dizzybee

Congratulations! I'm going the other way (US to UK) ?

Thanks for sharing - it is hard to find info out here! I'm an experienced American nurse who now lives in the UK and I'm working on my NMC application now.

Did you get the info you need from the responses here? I'm an experienced American nurse (16 years) who recently moved to the UK, so I'm starting the NMC application process. Someone from the US will have to vouch for your nurse training - either your school of nursing or your board of nursing if you pass the NCLEX and register in the state where you live. I'd recommend doing the NMC checklist for application and see which option sounds like it would be easier for you (relying on your education or education + nursing work experience in the US). Since I worked for many years in the US and I'm still currently registered with my US board of nursing, this has helped with communication. https://www.nmc.org.uk/registration/joining-the-register/register-nurse-midwife/trained-outside-uk/how-to-guide/check-ready/checklist-tool/

Did you get an answer to this yet? If not, let me know. I'm a US nurse going through this process too so maybe I can help. Take care, Stephanie

When I am the sedation RN in outpatient GI lab, I am expected to wheel the patients on a non motorized gurney to and from the procedure room. Sometimes the standing in one place while sedating a patient can make my back tired. I have no previous back injuries and I am 30, so I don't mind it. But you may want to shadow someone if possible to see if it fits with your activity level.

I've seen many comments that a manager should "get in there" and help out, such as working as a staff nurse if a unit is short staffed. I personally don't want my manager filling in for a staff nurse, I want her to be on the phone with the staffing office to get us another nurse! Her roles and responsibilities are different than mine as a staff nurse. I want to know my manager knows how to do my job (and has done so in the past), but I don't expect her to be doing my job if we're short staffed.

My experience is as a new grad at a teaching hospital. Yes, the medical staff is often changing because the residents and interns are new every few months. And it makes for some interesting times when you have a new grad RN and new interns/residents, but there always seems to be enough experienced nurses around when you need them! We do get to know our attending MD's, as they are generally the stable ones that stay on the units. I would think at a community hospital things would stay "as they have been" for years and years. Even after 5-10 years there you could still be seen as "the new nurse" and that would be a bit frustrating. Plus, lots of experiences and interesting cases at the university hospital. It can be overwhelming at first, but you get some good habits and ideas of what you are looking for from these cases.

Yes, family can get in the way of care at times. But wouldn't you feel bad if you were so strictly enforcing the visiting hours, and the patient died without their family around? What if you denied them the chance to see the patient "one last time?" What about those who travel for hours and days to see their critically ill loved one, only to hear they must wait 2 hours until the arbitrarily scheduled "visiting hours"? How well does that go over? What if it was you that was told to wait to visit your family? What about reasonable family members, you can't let them stay "extra"? We don't have scheduled visiting hours, we try our best to provide family centered care (as the AACN recommends). The visitors call in at the door, and the secretary checks with the nurse if now is a good time. If there is a procedure/clean up ect... it is not a good time and they are told to wait for x minutes to come in. During change of shift we talk to pt and family right before, saying, it is time for the nurses to give report for 30 minutes, to respect patient privacy we ask for you to stay in the room with the door closed, or use this time to step out to the waiting room or go eat. It just takes stating and setting the expectations. Our policy is that visiting is at the nurses' discretion. If the family doesn't like the nurses discretion, we fortunately have good charge nurses they can work the situation out with while we take care of the patients. It would definitely be easier to point to a sign and say "everyone out, the sign says so!" instead of interacting with the family and explaining your rationale. And yes, there are those crazy family members, and if they can't respect our rules, hello public safety!

Have you thought about going back to school?

These are examples of lateral violence. This is a link to a really good discussion and article had on this forum previously: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/lateral-violence-how-232873.html

You sound like I did when I was in my first clinical! Just like others have said, start with the positive self-talk now "I can do this!" Practice what you are going to say to your patient, even the simple stuff. "Good morning, my name is xxx, and I will be the student nurse caring for your today." "What name do you go by? Do you prefer 'Jim' or 'James'" ect... I started out feeling like you did, and I've been an RN for 2 years now, and I have my own student to precept :) It will get easier.

I would start looking around this site: http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/CriticalCare/IntensiveCare/Changes/ImplementtheCentralLineBundle.htm

I was changing the dressing on a skin tear of my patient who was detoxing from ETOH. He reached over, stuck his finger in the wound and proceeded to then try and stick said dirty finger in his mouth! I pushed the dirty hand away from his mouth, and said "no, that's dirty, don't do that!" He looked at me with a confused look, and I probably returned the same expression to him. :)

NICU is always a good option!

Sorry you had such a crappy day! It sounds like you acted in the most professional manner with a family that would make many people react angrily and emotionally just like them. I can understand why you might feel drained and upset after a day like that. But their crazy is not your fault! We tell patients and families how things are in the hospital, and how they react is up to them. Clear boundaries are important, "Yelling at me is not acceptable behavior." Social workers are great, but not always available to help. I try my best to limit my review of my work day to the drive home, and maybe an hour after I get home. Then it is me time, and time for my family. Of course sometimes I slip, but we've got to keep trying! :innerconf Hang in there!