SP1CEGRL

I just hit my 3 year mark as a med-surg/step down nurse but am trying really hard to get into NICU. I have been wanting to work NICU for quite some time now but have been applying for many NICUs around me all without success. Before this I was an LPN in a nursing home for 4 years, so all of my work experience is with adults. I had a hard time getting a hospital job as an RN as a new grad so was delighted when I finally got a position! I love all of my co-workers and I have a phenomenal manager and I know it will be sad for me to leave, but at the same time, I have never been so over med-surg and desperately need a change. I work in a very small hospital with a very small NICU so I don't believe trying to start there would be an option - I live around many large NICU's so have been trying desperately to get into them to get the best training. I've even been applying to NICUs in the city which would be about a 1.5 hour train ride and 20 minute car ride back and forth to train station each day. Besides NRP certification which has proved to be a huge challenge to try to find a private course, does anyone have any recommendations of how I could look like a more qualified candidate? I have my Bachelors but would really like to get started on my NP but have been delaying this because I would prefer to become a NNP and I can't start applying for programs without a year of NICU experience. I do have adult ACLS & several years of experience as a nanny along with per diem experience as a nursing supervisor of a 240 bed nursing home. Everything is so irrelevant to NICU I have received a nurse excellence award at my job this year and a good catch award for 2017 but are these tacky to list on a resume?? Any suggestions would be very welcomed and appreciated!

Ha! Just yesterday stepped in a patients very soft yellow colored poo that got flung on the floor without my realizing as I was changing a patient and his fecal management system came out, and poo went all over the linens and as I put tossed them in the soiled something must have hit the floor. I stepped in it and tracked it all over the room before I realized. Bleached the crap out of them afterwards but will be retiring those shoes now. It was all in the crevices of them. Also yesterday (fairly eventful day) peg tube clogged as I was giving Prostat and you guessed it- splashed all over my face, neck and hair. Somehow didn't get on the patient at all. Working in respiratory step down I feel like there's nothing that hasn't happened to me. I've stepped in urine before (maybe I'm just a klutz) and also been splashed with sputum from a trach. Oh yeah and in my nursing home days I had to give the patients out their meds and ensure so we would pass them out together (40 patient med pass). I'll never forget this sweet seeming little demented lady who would always grit her teeth and smile. Took her pills, swigged down a large amount of strawberry ensure an then made a strange face and proceeded to vomit strawberry milky chunky puke all over me, good times

So I was an LPN for 5 years who became an RN two years ago. I worked as an RN at the nursing home I worked at as an LPN for several months before I got a position at a local hospital on a med-surg/respiratory floor. We also have respiratory step-down patients. I also kept the nursing home per diem and I supervise there as well. Now I want to get into my next venture - I really want to eventually become either a nurse on a cruise ship or a flight nurse. I originally wanted to go into the Air Force but I found out after a lot of stress and a lengthy application period that they would not be accepting me at this time. I was pretty upset for awhile but am trying to look at it as a positive thing that there is so much more out there for me- which is why I am really looking at cruise and flight nursing. Both jobs require at least 3 years of ER or ICU experience. I really want to go into the ER over ICU, but I am so nervous. I feel like I am not as confident in my skills as I could be - I also feel so comfortable on my floor. I absolutely love the people I work with and I could walk to my job, however the ER position I'm looking to take offers a $7500 sign on bonus and is about a 30 minute drive away. It's owned by the same company as my hospital but I believe the way it works is I go in as a brand new employee. I also may have to go from days to nights. I'm not sure how I will adjust to this, but I know it is a better opportunity because the hospital I work at has a very small ER and the one I am trying to go to is a trauma center. I would really appreciate suggestions from ER nurses out there about how to improve my skills, what to brush up on. Should I go for it? Should I wait another year? I know some people recommend having one year med-surg experience while some people say two. I do feel like there is much more to learn but I already feel bored working med-surg at times. I guess it's never easy to leave a job your comfortable in, but I really feel that I need to expand my knowledge and I feel the more comfortable I get at my job, the harder it will be to leave later on.

I have always wanted to be an Air Force Nurse for many reasons. One of them being traveling and seeing what nursing was like all over the world. However this has always been one of my goals in the future. I got my LPN, RN and now I finally finished my Bachelor's a few weeks ago. My Bachelor's degree was the only thing my recruiter was waiting on to submit my final application. I already have a year of med/surg experience so I am applying as a fully qualified Air Force Nurse. I do understand that I could be placed anywhere the Air Force needs me, but I still am excited to fill out my "dream list" as they call it. I originally wanted to fill out my base preferences with my first choices being overseas: Italy, London, Germany, etc. but now that this is all so close to me I'm starting to really freak out. Can I handle this? I am a single 26 year old girl who will be doing this solo and I know I will have to find my own housing overseas since I am a commissioned officer and I will not have a family living with me. This scares me along with thinking about transportation - having no idea what these places are like and how I will be able to get over there, get a drivers license all over again, purchase a car, etc. I'm starting to feel so overwhelmed and almost to the point of debating backing out- but this is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do. I want to become a flight nurse. I hope some nurses out there have been through this and can calm my nerves a bit but still be honest with me.

took my boards this morning at 8:00 and have been getting the "good pop-up" since I walked out of the testing center. Went all the way to 260-something questions - I really hope this trick is right because I do not care to sit through that test again!!!! The trick worked for me several years ago when I took my LPN boards and I passed.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it and it helped me a lot

Hello everyone!! Struggling nursing student here, hoping someone can provide me with some input. I am working on a case study where I have to create a detailed discharge plan for my patient who was admitted with ETOH/Benzo withdrawal. He was admitted on 4/10 and they already had him cleared for discharge on 4/12. They had said something about him being on the CIWA protocol which I have been looking up and it's getting me very confused. He had an order for Librium 50mg which was Q6H PRN. The CIWA protocol seems to follow an around-the-clock schedule with tapering and I'm confused as why someone might only have a PRN order instead. Also, if he was cleared for discharge on the second day already, would he be given a prescription for Librium to take home? And if he was receiving it PRN in the hospital, is that how they would go about sending him home with it or would they taper him off of it? I greatly appreciate any help anyone can provide me with! Thank you for taking your time to read.

as a brand new grad, I got only 3 days and it was either take it or leave it! It was so overwhelming at first but I managed to get through it

WOW......just came back to this thread and about a year and a half after posting it.....i can see what a long way i have come. i was right.....that first shift was awful. i only did about 4 or 5 patient's meds before i completely lost it and was crying at the med cart. one of the CNAs was nasty to me as well. luckily, my supervisor ended up coming down and helping me pass a lot of my meds. other nurses from different floors came down and took care of my charting, and did treatments for me. i cannot express how much this helped me when i was brand new and just wanted to walk out of the door and leave nursing forever. now, i'm that nurse who always goes down to check on the newbies and offer my help and advice whenever i can. just hang in there it will be okay. as a newbie always try to get there as early as you can, have the nurse from the shift before you give you whatever information she can to help you! print out a list of all the patients, highlight your diabetics, go through and have her tell you who takes pills crushed/whole/in pudding/in applesauce/with juice/thick liquids. these things seem silly but will really save you so much time and save you from having a patient who is now choking on a pill or has aspirated thin liquids and now needs suctioning. hang in there, it will get better! it took months to finally feel comfortable and there are floors that i still don't feel as comfortable on, and always worry about charting last. i would stay behind for months doing my charting, sometimes for an hour or so after- just to make sure everything was done and anyone who told me it would get better, i really didn't believe them but i have to say everyone was right.

I work at a LTC facility and our CNAs are not allowed to take our vitals.... they only do temps but I've watched CNAs sit right in front of me and make up every single temp after I asked them to go get them...... now I carry around the thermometer and just do them myself to make sure that they get done. I had a similar situation when my DON was on the floor I recall her looking at the temp sheet at the evening staff just came on and the temps had all just been "Done" and the DON asked the CNA how Resident X had a temp of 97.5 when he'd been out of the facility since 10am and wouldn't be back until late tonight. I think it is awful to make up vital signs and it's no excuse but I think a lot of it has to do with staffing issues and everyone is just overwhelmed in their jobs and things just get skipped but I would make it clear to my CNAs that vitals are not something that can be skipped esp with patients in the ICU

this policy doesn't seem like it will last too long.......i wouldn't worry about it too much.

if you have any more days of training, ask whoever is training you to let you pass meds on a few people, you will be awfully slow at first, but it is important to try to get some hands-on experience before you are all out there by yourself.

as a BRAND new LPN at a long term care facility, I was given only three days of training and like you, I shadowed 3 different nurses, and each was on a different shift before I was thrown out to the wolves. I actually had to fight for my third day of training because after the second day they told me that staffing issues would not allow me to get my third day, but I did get it when I convinced them I wasn't ready. While I do agree the more training you get the better, you will never completely feel like you are ready to go out on your own and it will be very difficult at first. Hopefully your coworkers will be supportive as well as your supervisor and hang in there and you will get used to it!

I had a really hard time finding shoes when I first got into nursing! I bought three different pairs at the uniform store, and I got rid of them all because they would all hurt my feet after a day of work. I ended up buying a pair of Nike Air Max's at Foot Locker. They were just plain and white and they have been a true blessing! I bought two of the same pairs because I've had such luck with them. I hope you find a great pair of shoes! Nursing sure does a number on your feet.

I also received an acceptance letter for the Grant LPN - RN Transition program starting Fall 2012. I sent in my deposit today. I don't even remember which prerequisites were the ones that count towards your GPA but my grades were: Psych - A Comm - A Sociology - A English - A A+P I - A A+P II - B+ Micro - C+

wow i would have killed for two weeks orientation! i started at a nursing home as well with my LPN and was given 3 days orientation, each was a different shift on a different unit. Then set loose to do a full med pass on 40 patients with 15 diabetics who were each to get 2 sets of accuchecks and standing insulins it was a freaking mess. Since they started me on fourth of July, a holiday, I had no charge nurse at the desk and I was stuck at the med cart in tears because I didn't know one patient from another and which keys opened doors and carts it was such a mess. My supervisor ended up doing almost my whole med pass. But I stuck it out, and five months later I've been doing much later but I still get overwhelmed all of the time. It is such a shame nursing homes don't offer better training. I have seen several nurses come and go because they were scared for their licenses.

Well I am an LPN, but I only got 3 days of orientation at my LTC facility. I believe this is true for the RNs there as well.

everyones advice is greatly appreciated! i'm feeling slightly more confident. tomorrow will be my second day on my own, but it should be a little bit better because now I know what to expect and there will also be a charge nurse with me on the unit :) the pictures and how they take meds on the MAR sounds sooo helpful. one of my main problems is not knowing who is who, and if or not they can take their meds whole or need them crushed and put in applesauce or pudding or with juice or water or whatever. i've seen a few pictures of residents on our MARS. But these pictures were SO outdates they threw me off even more, because then I was doing a double take because the resident looks NOTHING like they did in their picture from 10-15+ years ago. i am going to try my best to organize myself for tomorrow and get through my med pass (no matter how long it take me) without freaking out or wanting to break down. i can't explain it but when i'm in the situation it just feels SO overwhelming, when there are a million things that need to be done and it's all you. i can't thank you all enough for your advice, you can believe that i have went through every single post and have written down everyone's ideas and i'm going to incorporate as much as i can to get me through this weekend!

what do you mean by prepping your meds? Do you mean you pour them ahead of time? Someone reccommended that I go through the MARs each day before my shift and in my cart, move up the medication packs that I would be using during that shift, that way I could just pop them in order when it came time, and not have to worry about looking through meds I didn't need to give. I think this sounds like a great idea, but I'm worried it would take up too much time

So I only started my first LPN job at a nursing home last week. I had three days of orientation and then they threw me on the floor by myself, even though I am a new grad -- "sink or swim" I sank. Bad. I made sure to arrive super early for my shift, but that didn't seem to help me one bit. After the night shift nurse left, I went through the MAR looking for my diabetics so I would know who to do finger sticks on. IT TOOK SO LONG. The breakfast trays were being handed out to the patients before I had a chance to do my accuchecks, or even find out who my accucheck patients were! It was BEYOND frustrating! I tried flagging my book according to the med schedules but I hadn't developed a technique yet so I ended up just confusing myself even more. I started my med pass after I finally finished all of my insulins, but it took me forever. Patients were refusing meds from me because I was new, and I didn't even know how to properly document this on the MAR. I had no idea who got meds crushed/in applesauce/in pudding/whole/with juice/with water and the CNAs were busy with patient care. Patients were yelling out things like "Nurse I can't breathe" from their rooms so I would go in and check on them to find out they only needed something like water or a boost up in bed, and all of these interruptions really slowed me down. My short orientation had been on three different units, during three different shifts, with three different nurses. Needless to say, I had a very hard time finding most of the medications, vitamins, supplements, feedings, and injections I needed to give and got overwhelmed very quickly. It was so hard to hold back tears. Thankfully, my supervisor was great when I called her and came to help me and helped me get through almost my entire med pass. Even though I know I was undertrained - I have read this is the norm in most places, and I feel stupid for really freaking out on my first day. I'm so nervous to go back because I feel like the same thing will happen during my next shift. The staff members were all so supportive and kept reassuring me that I will get the hang of it, but is this really how it is? Does something just click one day and then you are able to do it? I'm freaking out over here! The supervisor asked if I thought I had adequate training and I told her no, not at all, but I believe the plan is to still put me by myself for next shift, which will be 3-11 I'm so nervous!!

well today was my very first day on the floor as an LPN at a long-term-care facility. I worked 7-3, and since it was a holiday I was the only nurse on my floor, putting me in charge of 40 patients with 4 CNAs. Normally during the day there are two nurses, one at the desk and one passing meds. BTW I am a new grad and was only given 3 days of training. I had only trained on that particular unit only once and the med pass was terrible. Needless to say, 40 patients is a lot, especially during the day where they are all on several medications and many of them get accu-checks and insulin. I am definitely not ready to be in charge of that many people, but my job already told me they could not offer me any more training, so I feel like my only choice may be to leave, even though I've tried so hard to get a job over the past several months If this place doesn't think it is worth it to invest in training me, I certainly shouldn't be risking my license for them.

I've had an extremely hard time finding a job as a new grad LPN. I sent out applications and resumes to all of the nursing homes, hospitals, group homes, doctor's offices, homecare agencies and staffing companies in my area, despite that most of them said that a year of working experience was required. I was so grateful to finally be called for an interview, especially because this long-term care facility was one I had had experience in during my clinical training and it was one that I had favored. During orientation, I was told that I would be given three training shifts, and then be put on the floor on our own. The DON said five days of training was ideal but cannot always be fit into the budget. Then I had my first day of training on the floor. I followed an LPN around all day and assisted with the med-pass. There were about 40 patients on the floor, with 1 LPN passing meds and 1 LPN charge nurse working at the desk. I was pretty overwhelmed when I realized that my entire shift basically consisted of passing meds. They don't tell you that in school....... we learned care plans and nursing diagnoses and a whole lot of things that it doesn't seem like I'll be using much. The nurse who was training me advised me to speak to the DON if I felt like I needed some more time training. However, when I went to speak to the DON, I found out that she had actually cut a day of my training and scheduled me on the floor on my own after just two days of orientation. I told her that I had come to talk to her about possibly getting an extra training shift after my three days of training, and that I really didn't feel like I was ready to go on my own. I mean I received training in school but I am still a brand new nurse! She asked how I would feel if she moved me to a slower unit that day (which was originally supposed to be my third training day), with only 30 patients as opposed to 40, and with a charge nurse on during most of my shift if I needed help. I really didn't know what to say but I got really upset by the fact that they seem to want to just throw me out on the floor by myself when I'm still brand new, and didn't even receive the full amount of training I was promised. I agreed to meet with her again after my next training shift and see if I felt any more comfortable. She said she wanted me to feel comfortable, and that if after my next day of training I still didn't feel confident about going on my own, she would try to get someone to come in and train me, but it seemed like she wasn't sure if that would even be possible. I guess that they are really just under-staffed and she was very nice about everything, but I couldn't help but feel like I am being pressured to jump into something I don't think I'm ready for. I know that if I mess up, it's my ass on the line. I just needed to vent a little and I'm hoping to hear from some of you with experience if or not this is common or if I should just take off running. The thing is I really like this nursing home and the staff and I've wanted to work here for quite some time now, but now I am just unsure about everything and I'm hoping theres some reasoning behind this

I just found out that I was accepted as a pre-nursing student in the ADN program in the fall, and I still have to complete Philosophy, Microbiology and Chemistry before I can enter into the Nursing program. I live in NY right now, but Mount St. Mary's has always been 100% my first choice school, and I've planned on moving to LA to attend their nursing program for quite some time now. Normally I would be ecstatic that I got accepted, but as a new LVN who has finally just landed a job this week after searching without any luck for months, I feel like it would be a bad decision to walk away from a job. Especially because the job market for LVNs in CA is so tough, and if I go there now I have no experience. Also many of the schools evaluate clinical skills and require working experience in order to receive credit for an LVN license. Does anyone know if I decide not to attend Mount St. Mary's this fall, will it put me at a disadvantage if I want to apply straight into the ADN program for next year instead?

I'm interested in this program also. Is it a new program? It's odd that nobody on this forum has mentioned the school before. I called today and am waiting for an advisor to call me back.

read the information i just posted here: boces lpn program? - Nursing for Nurses don't stress out, you will do fine!! if you are looking for things to learn over the summer, maybe you could start memorizing some basic medical terminology. I believe this is one of the first things they teach. Common ones we learned in BOCES that I can remember PRN - as needed QD - every day QH - every hour Q2H, Q3H - every two hours QHS - every night at bedtime QOD - every other day BID - two times a day TID - three times a day OD - right eye OS - left eye OU - both eyes PR - per rectal ROM - range of motion RUQ, LUQ - right/left upper quadrant RLQ, LLQ - right/left lower quadrant SC - subcutaneous (through the skin) SL - sublingual (under the tongue) BM - bowel movement SOB - shortness of breath V/S - vital signs WNL - within normal limits UA - urinalysis STAT - immediately Y/O - years old AC - before meals PC - after meals PO - by mouth s - without (the S has a line right on top of it but I don't know how to insert it here) memorizing these will only help you. you won't be expected to know them already, but these are abbreviations you will definitely need to know and we used them all year long. did you get your textbooks yet? maybe look through them and start learning some basic information, but going in they won't expect you to have prior nursing knowledge. some students will already be CNAs and will have basic hospital and patient care skills, if not working experience. it's smart to think ahead. maybe if it's not your best subject brush up on math - the math is basic calculation questions (using fractions and decimals), we used the MATH FOR MEDS book - I don't know if they still use that. If you have any questions I will write back. Good luck :)