Hands&Feet

I was offered and accepted a position on the neuroscience floor. It is at a teaching hospital and is a certified stroke center. I have never set foot through the door, so I don't know what to expect. It's not anything that I planned on or imagined...

I saw a classified ad just a few weeks ago for a "Veterinary Nurse." Qualifications - HS diploma or GED.

Send him to the neuro floor with 1:1 orders - meaning that a nurse will be pulled off the floor to babysit, (because of course night shift doesn't need an aide) and split her other 6 patients with the remaining 4 nurses. Happens to us all too often!...

We were taught IVs on a plastic dummy arm/hand, or a "virtual" computerized program (which did not help in the least). We were not allowed to actually place IVs due to hospital policy where we did clinicals, but we could d/c them. During hospital o...

Yep, sounds like our neuro floor too. Our hospital does have an inpatient psych unit - but they won't take anyone who isn't "medically stable." (and apparently even MRSA means they're unstable.)

We had to pay for our own, if we wanted one.

. . . bachelor's in anything or BSN?

Just a little update - I'm on orientation, and things seem to be going well. The staff seems supportive and always willing to help & answer my questions. There seems to be quite a bit of psych cases, but I think I'll also have a decent exposure...

That was the main influence! I had a desire to help people on a more personal, hands-on level and was trying to decide if I should quit my secure, stable government job (in the midst of the recession). It just came down to "I'll go where You send me...

Thanks for the info - I'll definitely check into those! I don't start until June 1st, but I'll try to keep you all updated. Thanks for the encouragement, too!

Ugh - why is this all I hear about Neuro?! Does everyone really hate their job and is it so much more physically demanding than other nursing jobs? I'm really not looking forward to this as my first nursing job!

Thanks for the reply & information. I think that I'm just nervous/depressed because I have no idea what to expect. I've never set foot on the floor, and this wasn't an area I had ever even thought of going into. My only experience in school wi...

Oh, sounds just lovely! Maybe I should apply to nursing homes, at least I'd get paid better.

Sorry about that! I noticed after I posted that it was an associate program, but I was too lazy to edit. I'm not sure why I had it in my head that it was a diploma program. BTW, I've heard nothing but great things about it - Congrats on being a p...

Yeah, I had to take one for a position I applied to. It seemed to be a personality type questionaire. At least it did tell me rather quickly (within a day or two) that I passed and that my application was being considered.

St. Mary's Medical Center in Huntington has a diploma program. http://www.st-marys.org/careers_edu_son.php Ashland, Ky is pretty close and has an ADN program. http://www.ashland.kctcs.edu/Academics/Programs_of_Study/Nursing.aspx A little farther out...

"Will you care for a drug addict, a murderer, someone who drinks to excess, someone who lies, cheats or steals? I feel if you start saying that you WILL not care for one area of the patient population you had better be equal across all populations. W...

May 15th!!! Counting down the weeks!

I got my rejection letter today, too. I'm also a second-degree student, but in an ADN program. It's actually pretty cheap compared to yours - about $3500/year, and I'm in my last year. So I don't know what criteria they use. Maybe it actually is ...

It would be a bit farther to drive, but Kanawha Valley CTC (formerly WV State CTC) in Institute, has a good program. (I'm biased though since I'm a current student!) They admit based on a point system for things like NET scores, GPA, # college credit...

Yeah, really! I couldn't afford to feed my kids formula even if I wanted to. I do take issue with "Breast-feeding exclusively is not like taking a prenatal vitamin. It is a serious time commitment that pretty much guarantees that you will not work i...

I'm just a student, but I try to say thanks to everyone for anything they do to help me. There's so much to learn from everyone! But beyond that, it's just common courtesy. You thank the stranger that holds a door open for you, the cashier at the ...

My first job out of college (the first time around) was about an hour and a half drive one way, 212 miles round trip, mostly interstate. I hated the place and only started out at $7/hr. I was quite miserable. BUT, if this is your dream job and y...

IMO, you have to look out for yourself and that precious baby. Do what you think is best, regardless of their opinions and any inconvenience it may cause. And on the bright side, at least you will have Christmas '10 off with the little one!

We were told that we are not allowed to start IVs as students due to the risk of liability. They said that once we were hired, the agency would train us on the procedure. Not sure about blood draws, though.