none the wiser

Have you ever had a surgeon want to/try to do a procedure not on the consent, or actually perform a procedure not on the consent? What other odd consent-related occurrences should I be on the look out for? I'm still on orientation and already observed a case where the patient signed a consent that said none under "other practitioners" and the attending wanted residents assisting.

Learning surgeon preferences and knowing where things are/what the heck they're asking me for has been hard. And I surely miss knowing what I'm doing. You're starting from square 1. Basic things that seem like "common sense," and coworkers think you should know...you won't know them. It's like being a new grad. They say it gets better after a year, but I'm only 3 months in so I can't vouch for that :) That said, I'm not sorry I left the floor. At all.

I don't regret getting experience on the floor, but it sure would have saved me a lot of grief and misery to just go straight to OR. I don't know that I would worry too much about getting a job on the floor after doing the OR. Floor jobs are a dime a dozen, coming open all the time...I waited 2 years for an OR job to come open in my hospital system. You may not be able to do another specialty like ICU from OR, but I would be shocked if getting a floor job would be difficult. And trust me when I say you can get stuck in a job you hate for 2 years even without a contract. Trust me Have you actually been working in the ORs? Do you like it?

1:5-6 for nurses, although we often have 7-9 patients in a day due to admissions and discharges. 1-3 techs for 28 beds 1 charge nurse, 1 secretary. We max out at 6, so after that the charge nurse will take patients.

Definitely definitely call. And apologize profusely. ETA: I don't think you've blown it...it's still worth calling about regardless.

I edited my post, but the shifts are all 12s except for the first one. If it was 8s I wouldn't even think about trying to change...I could do many more 8s in a row than I could 12s. I've about decided to just do it. I do worry about my quality of care the 3rd and 4th day though. This isn't "oh I'd like to go to the mall or go to the movies instead of working." I'm worried I'm going to make a bad mistake. I know it's silly to be nervous about 3 patients, but I've never had more than 2 in nursing school. Thanks again for yalls responses. I really appreciate your insight...as a new grad I don't know much about "real" nursing. Yes it's all a big joke...you're so smart for picking up on it. Aren't I funny.

For what it's worth, that's exactly what I'm worried about. Is that common, to work 4 shifts with 2 days off before you're back on again? ETA: The first one is an 8, the other 3 are 12 hour shifts.

I have just received my schedule for the next 6 weeks. I am on orientation. One week, I am working 4 days in a row, then I have 2 days off, then I'm working 2 again. Is it appropriate to ask for them to switch one of those 4 days to any other day? (and I mean really I'll work any day if it means not having 4 in a row). It's also the first week I am to have 3 patients, and the first week I am sharing my preceptor with another orientee. I just don't see this going well at all. I'm next to useless by the end of the 2nd day, so 4 blows my mind.

What do you find stressful?

I would talk to your manager...personally I would schedule a meeting on your day off. I wouldn't wanna be weepy and have to go back to work...this meeting may be stressful. I interviewed in an ICU, and the NM told me that if, during my preceptorship, I felt that the ICU was not for me, they would work with HR to reassign me to a floor that I would like. Your floor sounds similarly understanding.

White and royal blue...we can wear either or both. I got my fill of white in school, so I'm tending to the blues.

Woo! Congrats. I agree, apply early. However, I would call the hospitals that you're interested in and ask when they take new grad applications and how to apply. Each hospital does it differently. We were told to wait till about 3 months out from graduation. For the jobs I applied for, there was a special new grad application to fill out. We had 3 forms for our references to fill out (no letters) and we had to get our transcripts together as well. You chose your 3 favorite units and they tried to get you interviews there. Here, more emphasis by far is put on your recommendations from instructors and grades than your resume, from what I understand.

I disagree, nobody was being rude. She's right, many hospitals around here hire very few LPNs. I'm sorry if that fact upsets you. And the previous post spoke truth as well. You may find some doctor's offices hiring LPNs. It's hard to get into Lexington Medical Center at all right now, regardless of qualification, except through doctor's offices from what I hear. I checked on the LexMed site and it looks like there are some jobs available for LPNs in Urgent Care. At Palmetto Health there are private duty LPN positions, but they are PRN. I wouldn't be offended if someone said "Well there are some great hospitals, but they prefer BSNs so they may not hire you." Or "They are not hiring new graduates." I would say "Thank you for warning me that I may need to consider other options." I am sorry you haven't found a job. I hope you have better luck.

Cost of living is significantly less in the south usually :)

Thank you so much for all the responses! I read them all and appreciate them very much. The Ortho interview was the recruiter's idea...while waiting for my PICU interview, she asked me what other specialties I liked. I said ortho, and she called up the manager right there, because she had heard there were 2 positions coming available, one day and one night. I have a slight curvature of my spine in my lower back, and it causes weird nerve pain sometimes. It's nothing serious (in the grand scheme of things), and has not been an issue yet. I shadowed today on the Ortho floor...the nurse I was following said it was close to the hardest day she had had, and very abnormal. Lots of medical overflow, and all of her patients were medical, not Ortho, and very heavy care-wise. We talked for a long time, and she was very upfront with the pros and cons of the unit. I would feel comfortable taking a position on this floor...I have been on several med-surg floors in the past...people were unhappy, understocked, understaffed...that was not the case here. I left a good 4 hours later than I had planned to and really enjoyed the day for the most part. I am thinking I will call the PICU tomorrow if I don't hear back and see what's going on. I really see myself being happy on either floor...just two very different kinds of stress.