oinch97

Wow, I wish we could use Posey beds where I work now. Our facility only uses them in psych areas

Were you called by the ARC to assist with the disaster? I understand due to your previous work as a firefighter, you felt the need to help out, and I do commend you for your willingness to help, but I have to agree with the other posters here. Not knowing the attendance policy of your facility, or your personal attendance history, I couldn't really make a judgement whether you should have actually been written up or not. I am sure you are not being disciplined FOR helping with the disaster, but for laying aside one responsibility (your job) for another (your skills and personal desire to help in a time of need).

Cindy, the website is http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/

I use the organizing utility tote from Thirty-One. It's got pockets all around the outside, and the pockets on each end have elastic and can hold a water or drink bottle. It was only about $25 and comes in lots of cute patterns. They have embroidery too but it costs a little extra.

Depends mostly on how quickly you get your paperwork turned in, and how quickly the school will send your transcripts to the BON. Our school took about a month, but I guess it can vary.

Really? I remember our instructors telling us that the pillow case thing came from an old superstition/old wives tale, something about evil spirits getting in, etc.... But back to original topic, I don't get the chance to do it that often on nights, but when I was a tech, we always made our beds the "old school" way. :)

I have flat feet and chronic back/leg pain. On someone's recommendation I bought a pair of Alegria shoes and omg I could not believe the difference they made! Kinda clunky looking but they have made a world of difference for me!

I was a phlebotomist for 5 years before nursing school, and never missed an IV in clinicals (even on a patient some of the staff nurses were afraid to stick :)) But for a while after I came out of orientation I became skittish, mostly either because I had a renal patient with a crappy selection of veins to begin with, or just because my group of patients was omgsofreakinbusy enough without having to go start an IV. But, we have some excellent charge nurses who broke me from that soon enough, and as I became more comfortable with my patient loads, prioritizing, etc., I began making myself at least give them a shot. Now, I even offer to try some of the other hard IV sticks on the floor and have become somewhat of a "go-to" person myself lol. Unfortunately I do also know some of the nurses take advantage of someone who is willing to help, and it sucks, but it is a reality.

I too would tend to agree that you should give it some time. I started as a "nurse intern" on a floor working days, then due to some staffing needs, was moved to nights. At first I thought I would never adjust, and my family truly worried about me because of some past mental health issues I'd had. But, I had no choice...I had bills to pay, needed health insurance, etc. I eventually adjusted, and now even as an RN I prefer to work nights, to the extent that even if I work a day shift, I get physically sick lol. I would follow all the great tips posted above. I myself have a "sound machine" and if I need a little time to wind down before going to sleep, I watch tv for a bit. I have "black-out" curtains in my bedroom (JC Penney has some on clearance on their outlet web site, by the way), and the sound machine is pretty good at drowning out all the little noises that come from having very close neighbors who seem to be very adamant about their yard work, even in winter. If, after a few more months, you just cannot bear to work night shift, talk to your manager again. Sometimes it's just one more thing on that list of things we don't love, but we have to do.

Just an FYI you can test for nearly anything, drugs or otherwise in the right lab... Our hospital has begun testing for nicotine also, due to the fact that employees sign statements saying they are non-smokers for the lower insurance premiums.

The way it works in the facility where I am working is that they WILL take what they can from your last paycheck, but leave you with minimum wage pay for what hours you have worked on that pay period. HTH

I worked for JCMC as a "Nurse Intern" before graduating, and my aunt has worked as an RN there for years. What unit are you going to? It's a nice little area there, and the hospital is pretty nice. Have you visited yet? What questions do you have?

We practiced on each other, but were each assigned a body part (arms, legs, or face), wore tshirts and shorts and no one seemed to have a problem with it.

I think there was a bit of ignorance there, but the main issue was with people hanging out around the area, wearing scrubs, then when you called out or asked for something, the person would turn out to be from housekeeping or transport or some other department that would have no clue what you're talking about, they just want to see the code. For the life of me I have never understood why people always want to come and watch. I don't see it as much in the facility where I am now, except for residents :)

We wore ALL white with a patch on the sleeve.