Bookworm22

Hi, Your post really struck a nerve. I also am a new nurse on a busy, well understaffed floor. I have 11 months experience and yesterday was one of those nights. I have had multiple nights i have come home in tears thinking why did i get into this. I always find that when i take a minute to take a breath or when i come home and reinforce to myself that I did a good job and the best I can do; I feel better. Now initially this didnt work. However, when you reinforce day after day this concept you begin to believe what your telling yourself. As nurses there is sooo much to do and sooo little time. I use to think of all the things I could do better. Now i look at what i did well..and think of 1 thing i thought i could do better that night. YES only one. Next time I go in I make sure I really work on trying to work on that skill or thing I did poorly in the night before. It has worked well for me. You have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of another so do something nice for yourself on your day off, think positively, and believe in yourself and the rest will come. As for floor nursing, I also dont see myself doing this for very long. I have started my masters degree and although some nurses have negatively responded to me going back to school because "your still young" "you dont have enough experince yet" I enjoy school. It will help me move on to something less stressful and also helps you grow as a floor nurse from working with other nurses who know what your going through and have been there. School has helped build a supportive network outside of work of people who understand what your going through. Maybe that could be an option for you. good luck...

Hello, I want to first and foremost thank you all for all the help you have provided me in the past and to others. I frequently read postings concerning current nursing issues,etc. They all prove to be very helpful. I have a BIGGGG current dilemma. I applied to 3 schools to recieve my masters degree. I have narrowed it down to two. School 1- Degree in Health Adminstration School 2- MSN in nursing adminstration. My inital thought process was to than go back for a post masters certificate in education after finishing my inital degree. The first degree is not nursing based and is more of a generic degree. In order to teach does the masters degree HAVE to be nursing based???? I can not find the answer to this anywhere. Currently, I am leaning to school #1 because scheduling is much better and I believe that maybe a more generic degree makes you more marketable than in the same breath I go back and lean toward school two. I am interested also in pharmacetuicals. ULTIMATELY, I would love to help with running maybe a nursing program possibly. My question is if I go to school 1 (not a nursing based degree)....will I ultimately be unable to to be a nursing teacher because the degree is not nursing based????????????????????? ANY help would be GREAT!!!!! Decision times comes tomorrow

Hi, I am a recent graduate with a years experience in January 2010. Upon graduating, it took a while to find a job and I'm starting to get use to how things run. It has been extremely difficult transition..as im sure most other new graduates feel as well. Upon graduating, I had always planned to go back to school after a year. I recently applied to masters programs and got accepted into 2 of 3 so far that I applied too. I applied for a masters of nursing adminstration and was going to recieve my post masters certificate thereafter in education. I want to work in a university setting in running the nursing programs etc. I planned to get my phD as well down the road. Instead of being very happy I am starting to get very nervous. I know I will have to decide which program to attend and all seem to have their positives and negatives. I find that alot of my co workers are not very supportive..saying I see things with that "new nurse attitude" thinking I can take on the world. They say I should get much more experience. Graduate school is very expensive and I am starting to worry if Ill find a job when Im done and maybe I may not be cut out for this. My initial thinking was I will be getting experience while I am getting my masters. It will most likely take me three -four years to get through these programs. I also thought this would be the best time to do things, as I am not married or have any children yet. I find myself starting to second guess going back. I don't really like floor nursing. I would rather work in a different area of nursing helping to educate future graduates and working to help better how hospitals are run to make things better for the nurses. I find alot of the reason I dislike floor nursing stems from alot of things that could be changed through better staffing, education, and support from ancillary staff. I also see alot of nurses who have worked there 10-20 years say that these same practices have gone on through the years, causing much aggravation for the nursing staff. Am I being overly ambitious? Should I wait to go back to school or follow my initial plans? Also, if you have attained your masters, did you find it rewarding and more challenging than an undergraduate degree? I have heard that attaining a masters is difficult but builds on your undergraduate knowledge and so is easier than attaining a BSN (since you have a core knowledge base already) Thanks for your help :)

Hello, I am a recent graduate from a BSN program in May of 08. After a long delay in finding a job, 6 months approximately, I finally was hired at my current facility. To say the least, it has been a very stressful and upsetting year. Not only did it take so long to find a job, but my facility isn't exactly the most receptive to teaching new graduates. I work at a facility where most attended the hospitals school of nursing. I have had nasty comments made and nurses who are unwilling to spend 2 minutes helping you. I have had many a days since beginning work in April that i have come home completely discouraged an havent wanted to even go back. I dont understand how some nurses can act like this to someone who they know is new. I feel like saying half the time...dont u remember when you were in my shoes????????? However, even know I have alot of things said to me and alot not gone my way..I just grin and bear it. Also, I have found prayer and a closer relationship with my family and boyfriend beneficial. At this point, moving to another facility isn't an option since I have less than a year of experience. Since my experience has not been the greatest as a floor nurse, I am looking into other avenues. At my facility, nurses do EVERYTHING. We are so short staffed. No aids, secetaries, respiratory therapists etc. We pretty much do everything and i dont spend nearly as much time as I would like with patients and have the time to do all the paperwork required.:banghead:I am deciding between an MSN in nursing adminstration and nursing education. I was set on being a teacher for a long time. I had so many awful nursing professors that didnt care about how you were doing or if you needed help and that was a huge reason why I was drawn in this direction. However, jobs are hard to come by and now many facilities want an MSN and PhD..which is expensive and very time consuming. I may want to go on to get my phD, but I want to be able to find a job upon my degree completion and MSN in adminstration I have read is a more marketable degree. Therefore, I have started to become interesed in MSN in health adminstration. However, I am unsure if I would want to be a nurse manager. I was wondering what other types of areas could you get into with a degree in health adminstration? Also, I was wondering if when attaining a degree it would be a good idea to do a fully online school or a more on campus based program? Do employers rather an on campus program, especially for an MSN in education? For an MSN program, due to financial reasons, I would like to be done in 2 years. I have been researching programs and I find RN-MSN and accelerated BSN etc. Are there part time accelerated MSN programs for BSN degree students? I haven't been able to find anything in PA or NJ. If you are able to offer any advice at all I would appreciate it. I havent been able to find anyone that knows too much on this subject. I would appreciate any insight from any experience you may have. thank you! Also..if you are aware or graduate scholarships available if you could pass this information along I would appreciate it. I am unable to find any scholarships that are merit based with criteria that I fit.

Hi, I am a new grad and have my BSN. I have 2 weeks left of orientation for night shift. I have been on orientation for 5 weeks so far. I have a few questions actually. I find myself with such severe anxiety. I feel like im not getting things fast enough. I should be able to do everything myself at this point. My preceptor reassures me I am where i should be. I also find myself asking alot of questions..unfortunately sometimes more than once. I just want to make sure i am doing things correctly. I am so fearful of being on my own. I am told there is not much support on night shift from other nurses. I heard codes and medication errors happen and it makes me very upset. I am so nervouse to be pulled to different floors etc. The paperwork frustrates me the most. I know i should do my best to think positively..but I am having a hard time doing that. I will work night shift soon alone and I was wondering if you have ever worked the night shift how is it? Is it normal to be so worried/upset at this point? How do you best deal with anxiety? When did you notice you felt better about things?

Than u sooooo much for this post!!!!!!! Ironically, its my 1st week on the floor of a med/surg unit as well. I came home today almost in tears. I feel sooooo dumb. The hospital i work at has mostly nurses who went to nursing school. They have been in the hospital so much more and seem like they know so much. I went for my BSN..i honestly feel dumb and useless. I always feel like the nurses around me are thinking that as well. I just wish i knew when it would start getting easier...6 weeks just doesnt seem enough. Thank u for this though..it did really help.

Im definately taking that advice..i asked tons of questions today. Its slightly intimadating when everyone else your orientating with has experience and your the only one who doesnt. Thanks for the advice..anymore you can offer me about good teaching websites etc that teach you to do basic skills like start ivs etc would also be good. It would be helpful to maybe educate myself on all of these skills so Im a little bit ahead of the game.

I just began orientating on a med surg floor. I am orientating with 7 other nurses from all different units(all with experience). I think I'm feeling overwhelemed partly b/c i feel way behind in my skill set and my knowledge in comparision to other ppl. I feel like there is so much to learn! Orientation is between 4-6 weeks but we can request more time. Pt ratio is 5:1. I will be working the night shift. Is that enough time for orientating? When do you begin to feel comfortable? Any advice on how to get the most out of this experience. I want to be good at my job and I just would like any advice about your experiences. Thanks!

Thanks for the idea...maybe ill look into that. Goodluck by the way..hopefully we will both get lucky finding something soon!

Tell me about it...its really upsetting. Your told there is a shortage and than no jobs are available.

I live in the phila. area. I am not looking to relocate. I don't have any experience as a CNA etc. I tried to apply for a nursing assistant job and other areas..but most places won't hire me b/c I am lookingmto have the job only short term and b/c im "over qualified"..b/c i do have my nursing license. Thanks for all the ideas so far, they are really helpful!

I'm a new grad and still have not found a job. Ive applied to about 6-8 hospitals. I havent gotten any interviews or anything yet . Most hospitals are saying to wait till the new year. I was thinking of doing something in the meantime..but Im not sure what would be good to go into? If you have any ideas ...your insight is greatly appreciated.

:yeah:Hi, I have a big question and I figured here would be the best place to ask. So, I graduated from a 4 year nursing program and recieved my BSN. I was always a big dork about studying in school..lol. I just found alot of pride in doing well and thought if I didn't try to get good grades in nursing and just tried to get by it would hurt me in the long run. Along the way, I recieved lots of awards and honors for doing well in school, which I am proud of. Along with studying, I thought that I was missing out on my social life a little so I joined a sorority. However, I still found myself missing things in order to stay in to study. I kept telling myself this will pay offf!! During my last semster, my last class was giving me alot of trouble. Now along the way, my school has many professors I found that really don't care about you. They spend 3 hours or whatever time "teaching" you (aka reading powerpoints outload:yawn: for hours) and expect you to apply and critically think subjects. They are rarely available for outside help and if your doing poorly will tell you you're not studying enough. Its always you you you. Well, I ended up failing by 3 tenths of a point a class of a teacher like this on a huge power trip. There were accusations a student stole the final exam and she "revamped" it and ended up having to take out 1/3 of the exam questions b/c the class did so poorly. This was a big blow for a student who worked so hard all the time and would literally email this teacher constantly to get no help. I literally sobbed for 3 days straight. Knowing I would have to retake the class again I searched for weeks to find a GN job, with no luck. It was very upsetting. I feel like my great 3.53 cum, Deans List for 4 years etc etc was for nothing. I tried to not let it upset me. I ended up taking the class and eventually I finished, but decided I would not go to graduation. It would just be too upsetting. A decision that hurt alot of people, including myself I think. I had always pictured doing that. I passed my boards in 75 questions after 6 weeks of intense studying, 300 questions 5 days a week. I just threw myself into it. I kept hearing "you can't answer questions", "you won't get through NCLEX", "just because you get good grades doesn't mean you'll pass NCLEX"...thats all i heard for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!!! But I did do it!!!!:loveya: This is the question...I started looking for jobs again. Once again, same problem as when I tried applying for GN position. No one calls you back. I feel like everything I did, all those weekends I spent inside studying were worthless. I think my resume is great I have tons of clinical experiences, honors, awards, volunteer jobs, and NOW a LICENSE. Y do i want to be in a profession with other nurses, like my teachers, that just didnt care? I worked so hard and even with a license it doesnt seem like it matters. It bothers me even more b/c other ppl in college I knew just drink and never did much except try to get by and they all have jobs and didnt go through half the stresses and hardaches I did. I know you shouldnt care what others are doing..but it just doesnt seem worth it anymore. I know everyone says you get paid so great and its great you only work 3 days a week..but honestly I'm beginning to regret this decision of nursing.