how to manage acute disease. I feel very sure that coming out of this program I can be a functioning AGACNP out of the gate. I would consider switching schools if I were you. You are not getting an adequate learning experience which is doing you a disservice. I'm hoping now schools are being required to find preceptors for their students, that fly-by-night programs will go away.

Oy

Most acute care programs assume that you have already got acute care RN experience prior to you coming into the program. I'm about to graduate as an adult acute care NP and I'm currently doing my 2nd rotation in the ICU. I have to say, that even after 30 years of nursing, most of it in the ICU and all of it in acute care, it is still a very challenging program, and honestly I don't think it's appropriate to admit someone to the program without prior experience. Indeed, most schools, my own included, won't even consider someone without a minimum of 2 years experience. Having been doing this myself now for some considerable time, and as someone who has a certification in critical care and 10 years ICU experience, I just don't see how someone with no experience can come into to an acute care program and glide through. There's just so much to know and so much to see. Can you walk into an ICU or critical area and glance at the monitors and machines and know instantly what's going on with them? Can you scan the long rack of IVs and understand in a second each med and what they do and scan the rates for appropriateness? Can you gather reams of information on every body system and formulate a plan quickly and safely, or know what to ask and WHO to ask when things turn bad? Even I at times can be overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information. In acute care it's less likely to come across a focused problem, and more likely to come across multiple problems over multiple systems and the need to know and understand everything simultaneously is vital. I don't wish to criticize your choices, nor discourage you, but I live and breathe this stuff every day and I think you're setting yourself up for a very difficult situation.

In the North East things are still looking pretty good. I just landed a 20% pay increase changing RN jobs including an hourly bonus in a large city teaching hospital. I have now hit 6 figures (base pay) and will graduate in May with my AGACNP. I intend to never work for less than 6 figures again.

As someone who is in the middle of an ICU rotation, I can comfortable say that there's no way anyone without acute experience could survive 5 minutes in the ICU.

Not sure what your end goal is but I'm in a similar position. I have a critical care background and am about to graduate as an Acute NP. However, my goal is either to work in ICU or the ED as an NP. The issue is that FNPs are not really trained to take care of acute patients in the ED, and Acute NPs are not trained to take care of children in the ED. There isn't really an appropriate certification for an ER NP. I am just starting a new RN job in the ED in the hope I eill get more ED experience that might translate into my NP career, but I will likely have to be dual-certified as an Acute NP and as an FNP.

I use BSN RN CCRN. Once I graduate in May I will be MSN RN CCRN, and then APRN-BC MSN CCRN. I will no longer use BSN once I have completed my Master's.

For graduate school I had to memorize an entire 30 minute long full body assessment in the correct order. I bought myself one of those anatomic models that was a bit smaller than real life size (it stood on a base) and a full size Halloween skeleton, and wrote out a script for the assessment. I practiced it over and over again on the anatomic model and the skeleton (the skeleton had moving joints so was great for the musculoskeletal portion). I started off just memorizing the first portion (HEENT) until I had gotten it down, and then I added pulmonary and practiced those until I got it down and then added cardiovascular and so on, until I had memorized the entire thing. I would practice it all the way through 1 or 2 times a day for the last few weeks before the exam. It was the only way I could have done it because I have such a bad memory.

I graduate as an AGACNP in May. Does anyone know of any acute care NPs that work in an ER and see only adults? I'm considering going for a dual certification but want to know if I'd be hireable in an ER seeing only adults in the meantime.

Yes, I'm thinking this must be the case. I've only worked at the top 3 hospitals in my state and all are affiliated with my university. I must be in a bubble.