KristinWW

If you mean as a hospital CM, then no while in school because you will be working 5 days/week, and you will not be able to adjust your schedule for clinicals. Insurance companies have CMs, but while your setting will be an office (sometimes work from home) you still need to be present 5 days/week and your pay would be substantially reduced.

Periop 101 is great IF it is the branded AORN Periop 101. There are many hospitals and community colleges that purchase products from AORN and are not allowed to use the term AORN Periop 101 because they are not. You'll know because they will call the program perioperative training course or something similar. Sadly, these programs also skimp elsewhere, and the training is a waste of time. Good luck, Jojo!

I think the pony tail caps are attractive, but they sit on my neck and make me feel hotter than I already am. When I circulate for fast cases, I work up a good sweat running around :)

Pay: If you are taking a pay cut with the Ashfield position, add pay to your decision. Schedule: The OR will likely have you working M - F, 7 - 3:30, unless they are a trauma center. Does that schedule work for you? Stress: OR stress is still high, and you will have many more eyes watching and critiquing you - you will never be alone with your pt. However, you'll be a pro at pre-op assessment, fast documentation, and procedures such as Foley insertions. Nursing skills: You'll lose skills from the ED in both positions, and employers wants nurses with RECENT experience if you decide to go back to an ED or similar position. You began by discussing your anxiousness, then stated you want less pt interaction/less risk. Could it be the pace is too much for your current skill level, and not the latter? I tend to agree with the other responses; I would hate to see you leave just to get into another position that makes you miserable. What was it about the ED that prompted you to choose it?

Do you mean a program where you don't have to visit the campus for a skills check-off? When I was researching programs a few years ago I believe I came across some but the names are escaping me now. Hopefully someone can help...

I agree with everything except PACU. The above was true in the past; today, there are never beds available so family members are always brought to PACU to see pt, and it turns into a freeforall with families asking for chairs, beverages, food, and yes, the dreaded small talk. In fact, pts are often held overnight. It's tough but I liked the night shift NICU idea.

"Prolly" for probably. "Anyways" for anyway. My wrath is quick and fierce when these two hit me. As for cursive, I had a special education asst. director tell me that OT wasn't necessary for my son with autism, because cursive is never needed anywhere. I asked about learning signatures and she told me that all he has to do is draw an X as his signature. Yes, she still works at the school.

I did take matters into my own hands and asked - 2 different charge nurses said "too busy" and I asked preceptors at the start of each shift to practice on anyone and everyone, but I'm constantly told "things are crazy, not now", and "we've never been this busy before".

I assume this is normal but I'm seeking input. I'm an experienced RN but coming from an ED with a 1:5 ratio with a triage RN, techs to start IVs, draw bloods, clean rooms. I'm now in an ED with the same 1:5 ratio, but we do bedside triage, start IVs, draw bloods, clean rooms when no one is available (most of the time). Charge constantly circulates and prompts us to hurry to d/c and take the next pt back to triage in a room. This is a community hospital with an FT area, not a trauma center, but I have been with a different preceptor every shift, and most of them have been too busy to assist me/answer questions at all. I have not been signed off on anything, have only had 1 opportunity to attempt an IV, and I'm supposed to go off orientation after 1 month, which will be the end of this week. Thoughts?

I agree completely. I graduated from my BSN program with a current CRNA. She received the worst grades in the class, but she got into an ICU orientation class as a new grad, was a fabulous RN, and got into NA school after 2 years of ICU. Good luck!

The only classes I know are in-house. Are you trying to change jobs and need to know one of them?

I think it is wise of you to consider your options now. The OR is tough, has one of the longest orientation periods, is not critical care, and has little transferable skills. I absolutely love it but I was one of those who panicked and wanted to try something else because I was afraid I could never go anywhere else. It is extremely difficult to transfer and think about it from a business point of view - a lot of time and money invested in orientation for you to possibly change course again and leave. That's why units want either new grads or experienced. I'm assuming you've shadowed an OR nurse? You have to like the everyday work and environment, or you'll be miserable. Do you already know and like the ED environment? Peds?

I have had mixed experience with online programs; it depends on the school. Regarding Grand Canyon, be sure to download their student handbook and check the grading system. An A used to be 97% and up, making it unnecessarily difficult to receive high marks and easier to fail bec it is easier to drop below a B (the cutoff for a B was higher than other schools). This unusual grading system only applied to Nursing, too. Independently verify anything the admissions reps tell you. Hope you find your match; best of luck!

Chris, you probably already know this, but many sites have contracts with surrounding schools and can only accept those students. Is your school local?

At $1,100 a month? No thanks. Wish it really was "affordable".

I am in a BSN-DNP (FNP) program, and unfortunately, hubby is self-employed so I need to find a job with benefits AND need 2 days/week free for clinicals. Oh, and I've been in case mgmt past 5 years Dialysis seems to be the best fit but I would love suggestions! I'm afraid no one will hire me w/o recent experience. What do you think? - Need benefits, not high pay - Early riser, love to start work at 4 or 5 am - Enjoy working weekends and holidays - Autonomous; prefer to work alone - Call is fine, but it can't be during the 2 clinical weekdays - OR, ED, ICU experience BUT case mgmt past 5 years, no recent bedside - Very fast with EMRs, experienced with many types, type 95/wpm - Know CMS regs, Interqual, ICD9 and 10, but not certified Thank you for any advice! The lack of recent bedside and the need for 2 days off/week are the biggest hurdles. Kristin

LGBSN, absolutely for students vs. working adults. I don't know why, they haven't been able to make to switch to a successful adult program, maybe because of the large student population and I don't know that they even want to switch. Also, I don't know if you live in DE, but undergrad admissions is pushed to accept DE residents before out-of-state, and I believe the same is true for graduate. I received my first BS degree at UD, and I considered them for my NP program, but after speaking to many people, asking a lot of questions, and pouring through possible class schedules, I decided it wasn't for me. However, I don't know your age - I'm "older" with a family and the Newark party scene is no longer my cup of tea. Good luck!!

I was just in a similar situation - when it rains, it pours! I hesitated for a second upon receiving the job offer, and HR told me to take a few days to think about it. The job was great, but it was another job that I coveted. I had the interview, and then followed-up with the recruiter to tell then that I had another offer. I hated to do that because it sounds fake, but I explained that this job was my first choice, and I had a limited amount of time to give the first job a decision. The recruiter worked with me and notified the manager. They were wonderful; they put together an offer quickly and got back to me the same day. I did feel bad because the people were so wonderful with the first offer, but I'm so happy I juggled to go with the job I truly wanted. I would be honest and ask what their timeframe is (they always say yesterday) but you'll know when you see if they move quickly. Also, the smaller the company/hospital system, the quicker they'll act because there are less hoops to jump through. Good luck and let us know what you decide. :)

Yep! I had everything in writing with them, and I was so glad I did because I was able to forward the rep's letters. No one would have believed me if I hadn't, as it seemed too unbelievable to be true.

Rachel, hopefully schools are beginning to realize that. Georgetown rep told me to simply write the names of the recommenders, and after app submitted, request the letters. Of course, everything I was told by that rep turned out to be false, anyway. Asst. Dean of my BSN was very nice and promised to write, but it I had to keep prompting to get it done, and at one school I missed the deadline because of the one letter. This was after I had been asking for 1 month, and I was told it was already sent. I finally had to go to the Dean to get it done. I should add that the program director, who originally wrote my letter when I first graduated and thought I would be able to begin an MSN program immediately, had left the school. Not the situation you want to be in for a recommendation letter! :)

I specifically asked if South allowed in my state and I received a yes in writing. Sent transcripts, essays, rec letters. They insisted on my SSN, though I told them I wasn't doing financial aid. AFTER they had all my information, I was told whoops - we actually are not able to work with students in my state! Lesson learned...

Tuition was just raised for '13 - '14 and they are now only admitting for Fall entry, no more Spring entry.

Tempo, some PA health systems are heavily unionized, which will affect pay. Most of these systems have some form of EMR, but some are more advanced than others. Also, some are magnet while others are not within the same system. Penn is one of those that's all over the place. Methodist is part of Jeff. Temple has taken great leaps of late, and has progressed with EMR and pay. Mercy keeps making administrative changes and once they establish their path, I believe they'll progress.

Summit, I wondered the same. I know in CA, NPs and PAs are being trained together. No additional information, sorry!

Thank you for your input! I am fortunate in that I work with NPs whom have graduated from all the PA schools, and each has it pros and cons. Workload actually is different at different schools - I speak from personal experience and from their experience. My experience searching now is similar to my BSN experience. I was accepted into a school that was definitely a wrong fit; I subsequently applied and I was accepted to the right fit school, and it made all the difference. I guess there really is a lid for every pot :).