SkySoldier

I am about to graduate and none of the hospitals in the area are hiring new grads right now. I have applied to every hospital in the area and have yet to hear anything. Most of the graduating class behind me has had their offers pulled and are also struggling to find jobs too. My whole class is freaking out right now because all of the hospitals have canceled their residency programs. I have been able to find a whole bunch of CNA jobs in the area and I am wondering if I can fill one of these spots until hopefully things turn around. I don't have a CNA license and that is why I am wondering if being an RN would suffice. Does anyone know? Im in Washington state. I have gone through the administrative codes and it doesn't say anything about it that I can find.

Thanks for some ideas. I still have so many questions though. I think this is going to be something that is an on going learning process just like nursing it self. I just hope there is a better understanding of these types of concerns. I just finished a labor and delivery clinical and I experienced a patient that appeared hesitant with me providing care. She was a RN who just moved here from the Phlippines. After I started to realize she was little hesitant about me working with her so I asked and she said yes, in her culture men aren't normally in this role. I said thank you for telling me and I would gladly find you a female nurse. My instructor asked me why I asked her about working with her. She told me that it helps to be assertive. I don't think my instructor gets what its like to be a male nurse. I felt, in this situation, if I pushed, I would have been sued, rightfully so. Instead my instructor put me down. I don't have an assertiveness issue, I was medic in the infantry for 6 years with multiple deployments around the world, my last being a year in Iraq. I am extrememly comfortable around patients and I felt I read this patient correctly which benefited both of us. I hope other nurses in this position can be a little more understanding.

I am a nursing student about to graduate in 3 months and I keep running into nurses who are scarying the crap out of me about being a male nurse. I am getting the feeling that women patients seem to feel more comfortable with male docs but not male nurses for some reason. I have had another run in with an ICU nurse today while visiting a family member who told me this horror story about an EKG tech she had worked with for over ten years being accused and fired over a supposed fondling while placing an electrode. She told me to be extremely careful and plan on a second career because she wouldn't be supprised if at some point some patient successfully sues me for assault. I am tired of hearing this kind of stuff. Is this really that big of a concern for male nurses? And if so what what do I need to do to avoid it? I have already start performing my assessments differently such as not placing a stethoscope in a gown to listen to lungs/heart sounds. I bought a high end scope so I could try and listen through gowns, but I feel that at some point it will affect the care I give because I am so paranoid I am going to run into someone who misinterprets something I do or is just out to get paid. While in the Army, I had to have a chaparone while working with female patients but I doubt that is not an option in an ED or ICU where I want to work. Any advice?

Im just starting my second year so I'm not how much help I can be but I am also a tutor for the previous quarter. Have you tried a tutor? I know being 6th quarter at a 6quarter program can make this hard but you never know. Talk to your instructors too. It always helps and maybe they will allow you to do a test review sessions with some students who are doing good. Get with students who are doing well and ask them what they are doing. Study groups. Hope this helps. i have help students in the quarter behind me recover from far worse averages (my last student came from 2 40% tests to finishing the class in the 80% range) so I know its do able. Also, don't withdrawal. I don't know how it works at your school but we only repeat what we fail. Finish the class out, see what happens and then when you repeat it, you will have a head start on what the tests are like. But don't even think about failing right now. Relax, like Michigan Rn said, and start putting together a plan to get back on track. I have found that when I relax the night before tests instead of cramming, my grades jump 10%. Good luck.

Thanks for the responses. You two have kind of hit on what I was thinking. We are actually studying psych this quarter and PTSD and I don't show any of the S/S that we are learning about. I may have at one point many years ago but not now...so I kind of feel like it is no ones business. Thanks.

Im new to the forum and I've been trying to find an answer to this question. Im a second year nursing student who will graduate in June. I met with my clinical instructor the other day who is retired Airforce. My service as an Army platoon medic in Iraq came up and the topic of PTSD along with it. I didn't tell her I was dx with PTSD when I came home for fear of being kicked out of the program. She did say that if I was ever to be Dx with PTSD that it may hinder my licensure. I was Dx right when I got out 4ish years ago for severe nightmares which have gone away. I have never had a problem with social/occupational/or daily activities. I did meet with a counselor for 1year who specialized in Combat related PTSD and it was very educational. Can I be prevented from taking the NCLEX?