CraftyStarr

I, too, took my first job out of school on a very busy PCU. We have cardiac folks (mostly post-CABG) but we also get the lungs as well (mostly thoracotomy). Since we are the only PCU in the hospital, we also get the semi-critical neuro pts, respiratory pts (only long-term vents), and any other appropriate PCU pts in the hospital. They have also determined that, d/t our nurse/pt ratios, the very difficult med/surg pts are somehow appropriate for our floor...bring on the sundowners that pull at everything!! Stick with it! I am only a few weeks away from my 1-year anniversary, and things are so different now than when I started. The amount that you will learn in your job is astounding!! The PCU is a great place for a new grad who is excited to learn and to work hard. Here are my tips for being a new grad PCU nurse: -Learn how to manage the emotional aspects of stress. I have done a terrible job with this and have gained 10 lbs from stress eating. -Learn to ask for help...your co-workers are your best resources. -Never be afraid to call doctors. I would rather have a doctor yell at me for waking him up at 3 am for nothing than have a doctor call me for not notifying him of something that was serious. -Learn to prioritize and learn to say "I will take care of it as soon as I can, but I have a critical situation right now." -Take advantage of learning moments. I always try to take the time to listen to those that are willing to teach me, especially our cardiologists. -Try to learn short cuts from your fellow nurses, but make sure that those short cuts don't place your pts in danger. -Learn to laugh (or cry) to try to release stress (instead of yelling at your coworkers, I mean). You are not super-woman and we all lose it sometimes. Good luck! You're going to do great!!

m.k.a.u.- You may totally take this the wrong way, but... It sounds to me like what you are dealing with is a management problem that a form isn't going to fix. You state that your CNAs are lazy and that your administrators and director want to change the culture of the organization. It seems to me that creating more work and new forms isn't going to change a culture. If it were me and I was managing a new staff and I wanted to implement a culture shift I would start by talking to my staff. You state that you spoke to the "higher ups", but have you spoken directly with the staff that this is going to affect? I feel like there is some important information that could be gathered from them. Do some of them already try to implement the sort of interventions that you would like for them to? What sort of information do they think would be good to have on the form? Why do they think it is OK to stand around in the hallways for significant periods of time? Are they able to identify "teachable moments" with your residents? In my experience, the only way to get people to use new forms effectively is to have their buy in. The only way to get their buy in is to involve them in the process so that they can have input. If people feel like a form is a waste of time, either they are not going to fill it out or they are simply going to make the information up. If the forms aren't going to be used properly, why waste your time? By having these conversations with your new staff, it will give you the opportunity to get to know them. As their manager, you are supposed to be their greatest advocate. I get the impression from your posts that you don't have a lot of respect for them. It's awfully hard to advocate for people you don't respect and/or like. Meeting with them to talk about this issue might give you a new perspective about who they are and what their issues at work are. Working on this project with them will give you the opportunity to start building trust. Loyal employees can make your job really easy, but if they don't trust you they can make your job horribly difficult. On the more management-y side, if you document the process and document your staff's involvement (or lack of involvement) it makes things easier if you need to terminate employees later. I hope that I haven't come across as too condescending. That isn't my intention at all. It sounds like you are a new manager that is excited to do a great job and I think that's wonderful! It also sounds like you are sitting on the same side of the table as administration, when (in my experience) you should be sitting in between administration and staff. You need to implement the changes administration dictates, but you also need to let administration know when their expectations are out-of-line. A good relationship with your staff is essential to walking this line. It sounds like you are getting ready to "crack down" on your staff, and by doing so in such a dictatorial way, you may be setting yourself up for some pretty rough head aches in the future. Again, I am sorry if this rubbed you the wrong way...I don't mean to offend! Kim

I have gained about 10 lbs since starting school. Most often, I have no time to cook. When I do have time to cook, I don't have the energy. Same goes with exercise. I try to stay on my feet during clinicals to balance everything out, but I am eating WAY more fast food than I ever have in my entire life. Fast food = packing on the pounds! I am trying like crazy to get in to a good workout pattern over this winter break to hopefully shed some weight, but all those good habits seem to fly out the window during the regular semester. Don't be too hard on yourself. I have learned that much of nursing school is just getting through it alive...no need to put added pressure on yourself to lose weight. :)

Hello- The pre-reqs depend on the program. Do you have any programs in mind? If so, I would contact them to find out what they require. It would be miserable if you took a course you thought was a pre-req, but ended up not being accepted. For my program, I was required to have: Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Microbiology, Biochem, basic college English, a math class, and I feel like there may have been a few others. Kim

Jess818- As far as placement, I would check out the nursing program page. They tell you right on the front page what semester they are currently placing for. http://www.tri-c.edu/programs/nursing/Pages/default.aspx What program are you looking at? If you are thinking of the Accelerated program, they are now enrolling for next fall. Have you met with a counselor yet? They should be able to tell you if your classes will transfer or not. It is probably a good idea to meet with them before moving too far forward so that you don't run into any bad surprises. I almost had to delay my enrollment for a year because I thought a class would transfer when it didn't. They can also tell you what the application process is for the program. Good luck! Kim

Becky- Congrats!!! Doesn't it feel good to be a few steps closer to starting the program? Good job on getting an A in your classes! Doing well in those pre-reqs will serve you well once you start your nursing classes. They really don't have time to go over the A&P stuff and you need to know it well in order to do well in the nursing stuff. Metro was very safe. There were always a ton of people around and security is everywhere. I even went by once in the evening and felt safe. Good luck with your fall courses! Kim

I looked into going for my BSN, but financially it made more sense for me to get my ADN and then have an employer help me pay for a BSN. I have a friend who has her BA already and is going to Ursaline for her BSN and she will be paying close to $40k for her education. I believe she said it was over $700 per credit hour. I just can't justify that financially when there is a much more affordable way to get my degree and start working. As far as clinicals go, you pick them when you register for classes. So, for example, this summer they offered clinicals in Bedford, Parma, Garfield Heights, in a couple of places in the city, Brecksville, etc. You pick the section you want and enroll in that section when you register for classes. The problem is that some of the sections are super competitive and you might not get in to them. The Parma clinical site filled up in minutes once registration was open. The times for registration for the nursing classes are pretty tightly controlled by the nursing faculty. Registration for summer classes began at midnight March 27th and it seemed like many of us were on at midnight registering. The Parma clinical site was filled by 12:05...seriously, it was that fast. As far as the nursing instructors...I have no idea. Someone who seemed like a clinical instructor commented on this thread earlier. The nursing administration seems great, though. I have had to work with several of them on a couple of issues and they all seem really responsive. The gentleman who provides admin support is great...he seems really on top of things. Kim

Hello- sa2009 - The counselors are idiots. I almost didn't get into the program this summer because of them (they told me that I could take CLEP for my English, and I can't.) Anyway, once all your prereqs are taken care of, contact the nursing office and they will send you a packet of info. I believe all your prereqs need to be completed by the fall semester and you have to have everyrthing done before they will even talk to you. What other questions do you have? Oh, and there is something else. I hope this doesn't upset you too much, but I noticed in the nursing newsletter the nursing dept. just put out that they are moving the start time of the accelerated program to the fall begininning next year. So, the next time an acclerated class will start is fall 2010. Like I said, they mentioned it in the newsletter, but I haven't seen any formal announcement about it so I could be totally wrong. If you want, I would be happy to e-mail the newsletter to you. I can't believe classes start next week! I am starting to do my usual freaking out and questioning my decision to even go to school...I just need to remember to deep breathe. :) Kim

rrmitch - I took 1100 and A&P 1 at the same time. It is a lot of work, but it is doable. Do you have kids or something that takes up a lot of your time? Do you have your micro taken care of? I did weigh the generic track v. accelerated. With the accelerated, you finish in 4 consecutive semesters. With the generic, you finish in 2 years and cannot take summer classes. So, you finish up much more quickly with the accelerated, but you figure the two summer semesters are going to be more difficult because you are completing your coursework in a more condensed time frame. Does that make any sense? I feel like I am not explaining myself well.

I got the women's snap v-neck shirt and the men's pants. I tried on all three women's pants options and I didn't like them. The men's seemed to fit me the best. My understanding is that we need: Stethoscope Hemostat Bandage scissors Blue and red color pens (I got one of those multi-color pens) Penlight Name tag I think that is everything. I got all my stuff separate instead of in that kit. All the stuff that came with the kit seemed to be crap. I ended up going with a pretty nice stethoscope. My parents wanted to get it for me as a gift, so they picked out the nicest they could find with a bell and a diaphragm. It is the Littmann Cardiology III. Everything else I just picked up here and there. The cheapest site I found for everything is http://www.bpmedicalsupplies.com. They shipped pretty quickly as well.

Hemodynamic - Thank you for providing clarification on pre-assignment pick-up. I am not expecting to get spoon-fed and I am expecting to work hard. The way that pre-assignment was described was that we would just be going in to pick up an assignment and that is all. I was frustrated because I didn't want to have to get dressed up and drive a long distance in the snow and cold for a 5 minute errand. Knowing that pre assignment is an activity that will take time and effort makes the special wardrobe and trip to the clinical site worth it. Also, I am not thinking the program will be easier because I have a degree. I think that certain elements of the educational process will be easier because I already have a degree. I am expecting the program to be hard and I am expecting to have to work hard. Thank you for your feedback!

Have you ordered your uniform yet? They are TERRIBLE!! I ended up going with the snap-up v-neck and the men's pants. I swear I saw some nursing students in their uniforms and I don't remember them being this bad. I know I saw some students in a MUCH better lab coat than the one I tried on. I am also pretty irritated about having to go to the clinical sites the night before all dressed up. I don't understand why they can't just e-mail our assignments. I will just use the drive as an excuse to get ice cream during the summer. :) What is really going to suck is having to do it in the dead of winter when the streets are all crappy and snowy. I wonder if we can have someone else pick our assignments...probably not. Hopefully we can pick them up any time of the day and not just in the evening. How are you doing with getting everything done? I need to finish out my Hep B vaccinations and purchase liability insurance before the 24th. I have the vaccine scheduled for Monday and I figured I would purchase the insurance when I drop off the medical forms. This is costing me a fortune! Between buying shoes, a stethoscope, a uniform, and paying tuition I feel broke! I haven't even thought about books or that lab tote. I just keep reminding myself that it will be worth it in the end...hopefully.

Another good place to try is http://www.medisave.net I ordered my Littman on Friday and received it yesterday (Tuesday). I got it engraved any everything! Plus, they had the lowest prices I could find.

Yeah, the 20 character limit threw me off. When I first learned about engraving, I had romantic images of my husband buying me a scope with something meaningful and poignant inscribed on it. They I learned most places only do names and I threw that idea out the window. :)

I ended up going with the Cardiology III because I read so many fantastic user reviews and it was at the top of the list of that acoustic stethoscope review everyone links to. The biggest argument I have seen against buying an expensive stethoscope is that people are afraid that they will get stolen. I got mine engraved and I am getting a name tag as well. Hopefully I can keep good track of it to make sure it stays around! The other big thing about the Cardio III for me is that you use can use it with a big and small diaphragm or you can convert it to a traditional bell and diaphram. I have read the small diaphram is great for peds, emaciated patients, and around bandages. I am required to have a stethoscope with a bell and diaphram for school, so it works out well for me that I can convert it!