DoeRN

Another INTJ

No, it was like the exorcist vomit and I tried to run away from it but it followed me down the hall.

I had a nightmare about projectile vomit landing on me.

I was a PCT at the time and I was helping a nurse cath an obese older man. He had an "innie" and she said to him, "where is it?" He said, "lady that is one thing you should never say to a man!" I almost passed out because I was holding my breath trying not to laugh hysterically.

I bet you won't cover a shift for her again. I guess she slept through the pain lecture in nursing school.

This happened to me last week! There was a naked woman running around at a busy intersection and she jumped in front of my car. I said man I haven't hit the clock yet and I'm seeing naked people! I did call the police though and I'm sure she was admitted to psych. So yeah, nursing has provided a good lifestyle for me but I realized that I'm better off doing something different. For me it is a job and not a calling, I can't help those who don't want help. I work just enough to pay the bills now. I've been working on an exit plan for the last couple of years.

See if there is a free clinic or income based clinic in your area and talk to a physician there.

I don't do direct care but I don't mind music being played. It relaxes me and I can concentrate more.

I'm actually considering the same thing. My first piece of advise is to go ahead and endorse your California license since the BON is super slow. I'm actually going to be doing something other than nursing but I have to work as a nurse for a little bit longer to get my other thing up and running.

Going into more debt to pay off debt doesn't make sense.

That I don't like being a nurse.

A mortician

No way and I'm working on my exit plan now.

This is a good thing actually. You see what kind of "friend" she really is. She's a manipulator and she didn't get her way. The family and friends who think you should have helped her well you'll have to let those comments go in one ear and out the other. Easier said than done but you don't need that negativity. Since she isn't responding to your calls and texts now would be a perfect time to let the friendship run its course. You did all you could do (too much imo) it's her life to live so let her live it and you live yours. The older I've become the less poop I can tolerate. This is a good lesson on how not to let people manipulate you. She wasn't a true friend to begin with. Enjoy your break from school with less drama in your life! Good luck to you.

Sounds like the perfect day to me! If I ever won the lottery I would become a hermit!

I'm also an introvert to the point that I enjoy traveling by myself and I do it on purpose. It can be hard because we're forced to be an extrovert at work. I find a quiet corner and chart. I'm a float nurse so I use that as an excuse to not really socialize with staff because I don't know anyone. I also don't discuss my personal life with patients. Like if someone asks if I have kids I don't answer and turn around and ask them the same question. People usually like talking about themselves so I'm good at redirecting conversations so they can talk. My favorite part of the day is the drive home because I'm alone with my thoughts. Sometimes I don't even turn on the radio. My off days I try to do things by myself. I'm in school full-time so I'm absorbed in my studies. I also go out the restaurants alone and I don't care if people stare. Movies alone and heck I even went to an amusement park alone and had a great time. So my advice would be to find as much alone time as you can to recharge. And I agree check out the Myers-Briggs personality test. I'm an INTJ and lol nursing is NOT recommended for my personality type. And coincidently I'm in school for a field other than nursing.

I'm going to WGU but not for my BSN though so I can't answer any pros and cons. I like the school and the tuition is reasonable. Take a look under the student nurse section. There are a lot of nurses in this forum who went to WGU and have gone on to advance their careers. I wish I would have gone to WGU for my BSN would have been a lot cheaper.

If you absolutely need the extra money to put food on the table and keep the electricity on then do it. But if you don't then IMO you shouldn't. The first year as a new nurse is very stressful. I did a ton of OT my first year and yes I paid off a lot of bills and bought a house I burned myself out in the process. Still burnt out to this day 9 years later. I've talked to other nurses in the same situation and many of them are burnt out from working so much and that extra mine is long gone. I'm also back in school and I try to work as little as possible just enough to pay the bills and save a small amount. Enjoy life, spend time with your kids and family. You can't get those years back. Plus usually with PRN jobs you won't have much of an orientation before you're on your own. On top of that you will still be in OR orientation.

I tell you what I wouldn't do this type of work for free. I never took an oath and nursing wasn't a calling. Nurses are underpaid and the wear and tear on our bodies man oh man we earn every penny. I wish I knew then what I know now and I would have gone to school for something different that paid more money.

I was a patient too due to having emergency surgery. I tell you what it made me look at things completely different. When a patient is sleeping it doesn't mean they're not in pain... This happened to me. I had a dilaudid PCA and it wasn't helping that much so I slept through it. Toradol helped tremendously to the point that I told my doctor to dc the PCA because I didn't need it. Oh and please ask your patients about constipation.... My goodness I won't go into details but MOM was my bff during this time. No one asked me about constipation and I had to ask myself. Anytime I have a patient that's on a lot of narcotics I automatically ask them about stool softners/laxatives when I'm assessing their pain. Can't tell you how many patients have thanked me for this. It's something a lot of people don't talk about but can be a big problem especially after having major surgery.

I'm a float nurse and I keep my keys, money (bring very little with me to work) and phone in my scrub pockets. I have a bag that I carry but nothing of value so I thought. I had some bath and body works travel sized lotion in it and it was stolen. I'm not able to lock it up because some of the floors don't have any available lockers. So now I buy cheap dollar store lotion and keep it in my bag. So to answer your question, anything of value I keep on my person. I don't carry a purse only a work bag. I wear my stethoscope all day and never take it off unless I'm actively using it or let anyone borrow it. Heck I don't let anyone use my pens or scissors either!

I like having students but in my current position I don't want a student. I'm a float nurse and I usually don't know anything about the floor that I'm assigned too. Heck I sometimes have to go on a treasure hunt to find the pantry let alone explain things to a student. And because I'm a float nurse I usually have a heavy assignment. I flat out refuse to have a student with me even though at times I'm the most experienced nurse on the floor. When I had a home floor I was a preceptor and liked it but I did like a break from time to time. It's not that we don't want to teach but sometimes having a student can send us over the edge because it's double work. The student asks a question in front of the patient and the nurse is using medical jargon and the patient is like wah??? Then you have to explain it all over again to the patient and it turns into a cycle between the student nurse and the patient and then you're late passing meds to the other 15 patients (exaggerating the patient load but still). Those type of questions are things the student nurse can look up and discuss in post clinical conference or ask the clinical instructor.

Wish all states had mandated ratios I think a lot more nurses and patients would be happier. It will increase those patient satisfaction scores too.

I'm confused too. Did you hear her say it? Or did you say you didn't hear her say it? Sorry I haven't had coffee yet.

Nursing is hard work. Nursing school is hard work. If you want a nursing desk job you will have to do some hard work in order to get that desk job. Like peihan said there are other non-nursing healthcare professions that don't deal with body fluid. What major did you switch to?