ReWritten

It's doable while on night shift, as I know people who have done it, but when it comes time to do clinical hours, it's going to be far easier to do it while on dayshift, given most of your clinicals will be held during regular office hours. I'm about...

I am currently at a local state school's FNP program, going more or less at a part time rate as I work full time. The school is mostly online, though I've yet to go to campus for anything. Anyhow, I suppose I'm looking for encouragement and voices f...

I'm not at UTA, but I have heard similar complaints from coworkers in their master's programs. At least we are all in the same metaphorical boat.

Thank you for you reply, CocoaLover. My BSN was all on-campus school, and this is the first time I've ever really taken online courses, and I'm really not enjoying the lack of face time. I've only had 2 professors bother to really put forth interacti...

It depends on the level of trust you have with your ED physician and your skills/experiences. It also depends on who you work for. I've worked out in a rural hospital where the midlevels could pretty much see and do everything the physician was. I've...

Brand new - focus on assessment skills and time management (including priorities). Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you don't know how to do something/unsure/not confident doing it on your own - ASK. Your coworkers would rather you ask questions/...

It definitely depends on the applicant pool. I'll let you know my GPA was in the gutter (around a 2.9) and I did mediocre on the GRE. I applied to a couple schools and in my letter of intent, addressed my low GPA (in my case, horrible test anxiety), ...

I started in a 15-bed rural ED, and the PAs and NPs saw everything - fast track and if the MD was busy, pick up other patients. When I went to a major city ED, they didn't even hire NPs until recently (and she used to work there as an ED nurse, which...

Unfortunately it is very confusing. I've worked in ERs where the NPs are FNP and I've worked where they're ACNP. It really depends on the system. I've also worked in setting where I've never see the midlevels take on level 3's and higher, but in rura...

Dallas! But of course I'm a bit biased as I live here. Apply to all, interview, and decide from there based off their interview/tour you're given.

Low 30's sounds about right. You also have to remember the cost of living in the Dallas area is very reasonable, I think, and you can live comfortably at this salary. You'll have to ask the hospitals what they do about having your CEN. Some may pay y...

Plenty of nurses move from the floor to the ER. I did and very thankful for my time on the floor. I learned about medications and prioritization, and got my assessment skills down. You will have an advantage over a new grad coming to the ER. Good luc...

In a smaller ER. We report at the nurses' station. I think bedside reporting would work in ours, but I don't see any of my coworkers agreeing to it. Plus, the fear of HIPAA violation. We had AIDET too. What a waste of time, the hospital should've sp...

I always wanted to do critical care/ICU during nursing school. I did not have a good experience in my ER rotation during nursing school, so I was no interested or impressed with it. After 8 months of not landing an ICU job, but on med-surg, I made A...

I graduated May 2010, never worked in healthcare before. I was a cashier at Target... I was hired on a med-surg/tele floor with no problem.

Unfortunately I don't have any advice for you, but I wish you luck in the interview! I'm curious to know how it goes for you. I'd like to work for MSF one day.

I've only been in the ER for 2 months, but curious to other's reply to this. In my ER, we're required to do preg tests on all females (unless they've had a hyst) before giving Toradol. Does anyone else do this? Last week I had a pt come in with alot...

According to nearly every weekend in the Dallas Morning Newspaper, Parkland is under alot of fire recently between Medicare funding possibly being denied and questionable overseeing of UT-SW practicing med students. In an article maybe a month ago wa...

I work in a hospital in rural Texas, just a preface to my replies. 15 bed ER, 3 bed fast track. We probably see around 200 patients a day. 1) What is your standard nurse to patient ratio? 1:4 2)How receptive is management to staff going back to sch...

Been in the ER only a couple months now, but we don't. We might test to give us an idea of they're actually on something or to help us determine how to treat them, but other than that, we could care less. If their alcohol level is too high, they're s...

two pens, paper and plastic tape, pen light, alcohol pads, 1 or 2 NS flushes, scissors, hemostats

I have just transferred to the ER, and on one of my first nights, we had a pt come in with an OD. EMS was called by his wife due to his decreased response and hard to wake up. When we asked where the wife was at this time, they replied "She said she ...

My coworkers and I have this theory that when people are admitted to the hospital, they suddenly become invalids. There's been plenty of times we've lectured our patients, "Who does this for you when you're home?" And that often will motivate them t...

I feel very fortunate that I passed my NCLEX the very first time I took it, and obtained a job 2 months after graduating last year. (Not in the specialty/hospital/location that I wanted, but I was just thrilled to get a job so quickly). I feel very f...

I have almost 8 months of experience. My very first code ever was my own patient, and I know exactly how you felt! When you're not ACLS certified, the only thing you'd be asked to do is compressions or being the recorder. What prepared me/gave me mor...