marcelita

Hi, I am a transition RN (new to ER, not nursing) and still on orientation. Our policy is that we observe 2 and do 4 with assist/supervision and then we are on our own. I live in CA. We also do arterial sticks with the same training with an RT.

Hello Colleagues: My issues is this: After working in a community clinic as a Nurse Lead for 1.5 yrs I have decided to return to the hospital setting on a per-diem basis and go back to school in the fall for my NP. However, most recruiters are telling me that they have "reservations" about me being away from the bedside for "so long". I have redone my resume numerous times to make me more interesting when they read it. So far I have gone on 2-3 interviews with no call backs. My background is 3+ yrs in telemetry/acute care/DOU both as staff and traveler RN. Is this really that big a deal? are there so many breakthroughs that I would be able to handle it? What is the difference between me and a new grad, then? I thought about it, put myself in the recruiters shoes, and understood their concerns; until this weekend when I did 2 shifts at a busy 12 bed urgent care. I nailed it; the charge had nothing but praise for me. Said she left a note for her unit manager to request me next time they had a need. Does anyone have any advise on how to approach or respond to a recruiter when they mention this concern? So far I have told them that as a traveler I am used to jumping into any situation and succeeding, also as a per-diem RN one must be able to be very independent and knowledgeable. Also, a recent critical care course wont hurt, right? even if a have to pay for it myself! Thanks ALL!!

thanks for your reply. at this point i dont think its about personal feelings or attitudes. basically i think the situation is out of hand. sure its ok for an expat to talk to another in their own language. i do it all the time, i know what it feels like to connect with someone from your homeland. but the excessiveness and lack of professionalism makes for a sometimes hostile work environment i.e giving report, talking about patients and communicating other work related issues in other languages. as a first generation american i say keep your families values and culture. but when it comes to work, be professional, socialize its appropiate or when time permits and be mindful that its about the patients and all the duties and responsibilites that come with that job. and one of them is communication. and since we live in america, were the majority speaks english, then so should you. being raised in nyc was great, i have friends from all continents and i am culturally aware of more situations that potentially could hinder my delivery of care. its nice to have people who can communicate with your farsi, korean or hindi pt. i dont think that my ears should be free of "language pollution" i think its great that we can share our different cultures. but, like i said earlier when it comes to work lets be professional. and yes, due to the great amount of nurses that are from different cultures we should be sensitive to their needs as well. however what it seems like to me is that sometimes they expect us to get used to them and not try to become part of their new environment. assimilation to a different culture doesnt mean losing yours. be well,

yes, there are other more more important things to worry about. but, when a code is being run and the language they start speaking is other than english becuase they are in a "fight" state of mind and since they are so used doing so it is only natural thye revert back to their "original" language. kinda like the 90 y/o demented italian patient who suddenly forgot all the english he learned after coming to america. all i am saying is that while it might seem petty to some that we get annoyed, yes annoyed not angry or jealous or feel excluded, becuase your coworkers seem not to care about whether or not they are being rude, to me its a matter of being professional and mature. i speak 3 languages, grew up in nyc and dont might hearing them and others on the street or on the subway. but i do have an issue when it intereferes with pt care.

I agree with sticking out for a couple more months. thats what I did, but I actually liked where I worked, cardiac step down. you should have the experience to look somewhere else. but then again nursing is so diverse that you can train for another job if needed. good luck

I have been a nurse for 4 years now. started out in cardiac stepdown, did some oncology but cont with cardiac care. for the last year i have been a travel nurse with some bad experiences. recently i have decided to stay in sunny san diego (getting married) and applied for a job through a contractor at a military facility. it took about 2 months for the paperwork to come through and i started working last week. i chose this job becuase its mon-fri 8-4, great benefits, perks, 10 min commute. I am very dissapointed. when I toured the facility 3 mo ago, it seemed very busy and I was told by the head nurse ( who is now deployed) that is was a very busy clinic and they desperatly needed 2 RNs. there are about 50-60 military personnel here who are medics and do several duties. so far i have noticed that the RN duties are to handle the phone consults (40 a day on average) and the walkins (since i started 4-5 a day average) for rx refills and pregnancy tests. I am battling the idea that this job might be for me. one moment i think i am jumping the gun, its too early to know. the next moment i cant stand the fact that i am just going to be stting around waiting for patients to show up for me to do something. i have a feeling that there reallyisnt a need for 2 nurses, just one strong one and they already have one. I am aware that the trasition from inpatient to outpatient can be difficult, but i am just not the type of person to sit around. i did an ssignment at one clinic where i had to answer about 100 calls a day and also see patients that needed procedures. basically what i am trying to say is that i need a challenge i want a permanent job with collegues, some kind of routine. some might feel ok taking it easy, not doing much. i cant materialze patients for me to see, if this is the flow i cant change it, and there is only so much work i can request to do and they can give me. thank you in advance for your suggestions.