wanderlust99

Find out who requested those weeks and ask if you can trade it. Or ask management what dates are available and work around it.

I can do it with my current's hospital's health stream account. It does take forever and watching several videos, but that's the only way I've known it to be done. There is a free link to it somewhere online as well that I've used in the past.

My second semester nursing instructor wrote on my eval that I "lack self esteem" At the time those words were extremely upsetting to me. My 3rd semester instructor, who was the toughest and most intelligent in my opinion, really took a liking to me. She didn't intimidate me one bit. It really came together for me at that time and helped build my confidence that others tried to bring down.

I would stick it out and really focus on your patients. It sounds cheesy, but really work on giving the best patient care you can and you will feel better about your job. ICU is good in that sometimes it's possible to stay in your patient's room by yourself for a long time, escaping the outside drama. Learning to block out difficult coworkers or physicians is a skill in itself:)

I worked in the ICU there, was floated maybe a handful of times to step-down (not bad at all).

.....oops

Never heard of it. I live in CA but I grew up and went to school in the south.

Mine was in nursing school, in the ED. I did compressions. It was my first time looking into a dead man's eyes and it was quite unreal.

I disagree with becoming an LPN or getting your ADN. Why get your associates when you have to have your bachelors at the majority of hospitals? Try schools outside of CA, then move back to CA once you find a job.

Wow. I'll be watching the drip rate after initiating from now on. I don't typically do that, but if you glance for a second at the drip chamber you'd see it going as a bolus.

Many people look down on others. Whether it's ICU nurses thinking they are smarter or better than a floor nurse. PACU nurses thinking pre-op nurses are trained monkeys who do not use critical thinking (a manager actually said this to me). The list goes on. Those are just some of the comments I have heard working in various departments. I have thought of LTC as a difficult job mostly and one I would not want, but mainly because my experience in a skilled nursing facility in nursing school wasn't pleasant. I'm sure some nurses in hospitals think they are "better" than a nurse working in a clinic. Stupidity is all around us. But remember there are idiots and a-holes in every profession, so I try not to make it a "nurse" thing.

What about Sacramento? I never traveled there and have moved to permanent in LA this year, so I can't comment too much on it. But their pay is very high and the cost of living is low for CA. Something to think about. There is a salary survey in the general nursing section of this website that is interesting to read, will give you an idea.

Try a trauma surgical ICU in a level 1 trauma center. That will include neuro patients most likely, which is very marketable. Or you could go a different route and do CVICU and stick with that.

We need mock codes in our units. They are either never or rarely done in all the hospitals I've worked at, which has been many. For someone who has taken the class many times, this would be much more useful.

I think it's good to switch around specialities for a lot of us. I wish I had stayed in the ICU a few years less than I did, but felt trapped because that is all I knew. I have switched to PACU/pre-op and am really enjoying it. It's much less stressful and I actually see my patients get better. I like the pre-op part especially! I am now even thinking of going back to school or getting out of the clinical setting all together. I still enjoy caring for people and my patients, but am witnessing less death and dying in this setting. I no longer dread going into work. Point is, it is okay and even beneficial for your career to change specialities as a nurse.