ruca30

You are not letting your team down. If you've mentioned this to your team and they're not supporting you, it seems that maybe they're letting YOU down. The first year out of nursing school is more overwhelming than the entire nursing program! Just slow down, take a deep breath and think. Most nurses I know use some form of worksheet to keep track of things they need to do. I even know one nurse who writess things on her hand and her scrubs (I really don't recommend this, just trying to make you smile). What about your preceptor? They're usually a good bet for advice and support. If not, see if your job has some kind of mentor program that can pair you with a more experienced nurse. If there isn't a coworker or a mentor for you, what about some of the people you went to nursing school with? My old classmates and I used to meet at a bar/coffee house every week or so (now it's down to once a month with our schedules) just to ***** and whine and compare notes. Sometimes I left those sessions with great advice, sometimes no one had any advice to give me. But I always left feeling like I wasn't alone, and that's important. Good luck!

Whoa. Believe me when I say I am soooo sorry for you. Truly, because I have a similar situation going on. My difference being that, to save my ass (ass=nursing license, of course) I self-reported to the MHPRC, which seems to be MI's version of TPAPN. I was hoping to save my license and job. Well, I still got fired and now I'm stuck w/out a job and trying to jump through the endless number of hoops the MHPRC has set up for recovering professionals. It just seemed to be easier at the time, but lately I've wondered if I just shouldn't have fought it; which possibly could have led me to the same place you're in now. NOT saying you're an addict (I'm not entirely convinced I am, but that's another issue), that's something intensely personal. I so wish I had some advice for you, I've been trolling here looking for some myself! If you have nursing insurance, a lot of times they have attorneys on hand for legal defense that you can ask questions of, maybe to see if anything could be handled differently. Other than that bit of paltry advisement, all I can say is this too shall pass (I chant that to myself quite a bit these days) and don't give up. If I find anything that seems useful to you, I'll be sure to post it.

Trust me, it's not something I'm gonna go around and shout from the rooftops! It's just because the program that I'm working with will have a relationship with my employer for the purpose of monitoring my recovery progress for a while. And we all know that if one person is told something, it inevitably finds its way to others. Thanks for your input.

Speaking as a single parent of 2 kids....I know that's a hard decision to make, and a harder one to stick with. You feel guilty about so many things in regards to your kids while you're in school. I can't count the number of times my kids ate cereal for breakfast AND dinner (there were even more than a couple times they got themselves dinner because I was studying and forgot - I still don't know what they ate those times ). I was in ADN program full time and worked 34 hrs between thursday and sunday too! I always felt like it was three years that I missed of my kids' lives....but it's an investment. And believe it or not, my kids were more proud of me than I was when "we" graduated. We used to all do our homework at the kitchen table with a big bowl of popcorn sitting in front of us. We'd all cram into my bed and fall asleep with our books (of course, mine was HUGE and boring while theirs were interesting.) The bonus things were when I would overhear them bragging to their friends that their mom was in school too and going to be a nurse. My daughter tells her friends that her mom's a nurse...and the way she says it it's like she equates "nurse" with "god". Ok, I'm done rambling now. But seriously, jump in and do what you have to do without looking behind you thinking about what you should have done. (If you don't finish the program, THAT will be one of the things that you look back on as a "should-have") Good luck!

I have a question for you all: what are your thoughts on working with nurses who are in recovery from alcohol/drug addictions? I've been an RN for almost two years. I've been clean now for 3 months and am starting to look for another job (which is kinda hard, employers seem to be shying away from me) but I'm running up against a number of obstacles. Assuming I can push past these and find a job, I'm also concerned about my future co-workers. I've only worked at one hospital, and everyone there knew everyone's else's business and wasn't afraid to tell the latest bit of gossip, whether it was true or false, inspiring or demeaning. Any comments?

I hate when nurses do that. We have enough stress and troubles as it is without being divisive! The bottom line is: when you pass your boards you're an RN. Same as the ADN RN! Nursing programs today, whether they be BSN, ADN or whatever, all have one thing in common: they cram as much stuff into your head in as short a time as possible! No one, I don't care what program you've gone through, is going to get enough clinical experience to feel assured, like a "real nurse." That's what the first year on the job is for! Although at times I felt like my head would break open with all the things my instructors kept trying to get me to retain, it still didn't compare to what I learned the first year I worked as an RN. Keep your head up and just let all that crap roll off your back - BSN or ADN....as a GN or new RN you're all gonna make the same $$!

I can be up to my elbows in almost anything: blood, feces, urine, vomit....no problem. Sputum???? aaack. It took me the entire time I was in nursing school (and maybe a little bit after) to just SAY the word sputum without gagging. Luckily, other nurses aren't the same, so it's always easy to trade suctioning that trach or collecting a sputum sample for ostomy care or the like :roll

Nope you're not nuts...Morphine smells absolutely horrid!

Depends totally on the place you work. At my last job, the OR and L&D staff were assigned, and provided, certain scrubs. The rest of the floor staff were allowed to wear whatever kind of uniform they wanted, staying away from the "OR green" and "L&D blue." I've collected an absolutely staggering array of scrubs over the last five years....everything from leopard print to black/orange to my christmas tree uniform! Who says you can't be stylish AND professional at the same time???

Hey, everyone knows that nursing is a 24 hour job. You're not so very important that another co-worker can't competently handle the same situations....and so....when ER sent up patients to us at 11pm, it was always my practice to settle the patient in, do a quick assessment (just to make sure nothing major was going on), document and put that bit in my report...and get the hell out of Dodge! And there were MANY times I came in at 7am or 3pm and had brand spanking new patients waiting for me to admit them. That's how it goes.

Hey all...I'm a new member (this website is a GREAT find by the way - I've been telling ppl about it left and right) so you have to forgive if I screw this up but: I would like some input/advice from other nurses in regards to MHPRC. I've been an RN for almost two years now. Seems like that's the only thing I can ever remember wanting to be! About 8 months ago I became addicted to opiates. Started with legitmately prescribed Vicodin for chronic, intense pain, then escalated from there. Thankfully, I've been clean for 3 months now and working my recovery program. Here's the thing: I self-reported to MHPRC (and still got fired) and am jumping through all the hoops they line up for me in order to keep my license. However, now that I'm trying to look for a new job, I keep running into the same old thing. I'm told "we support MHPRC and our recovering nurses internally, but we don't hire recovering nurses from outside until their contract is up." (MHPRC contracts typically last 3 years.) OK... I can certainly understand the hesitation...but now what? Do I just need to accept that I can no longer work as a nurse? Do I need to find a new career? I had hoped to maybe find a position in a setting where a narcotic restriction wouldn't be a problem, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Any kind of feedback would be great. I guess I'm just looking for some direction here. Thanks