meither

By the way, don't want to confuse you, My screen name has changed from "Luvbuble" to "Meither".....Same person different name......

I would highly recommend you to either have an internship in ICU or Med/surg. Med/surg will work your butts off but you will learn all kinds of stuff ( just give med/surg at least one year, one year experience is probably enough)and you can pretty much go into any specialty you want later. ICU is a little easier because the pt/nurse ratio is like 3:1 and you will be able to learn some complex stuff. It will look good on your future resume. I am now working as a PACU nurse in an outpatient surgery center. I am making more money than the GI place that i used to work at and I don't have to deal with dirty poops any more. It is a much easier job but I do regret that I don't have all the med/surg knowledge such as knowing how to read the lab result, effect of medicine and pathophysiology. I work PRN on some weekends in some rehab places so that i won't forget how to Tube feed and change dressings. It also helps me to remember all the medications and what they are for. I know a lot of people will tell you it is not necessary to have med/surg experience. Say, if you want a GI nursing job, you can apply for it, someone will probably hire you as a new grad. However, if you want to change your specialty later, it will be much harder because GI is really only specialized in GI, you might know what hiatal hernia or barrett's esophagus and for sure you will be good at doing IVs. It will be almost impossible for you to work in other specialties (unless you are lucky like me or you are willing to go through perceptorship again and receive minimal salary from it)

Hi there, I have a quick question about the post-op lumber fusion and steriod injection patient sensory and extremities circulation checks. I am going to work in a out patient surgery center soon and I want to know what I need to do before discharging our lumber fusion and steriod injection patient. Do you do grip test on the upper extremities even the injection is in the lumber area? do you check to see if pt can move their lower extremities. What else is a concern? I know pain management is very important too but I am more concern of the discharge criteria. Please give me some ideas. Thanks!

I agree with you. I found that it is going on with most forum, not only this one. I have a website that i go to for local residence in my area. People get on that forum and start attacking others. It is amazing what people can do when you don't have to show your face in a forum.

let me see how i should address your post. I think you are worrying too much. People don't care if you are good looking or not. Believe me, most of the nurses that I work with they are pretty much over weight or obese. I am not kidding you . You know nurses eat when they work or understress. Don' t worry about your look or your weight. As long as you can work and do a good job, it doesn't matter how you look!

I don't know what state you are in. In Tx, CA, and many other states, the hospitals always have training program for new grads. I know you are not new grads but since you passed your NCLEX, that means you know the basic of nursing. If you go to your state some major hospital websites, you will find some hiring posting for new grad nurses. The hospital will provide intership for new nurses and you will be following a perceptor for about 6 months before you actually work by yourself. That way, you will feel more comfortable working by yourself in the future. Don't worry, nurses are in demand, I am very sure you will find a good position.

you tell them that you make pretty good money. You make enough to feed a family. And you should ask them how much they are making too. That might stop the nosey from asking. Another nurse asked me how much I am making one time at my work, and I told her I will get fired if I tell her. From then on, she never tried to ask me again.

I had a big transition for my job too. I was a business consultant for a big company and then I became a nurse for 3 years. I got really burnt out and refused to go back to Med/surg because of the dangerously high pt to nurse ratio. I had to take care of up to 7 patients and could bearly take a break. I don't mind to deal with the dirty jobs like cleaning poop and changing incontinence pads. I just didn't have the time to do it. While I saw 4 techs (nursing assistants) smoking downstairs, refusing to pick up calls from me and I got no help on the floor at all, all that really explains why I will never go back to work in the hospital. Some nursing jobs are easier or better than the others, I guess you will just have to bear with it and try to find the best one that will fit you. The easier nursing jobs are cardiac rehab, same day surgery, endoscopy, infusion center because you get to deal with one patient at a time. And you feel like you are doing something good for the patient. Good luck with your transition and don't give up. I work in GI and I don't have a problem with my job. I actually like to go to work because it is so easy. And now my only complaint is I am getting bored. Anyway, good luck to your new career and hopefully you will find nursing as a career.

My thought is that it is all "BS" that we as nurses cannot carry our cell phones. What if, if I have an emergency? What if, my family needs me? How come only Doctors have emergencies and we don't ? I am thinking that the main reason why they make this a policy is really direct to nurses who are on their phones 24 hours a day. I used to have an older nurse working in our place and she had a side business. She was a massage therapist or something (who knows what she does for a living) and she would have people calling her cell phone to make appts. I think that's unacceptable. Maybe that is why the management make up this rule. This policy is for people who do not respect their jobs or their patients. My work has this policy that we cannot use our cell phone during working hours but I also set my own policy. I still carry my phone around with it on vibrate during working hours. I won't answer phone calls if I am with a patient. I will walk out of my floor and return a phone call wheneve I get a chance. This is how I see it, if I cannot take my 15 mins break during my work, I should be allow to take 2 mins to return a phone call and I consider that as my 15 mins break of the day.

I have about 6 months experience in Med/surg, 6 months in the OR and 2 years experience in GI outpatient facility as a RN. Recently, I am kind of bored with my job and I am also very upset with my boss:angryfire (long story, I don't even want to go there):stone Anyway, I see this new job posting for PACU outpatient facility which is much closer to my house. They called me last week to have an interview next Monday. I am ACLS certified but I know I will need PAL. In my GI facility, I recover patients who are mostly healthy and pain is usually minimal. I can usually discharge them 30 mins post op. I am just wondering, if I work in the PACU for an outpatient facility, is it going to be much more difficult than GI recovery? I know a lot of people have ICU or Acute care experience to work in PACU. Is outpatient, PACU job easier than inpatient PACU? Please don't tell me I will not be qualified for this job because I don't have intensive care experience. I am very confident that I can do it because I am very persistant. :zzzzz I will do my best and learn as much as I can if I get the job there. Please give me some positive support so that I can have a good interview. And please let me know how I can sell myself better on my interview with my zero intensive care experience. Thanks!

I don't know what to tell you. I am in the same boat as you are. I am currently in GI ambulatory center. My work is boring and I decided to pick up a PRN job in rehab hospital. I worked there for 3 days with someone training me. I was overwhelmed by the stressful rehab work and the demanding geriatric patients, I swear I don't want to go back again. I called the supervisor the next day and told her I have to quit because coming from GI, I cannot really take the stress from a busy hospital job any more. I feel bad but I am relieve after quiting that job. That job actually pays $16 more than my GI job but I decided it is not a good move. I regret not making the right move. In your case, I think you should definitely think twice before going to that new hospital because the distance is far, the pay is less and you will probably be all burnt out from a new job. My suggestion to you is to try to find another closer hospital that will train you. If they cannot pay you as much as your current job, it is still better than the other hospital. At least you don't have to deal with the long drive. Hope this will help , good luck with whatever decision you make.