ButtonNose

My hospital agreement states we do not get compensated for up to 15 minutes after our shift ends for report. If it goes past that amount of time we are entitled to OT.

Excellent article. Thanks for posting.

Well said Fleur-di-les!!

I would recommend wearing cotton socks and possibly put baby powder, corn starch or dr. scholls medicated powder on your feet. The powder really does a great job in absorbing excess moisture.

I am in the GTA as well. There are "short-stay surgical units" in some hospitals which are only open for daytime and evening hours. Maybe you could look into that. I also believe that most Perioperative Nurses work straight 8 hour day shifts- some work evenings/weekends as well but they are 8 hour shifts. There are many options for you as a nurse! Do not feel as if you have to stick to 12 hour shifts for the rest of your working life. Look into different clinics, public health, and home care!

Yess!! In Canada ALL surgical plume is evacuated using a smoke evacuator- this is a basic requirement and part of out ORNAC standards as perioperative nurses. Surgical plume contains viruses/bacteria and cellular debris/blood in it. Numerous studies have proven that breathing that toxic plume in is equivalent to smoking unfiltered cigarettes. The plume is a known carcinogen. If your facility is not evacuating plume each and every time it is present they are not only putting the patients life at risk but also their staff!

Hey katygw! So Sorry for not responding... when you wrote your last posting I typed up a nice response, hit the enter button and then it never submitted! I was so angry I just left it for a while hehe. So right now you are most likely working at the allergy office; how do you like it? I'm glad you found something that fit your interests and can maintain your sanity I am currently still on med-surg floors; however I am also in my 2nd month of my perioperative course! I really like it so far but keep in mind I have not had a clinical placement yet... I am somewhat anxious about starting that because there seem to be very strong personalities in the OR. I for one am quite timid and like to stay low key so I hope I do no clash with other RNs and surgeons... having said that I am not a push over and will stand my ground and speak up when needed! I'm hoping to possibly find a FT OR position so I can leave the floor... I had my first encounter with an older RN bully the other day and I couldn't believe it. Anyway that's another story! Hope to hear back from you!

A surgeon named Dr. Slaughter!!

hey katygw, I am a new grad nurse currently worked in an acute care hospital with the float pool. I find that the med-surg floors are extremely stressful too and I find myself relating to you 100% in that I am very detail oriented and like to focus on one thing at a time instead of many. I believe that being an OR nurse would suit be better than being a bedside nurse and I am trying to make my way slowly over to that area. I will be signing up for an peri-operative RN course this coming summer. Can you update us on your situation? Have you transitioned to being an OR nurse or are you sticking it out in med-surg? Thanks!

I understand where you are coming from when you say you are overwhelmed and are feeling unsupported as a new grad. I graduated early this year and have started working at a hospital through the Health Force Ontario new nursing grad guarantee. This is considered an 'orientation period' which is about 3 months of guaranteed full time work in an Ontario hospital for new nursing grads. During this time I work with a preceptor and together we support each other and learn from each other. I have been on 2 units so far and can honestly say that it's your co-workers who make or break your new grad experience. Some nurses are so into their own ways they 'eat their young', sit back and laugh at us to see if we can handle the new work. Other nurses are more patient and are willing and eager to help us when they can. I would try to switch units at this point because it seems like the medicine unit it too heavy for you right now and the nurses too unwilling to help a new grad in transition. In school you're right, as a student we really get much hands-on experience in terms of IV insertions, trach care, and more invasive procedures... these are things we learn on the job as an RN. I'm really sorry that you don't have enough support to guide you during your career as a new RN (in the unit and on the forum...) hopefully you can find a new unit and helpful coworkers in the future. Good luck!

I'm a new graduate nurse as well. When you had your orientation, did they not go over all of the medications and supplies in the crash cart? They should have explained the general sequence of events that would occur when you hit the code blue button. The number one thing to remember is not to panic... you will never be alone during a code blue! As soon as you hit the button tons of health care providers will be running to the rescue. As a new nurse you will most likely be doing compressions... not documenting or administering meds. After the first code talk to the other nurses/your manager to gain insight into what happened, what they did and what more you can do the next time. Good luck!!

I am like you and some of the other members as well, I am very awkward and shy around new people or places and sometimes do really stupid things because I'm so anxious. I thrive is situations that are consistent and with people that I know. Having said that, and working as a RN, I can say that things will get better. You have yet to start your program and see/learn what being a nurse is really about! When you meet other students and in your program and having clinical placements with other medical professionals and patients/families, you will see that things will become easier and more comfortable. Do not get discouraged by your experience at first aid... you have not even started your program yet and learned the vocab, definitions, actions and thinking associated with nursing. It will come and you will see how great you'll feel and more confident you will be =)

I'm so sorry about your story. I guess my suggestions would be to not only study from Mosby, but look into the actual CRNE study handbooks. They sell these on their website (they are not cheap) but the questions are more similar to the ones you see on the actual exam (as compared to the mosby Q's). When I studied, I buddied up with some friends; we all used the Mosby book, CRNE book and the practice exams (also for purchase on their website). We all did the questions, compared answers, then talked about our answers so all of us understood the right answer. We lived at the library for 3 weeks (M-F). Studying for this exam is serious stuff and takes a lot of dedication. Be sure to put enough time aside for a thorough review. Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear that you can always go to the website- there is a service that can re-evaluate your exam result. There is a fee for this service though. Good luck.

Hey guys! I got my letter today... I passed! I'm from Toronto.

Good for you nursemich!!!!! what a relief, i'm sure!! :)

I spoke to a phone representative from CNO a couple days ago and she said the results will start to be mailed out next week!

I think a major disadvantage (depending on how you look at it) is that the men will ALWAYS be called to help with the heavy lifting and reaching! LOL.

Hey guys, I don't think it's necessary to start waxing and shaving yourself to go to work. I think if you have some crazy chest hair you can trim the top to look more controlled. For your arm hair... maybe you can wear a long sleeve shirt under your scrubs? However, one of my clinical instructors had extremely hairy arms and he didn't try to cover it up at all- he wore his scrubs with just a t-shirt underneath. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable, I guess!

I think it's wonderful if men are interested in OB, L&D! However, when I was in school during my maternity placement I found that a lot of the women on the unit (despite having male OB-gyns) refused to have a male nursing student. Not fair, huh?

I am a graduate from the 2 year BScN program at UofT in Ontario. I have to agree with snowyowl in that the program was stressful (mostly first year), crammed full of work and assignments and difficult. However there were many positive aspects that came along with going to UofT and being downtown. Like other writers have said, we get our choice of hospitals and clinical placements! In regards to "respect" of second-entry students to 4 year students- all I have heard from the RNs were that they preferred the second-entry over the 4 years. We were generally more mature, learned quicker and were receptive to constructive criticism. I think it's unfair for some of the RNs out there to judge us based on our career choice- people assume that our "previous education wasn't marketable" and that is why we went into nursing. Well that is an extremely wrong generalization and it's quite hurtful and rude to say the least. Personally, I pursued a PT career... after volunteering at a clinic with them I was turned off and decided that wasn't for me. I volunteered a hospital and that's when I found nursing and saw how inspiring, caring and knowledgeable nurses were; that's what changed my career path and landed me here. I hope that you (liza205) do your research and find a school that suits you. Do not let the more senior nurse's negative comments on second-entry students impact your decision to enroll. We graduate as fully competent, knowledgeable, caring and tough nurses!!

You seem to know your personal pros and cons of moving from RN to RT. If you truly believe that you will be happier and more content with doing that for the rest of your working career I say go for it. I guess if I were in your shoes I would probably pursue an RN job for a year just to test the waters and confirm or reject pursuing an RT career. Good luck!

I agree with Dela_RN... this does not seem to be a good place to start as a new grad RN. I think the best places are often in hospitals where they are used to hiring new grads and have a stable orientation package that allows the new grad to shadow a senior nurse with experience. I hope you hear back from the hospital soon!

Hi everyone! I was just wondering... did you get into fertility nursing straight out of nursing school or did you gain some experience working in a hospital setting before going to the clinic? From your experience what would you suggest doing first? thanks!

Hi everyone, I am in a little bit of a pickle... I did my final placement of nursing school in a cardiology unit, and I know that is what I really enjoy doing and want to do in the future. However, actually finding a job in that setting is not so easy (as a new grad) and so I have been applying to random nursing jobs in different fields. I applied to a fertility clinic and they want me to come in for an interview; the nurse sounded like she really needed me and was already talking about travelling and training days. Now I'm not sure what to do... I am eager to start working and earning income (pay off those student loans!) but should I wait for my passion to come along or should I take this great opportunity to learn something new in a different field? I always thought I would work in a hospital but this could bring something new to the table for me. I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas... thanks!