jc3015

I was on a night shift at my hospital and put in an application for an RN opening in same day surgery. I went for my first interview and after listening to the manager, seemed to be near top of their list. I went home and thought it out more. I would be going from 3 12hr shifts a week to 4 10hr day shifts, desirable for me. However, they were expecting another day on-call weekly. Personally, I’d rather sign up for an extra shift than sit at home for a possible phone call… not like having a day off. The next day, I sent the manager an email thanking for her consideration and explained the reason for reconsidering and declining the position. She thanked me for letting her know, as well as my reason for changing my mind. Not to mention, my current manager was happy I’d be sticking to my shift (a diificult time of day to fill). I think honest communication goes a long way in a situation.

No, the watch came with a clumsy cloth band, the holes of which were either too tight or too loose. The expanding band, an add-on, is narrow silver-looking sections, ~$10 at Walmart.

I have a $29 Timex. I replaced the stock band with an expanding band so I can just slide it up my forearm when I need to scrub.

I recall, during an RN clinical, asking asking an RN how long it took her to feel comfortable coming onto her shift. She replied, “any day now”. Honestly, I worked SNF as an LPN for a couple years before getting a hospital job as an RN. By that point, I was fairly comfortable during that orientation. However, there’s always going to be one of those days. Buck up.

Relax. I don’t know how long I kept referring back to a cheat sheet just to be sure I documented the right lung sound. I wound up having to get a much better stethoscope because I had so much trouble hearing sounds in very overweight or obese patients.

I was always told that nursing school prepared me to pass the boards, that I learned to nurse on the job. That has definitely wound up being true. I wouldn’t want to be ‘taught’ by an instructor with no real experience. If you only want to teach, pick another field. If you want to teach nursing, suck it up, get your hands dirty and really be a nurse.

Ikve worked 12 hr nights, 7p-7:30a for the last 8 years, but I’ve always been an afternoon/night person. 12 hrs wasn’t a main problem, having a single day off was a wasted day of my life. I asked my manager if I could get 3 days in a row. I’ve wound up doing a weekend option, F/Sa/Su, and that’s been great for me. Not to mention, there was a pay bonus. Friday night is a bit rough at 0200-0400, but the rest is OK. Oh, and I’m 66.

School prepares you to get a job as a nurse, you actually learn to nurse on the job. Which of the two jobs (or any other opportunity that might arise in the meantime) will best prepare you for the career you obviously want, in peds?

I graduated nursing school at the age of 53. I get some double takes on the phone, but mostly from family members. Since clinicals, I usually was mistakenly called ‘doctor’. My clinical instructor thought that was a real hoot... until one day, with a group of other students (mostly in late 20’s) a patient asked me if I was their instructor. The others didn’t let my instructor hear the end of it.

In 2006, I was laid off after 34 years and became a nursing student at the age of 53. Ten years l'm working Med/Surg in a hospital. Going back to school wasn't bad for me, however being a male in the program of mostly 20-25 year old women took a bit of adjustment.

I turn 63 next month, and I'm having no difficulties. I plan to work until 66 at least. Then how much longer I work will depend on my knees and ankles... everything else is fine at this time. In my spare time I photograph, read and design computer programs. Pushups for my brain.

I have mine engraved with my name and it's in my pant's cargo pocket when I'm not using it. It doesn't make much sense not to have it with me, as I'm not always sure when I'll need it.

Job availability will vary with your location; When I got my LPN I needed to work a year before I went into my ADN program. The only jobs available (in Southern Illinois) for LPNs were LTC, clinics and giving flu injections. At our local hospitals the only LPNs that were hired were those who were already employed there (CNA, tech) or were able to get into an LPN/RN bridge program. Since the hospitals were in the process of going to all-RN staffing, their existing LPNs got the choice of get an ADN or retire by a deadline. Needless to say, not a lot of jobs there. Last year I graduated with my ADN, passed my NCLEX-RN and had to remain in the LTC I had worked at part-time during ADN. I've received a couple interviews at the hospitals, with no luck. In fact, two of the women I graduated from LPN classes got hired. They had failed out of some classes the previous year and graduated in my ADN class, while I went straight through ADN and passed my NCLEX-RN, first try, minimum questions. Still... good for them! One even offered to be a reference for me on my next application. Still, they're good people and they'll be good nurses. At my LTC I'm not in the work situation I really wanted (getting much more med/surg experience), but I'm enjoying the residents I care for, and they seem to enjoy my work. I'll bet there will be a job out there for you, even if it's not what you originally visualized. Besides, getting that LPN or RN license will certainly keep your mind occupied for a while. If you want to care for people, go for it. It wasn't my prime motivation (sorry, I needed job security), but I really have been enjoying what I'm doing. Besides, I'm planning to keep submitting applications to the hospitals until I wear them down or they plead with me to stop. j

I had a few instructors that lectured from the Powerpoints, claiming that all their test material would come from them, claiming their intention was that students would spend less time copying what they said and could pay attention to the lecture. BUT, they were afraid that it would promote absenteeism, so they would delete words, phrases, or even entire sentences from the Powerpoint outlines. Problem... some omitted sentences were so lengthy that everyone was scrambling to copy down the material, causing the instructor to stop or return to previous slides that it really wasn't an efficient use of time.

I was a 3.8 GPA student going into my LPN program and pulled straight As. Then I went into the ADN program. Different beast, altogether. I was studying way more and barely managing mid-Bs. However, when we took the ATI exams for each class at the end of the semester, I was doing level 3s on each, so I felt a lot better. I got a high score on my mock-NCLEX exam, needed to exit the program. I was doing moderate on the class exams, but doing much better on the actual "thinking" exams. I think those will be the most important. Can you apply what you know? j.