Becca_Anne

I'm definitely an HSP, but I believe it makes me uniquely sensitive and empathetic to my patient's needs. I work in a clinic, a lower noxious stress environment and have a job that lets me work one on one with people. I have more control over my environment than I would in the hospital. I think it can be a plus in the right setting. I make a point of unwinding with calming music on my way home, take lots of downtime at home and make sure I practice good self care.

We use a scale for weight and measure on the exam table just marking on the paper and using a measuring tape. Our glucometers are just cheapy true tracks. They work fine.

I just corrected one of our medical providers today (she is very new to our practice) when she referred to the MA's as the nurses. I gently asked her if she could remember to call them Medical Assistants as I had worked very hard for my title and felt it was dangerous for patients to assume that they were nurses if they were to overhear her. She agreed that I had a point. Since I am the only floor RN in our clinic and even the front desk staff wear scrubs I really felt it was important to impress upon her that it wasn't a good idea to treat the term casually. None of my MA's would misrepresent themselves, they always say they are an MA if a patient says nurse. I feel it is worth speaking up even if it might seem petty to some.

I'm the lead RN at our clinic which is part of a larger organization with multiple clinics. I am the only floor RN at that site, we also have a RN case manager who manages our more complex patients. I am responsible for training MA's and checking them off on their skils such as administration of medication, vaccines, foot exams, EKG's, PFT's, ensuring morning huddle takes place, reviewing incoming lab results and radiology, assisting providers with any in visit needs such as patient education, IM medication administration (which can also be delegated to trained MA's who have been signed off by me), all IV or foley catheters, emergency cart/AED/Birth kit monthly inventory and testing, scrubbing all charts on my own schedule and seeing patients for triage and nurse visits, management of coumadin patients, wound care (which can be delegated for smaller less involved dressings), Triage calls and calls to patients about their lab results or other aspects of their care. I attend meetings at other clinics and coordinate accross sites with the other lead RN"s. We are trying to transition floor nursing into more of a case management role so my role is evolving. I also support my MA's with any and all clinical questions they have and am responsible to step in as their teacher if they need to be taught new skills such as EKG's or PFT's. We do not do a lot of complex procedures at my site but the provider is responsible to train their MA for those specific needs. I am available as backup for them to step in as needed.Congrats on your new role and I hope things have been going well for you!

I am 9 months into my first nursing job at a women's clinic. It has been a perfect fit for me. I think as long as the RN has good critical thinking skills and common sense it is fine to start out in a clinic. I don't think it would be easy to transition to a hospital afterwards, but that is fine with me since I feel the direction is going towards more nursing jobs being in the community rather than teriatry facilities. I love building relationships with our patients and the opportunity to case manage and help them achieve better lifetime health outcomes.

We have this happen from time to time. We get more phone calls than walk ins though, and then sometimes they will leave a message!! I dread getting a message from a pt stating they have chest pain. I have even had people leave a message stating they think they are having a heart attack! I realize our patients are often in denial or afraid but we clearly state on the message on our phone to call 911 in case of medical emergency. We are not an ER!! I am often the only RN at my clinic so messages can wait 40 min if I'm in the middle of a diabetic teaching or lactation consultation. Thankfully many of these pts are really having an anxiety attack but I know eventually someone will come in or call us and actually be having a heart attack.

I work 4 10 hr shifts 8-6:30, and these do run over. The latest I ever worked was 10pm but all of our clinics had been closed the day before and we had a huge backlog of labs and phone calls to wade through. Most nights I am heading home by 7pm. I love working 4 days and having regular hours, holidays and weekends with my family. Wouldn't trade that for anything!

Congratulations!!

It took me 11 mo to get my job and I was just hired. I only had 3 interviews in that entire time span and I applied to 100's of jobs all over the country. The job I got was 15 min from my house at a clinic. I knew a friend of a friend who worked there. Honestly I think that really made a big difference in getting my application to catch their attention.

Nurse residencies offer additional training in the hospital with classes and a preceptor. Here's a great thread with info https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/all-nurse-residency-419156.html

Don't lose hope! I finally got a job in a clinic just this last friday and it took me 11 months! I only had 3 interviews during all that time. Just be open to possibilities other than hospital nursing and use your network. A friend of a friend worked at my new job and I asked her about the internal culture and what they were looking for and used that information to think about how I would answer interview questions for that workplace.

Sounds like you need to think about how you would handle those situations if they had occurred. Just say "I never had that happen, but if it did this is how I would handle it" They'll just move on to the next question. I read a lot of books on interviewing but the best one I found is the Career Coward's guide to interviews. Lots of questions and strategies to deal with behavioral interview questions.

I've been looking for a job since April 2011. I graduated in June, passed NCLEX July 2011, just got hired! I applied at so many places, every hospital residency I could find. I ended up in a great local clinic where I think I will be very happy. Not what I planned on doing but I am so grateful for a job!

I had just about given up after 11 months looking without success. I applied to a clinic where a friend of a friend worked and finally got in. I only have volunteer experience on my resume I haven't worked in 20 yrs so if I can get hired you can too. Just keep trying! :hug:

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for posting all your suggestions and encouragement to those of us looking for jobs in this rough economy. I just found out yesterday that after 11 months of looking for my first nursing job my search is over! I got hired to work in a local clinic 15 min from my house with decent pay and benefits. Best of all I won't have to relocate my family! I applied to many positions all over the country. Many times I wondered if I had made a huge mistake going back to school but all the hard work and putting myself out there paid off and I am sure I am going to be happy in my new position. I hope I can give hope to all of you out there still looking for your first job. If I can get a job with no job experience outside of volunteer work so can you. Try clinics and other out of hospital options. Go directly to the websites of medical providers in your area. Talk to anyone you know in the health care field. I would not have even thought I could qualify for a position where I got hired except a friend of mine who is an RN suggested I check out their website. The position didn't show up on any of my searches online on job boards. Also I used several books to prepare since I had little experience working or interviewing (my last paid job was 20 yrs ago!). The best ones were the Career Coward series. The interviewing book was invaluable.