2bNurseNickStat

Judging from the date of your post this may not be pertinent anymore but they will explain all the starting rates to you with your first interview. I am a new graduate starting in the Cardiac Surgical ICU on the 26th, so they do hire new graduates. They start new grads out 50/50 rotation with every third weekend. They "salary" their employees for 40hr work weeks. But technically you can break the extra four hours up each week however you like within a 6 week timeframe. For full-time new graduates it works out to be around $58,000/yr and around $28/hr. I can't remember the exact rate. I hope this helped and good luck interviewing!

It definitely depends on the unit and the hospital policy. I work on telemtry as a tech and have an assigned module every night and do the same thing that CNAs do (vitals, I/Os, answering lights, patient care). As a tech though, I am able to place IVs (requires classtime), do blood draws, insert and DC foleys, insert and DC NG tubes, perform EKGs, assist with rhythm interpretation for the nurses (though you must take a much more extensive course for this and be certified as a monitor tech as well). It is definitely beneficial to nursing students to work as techs, skillwise you really learn a lot.

:chuckleLove it!:chuckle My motto is the bigger, the better. If you think you can get an 18 in. Go for it. And once you get used to putting in larger catheters, you can put in smaller ones without a problem!

Why does California always seem to be lightyears ahead of everyone else in just about everything? I've definitely wondered this myself RNsRWe. I work on a busy Tele floor and our Nurse Manager will call every shift to see what Winpf (not sure if anyone else uses this but it is a computer program that indicates how many staff members should be on the floor. Which I still find interesting that we rely on a computer to tell us how to staff the unit) says and intentionally make us work one staff member under what Winpf says so she can be under budget and look good to the higher ups. Nurses may have 7-8 tele patients and aides and techs may have 17. It gets really crazy sometimes. It is really nice to see that there is a state where we can go to work and have an expectation of what we are walking into and that we are starting off with our patients safety in mind. And a state that when we walk out of work, we can hit the marijuana vending machine on the way out, go to the beach, and marry whoever you want. Are we sure this place is in the United States? It almost sounds mythical. And just for clarification, I wouldn't want to hit the marijuana vending machines but just read an article that they now have them there. I wonder if those machines ever take your money and how people react when it does?!

I read about this yesterday, Isn't unbelievable?!

Agree with above but I find it much harder to stay up my last day then to get home and just take a three hour nap and get up and begin the day. I've done nights for three years now and love it, but it honestly takes awhile for you to get a good routine down for yourself. Everyone has their own little way to sleep and get readjusted. I have always been a night person so really just feel that I finally started a job that fit MY schedule.

I must stop posting on this thread I think. I must say Bortaz, I agree with you saying that many of the older students may perform better than younger (and also understand this is your experience), but again, I again say younger or older, age has absolutely nothing to do (in my experience) whether a person makes a good student or nurse. As a long time tech and very soon to be RN I feel sorry for ANYONE who avoids the poopy diaper (though I never really see anyone running TOWARDS the poopy diaper:D), this is a basic need of the patient that regardless of age or type of the caregiver, needs to be addressed. Anyway, this is my last post on this thread (as I feel quite passionately that we should be educational, supportive, nurturing, and tolerant of each other) and truly hope we all realize that age doesn't make a good student, nurse, or person. The person makes a good student, nurse, or...well, person! Hope this all clears up and we can all get along and work together as nurses!!! Let's be there for each other in the same profession and lets be there for the patients!:)

Assuming you mean palpable and pulses you can auscultate here they are... 1)Carotid 2)Brachial 3)Radial 4)Ulnar 5)Femoral 6)Popliteal 7)Pedal 8)Posterior Tibial 9)Apical 10) Temporal Granted I had to look up the last one :chuckle(forgot temporal, not often you palpate that one...or palpate the apical pulse for that matter).

:wink2:And when I say age doesn't make a good nurse I mean age has nothing to do with GOOD nursing...old (ugghh) or young (ugghh) a great nurse is a great nurse:nurse:.

I've posted an extremely similar reply pattycake on another thread saying, "Can't we just all get along?". I agree with the refrainig from flame-throwing comment, but I also definitely feel for many of the posters on this thread expressing their feelings either as a student who is (uggghhh...hate typing this) "older"...or as a person who is (see above) older and is responding to the thread as I've been judged in my profession for my "young" age and for many other not-so-age-related things... I truly hope that we all just want to "get along" and develop a standard of care unparalleled to any other profession but feel that as long as we have misconceptions about nursing it is very difficult to do that. But isn't this why this is such an excellent website? To clear up misconceptions about the trade and to learn from one another's points of view? I know I have done so just by reading these forums before I was even a registered member! I'm glad that we, as HCPs, are able to express and share opinions alike on this website. And I may be redundant to my previous post....but age doesn't make a good nurse...:)

As far as maintaining professionalism Psqrd, I absolutely agree with you. I can't say I've experienced anyone "pawning" off anything on me (except foleys on males). I also agree as a nurse we must set the standard. Not just for male nurses, but I believe as nurses we must set the expectation for each other and continue to raise the bar higher so not only the continuity of care is greater but also the STANDARD of care. I don't want to solely represent nursing as a male (though will until I die) but want to represent nursing as a whole! Psqrd, a very exciting congrats to your graduation:yeah: and I must find this book you speak of and read it!

:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle LOL Betty, who knows what he thought of the bulb?!?! :chuckle:chuckle:chuckle

I love this post...I think many of us have had this experience! I must say, professionalism is a must. I work on a Tele floor so most patients have had an EKG and understand what that entails, so when I come in and tell them what I am doing, they know. I do feel that keeping the patient comfortable is at most up most importance. We have the gowns that unbutton at the shoulder so I always start with the right side of the patient placing V1 and V2. Then I cover the right side back up and place V3, V4, V5 , and V6. I always tell them that I may need to lift their breast up. I always cover them up completely before verifying lead placement on the screen and capturing the EKG. I've never run into a problem with a patient with EKGs (granted, again, I work on Tele), but I did have a long time Cardiac patient tell me, "Are you embarassed?" when hooking them up to the 5 lead monitor. When I replied no, she said, "Well lets get over modesty, I've done this before." And took her gown off. We both laughed and I proceeded. She was one of my favorite patients I've ever taken care of (and not because of her immodesty but she was truly a wonderful person and so appreciative of her care). I do believe the patient comes first. Whatever we can do as Health Care Professionals to make them comfortable, then we should do it. If a patient doesn't want me to do the EKG and would prefer a female (unless they spontaneously go into 3rd degree HB and are bradycardic and need the EKG STAT) then I have no problem making them more comfortable and getting a female to do the EKG.

LOL Tweety, sometimes I wish there were more gay males in nursing too. I am the only openly gay male on my unit. I work with many straight men (it seems Tele is the place to be for men in my hospital) and love the diversity. I find these men very comfortable being nurses and am ecstatic that they are so. I hate stereotypes, and this is another one. Yes, nursing has many many more females than males occupying positions. However, I find so many more men are comfortable going into the profession and calling themselves nurses (gay or straight). Times are changing, for nurses and gay people alike. I must be redundant and say what I always say, I could care less with who I work with; male or female, gay or straight. As long as they are good nurses, I am a happy camper...

Though not NEAR as experienced as most people that have posted on this thread I work on Tele and am on the code team almost every night I work (Adrenaline Junkie), I definitely agree with Gilf. Max out your meds with asystole and if you have pulseless VF and not PEA, shock it! Always go with the Holy Bible of Cardiac...ACLS...

My "workout" in nursing school are my three thirteen hour nightshifts on my Tele floor. I've managed that and school pretty well (though sometimes I feel like I may pull my fingernails out with my teeth). This definitely sounds feasible to me. P.S. I feel guilty for watching "So You Think You Can Dance" the day before a test, but hey, we all need our outlets...

Great story, though OB was never my forte, I would've loved to have been on L&D to witness that!:chuckle

:no:I am one of the "younger people" and know that some of the "Older" (ugh, barely can type it) people are the best people that go into the nursing profession. I am extremely thankful I've had "experienced" nurses to mentor me, young and old. I don't see in any way, shape, or form how age has anything to do with you being a good nurse. I know 23 year old nurses I would love to have take care of me and I know nurses who are new grads in their late fifty's who I would trust my life to. When thinking about nursing, age never enters my mind...I'm more worried about the care they give or the care I give then the age of the nurse. When it comes down to it...I want the "experienced" nurses at my bedside...whether the are 23 or 56. Good nurses come in all ages, regardless of how old they were when they started school...

I think it all depends on what experience you are looking for because the practice of nursing and the practice of medicine are two totally different disciplines. One isn't necessarily "better" than the other (that's not true, nursing is definitely better). I have no desire to be a doctor. I love patient care and advocacy. I love knowing the nuances of a patient's status and being the person that decides when to act upon those nuances or when to continue to monitor. I love the versatility of nursing and knowing that if I get bored with Cardiac, I'll do ER, or Peds, or Case Management, or education. There are endless possibilities. I DEFINITELY love being able to pay for my education without acquiring huge amounts of debt (And getting much of it back every year when I claim it on my taxes). I love the holistic practice that nursing incorporates and enjoy that I've been taught to look at the person with the disease and not just the disease. And finally, I love allnurses.com. Not sure if there is an "alldoctors.com" but I'm pretty sure I'd much rather post on this site!

I second that, everyone has their bodily fluid they don't like. Blood doesn't bother me...but ask me to take a yankauer to a patient's thick secretions and I just pray that I've learned enough from poker to keep a blank face...uggghhh, sputum... Gotta love RTs! -NurseNickSTAT!

I too put my scrubs on when I get home Steve...to relax, to mow the lawn, to go grocery shopping! And then best type of scrubs...the ones they tube up from the OR when you have something all over you usual garb. You "accidently" forget to give them back and are seen wearing them by the neighbors when you go to get the mail with a cup of coffee in your hand in the morning...

Wow. Transferring from a CNA to an LPN (sorry that's how I know it here) with solely a pharmacology class? So could the pharmacy techs come and cover the floor when we are short staffed? That is crazy to me! Is this an accredited program? And I understand the frustration about the overlapping of job titles. RNs can do much of what RTs can do and phlebotomists can do and what IV Therapy can do. But the fact is there IS a nursing shortage and this compartmentalizing of staff make RNs job manageable (And not that I am comparing these jobs, because all of these people are 100% essential and experts in their fields). I definitely agree with you though, nursing shortage or not, shooting people through nursing school like a rocket definitely won't solve the problem. More educational programs and more teachers to instruct them would be a better solution. I think this also goes back to why nurses sometimes don't get the respect compared to other HCPs. We need to have defined parameters of educational requirements to become an RN. We walk into a patient's room and they don't have any idea whether we are a Master's prepared nurse or used to be a CNA and took a 54 hour pharmacology class. Sorry, now I'm ranting! Hope everything works out at your hospital love! -NurseNickSTAT!

It really is disappointing that we are discussing this on a nursing website. Isn't part of our training to be nonjudgmental? I feel that if I can be nonjudgmental to heroin addict that wants his/her dilaudid and phenergan at the same time every four hours (with or without an existing medical condition) than I certainly could care less what my coworkers do in their personal lives. I question my coworkers ability to be a good nurse, to assess and appropriately implement, nothing more. I am openly gay (meaning if you ask, I'll tell) at work and anywhere else and have been fortunate enough to never run into any problems. I am the only openly gay male employee on my unit and work with many men that are happily married with children, etc. I feel that the time to judge the people we work with is the time that they put their patient's in danger. Can't we all just get along?

...You wished you had a dollar for every time a little old lady said, "Are you studying to be a doctor?" ...At the beginning of Football season you suddenly grow very religious and need every Sunday off ...You go to change a patient and they look at you and say, "YOU are going to clean me up?" ...You have an 5 patient assignment but know every patient on the floor because you have helped moved every single one of them up in bed. ...Your phone is constantly ringing with people asking, "Equipment X broke, do you know how to fix it?" ...You've hit your head numerous times on the traction bars attached to the beds. ...You've wasted hours of time looking for Large gloves in patient's rooms ...You are afraid of being attacked leaving work by all the male patient's you've been "asked" to put foleys in. ...You've heard too many stories from patients that start with, "I had a MALE nurse when I had my..." ...You have mild PTSD from your postpartum rotation with flashbacks of your insructor and you standing in a bathroom with your nude patient, your instructor grabbing the pad from the patient and holding it up to you, saying, "This is MODERATE Rubra". ...You get excited whenever you are in the male nursing forum on allnurses.com and see that your feelings are shared and universal...

Some answers to your questions: 1) BSN is always a good route to take if you are able to. Many hospitals "prefer" BSN prepared nurses. With that in mind, it certainly isn't that much more difficult to find a job with your ADN, and there are plenty of RN to BSN programs around. Whether you are willing to pay that much to go to school is up to you. I attend a Community College (graduate in December!) and feel my education has been great. We have the highest NCLEX pass rate in Maryland every year and were just voted Best Nursing School. I definitely feel that BSN programs are beneficial as it has taken most of us years to obtain our Associates degree with two years of prereqs and two of clinicals and within the same amount of time we could have a bachelors degree. 2) Your specialty is really what you choose to go into after school. By the time your last semester rolls around, you usually have an inkling of what you wish to "specialize" in. Many people choose to do their Acute Care Practicums in that area so they have some experience when applying for jobs. As for "subspecialties" in ortho, it depends on where you work. The hospital I work at has a dedicated M/S floor for ortho. Others (especially large teaching hospitals) may have Ortho Trauma, Joint, Postsurgical, etc. If you wish to start out in ortho, apply for ortho jobs after school! 3) Desensitization is the only cure. After you give tons of IMs and SubQs, it isn't any different then handing the patient a pill. We had a girl who was terrified of needles and actually started crying and had to leave class when we were in Fundamentals. What did we all do? Every patient that needed heparin or insulin or anything, she gave it. After two days of that she was cured! Trust me, every nurse has something they don't enjoy, I have no problems with needles but tell me to suction a patient who's secretions are hard as a rock, my stomach churns. Uggghh, sputum... Anyway, hope this helps some and good luck! Going to nursing school is the hardest and by far the best experience I've had!:nuke: