framps

No doubt about it... ICU. ED just won't prepare you for those 6 drip, ABG interpreting, MODS, SIRS, ARDS nightmare transfers. As an ICU nurse, your expertise begins at the edge of your medic partner's comfort zone. Lastly, do not be in a big hurry to run out and be an NP. If you want to fly you don't need it. Does nothing for you in the air. You want to someday be the chief flight nurse administrator person - go for it. Further, I personally would discourage any newbie nurse from jumping right in to a NP program. Don't underestimate the importance of experience and how do you even know you want the NP if you haven't worked next to one. My 2 cents, do what you want and be psyched about it.

My first question is why on earth would you place an A-line simply for blood draws? You can't give meds through it and if you're not interested in obtaining blood gasses then it simply is the wrong choice. As far as what to do with it... I would widen the parameters assuming it had some sort of waveform. This way you solve the alarm issue, unless it becomes disconnected, in which case it should alarm. I would not have just pulled it without consulting with a midlevel. The line could be improved upon by using a longer cath placed over a wire.

20-40 year olds are definitely much more likely to complain after open heart surgery. I have noticed this time and again, although we're doing fewer and fewer younger folks. I was taught, and believe to be true, that younger folks have more bone mass and more nerve endings and thus feel more pain. They are also scared, terrified, in fact. The 40 year old who undergoes open heart has often never had major surgery before, maybe never been hospitalized before. Now they are completely without any form of control in their life, in pain, terrified, and rely on us to meet their needs. Most 80 year olds have been through some sort of major surgery, have more life experience, will have less pain, and will be fuzzy from anesthesia and pump head. That's my theory anyway. If you've ever seen someone you knew from outside the hospital become one of these younger scared patients... you realize that these people are not themselves. Some are as much psych patients as they are cardiac during the immediate post-operative period. Very challenging indeed.

What a depressing thread. On one hand you have these poor souls who suffer from chronic pain. They truly suffer, so we help them... we give them medicine, opioids, to take away their pain. And it works, and they are so grateful. But the pain comes back, and so they come back, so we can make it better again. Before long, they're addicted. And now, to make matters worse - we don't believe their pain even exists. They are drug seekers. Addicts. Frequent flyers. Where we once listened empathetically, now we roll our eyes with contempt. It's just sad. I don't pretend to have all the answers. Certainly there are many people who are purely drug seekers visiting the ERs across the country in search of a fix. Thank goodness it's not my job to decide, I just couldn't do it. I've read research articles about the lived experience of those who experience chronic pain and the most important thing to them is feeling that others believed their pain. And so, I do... every time. The nifty part is I don't lose sleep over it, it's what I was trained to do. In a perfect world, we would not continue to treat people with chronic pain in an acute fashion, but that's for another thread.

I recently started my nursing career in the CTICU. I have a strong background...BSN, previous BS in exercise physiology, EMT. I've found the experience extremely challenging, but in a positive way. There's no way I could've done "time" as a floor nurse because I have no interest in being a floor nurse. One key ingredient to your success will be the training and education provided by hospital. The longer and more in depth the better. I was put through a critical care program, 16 hours a week for 8 weeks, in addition to basic disrhythmias, advanced disrhythmias, ACLS. The same holds true for preceptorship. Don't hesitate to ask for more time if you need it. Best of luck!

Samuel Merritt does offer a post masters certificate program... from their website: A Post-Masters Certificate For those students who have already completed a masters degree in nursing, we offer a post-masters certificate program. The curriculum is the same as that taken by other students with the exception that 12 hours in core nursing classes and thesis/research need not be taken (given verification of transferable /comparable units from another institution). Each student's transcript is evaluated individually to determine if they are qualified for this option. This option has been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs. I'm thinking its more like 18 months long since you transfer in 12 hours of the 53 you have to take.

Of course, no student, male, female, nursing, or medical, should be "imposed" upon a patient. Patients have rights and they have the right to refuse the care of any student. That said, the co-assigned nurse should include me in the room, introduce me as a student and explain that I will be helping her (or him) provide care. I don't have a problem with asking permission, but it had better be equal treatment for both male and female students. Male patients are not given the option of refusing care by females. Many of them feel quite uncomfortable with bed baths, discussing their bowel or sexual function, etc., with female nurses. Medical students who are male are not introduced as "male" medical students. OB docs who are male do not explore the patients feelings about a male providing care before doing a gynecological exam. A small percentage of women have been sexually assaulted or for some other reason have strong feelings about not having a male nurse. Of course, objections should be respected. Many women will hesitate. The vast majority of women who may hesitate will find that men are very capable of providing quality, empathetic care to a degree that many of their female counterparts are not capable of. I have experienced this first hand. I have been told that "This woman will not want you to look down there, it's her culture, men are not typically present during birth." Well, the father wasn't present during birth. He was out drinking and hadn't even called. She was very grateful for my presence. I coached her, comforted her, applied counterpressure, and yes - even looked "down there". She told all the nurses how wonderful I had been and what a great nurse I was. She had no problem with me checking her flow and her tear during my assessments. Of course, had she been encouraged to refuse my care, she would have. The "male thing" is a big problem in nursing. The problem is that there is a dire need of more males in the field. The problem you refer to is the exception, not the rule.

I never imagined there would be so much writing. I pump out 20 pages a week and it just keeps coming. Also, the testing format is just plain odd. All of our tests are given NCLEX style. I find that it doesn't seem to matter if I study or not. The q's are old NCLEX questions so they don't necessarily correlate with the lecture notes or the texts. I only feel outnumbered when we work in small groups. The divide the men equally among the groups so usually I'm the only male in the group. Female group dynamics are quite different from the all male group dynamics I have experienced most of my life. My advice is to embrace your fellow students, male or female. Make every effort to understand and overcome differences.

That never happened to me. I did have one patient who refused my care, but that's a different topic altogether. I was treated differently, but never excluded. I would have a sit down with your instructor with your concerns. If the instructor refuses to recognize your concerns, take it up with the dean.

Clearly, nursing classes won't be difficult for you. Your background is quite remarkable. I admire your work ethic and I understand your desire for variety in careers and educational opportunities. In my experience, the nursing millieu necessitates a team approach. Your ability to thrive in a diverse (and often not so professional as you might like) environment will have a distinct impact on your enjoyment of your experience. Nursing is largely female as you know, but also keep in mind that many of your fellow students will be young college students. As such, they are largely interested in who's dating who and other gossip. You may not care, and you don't have to. I can't tell you the number of times I have massaged my forehead at the lunch table listening to who's dating who and who is cute, etc. We always ate as a group during clinical. It was not an option. My attempts to discuss disease states and the political happenings in the world were usually cut short by "Oh my god, did you see what so and so is wearing?" I have no doubt that you can succeed in ANY program, but can you be happy doing it?

During my first clinical experience in an RN program, we essentially did the work of CNAs. My impression: God bless the CNAs, they truly work hard for their money. I would hit burn out in 6 months tops. As for personal care from a male perspective, you'll get over your fears in a short time. The folks you provide care for are used to receiving it from males and females. I can assure you that they generally have none of the worries that you have. A funny story... I don't think this is in the CNA scope of practice, but the first time I inserted a urinary catheter in a female long term care patient, I was literally dripping sweat. I was so nervous and she was so... not. It took me forever, but I finally did it. I was apologizing profusely for my bumblings and I looked up at her and realized she was sound asleep!! I'd recommend looking into other entry level positions if you think CNA might not be for you. A couple of suggestions... PCT - patient care tech- EMT - emergency medical tech- They both can be attained with a minimum amount of education and the burn out rate isn't nearly as high. Also, IMO these positions offer more medically oriented experiences. -CNAs, if you disagree w/this, please enlighten me. Good Luck! Framps

Straight, gay, bisexual, whatever. In my experience, the sexual orientation of male faculty matters little. I only had one male instructor and he is gay. Great instructor and I never felt like he preferred female students. I found his teaching style much more directed toward my learning needs, as a male, probably because he is one! Diversity is a good thing. Also, if you were to hire 5 male nursing faculty, I find it hard to believe you'd get 5 gay males as the top candidates.

The instructors I have had have been almost entirely female. They have been INCREDIBLE. These women know their stuff and they know how to teach. They have taught me so much about nursing and about myself. In the few instances where I faced discrimination or unequal treatment, I never felt that it was intended to be so. That is the value of having a male forum which women are welcome to participate in. BTW, can we get a nurse smilie with a little more masculinity?

I will finish an accelerated program in May. We have a handful of folks (out of 56) drop out, mostly due to not passing a clinical session. They have the option of continuing on a part-time basis and then repeating/continuing with clinical over a second year. Generally, there are prerequisites which must be completed prior to registering for classes (anatomy, physiology, psych, child psych, growth and development, nutrition). No prior medical experience is required, though it CERTAINLY is a plus. They year has been the toughest I have ever faced. I have committed 12+ hours/day, 6-7 days/week. Seems like a long road to travel if you have no desire to continue in the field of nursing. Of course, only you can decide what is best for you. If continuing ed is your thing, then be sure to hook up with a teaching hospital with good educational benefits. Continue schooling for free while you work. One of the best aspects of nursing are the endless varieties of career avenues. In the beginning however, expect to put your time in, giving bed baths and wiping buts. I would strongly recommend shadowing a nurse or two and getting a true picture of nursing entails. Best of luck, Framps

As a Father-to-be, I was very excited about my OB rotation. I found that the patients were generally very accepting. I did have one patient say that she would prefer to have a female nurse, but that didn't bother me at all. The behavior of the nurses I shadowed did bother me a bit. I was typically asked to wait outside the room, while the nurse would enter and ask "I have a male nursing student with me today, is it okay if he comes in?" Not exactly a welcoming experience. Also, there were no male nurses on the entire floor of the hospital. No male staff restroom or locker room. I was able to witness two c-sections and one all natural lady partsl delivery - awesome. It was all I could do to choke back the tears. During one of the cesareans, I was able to lend a helping hand. The woman was obese and had to hold herself in a very odd position (impossible for her to do) in order to place the epidural. The CRNA and anesthesiologist made repeated failed attempts and asked me to hug the patient's knees to her shoulders. The patient was very anxious and so I hugged her and encouraged her, the whole time watching needle after needle come out bent after hitting her vertebrae. Eventually, they succeeded. Everyone thanked me profusely for my assistance. Afterwards, the nurse asked me if I had ever considered a career in L&D. She said, "We could sure use someone like you here. We have a lot of heavy patients to lift." Overall, the experience was extremely positive and I am very thankful for all of it. My wife had concieved twins, and during my OB rotation we lost one of the babies. I had the opportunity to hold newborn twins and the experience helped me grieve for the loss of one of my unborn children. It was an emotional time for me and without this experience I doubt that I would have fully realized the significance of it all. Framps