Kim5/08

If I was a patient in a hospital, I sure as hell would hope someone would cross the line to come take care of me. I guess I just look at things from a different angle.

LoL, thanks Horeshoe! I can be "compter stupid" sometimes. It just took me 15 minutes to figure out to hit the + key on each one and then click post!

I am basing this on the availability of jobs NOW in MY area (I have stated before I am in Michigan-from my sister-in-law on the west side of the state, me in mid-MI, mother-in-law and two cousins on the eastern side and good friends in the northern and UP-we ALL have hospitals and ECFs hiring). I have given this child the advise to research localities she is interested in. It is not that there are NO jobs but some areas are way more saturated than others or in the middle of hiring freezes. I did not "fool" this child with stories about lots of job opportunities. I do read the newspaper and there ARE nuring jobs in my state R-E-A-L-L-Y! I'm just tired of everyone who paints the picture that there is NO hope!

As you may have already found from this site is there are those who will discourage you stating things like nursing isn't all it cracked up to be, there are no jobs out there, get into something else! There are just as many of us who love our jobs and our areas have plenty of opportunities! Some people are very narrow-minded and assume their experience is everyone's experience. Listen to what everyone has to say, the good and bad, and use it all as a learning tool. That being said, research is one of the best things you can do right now. Feel out your job market. You mentioned you live in a small town with only one hospital. Do you plan on staying "home" after you graduate? Is your expectation that you will be working at a hospital? (there are MANY areas of nursing and not all are in hospitals) Are you willing to move, relocate, commute? Job shadowing is another awsome experience. Once you know/decide where you may want to work or are willing to move/relocate or commute to, job shadowing gives you a peek at that location if it is not where you will be doing your clinicals. Try for a two day shadow if possible. You do not have to decide right away what type of nursing you absolutely want to do. Your clinical experiences should give you a peek into different areas. Where you go to school will depend on the variety of clinicasl you experience. You are thinking ahead so seeking volunteer opportunities is an excellent idea. These look good on your resume as well as being potential networking opportunities. Don't limit yourself to the hospital. Extended care facilities, kids summer camps, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, your church or place of worship if you attend one. Volunteering in the hospital does not give you nursing experience-so that should not be the motivation. The point of just being a volunteer is what looks good. (and hopefully makes you feel good!) When you look into where you plan on going to school, find out how many applicants there are for the program and how many are accepted. What are the pre-requisites and is there a point scale for getting in? These things can vary greatly from school to school, state to state. And remember my mention of clinical experiences? When you attend your school tours (if they are offered) ask what clinical opportunities are offered. Again, these vary greatly. And a note on the "CNA route". That IS wonderful for hands-on patient experience, but it is not nursing experience. a CNA and RN have two different job roles but work together to provide whole patient care. I do not say that to diminish the role. I count very much on my CNA's. Experienced ones are my second set of eyes and ears and often notice that "something just isn't right". Good luck to you!

Reading these, I was glad to discover I am normal! I've had the IV beeping (and bed alarm) only to find it's my alarm clock and end of shift only to discover I had a patient I haven't seen all day!

Becuase I agreed with you and was carrying the "Nancy nurse" analogy another step. At the end, my comment was intended to say I was glad to see not everyone had the same nasty attitude. Maybe I didn't express it properly and should have included a double quote? Then again, I'm not sure how to go back and pull out the second quote!

And what if Nancy the Nurse has children at home, too, who due to snow are now not going to school?? Betty the Babysitter is required to stay and continue watching her kids? I guess it's easy if you only think of you and your own. I am glad to see not everyone thinks this way.

[quote=XLR99;4755818 Here's an interesting anecdote - a few years back when I worked in the OR, we had one of the monster storms come over. About a third of the OR staff called off, but ALL the patients were on time. To add to that, it's interesting that patients who are ready to discharge can also find rides to show up to pick them up, too! ......and don't forget to stop at the grocery store on they way home and stock up! Ever notice how busy the grocery store is on a snow day??

Given you have done everything you have to this point, If I kept getting the answer "I know." I, being a bit blunt myself (but I hope polite) would respond with "Then why haven't you?" If she then continued to be evasive I would (again because I am blunt) state, "That is not my question. You know you are supposed to get warm blankets, help the patient transfer and secure the safety strap. Why didn't you do that?" Have you been documenting this orientation? Date, tasks assigned, "counceling" when tasks not performed, names dates and times of meetings/emails sent to superiors, etc? Just my suggestions in case you get her for "further orientation"!

That is where the term "scrubbing in" was coined, however, the term "scrubs" finds it's origin in the late 1960's to early 70's where surgical greens were soon referred to as scrubs (and were no longer just green) as they were worn by staff that scrubbed in. These were short-sleeved V neck shirts and drawstring pants (typically for the men) and calf-lengthed dresses (hopefully for women ) So at this time, even most women did not wear drawstring pants. Since that time, scrubs have continued to evolve and become universally used through-out the medical community. Prior to that, in the 1950's and early-mid 60's the color of choice was white as it was thought it placed emphasis on cleanliness and sterility. This gave way to green because research showed it reduced eye-strain in the "surgical theatre"(European origin). Even at this time, it was most typical to see nurses wearing the white cap and dress. Women wearing pants was still considered quite a novelty, even in the OR or surgical theatre. Scrub envy, as explained by my great aunt, was what the floor nurses felt when they (in dresses) saw the scrub nurses (in drawstring pants..again ) that they wanted to wear! She says it's the fact that they were wearing PANTS , oh how brave they were!!

I was curious, too. A quick google search results in many articles.

Isn't Dehydration a medical diagnosis? Wouldn't the equivelant nursing diagnosis be fluid volume deficit r/t fever, etc? Altered body temperature r/t illness Altered Nurtrition: Less than body requirements r/t decreased appetite Pain, acute r/t myalgia Breathing patten, ineffective r/t shortness of breath Impaired skin integrity r/t fecal incontinence Oh, I DO NOT miss writing those care plans! Good luck!

Just my two cents based on your own comments to the situation and I mean this to be something to think of constructively and from less of an emotional standpoint.- This is unfortunate, but has been necessary for facilities to do. If they don't require staff to stay for xx period of time after providing a sign-on bounus or whatever it was in your case, folks would stay to get the experience only to quit and go to the next facility where they will be offered more money because they have experience. Again, based on what you have stated here, it does not seem to me you are being bullied out if you are not yet prepared/experienced for the position you are now in. Think about this. You are not Paying them, but RETURNING the money given to you based on the expectation that you would be employed for a certain period of time. Six months worth of training is A LOT of money and time invested in you for that unit. If they don't keep you, they have to start over and the time and money spent on you is down the toilet. Also, my question is if you do not stay in ICU, do you have to return the money? Or is it if you leave the facility all together? If it is if you leave ICU, I see the dilemma, but if it is for leaving the facility, then you have the option of working elsewhere in the hospital as was suggested to you. Now, you are planning on going back to school and will still work in this unpleasant situation? Not a very healthy thing for you to do to yourself. Why not go to a step-down/tele unit with less pressure where you can hone your critical thinking/multi-tasking skills? It would be a very good argument for you to say "I'm enrolled in my BSN completion program now and need a little less stress at work at this time so I can be able to preform my job to the absolute best of my abilites and focus appropriately on my studies." If you have the need to "stick-it" to her, do it by moving on to greener pastures, improving yourself, and then become the preceptor you yourself wished you had. (And so you know where my opinion is coming from-I'm not in management nor do I have the desire to be. I've been a nurse for only 2 3/4 years now and my nurse educator just a month ago made me a preceptor for which I was provided no training and receive no additional pay for the extra responsibility and stress.)

Being a "second career" ADN, I came to nursing with my previous "life experiences" and critical thinking skills. From what I have read in many posts, I was fortunate to have an ADN program that very much focused on evidence-based nursing. In my state (Michigan) the difference between ADN and BSN programs (nursing or otherwise) is a bachelor's is the academic portion of the program.

I wonder if surgical staff had this same discussion when their scrubs...origin being for "scrubbing in"... extended out of the operating room to the rest of the hospital staff!? I guess I took it for granted that at my facility ALL employees are required to wear a picture name badge with their job title as the standard across the entire country. Then again, like I've come to realize reading posts on this site, an awful lot of us assume if that's the way it is at our facility, it's the same everywere.