DA314

I hate to be a downer, but the national health service corps repayment program is not for RNs. It is for MDs, midwifes, nursd practitioners, but not RNs. Have you looked into your nearest university hospital? I work at a university hospital and they have loan repayment. Good luck in your searvh for repayment options!

I don't think gown, gloves, goggles, and mask would be conisdered beyond standard precautions with any pt that has flying goobers, no matter what their hiv status is. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to a big wet cough to the face if I can prevent it. And I was taught to always wear face protection anytime bodily fluids were at high risk of splashing into my face (like during trach care).

At my hospital they do not allow staff to wear labcoats into the icu areas. We all use the yellow fabric gowns if we get cold. We use the blue plastic gowns in iso rooms. The doctors will also wear the yellow gowns into the icu rooms to prevent spreading germs to critical pts.

I am a new grad RN working at UK in Lexington, KY. Starting pay is $21.57 plus shift diffs (4.50 on nights, plus 3.25 on weekends). There are a good number of jobs here in Lexington, but there are also a million nursing schools here, so competition is fierce. I know of several experienced RNs from Louisville driving 1.5 hrs each day to come work in Lexington because there are no job openings in Lousiville. My per diem RN friends make about $35/ hour plus diffs. HTH!

Are you looking to work at Uk or Good Samaritan? The pay and benefits are the same at both hospitals, but that is where the similarities end. UK has great staffing ratios most of the time, and is all in all a dream place to work compared to Good Samaritan. G.S. is understaffed, the nurses there are resistent to the changes UK has made since the merger, nurses and techs are overworked, UK dumps all their psych pts on G.S. You get a lot of detoxers, a lot of violent patients. There is not a sense of team work like you find at UK. The managers are a joke. The best way to get an interview with UK is to dress up like you would for an interview, go to HR with copies of your resume, and speak to someone in nurse recruiting. Just ask one of the girls in the main recruiting office if they would mind looking at your application and resume and see why you aren't getting any interviews. That is what worked for me. Keep in mind that it takes FOREVER and a day to get an interview going with UK. I just landed a new job in the CDU there, and I applied for that job May 14. I intervied July 6. My start date is Aug. 1. They are S-L-O-W in the recruiting office, mainly because they are processing so many applications. Good luck! If you really want to work for UK, know that it will be a great opportunity. But stay far, far away from Good Samaritan, unless you are a glutton for punishment.

lord I hope it isn't 3 years of having a sex toy jammed somewhere and/or labor !

I'm going to guess that she's allergic to her partner's emissions.

Unless you drew up the dilaudid and left it in the pt's room, I don't see how it was your fault. Patients do stupid things. We've had cardiac patients snorting cocaine in their room, patients with PICC lines go out to "smoke" and inject themselves with drugs. Used Narcan too many times to count on pt's that took their own pain meds on top of what we were giving them. Sometimes, the stupid things patients do kills them. You can't be in the room 24/7 to babysit.

Around here (KY), most new grads start out on nights. Once you get use to staying up all night and sleeping during the day, it isn't bad. I'm currently on days right now, but will likely be going back to nights soon. As for staying in shape on nights, I always make sure I bring healthy food to snack on (fresh fruit, veggies, broth-based soups), coffee, and I take walks when I'm feeling super -tired, especially in the summer, when the air is warm. When I get home from work at 8:00, I'm usually wide awake, so I take a run and workout, which helps tire me and makes me get a good day's sleep in before the next shift. I don't find that staying in shape and healthy on nights is any harder than days. It might be a little easier. On day shifts, I get home at 8:00, and have to make dinner for my husband, spend time with him, clean the house, walk the dog, etc. When I get home from a night shift, the house is empty and still clean from the evening before :-)

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time. First, I would recommend taking a deep breath and remind yourself that this too shall pass. You will eventually find a job and get into a better financial situation. Next, call your loan companies, ask about getting a hardship deferrment. With no job, this shouldn't be difficult. Third, study for your board exam. Go to the library, it is easier to focus when you aren't at home and distracted. Make passing the NCLEX your full-time job. Study until you know the material well, until you can confidently answer all the delegation and prioritization questions. Then, go pass your NCLEX. Once you have passed, you will be much more attractive to potentital employers. Your situation is ok. People fail NCLEX all the time, then go on to pass after some extra studying. People are broke sometimes. This is life. You will be strong, you are smart. You will get through this, and look back on it as a small storm you had to weather. Good luck, I can't wait to hear that you've passed boards!

I usually just wear a white men's ribbed unershirt tank top. They are pretty thin, but provide me with enough of a feeling of having something on.

There was a post there originially. It appears that the OP went back and deleted most of it for some reason.

It is great that you are so optimistic. I think most people who enter into nursing (or any profession for that matter), go into school with a bright outlook. Then you start your actual nursing classes. Nursing school is tough. Very tough. And not just intellectually tough. They like to stress you out, worry you, make you cry. It is 2-4 years of constant stress. That wears down some of your optimism. I'm not trying to scare you. They make nursing school tough because nursing is tough. Lives are on the line. If you make a mistake with a teaching job, all that happens is some kid fails a test. If you make mistakes in nursing, people can die. That being said, you'll get through it. You will feel relieved. You will start your job with a little more realistic approach. You don't have to turn into one of those cold-hearted nurses, but you will have to learn that you aren't going to save the world. I just try to focus on each day. When I come in, I greet my patients, tell them "My name is DA314. We're going to have a great day together!" I try to start the day off on a good foot, so my patients will think positiviely of me. I do not let yesterday linger in my mind. I do not try to predict what tomorrow will bring. By focusing only on the day at hand, your job will be less overwhelming.

It depends. I have traded patients if it is someone that I know outside of work. However, I have also had to care for a few coworkers (darned HMO). They really can't get assigned a nurse that doesn't know them, because in our hospital, everybody knows everybody. That's why I chose the PPO plan, so I don't have to come here for treatment and have everybody know my business

I agree with the two previous posters. You want the first patient to remain on bedrest first and foremost. Also, she wouldnt just be on contact isolation precautions, there would be radiation precautions as well (the answer didnt give that option, whhich makes the contact precaution wrong). Also, the cancer pt. who is receiving only radiation may not be at high risk of infection. Chemo is typically what lowers he immmune system.