xtine618

Like elkpark said, you need to stay in this new job for AT LEAST one full year at full time. Put your heart and soul into it like your career depends on it...because it does. Learn as much as you can, participate in staff meetings, committees, whatever they have. I know this is not what you want to do in nursing forever but you NEED a very good reference if you are going to try to get a job at another hospital. Can you tell me why your initial orientation in the hospital did not work out? Some people just aren't meant to be ICU nurses but that doesn't mean you can't be very successful as a nurse in another field. I'm a CVICU nurse in one of the top transplant programs in the country. We have patients on all kinds of devices but you can't just come off the street, get hired and expect to take ECMO patients right away. There's a lot of training and we all take the very labor intensive double assignments requiring lots of rehab when we first start out. Then you can start training on new skills like open heart recovery, LVAD, CRRT, etc. Even if you've had experience in all these things before, everyone starts out at the same level. It requires a lot of patience before they trust you with those really super sick "fun" patients. I think you could learn a lot from staying at an LTC. Maybe not how to take care of an ECMO patient, but you can learn time management, team work, patient advocacy, conflict resolution, etc. All those skills I use daily as a CVICU nurse. When you have done a full year in your LTC position, you can look into going to another hospital and try to go to a step down cardiac unit. I would not apply at your "dream hospital". I'd go somewhere else and get experience there for another year or two. Put your heart and soul into that job too. Really make yourself marketable. By then, your resume will look much different and much better! You'll have a better chance at maybe eventually getting a position at your dream hospital. This seems like a lot of work and time to invest in jobs that you don't think you want right now but you have to look at your goals and what you were currently doing did not work. You have to approach them another way. And somewhere along the way you may find your niche! And it might be something completely different from what you think you want. Good luck to you!

So did you end up taking the job?

In all the places I have worked, (and they've all been in the ICU), new grads get at least 12 weeks. Other new nurses ( but not new grads) get anywhere between 1 week and 6 weeks, depending on the facility and how much experience that nurse has. That's quite a difference between the two.

Does anyone have any experience with applying for a license by endorsement as a military spouse? It says that they are expedited, but I don't know by how much. I am currently working with AYA Healthcare travel agency and so far this is my time line: Oct 17: Live Scan done Oct 19: Mailed all necessary documents to travel agency recruiter to submit in person in sacramento Oct 21: Application submitted by recruiter in person to the BON. Obviously I am very early in the application process but was hoping someone could give me some insight into applying as a military spouse. Oh and as an FYI, the recruiters told me that the communication that they have received from the BON is that cashiers checks (not perconal checks or money order) helps your license get processed faster. But I know a lot of people like to see when the checks get cashed. Thanks in advance for any info anyone can provide!

I don't think there is a difference between which state you take the NCLEX. It is a national test so it should be the same across the country.

As a nurse and Army wife I can tell you that being in the military is hard, but you can't beat the educational benefits that they give you. My husband is a recruiter and I know you can't work as an RN in the Army unless you have a BSN. If you were an LPN or ADN the most you could do is something similar to a corpseman or lab tech. If you go through an A-MED recruiter they can talk to you about benefits and stipends while you get your BSN if you go through their program. You could also be in the reserves instead of active duty. It is funny I read this because I actually have worked all those job you spoke about--CNA, phlebotomist, pharmacy tech, admin assistant, LPN and now I'm an RN. So I can say that I have been there, done that. I would stick with CNA and cross-train to be a Unit secretary. Also, if you can take a phlebotomy class where you are now and learn to draw blood, that will be helpful too and possibly get you more money. So even though you work as a CNA, you have lots of skills that would be useful to the unit and make you a stronger candidate. I also live in VA, but in the Richmond area. pay is not that great but cost of living is probably less than Vegas.

Are you fully committed to becoming an RN? 40k is a lot if you're not sure if this is the job for you. I graduated from a for-profit school and I have student loans that you wouldn't believe but I still think I made a good decision. At the time I enrolled, waiting lists at the CC and University were 2 yrs long. I didn't have that kind of time. I was working a minimum wage job and I didn't want to postpone my studies any longer than I already did. Plus, had I stayed on the waiting list, yes I would have paid less in student loans, but it also would have taken me that much longer to start earning RN pay which was A LOT MORE than minimum wage. I felt like my school did a good job in preparing me for boards and finding a job. But I was also very self motivated. And that's what you need in order to get through school and pass boards. The hours are pretty long and there are very few breaks/days off in the program. We didn't get summers off like regular college students. Just make sure you educate yourself about the differences in both types of programs.

Definitely ask the nurses on the unit. Your list seems pretty thorough. I would not necessarily add stuff for NGs. Also, many ICU admits are transfers from other floors so they may already have bathing supplies. Like many have said, zeroing the bed should be added to your list. But one of the things I try to avoid is over stocking the room/drawers. Keep in mind that if you have a patient in isolation, most of that equipment has to be thrown away even if it's in a wrapper when they are discharged.

Have you tried doing non time sensitive tasks before that 1600 time frame? Like emptying linens and trash before you start getting busy? I work nights so 0400 is when I get really busy and I know to have my baths done before then. Also, I would ask coworkers what they do that gets them out on time.

I work in the ICU where we take care of the patients once they get out of open heart surgery. If the patient has bleeding issues and is still intubated, then we do the re-op in the ICU. There's a scrub tech or an RNFA and a circulating nurse that is part of the team and the ICU nurse administers sedation meds and monitors hemodynamics, which is what the anesthesiologist would normally do in the OR setting.

I think one year is also short. 2 years is better, but 1 year is still better than 13 weeks. My family faced relocation to a place that none of us wanted to move to (my husband is in the Army) and I seriously cried for 3 days. When I was done, I told myself that I would like the place we were moving to. I didn't have to love it, but I was going to like it. That made all the difference in the world. Your attitude will make a HUGE difference in how the rest of the year goes. You've already made one of the hardest decisions, which is to relocate in the first place! You're braver than most of your fellow new grads. When your year is up, start looking for jobs where you want to work, but don't quit until you've found a new position. In the meantime, find something fun to do on your days off. Join a club or a gym or somewhere that you can meet new people. Also, see if after your 13 week internship, you can get a 12 hr shift position. 3 on and 4 off!. Good luck to you. Give yourself a chance to like the hospital setting. You never know, you might want to be a bedside nurse for life!

When you say the most basic stuff, what do you mean? Unfortunately book knowledge will only get you so far. Eventually you have to be able to apply that critical care knowledge in emergent situations. What kind of feed back does your preceptor give you? How did you do in your first year in the ICU?

And I wanted to add, I've seen a couple comments about a "slow code". If your patient truly is a DNR, then there should not be a code at all. Slow or otherwise.

Sounds like a rough situation. What is the function of your rapid response team? Are they a code team? If so, it would be inappropriate to call them. But if they respond to other calls such as chest pain, dropping pressures, etc then it was a good call. I would have called the MD again. He didn't give you any standing orders for what to do and didn't tell you what not to do with regards to the code status.

You should have sex tonight. It really helped to relieve the stress and let me actually sleep the night before.

Yup, sounds about right to me. Besides, these critical care classes may fill up and they only have space for ICU nurses that already have a position but need the training. Unless you are willing to work/precept unpaid, you may have a difficult time shadowing on another unit. I don't know many managers who would pay for their employee to shadow on another unit knowing full well they intended to leave as soon as another position opens up. Are you full time? I'm sure they do count on you to staff your unit. Apply for an ICU position. Try to get there first then they will provide all the precepting you need. Another class that might be useful is a trauma course. If u can't get in ICU, try a float pool. You may get trained to float to the ICU. Good luck!

I agree with NicuGal. Our practice council is mainly focused on EBP, enforcing policies and procedures and brainstorming ways to improve patient and employee satisfaction. Not sure how you would go about changing the way yours runs, but I might find out what other practice councils in your facility are doing. Or better yet, find a topic you are interested in and steerl your committee in the right direction.

Where I work, the hospital provides the scrubs for certain departments and we wear street clothes in and change before and after our shift. I work in the ICU and we were green or black scrubs that the unit provides. I usually bring in my own black pants bc the ones the hospital provides never fit or the choice of sizes are sporifice. When I asked my manager why we don't just wear our own scrubs, she said it's because the cardiac surgeons like to know which nurses are ICU nurses. I guess we can tell which doctors are the cardiac surgeons by the huge heads that can't be supported by their bodies. But for the record, I kinda like our green and black scrubs. I think the color coding is more helpful to the staff than anything else. Pts don't care about our color coded scrubs so I always introduce myself and at the end of my shift I introduce my replacement. Most people look fine in their own scrubs that they pick out, but there are ALWAYS a couple empolyees who like to see how much they can get away with. We had one guy who wore wife beaters to work! Yikes! Talk about trashy and unprofessional.

Are you willing or able to relocate? This is difficult if you have a family but it might be an option for you to look out of state and then move back home or to where you really want to go after you have had a year or two under your belt. Good luck to you!

Don't feel guilty, and don't let your coworkers make you feel guilty. I am PDR/PRN at my hospital and I am only obligated to work 8 shifts every 8 weeks which includes 2 weekend shifts. I usually sign up for 16 shifts every 8 weeks though, so twice of what I'm supposed to. But because I'm PDR, I had a lot of my coworkers asking if I would work their weekend shift for them. Not trade weekends, but just work it for them while they take a vacation day. I used to say yes a lot, because of guilt, but I quit doing that because I ended up working more weekends than if I were a full time employee! I had to convince myself not to feel bad about saying no. You should not feel bad about it. Give 100% on the days you're scheduled. That's your only obligation.

Have you had any luck? I just got the position of Research Nurse Fellow at my hospital. Luckily there are 3 of us working on our project. It is very overwhelming right now, but you don't need a PhD to do research. If you haven't stated yet, I suggest picking one specific topic or issue you would like to improve and do a literature review. Does your facility have a library? I would start there. If not, do you have a college or university nearby? Librarians are highly trained and can point you in the right direction too.

I was in the same predicament, working in a hospital that I didn't really like, but they were the only ones hiring at the time. Well 3 months later, my preferred hospital ended their hiring freeze and I applied for the job in the ICU. I didn't tell my current boss, but I did tell the interviewer (and noted on the application as well) that my current employer did not know that I was looking for a new job. I was also honest with the interviewer (who was the nurse manager) and told her that I intended to keep my current job until a full time position opened up in their unit. Many nurses have a second job, so it's not that uncommon. I didn't say anything to my employer until after I was offered the job. I think the important thing is to make sure not to burn any bridges by leaving without notice or lying to either party. Good luck. Hope you get the job!

When I went to nursing school, my kids were 1 and 4. My husband and I moved back in with my parents so that we could save money and have help with the kids so that I could study as much as I needed to. It was the longest and also shortest 2 years of my life. In my opinion, I think you should have your 3rd baby before going back to nursing school. Like so many people have said, nursing will be here for you when you're ready for it. If you decide to do nursing school first, how long will you wait before having another baby? If you plan on getting pregnant right away, you would have to take maternity leave before you have even been a nurse for a year. You may have just gotten off orientation! You will still be trying to get the hang of being a nurse and then all of a sudden you will be on leave for 6+ weeks. You probably won't have enough sick time saved for leave either. If you get pregnant before you find a job, possible employers may see the fact that you will be on maternity leave in the near future as a negative, and choose to hire someone else who won't need leave so soon. Ultimately it's your decision. I really wish you and your family the best. Please keep us updated. Best of luck!

Since this was originally posted a while ago, I was wondering how you are doing? Are you still in the ICU? They gave you a very short orientation in my opinion. When I was a new grad in the ICU, my orientation was 12 weeks on days and 2 weeks on nights and that was only because I had done clinicals there for my last 2 months of nursing school. Otherwise, it probably would have been closer to 16 weeks on days. If you are still in the ICU and you feel like you continue to struggle with time management or other issues in the ICU, I suggest asking a more seasoned nurse on your unit to be a mentor. Pick someone that was supportive and honest with you, and someone that you respect professionally.

It's not about having an easy ICU patient (I'd like one of those every now and then), it's about a pt who doesn't meet ICU requirements taking up a bed and a nursing assignment that could be needed by a code, a trauma, etc. And sometimes the docs don't realize they're taking up the last available ICU bed.