ACRN06

You did your job, carry on. Tough love. Its easier not to say anything but they need to hear it. Granted there are definately ways you can buffer the blow... body language, phrasing, and instead of saying "YOU shouldn't do this, YOU shouldn't do that" simply keep it factual. "When the blood pressure stays high untreated for prolonged times it leads to bla bla bla..." Maybe she would feel less "targetted" that way. The trick is to try to make them feel that they came to the same conclusion as you on their own. Make them want it for themselves (I realize as I write what an uphill battle this can be, trust me). Don't stress too much over it. Do what you can and carry on.

I was you a couple years ago. Tele experience, some travel nursing, wanted to get into ER. I just put in applications to ER positions, some of them don't specify that it has to be "ER" experience. They're posted as "RNII" or whatever. They just want an experienced nurse. Even if it does, it never hurts to throw your name in the hat. Email the recruiters. Granted, looking back I do realize it's not the norm and I was lucky I got it....I think they were just hurting for nurses? Dunno. Whatever it was, they hired me on. The best time to apply is in June and December with all the new grads and when they're doing most of their training programs. Thats when the nurse resident slots open up and those are technically the jobs you should be applying for. You'll be hired on with new grads and other nurses who are wanting to change specialties. Some would rather an experienced RN over a new grad. I got hired on to an ER, 6 weeks of training (this was in September), and that was it. Good luck!

Here's another vote for TED hose! Or compression socks...whatever you wanna call em. They do wonders!

Man, people wanna make the tube more rigid??!!? That was new to me!! The tube already holds its shape easily! Well except for those baby NG tubes, I've started IVs in adults a larger size than those! I'm the opposite.... I soak the end of it in warm water while I'm getting the rest of the prep ready to make it more pliable so that it can more easily bend it's way thru the nasal canal, down the throat, etc.. Never missed one yet!

Short answer: yes Long answer: I've been thru 6 interviews in 3 and a half years but 5 of those were for travel nurse positions which are a different in ways but similar in many others... However generally speaking, yes, I pretty much knew if the interview went well and if the deal was closed. Most of them offered a job at the end of the interview. The one of those 5 travel interviews that I didn't get the manager was up front with me that she had someone to interview after me who had experience with peds (I didn't at that point) and that they are looking for that ideally but that she would let me know if they didn't work out for whatever other reason.

Short answer: yes Long answer: I've been thru 6 interviews in 3 and a half years but 5 of those were for travel nurse positions which are a different in ways but similar in many others... However generally speaking, yes, I pretty much knew if the interview went well and if the deal was closed. Most of them offered a job at the end of the interview. The one of those 5 travel interviews that I didn't get the manager was up front with me that she had someone to interview after me who had experience with peds (I didn't at that point) and that they are looking for that ideally but that she would let me know if they didn't work out for whatever other reason.

#1 all the way Many studies suggest the increase in thyroid cancer could be partly due to pediatricians’ increased use of CT-scans. If it were my asymptomatic kid, theres no way in heck I'd let them CT him.

No. It should not be mandatory. As far as pple who are comparing this to other vaccinations, we are not talking about those vaccinations, we are talking about this brand-spankin-new H1N1 vaccine.

I recommend buying some books about ER nursing. Your questions are very broad and are the same ones I had when making the transition into the ER setting. Its good to want to be prepared, theres just no way you're gonna get all your answers on here. Buy a book. One of my faves is the CEN Review Manual. Even if you don't plan on taking the CEN for years and years it has a boat-load of wonderful information, and the rationales to explain WHY you do certain things. There are lots of other ones too... I have at least 5 or so. Do some research and find one that seems to cover what you're looking for.

Oh, and one thing thats annoying about working the floors after working ER... You know all that little stuff that you're allowed to blow off cuz...well... its the ER and your prioritization skills tell you ''that can wait'' because...it can? Well it all gets to be addressed and attended to up on the floors cuz...well.. you have that pt for the next 12 freakin hours...and its not the ER anymore. They're admitted, time to iron out those wrinkles. It drove...me....CRAZY! I picked up a M/S travel assignment after working ER and all I could keep thinking was ''this doesn't matter! this doesn't matter! doing this affects your health/recovery in NO WAY! why am i wasting my time with this?!'' All those little things pt's love to have you do for them to make them more comfortable, their stay better, etc are all wonderful and, yes, important (in the pt's eyes...and Press Ganey's). And the nurse that does them is a saint.... I admire them truly. It takes a great deal of patience, and a whole new kind of prioritization. You'll be busy, but a different kind of busy. Some love it, some hate it. Good luck!

You'll be fine. Totally do-able. Especially if your ER is anything like mine and backed up with inpatients waiting on beds and you BECOME an inpatient nurse in the ER setting.

Yes some ERs hire new grads Yes in your case (though not all cases) I'd personally recommend some floor experience first (for debates on whether floor experience is necessary, see other threads where this is debated ad nauseum) Yes I think the ER could stilll totally be for you. There is indeed a stereotypical personality type that people picture an ER nurse to have. Type A, loud, assertive, confident, no-BS attitude, etc. And the people who fit that are amazing, no doubt. Its a powerful personality but it also has its fallbacks just like any other. I've worked in the ER for awhile and I've seen ALL types of personalities thrive there! You'll also find that you BECOME more assertive, confident, etc with good old fashioned time and experience. Good luck!

And just to add, I just wanna make sure you understand it right. Don't worry if you haven't done everything on those checklists. Its not a "checklist" in the sense of "you must have completed all these skills before travel nursing", it's more just to see where you are. I've never been asked about information on those things. I haven't done all the skills on my checklists either (having been at a Level II), it never held me back from travel jobs. Just FYI :)

Q 6-8 hrs x 3 sets Wish I could be more specific on the "6-8" part but that really can vary from doc to doc. I wanna say I've seen it Q8 more often than 6 though.

Interesting, just about everyone has said they rarely get sick. Wonder if there is any correlation between our jobs and our super-immunity! I too haven't been sick since.... nursing school, where my immune system was terribly suppressed from a combination of STRESS from fulltime work and fulltime job and the coping mechanisms I used to relieve it: ETOH and cigs:smokin:... Finally quit the smoking. Don't take a MVI. So yeah, no serious illness apart from a cold in 4 years. Not bad.