SickleMoon

I would love nothing more than to teach--but as the primary breadwinner in my family, I can't afford the huge pay cut I'd have to take. Until nurses and nursing education are taken as seriously as they ought to be, I don't think this is going to change...

Yes, it is! I got my BSN as an "escape plan", but planned to stay a paramedic for a long time. Long story short, the ambulance contract changed hands and we all got sacked, so I went into nursing full time. It's turned out pretty well. The money's better, it's generally safer, the working conditions tend to be better (but not always!), and I know that if I get tired of bedside nursing I can always put that degree to work teaching, or consulting, or in an office, or I can pursue an advanced degree and be a nurse practitioner, or a CRNA--the options for a nurse are so much more than for a paramedic. I'm still currently licensed as a medic, but I've found that I don't miss it nearly as much as I thought I would. And I DON'T miss those 3 a.m. "too drunk to go to Detox" calls! :rotfl: So--congratulations to you--your hard work is about to pay off. And there's no law that says you can't do both! Follow your heart, but I do think you're on the right track. Good luck!

Nice site! Wish I would have had something like that before I took the CPNE!

Chris, Somewhere along the line I missed that you were going to Racine. It's been more than a few years since I did some of my clinical stuff in that neck of the woods, but the Regents College folks there were SUPER! Not a bad egg amongst 'em--very demanding and exacting but also very personable and caring. Hope the same ones are still there for you! Good luck and have fun! Dakota

Nicely put, Chris.

Doesn't look like there's one really close to Nashville in the near future, but there's one in Oklahoma City in the fall-- here's a link-- http://www.astna.org/FNATC.html Have fun!

And I don't think the nurses on ER chart...or at least not nearly as much as we have to!!

Hi MargRN, Tweety's absolutely right about the bigeminy--you have to look at the rest of the clinical picture to figure out if it's benign or about to be lethal. As far as getting more comfortable with rhythms, maybe this larger hospital you're looking at has a Basic Arrhythmias course. These start out very, very basic and give you the building blocks on how to read rhythms--sort of like crawling before you walk :chuckle . I have to brush up on my advanced arrhythmias from time to time, but that basic class has held up for me for years. It sounds as this new hospital may be fairly proactive re education--I'll bet they have a course or know where you can get one! Good luck!

Hi BSN2004NSU, You've gotten some good advice so far--hope it helps you make the choice that is best for you. Let me add this: "Burnout" is almost completely under your control. Sure, they can slam you with long shifts, less-than-desirable work environments, etc, but it all boils down to how YOU handle it. Your best defense against burnout is to stay healthy, not just physically but mentally. Don't "live" the job. Have outside interests that you enjoy--hobbies, friends, something that allows you to get completely away from the job. It's hard to do at first, especially in a new environment because there's so much to learn so fast, but don't let your job hijack your life. Achieve a balance that works for you. You'll definitely have your ups and downs, as with any career, but the downs will be a lot shorter and easier to survive if you have a way to let off steam outside work. Good luck and have fun!

Twarlik, your comments stuck in my mind and I went on a hunt to try to find out why the smaller gauge equals a larger diameter. The best explanation I found said that it's because when they first started making round wire (as opposed to cutting it from sheets of metal in strips and then working it with tools to make it round), they forced the metal through round dies. They started with a large hole and gradually worked it down through the smaller holes--kind of like when you're making homemade pasta and put it through the rollers multiple times to get it really thin. The gauge number refers to the number of times the wire had to be put through successively smaller holes to get it to the proper size. Thus a 20 gauge wire had to be put through successively smaller dies 20 times, while a 10 gauge wire only had to be put through 10 times. ...clear as mud? At least it helps me remember it! I shouldn't probably mention the site here, but it was an encyclopedia site that I got to via search engine--kind of a fun search and a nice break from the studying I'd been doing! :chuckle Thanks for the diversion!

I have to agree with SJoe. I'd like to add a little-- Never decline an opportunity to do something new while you're being oriented/precepted. ERs do thousands of different things--if you don't jump in and do it when the opportunity arises, you may not see it again for awhile...all this obviously with safety in mind first. Don't just stand there and observe--get your hands dirty! And never, ever say "We always used to do it this way" or "Back when I was at (name your previous experience or employment) we always had--". Guaranteed to annoy your new coworkers. That said, enjoy working in the ER! It's always been my first love--always a challenge, always an adventure, and always rewarding (as well as exhausting sometimes...but that's a different thread! :chuckle ). Keep us posted as to how it's going! Dakota

Nuru, Lovely post. I've just been reading through this thread and wasn't intending to reply at all--I've been (and still am) on both sides of this fence and all the previous posters have pretty much said it all, as far as all of us being human and having our own issues from time to time. But your post reminded me of why we're all in it as a team... You and your partners seem to have done okay in this accident, and I'm glad for that. Thanks for the great post!

I had made up my mind that all I needed was the ASN, but when I actually sat down and compared the requirements for a BSN and ASN side-by-side, and then looked at what course work I'd already done for my previous degree, I found that the only real difference time and money-wise between the BSN and ASN was two courses. Two courses! I thought that in the grand scheme of things, that was nothing . So I went ahead and did it all at once (I knew that for me, personally, once I got out of school I wouldn't be going back anytime soon for those extra courses to get the BSN after the ASN--made much more sense to just go for the BSN). I have no regrets--the hospital I currently work for couldn't care less if a bedside RN has a BSN or not, but they're VERY picky about management having them. So in a few years when I'm ready to leave bedside nursing I'm already set. Kind of a long reply to just say "Go for it!" If you've already got a bachelor's the BSN may not be such a long reach, and it's probably going to pay off in future for you. The key is, find out ahead of time what coursework from your previous degree will be accepted by your nursing program. If they get picky about some lower level undergrad stuff, like sociology or humanities, remember that you can CLEP a lot of the basic requirements. Good luck!

Most of my faves are already here but one's missing: SNUD = Sick Nigh Unto Death

If you still have access to your school library or better yet, your hospital library, these can be great resources too. I did NCLEX basically the same way you are (studying on my own with multiple review guides) and did just fine. I'm sure you will too!