Valhalla_Pure

I just posted about feeling stressed out and socially isolated from my friends and partner in a recent thread, so I know exactly how you feel! Sometimes the reality of the medical unit can be a real wake up call. However, like xtxrn said, you will get faster with things like documentation with time, so don't worry about that too much. I work 4 twelve hour shifts, 2 days, 2 nights, with 4-5 days off in between. It's a rough schedule, and if your schedule falls over a series of weekends, it's tough to see your friends and family with regular jobs. Something I have started doing recently is shift swaps in order to spend time with friends. I did a swap for a day shift yesterday and was able to go shopping with my girlfriends for the day, which really made me feel better. It's not possible for me to work straight nights, as xtxrn suggested, but if you can, I think it's a great idea. The night shift is less stressful, no management types around, and you have more time for quality patient interactions, in my opinion. I really enjoy nights. Hang in there, this is just a bump in the road. Remember to take care of yourself, call friends you miss just for a chat, and remind your boyfriend that even though you can't physically be there, you miss him. Things will get better!

Take it. Almost all work for new nurses in Vancouver, BC is casual work. I worked casual for almost a 8 months before getting a full-time position. You can always pick up extra shifts on top of your part-time hours, provided extra shifts are available. And you should be oriented full-time.

BSN grad here. Finished last June in BC, Canada. I felt clinically that my school prepared me well for almost all my skills except for IV insertion (which they don't teach you as many hospitals have dedicated IV teams) and central dressing changes and management. We could always hang a medication if a CVC was connected to a running line, but never un-hook the line, flush the line, or change the dressing. I got a crash course on this when I was hired at my workplace, and now feel comfortable. My school was a good mix of theory and skills practice, and overall I am happy with my education. You can take an IV insertion course if your manager approves if for your area of practice, i.e emergency or critical care. Most med surg floors won't unless you are in a rural area without an IV team. I still wish I could do IV's though, especially when you have to wait a long time for the IV nurse to get to your floor to insert a saline lock.

I feel for you, Catch22. I think some changes need to be made here, and the first one is "shut off your phone". My work calls me ALL THE TIME post night shift. They don't care that you just stayed up all night. What is work calling you for? Extra shifts? In my opinion, when you are off shift, it is your right to sleep, and not administration's right to dictate that you must leave your phone on. I leave my phone off. If I get a call from the hospital, I return it when I wake up. I can't blame you for being exhausted as you aren't getting enough sleep. This makes it even harder for you to do your job. Turn off your phone. It will be the best thing you ever do. Return calls from friends or the hospital when you get up. A friend of mine got calls from her friends and family all the time while she was sleeping. She got fed up with them and on night shift one night, called each of her friends and family and woke them up. "Why are you calling, its the middle of the night!" and she replies "So you understand what is is like when you call me after a night shift. Good night!". Her friends and family never called or texted her after night shift again :)

Thanks for the reply xtxrn! Yes, I alternate two days, followed by two nights, then 4 days off before I do it all again. After my second night shift I usually wake up around noon, then spend most of the day being tired, and sleep well that night in order to get back on a regular schedule for my days off. I work 14 shifts a month, provided I don't pick up overtime or extra (which I almost never do as I am too exhausted). I work in BC, Canada, and most shift schedules are like mine for full-time nurses. I actually LOVE the night shift for all the reasons you listed. I am currently trying to trade some of my days for nights, but no straight night shift lines exist here (at least in acute care, to my knowledge). The two shifts are days (7a-7p) or nights (7p-7a). Right now I am on a day off, and gearing up to head back to work again for another set...I feel like a sloth. Glad to know others are struggling too. I'll figure something out.

If you feel comfortable enough, I would have a discussion with her about it again. When she was your preceptor, did you have a good relationship? Was this outburst out of character for her? You said she apologized, but it sounded like it wasn't a true apology and there was some hidden malice in her "weird tone". Tell her exactly how her behavior made you feel "I felt embarrassed and humiliated about your feedback on X day". If she is non-responsive to your efforts, I would tell the Director for sure. The director may ask if you had spoken to her directly, which is why I suggested you try and speak to her first if you feel comfortable.

At least KNOWING there are others in the same boat as me is comforting. I just get a little sad sometimes when I see my other nursing friends planning events I can't go to Things I try to do to keep busy: Clean my apartment (a never ending task) Cook and bake (to prep for days on shift, and just because I like to!) Read and drink tea Phone my family (even if I can't see them) Do yoga (great for my back, which is always sore from work) I am glad I have my husband, but you need to see your friends too. I think I only see him regularly because we live together!

Hi Nurses! I have been a lurker here fore years. I don't post very often, but read the forums all the time. Hoping you could offer me some tips! I have been an RN for a year now. Things are going well at work, but the one challenge I seem to have is finding time to spend with my friends. I work two days, two nights, with 4 off. All my shifts are 12 hours. My Mon-Fri friends are almost always working when I have time off, and my other nursing friends from school are on opposite rotations, so they are working when I am off. I don't have any nursing friends on the unit my age, most are older with kids and families of their own. My own family lives across the country, so I can't see them either. It's starting to get me down. I keep busy by myself on my days off, but I miss seeing my friends. I have done shift trades a few times to get a day off with friends...but this is not always possible as there is not necessarily someone willing to do a swap. I usually don't go out after day shift as I don't get home until 8 pm and I am just too tired. How are other new nurses coping? How do you balance your work and social life? Cheers!

Congrats to you! I celebrated my first year on August 17th - there is a big difference between how I feel now compared to when I first started :)

We use 10 cc flushes at our hospital. I haven't had a problem yet. If you meet resistance while flushing, something might be the problem, not the volume of your flush.

I am now 9 months into my first year as an RN, and I am not sure how I feel. I know I love NURSING itself, but I think its my workplace that is bringing me down. We are chronically short staffed, none of our equipment works, and I spend most of my day on the phone with pharmacy, renal unit, etc trying to figure out why meds weren't send on time, etc. I come home from my day shifts just BEAT. I am drained mentally and physically. Our manager is unsupportive, but thankfully the staff I work with are amazing people. Even the more experienced nurses are commenting on how the floor has changed. I couldn't even find my patient a wheelchair today, for heaven's sake, and there were no dressing supplies for his wound available on our floor. Our unit is a busy med-surg floor with the highest admission/discharge rate after the ER. We don't even have appropriate unit clerk coverage. We don't even have funding for a care aide or nursing assistant to help us out. I just feel like I can't provide the quality of care I want to give. I spend most of my day doing TASKS, when I want to be forming relationships with people in addition to providing quality care. Is this a pipe dream? I think nursing can be both. Perhaps a change of environment is what I need. But its such a tough job market right now. I think I am going to stick it out to the one year mark, then try to get sponsored to take a high acuity certificate and change units. Hopefully the job situation will pick up. I am lucky I even have a job right now! Thanks for listening to my rant. I am post day shift two right now, onto nights tomorrow. I can barely think straight.

Oh man. For me, its C.Diff/GI Bleed stool, with GI bleeds being grosser. I also really hate doing mouth care. People's mouths are disgusting - food bits left in there for weeks, bleeding gums, etc. Obviously this demonstrates the need for good mouth care, but it doesn't mean I like doing it. I never let the patient see my feelings though.

I love this post. The thoughts from Aeterna especially resonated with me. Our floor has low morale, but we get through the day working as a team. Being a new grad nurse in my first year of practice, this is part of what gets me through my shift. Thank you everyone!

I think it depends on your workplace. At my workplace, if there is an outbreak of a disease such as measles or the flu, and you are not vaccinated, you cannot report for work. You are not eligible for reimbursement for money lost due to being off of work.

I think I would have been speechless after a talk like that. Holy smokes, its a code blue. These are loud events. Codes on our floor usually have 10 people attending, along with students watching from doors if its a day shift. These are not quiet events, day or night!

I have been an RN for 7 months now, and I remember when my orientation was over how nervous I was for my first set of shifts on my own! My first shift on my own was a night, and I actually think that helped a lot, as the pace was slower. I found my hands shaking at the med cart as I was preparing 2200 medications!! It was just nerves, and as the shift progressed I was fine. It's perfectly normal to be nervous :) Also remember, you are never alone. Ask for help if you need it! No one expects you to be perfect right off the bat.

I work with a physician from South Africa named Dr. Raath (pronounced "Wrath"). He did yell at me on the phone a few times...lol.

I always wash the patient, and put a clean gown on if their current one is soiled. I never place them in a bag without some form of covering. It just wouldn't seem right to me.

Don't answer your phone and don't feel guilty about it. It is not your fault there is chronic short staffing. I got phoned 5 times to work a shift on my days off just the other day. I never answer unless I am looking to pickup. It is none of the hospital's business what I do on my days off.

So it turns out the rumor mill was true: The medical unit I completed my preceptorship on this past winter has told all their RNs to find new jobs. The unit will be now staffed by LPNs and care aides only. Another friend of mine also stated similar "restructuring" is now taking place in her hospital. These cuts are taking place in the Fraser Health Authority only as far as I can tell. Apparently the goal is to cut 200 RN jobs and re-staff with LPNs. Has anyone in BC heard anything else about this or has been on a unit that has been affected?

Hi mva2, I am just finishing up at BCIT (and so excited to be graduating next spring) so I might be able to offer some insight. It is very competitive to get in, that is for sure. Some of the other students have commented that the more post-secondary credits you have, the better your chances seem to be. Many students in my class have previous degrees in a variety of fields, including myself. So having a degree from SFU will only help your application :) As for volunteer experience - perhaps you could try volunteering at some different places. I think the goal of the volunteer experiences is to gain experience working DIRECTLY with people (seeing as that is what you spend most of your time doing as a nurse!). What did you do when you volunteered at a care home? I volunteered as a physiotherapy assistant in the hospital, working on a cardiac unit teaching patients post-heart surgery exercises. It was fun and I got to meet lots of nurses and see what they do. I also volunteered as a tutor for adults with disabilities. So check out what volunteer positions various hospitals etc have to offer, and if you get the chance to work directly with people, it can only help your application AND be fun for you! Keep applying! Many talented students in my class did not get in on their first try. Good luck!

Thanks for your response Ogopogo. After continuing to ask around, apparently the fear (or reality) is RNs are being laid off and replaced with LPNs. I am not really sure how this could take place, as our scope of practice is similar, but also different. Its probably all just rumor mill fluff... Could you shed some light on the issues the LPNs are having with the HEU?

Hi Yoanna1105, I currently reside in BC and attend BCIT, but I grew up in New Brunswick and know several students (past and current) who attended nursing school at UNBF. I have heard no complaints about the program from them whatsoever. Of course the workload is very heavy, but the same is true for almost any nursing program. Every graduate stayed to nurse in New Brunswick, either in Fredericton or Saint John. Fredericton is a good city and you would probably enjoy living there. The city has another university in addition to UNBF, so there are lots of students around. The summers are hot, but the winters are cold and messy. Here is a link to Fredericton's web page, so it might give you an idea of what it is like to live there. http://www.fredericton.ca/en/index.asp As for 3 year versus 4 year programs in BC, this has been discussed in a few other threads, so check those out first and if you still have questions, post them here. One important factor to note is if you are applying to the BCIT program from New Zealand, it will be extremely tough to get in. BCIT has very limited, if any, room for international students in its program because the number of local applicants is so high. I was admitted as an out-of-province student (you are required to live in a province for 12 consecutive months, not counting months you lived there for school, in order to be considered an in province student - I lived in BC for 11 months) and that was tough enough. You can review the school's applicant priority policy here: http://www.bcit.ca/admission/priority.shtml Not sure what the story is for UBC. Good luck!

Hi Everyone, Right now the British Columbia Nurses Union (BCNU) is currently driving to have LPNs become members of the union in addition to RNs. How do other BC nurses view this move? It seems to be met with some reluctance to other staff I have spoken to. I don't know if I am informed enough to have a say either way (still a nursing student), but I do feel like LPNs are a valuable part of the nursing team and are currently getting the shaft from their union (so I hear). What would be the pros and cons of having the LPNs join the BCNU? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

H-Dog, Something else you may want to consider is the commute and possible clinical placements. Clinical placements at BCIT take place all over, including Surrey, New West, Burnaby, Richmond, North Van, and Vancouver. Its a little bit of a drag to live in Coquitlam and have to commute to LGH in North Van. But for the most part I was lucky and got clinicals that were a reasonably close commute to my place in Coquitlam (and I had to take the bus). But just be prepared for the possibility that you may have to commute for clinicals, and its not always possible to get the clinical placement closest to your house. Can any UBC students comment on where most of your clinicals take place? I had heard that they were primarily in Vancouver, but that may be incorrect information. That may factor into H-dog's decision as well. Good luck making a decision! Both schools are good, and you would get an excellent education at either school.