shygoofyone

I recently got hired at a Chicago-area hospital after beginning my BSN classes through WGU. I have three classes to go! I've heard that, of the program you are looking into requires a GPA, you will have trouble with transferring. But, I have also spoken to other WGU students who have gotten their MSNs through WGU then went for their NP separately.Good luck!

I have had MBTs since shortly after graduating, and, based on my bragging, others went out to buy cheaper versions. All of them have been injured since: tendon strains, stress fractures and a rolled ankle. I have personally almost rolled my ankle in my MBTs, but it was because I was not practicing good body mechanics and trying to step sideways while twisting (stupid). I absolutely cannot say enough about how much my MBTs have helped me with pain in the feet/legs....even with the 330 pounds I was carrying with me through the 12 hour shift. Thankfully, the weight is coming down...but, I'll stick with the MBTs :)

I ABSOLUTELY SWEAR BY MY MBTs! A former classmate of mine recommended them to me when I made a facebook post about how horribly sore my feet and legs were after my 12 hour shifts. She had tried them and loved them! The best part? I was getting a recommendation from someone who, like me (at the time) was very overweight and working 12 hour shifts on a busy floor. I can not say enough about them! I went from not being able to walk after sitting in the car to being able to go shopping after work (even after a long drive!). It is true that, after a couple of days, you will have some soreness in your legs, but it goes away quickly. It's gotten so bad (good!) that I only buy MBTs now...for work and play :) I did break down and buy a pair of Danskos "dress" shoes the other day, but only because MBT doesn't make a nice dress style. I have since lost 70 pounds and still swear by the MBTs. I've used both the clog style and various "tennis shoe" designs, all work wonderfully! But, I will tell you to definitely try the MBTs and not the wannabe shoes out there. Three separate nurses I worked with got cheaper versions of the rocker bottom shoes after I bragged about how good they felt and ended up with various injuries. You get what you pay for....but you can get MBTs cheaper at footwearetc.com :)

Did you ever hear from anyone privately?

I highly recommend MBTs. They offer all-white varieties. I was 330 pounds when I started doing 12 hour shifts. Never once did my feet, legs or back hurt after my 12 hours once I found my MBTs. I swear by them!

I just started my BSN through Western Governors University after working 2 years with my ADN. It think it's helped with the classes tremendously. There's just no substitute for real-life experience :)

I started 9/1 but had surgery right after, so I'm a bit behind. Would love to have a support group!

It's so ironic that I see this post today, and this past week's clinical group was one of the worst I've had at a long time. I usually love having students around, and love being able to teach them while I'm working....but... If I tell you I can't give you a report right now, it's because someone is not doing well and needs me more than you do. Perhaps your instructor should make sure you arrive before we give report to ensure you can get it. But, that's not your fault...we've had to talk with your instructor before about that...unfortunately, it's not my fault either, and I've got a patient to discharge and another one seizing...all within 5 minutes after getting report. Oh, and...don't roll your eyes at me when I tell you that your patient just discharged....I can't help that I didn't know you had my patient because you were late to get report and I had already discharged him when you found me. If I have two charts in front of me while I'm on the phone and you hear me say "I am calling to make sure you're aware of this patient's condition, and I will call you again when their heart rate drops to 30 to ensure you are aware of his contdition" it's not a good time to stand over me until I get off the phone to talk about a completely different patient. I'm getting my orifice chewed for "bothering" the doctor. We nurses may not always be able to be what the students want us to be...but some times, there's alot more going on than you will be privy to, sometimes it's the disorganized instructor...sometimes it's the workload...and sometimes, it's you. Be very aware of your body language. I'm far less likely to want to work with a student who thinks she is my priority and I have to fix her computer login a third time in one hour than I am one that realizes that my patients are my priority. Not sure what semester your in, but each clinical is different. Read the comments above and try to be more aware of what's going on around you when you feel a nurse is "ignoring you" or "looking through you." I hope it gets better, and you'll be surprised at how you feel somedays about students when you're in the Nurse role...I know I was.

I say we start staging sit-ins

I started applying to hospitals in the NW burbs last month and have only gotten one call, and that was from a hospital I have since heard really bad things about. I've tried to call the HR departments and am having a really hard time even getting to a person. So frustrating! Good luck! For anyone reading this that may KNOW someone :).... I have 2 years experience in a critical access hospital, seeing anyone who was not pregnant-ortho/tele/GI/cardiac/peds/you name it. I moved to Addison in April and would really like to start working up here and giving up the 2 hour commute I have to my hometown (thank God, Mom still lives there!).

Real life nursing vs. school life nursing is different in a lot of ways. I have been known to take medications into a patient's room prior to assessing them, but I do my assessment at that time! About the only time I've given a med without performing my own assessment is when the trays arrive and a diabetic (and accucheck is not too low) or pancreatic enzymes need to be passed and something crazy is going on with another patient, but that doesn't happen often at all, luckily.

We were told on a Friday that we would start using it on our post-op orthos. Orfirmev, I believe. We give it over 15mins, at 400ml/hour. Since there's no compatibility studies available, we will only run it in as a piggyback with NS. The amount of pain control is unbelievable! Having seen our post-op orthos require less and less narcotics, and having received the IV tylenol last week after having my gallbladder removed-it's amazing!

Our physicians usually defer to the pharmacists by writing "Vancomycin-pharmacy to dose and manage." And, we've recently found out that our lab's "normal limits" is actually lower than the recommended levels for certain treatments, so it's really nice having pharmacy reviewing the labs. Plus, they are the ones mixing it based on each day's trough, so the nurses are not being put in the position of determining treatment. The bad side? Some newer nurses aren't even realizing their patient's troughs, because "well, pharmacy is managing it..." (hate that excuse! You should still know!)

My reason for using those terms is that we are a small rural facility with only one doctor in the building at all times. If I have a doc that thinks it's okay to use a term he can't even explain it does make me wonder how well he'll react to other questions and problems that arise. I don't think it's acceptable to use a term in any charting that you, as the writer, can not explain. When you have to rely on only one doc, you have to trust that he'll be able to communicate with you, no matter what your question is. What scared me most was his lackadasical attitude.

Thanks! I kept trying to think of terms the abbreviation may have stood for and go nowhere with my searches.

If you read the original post, we actually confronted him about it right when he wrote it, hence us seeing him fail to explain it and then sit down and attempt to Google the answer. I don't care how stupid I may sound asking a doc a question, if I don't understand an order, I ask.

I certainly have no problem learning new terminology. But, if a new doc thinks it's okay to use an abbreviation he himself can't explain...I will remain worried about him being my only doc in the hospital.

We had a new Doc start yesterday in the ER and for a patient with a uniform DNR order, he wrote "Code Status: Full LET" None of us, including nurses with over 30 years experience, have ever seen this term. We asked him what it meant, and he said "that's what you write..." then sat down to try to find the damned meaning on Google! I'm terrified that he's going to be working alone on 24 hour shifts....talk about handholding! Aside from that...has ANYONE ever seen this?

A max of 4? I wanna work there! That being said, I've had 4 that felt like 8...numbers alone don't indicate acquity.

Totally agree! The first thing I do is get my papers together. We each get a patient summary printout in the AM (0640-0645), which I "tab" by cutting or folding away parts of the margin so I have a tab for each patient. I then print out a scheduled med report for my patients, and write the med admin times at the bottom. It really doesn't take as long as it sounds...I'm often done before the NOC RN is ready to give me report. So then, at a glance to my clipboard, I can easily see what times my meds are due and flip to the appopriate patient's 24-hour summary (where I write notes during report). So helpful throughout the day! I also add a blank sheet of paper over those sheets to jot down my "to-do list" that I make during report and cover confidential info. If report goes smoothly (done by 0700!), I check for abnormal labs prior to assessing my patients, so that I can include that information in my talk with the patient re: our plan for the day. If report runs long (still not done by 7:20), I go see each patient, doing physical assessment and passing any 0700 meds that weren't given (iron, metformin usually). During my assessments, I try to tell the patient our plan for the day...and if things are up in the air, I tell them that. I feel they need to know if we're waiting for labs, tests, or simply an MD to round. Usually, the more info I give my patients at that time, the easier my day goes because they know what to expect. I'm generally ready to chart at least one assessment before my am med pass starts (815-830). After my morning med pass (sometimes during, if able), I chart, chart, chart...as much as I can. Then, as my patient's are cleaned up, I do my dressing changes (sometimes done during the am med pass, if able). Then, chart, chart, chart... My goal is to get as much scheduled stuff complete early on so that any surgical admissions or unexpected direct admits can go more smoothly. I'm also the charge RN, so I really want to make myself available to the other RNs (and we have a LOT of new nurses) and review their patient's labs. So, the more I get done early, the better :) But, a previous poster was right...you'll get a system that works for you! Mine has changed quite a bit since I started two years ago...

*bumping* "I've been a nurse for 33 years, struggled with 33 years of handing off, reporting, JCAHO mandates, resource inadequacies, management ignorance...all of it. I see it's still worldwide. Is anyone involved in a report-off system that is working? We spend lots of energy listing our issues, and hoping we can resolve them for the sake of our sanity and survival, but we haven't developed a good solution, that I can see. What, that you've tried...seemed to work best? I need information from both sides. And thanks. " I would love to know if there is a system working well for both sides, as well. Our floor is getting much busier than we are used to and it's creating several issues with staff from ER and PACU (not to mention the direct admits we receive with no notice). I think most of it is simply all staff being too overwhelmed, but there has to be a way to make it work....right?

I'm checking into FHSU. How long is each class? Do they offer 24/7 tech support? Any info would be great!

I am moving to Addison in a week, and will be continuing to work my three-in-a-row 2 hours south until I can find something up north. I would really appreciate any PM info you guys could provide on the hospitals around Addison... Thanks in advance!

I had clinicals at the Pavillion and loved it. But, it is hard. Not only do they have an adult, inpatient floor, but they also have a floor for minors, divided 5-12 and 12-18 years of age. I have a friend that went to work there after we graduated, and she seems very happy. It's hard to see the kids going through such heavy stuff, but it's very gratifying work. They also have permanent residential programs for minors and adults... I work in a critical access hospital north of CU. It's a 25 bed hospital (20 M/S, 2 ICU, 3 OB) with 8 ED rooms. We see everything on our M&S floor, from peds to ortho surgeries. There are also several smaller hospitals around CU (John Warner in Clinton, Kirby in Monticello, Gibson Area in Gibson City, IMH in Watseka-though, a bit far from CU). And, you may want to check out the Bloomington-Normal hospitals. It's about a 30-45 minute drive from Champaign via Interstate 74 and goes quick. Good luck!

Hopefully, the job market will be much better when you graduate in a couple of years. I graduated from Parkland's program in May 2009 and had a job lined up already (I was workign there as a CNA). Starting pay at my small hospital is $19/hour for new grads. I have friends, however, that had trouble getting hired-some just started two weeks ago at one of the bigger hospitals--and I believe they're only get $1-2 more an hour than I am, with larger patient loads. Good luck in your schooling. It's a tough program to get through! :)