jtk57

I do feel valued. My manager makes a point of saying so regularly. The leadership of the hospital do the same; it's a great atmosphere in my hospital (I work in an outpatient clinic). As far as CEO compensation, I usually make it a policy to not dwell on what other people make salary-wise. I love my job, I will never be a millionare working as a nurse but I never thought I would be anyway. As a career changer I just feel absolutely blessed to have found a career I love and that has so many opportunities to learn and grow as a professional. There are a lot of people who never achieve that.

I enjoy my guns (including my handgun), and I am an RN. After active shooter training in my clinic, both myself and a colleague (ex military) were in agreement; we wish we could have at least one armed staff member each shift. It's too bad owning firearms, which as mentioned is ABSOLUTELY a constitutional right, has to be so politicized. Good guys (and women, like my colleague) with firearms can and have protected liberals and conservatives alike.

I hardly notice when I am told a pt is a nurse or has a nurse in the family. So often that "nurse" turns out to be a CNA or similar caregiver. People group all kinds of different jobs and professions under being a "nurse" but that is another thing entirely. I just treat each as an individual and that usually works out OK.

Good for you man you will do wonderful things for your patients! Congratulations!

I did my OB/GYN rotation in a hospital that serves a big orthodox Jewish population. Our clinical instructor arranged things so that no one was uncomfortable or excluded and I had a great experience working with patients doing exactly what the female students were doing. As a male nurse, I would estimate at 10% or less the times patients (male or female) have declined my services because I am a guy. That includes straight to my face (my preferred route) or through requests to managers or other nurses. No matter how caring and awesome you are as a nurse, as a guy you will have to deal with discrimination from patients. I just want the best care for them no matter who delivers it so I don't take it personally. In a OB unit that 10% refusal rate will jump just because you are a guy. If you can deal with it then of course go for it. Hopefully the manager knows their patients well enough to be sure that your talents won't be wasted just because of your sex. I will say that if you wear a wedding ring and/or have kids of your own that can tend to make families and patients more comfortable with you. Good luck getting your dream job!

Your mental health is your business. You may be surprised how many of your colleagues and instructors are on psych meds themselves. If you think others will judge you because you take medication then don't feel compelled to give out that information. It's nothing to be ashamed of though. I know there are always other factors in play but I don't think you should worry that your meds will mess up your nursing school experience; like others have said, they will likely help! Good luck and remember to put your own health and well being first. Without those you can't help others the way you will want to.

There are so many different discussions here about online FNP programs! homehealthWCN, RN, BSN; I am also in home health at this time working as an RN/Case Manager and I also am very passionate about wound care. I totally get what you are saying about independence in working with patients but still needing to communicate with PCPs all day long. Sometimes I really enjoy the exchanges with MDs and NPs and sometimes it is not as rewarding and fruitful. Anyway, I also am starting to gear up for Fall 2017 in hopes of starting an online FNP program but I am still trying to decide where to apply. My alma mater for nursing school is University of Maryland Baltimore but they offer only DNP now. After a 5 years of practicing as an RN and really finding my footing in a clinical sense I just want to move on with my career in an efficient and cost effective way and so I still am looking at MSN programs instead.

I graduated last year from a school of nursing ranked in the top 10 in the country in US News and World Report. It's located in a large metropolitan area known for fine schools and hospitals, and I am currently working in the hospital "across the street" from said School of Nursing. My nursing school graduating class was about 600 strong with half getting Graduate degrees and half Bachelors. In fact, we graduated the largest class of nurses in the state and the graduation ceremony was massive. As nursing graduates we had our own pinning ceremony and rah-rah session in the same building, but it took place before the actual convocation so we got to celebrate twice. The only reason I am saying all this is that I graduated from a huge, well respected school of nursing and the majority of my classmates were thrilled to be pinned. We chose people who meant a lot to us and who helped us get here, and they pinned us. Some chose a special faculty member or mentor, some chose a spouse or one of their kids. One of my classmates chose to be pinned by the first black graduate of the school of nursing, a wonderful elderly lady who is an inspiration to all of us. Anyone who says this ceremony didn't mean anything or that larger programs are abandoning pinning ceremonies is being disingenuous. If administration thinks it is a hassle, or if they want to save money, or if they have some other motive, they should just come out and say it. The notion that pinning ceremonies somehow diminish the standing of the school is ludicrous. Congratulations on your achievement and keep fighting to keep the special traditions of nursing alive; nursing is a breed apart, unlike other undergraduate programs, and every time a hallowed tradition is discarded like it doesn't mean anything, part of that unique bond among nurses also is lost. Just my 2 cents!

Not trying to sound too high and mighty, but we should all consider the long term consequences of a short term indulgence in "giving the boss a piece of my mind about the way she runs this unit" or "burning bridges", etc. Nursing and healthcare are a small community, especially when you are looking for jobs in the same metro area. Finding a job is hard enough without having people think you are a bad apple, even if it is not true or you just had a moment of weakness. That being said, at least in the state where I work, the policy for management is, if they are called and asked if RN A worked on their unit, they say "yes" or "no" and really don't offer that much more. Managers are not able to provide recommendations and they are not expected to provide any information other than whether or not the RN worked for the time indicated on their resume. If that is the case in your area as well then it seems to me it wouldn't matter if you burned bridges, at least as far as the formal application process goes. Like I said though, informal communication between managers and other nurses could be a problem.

This happens all the time. Even if I get report on a patient at 16:30, I could bet the mortgage payment that patient will not be on the floor until 18:45. My patients who have been off unit getting CT scans, MRI, etc. also seem to magically re-appear on the unit at the "witching hour" of 18:00 to 19:00. I have had charge nurses who refuse to accept transfers between 18:30 and 19:30 and I personally appreciate the heck out of that. On some level I think that having one RN take report and rush to evaluate a new admission and then hand off to night shift during shift change and all that is going on, it's not the safest way to provide care to the patient.

This thread hits home for me. I work 12 hour day shift on a MS floor with a lengthy commute to and from work. I get up at 5:15 and out the door by 5:50 with my bagel or toast in hand to be eaten while I drive to work. We are supposed to get a couple 15 min breaks and 30 for lunch; no way do I take a breakfast ever. I choose to spread my "breaktime" around during the day so I can pee when I need to and I generally take 15 mins or so to scarf a bagged lunch around 15:00 while on the unit. I know plenty of RNs and Techs whose entire day seems to revolve around taking lengthy breaks to obtain food, snack in the break room, and kick back for a relaxing meal in the middle of the day. I have no idea how they do it, although I suspect it may have something to do with delivering a lower level of patient care than that to which I hold myself; not unsafe care, just less responsive to patient needs. Just my opinion.

Hi Guys, I took the NCLEX (75 questions) on June 21st and tried the "trick" when I got home about 3 hours later. At first I got the pop-up saying that I had an open registration, etc. I checked back a couple hours later and I got the "good" pop-up. 48 hours later my RN license showed up on the SBON for my state. So... just one more instance where the "trick" turned out to work. Congratulations to everyone else who passed! Good luck with your careers. Jtk57

I also had Dr. ***** at CCBC Essex. His class was extremely rich, especially in Neuroscience, which is his specialty. His tests were designed to see if you actually understood the material he presented; if you want to learn by reading a book and memorizing things, that is not the way he teaches. BUT, if you want to learn a wealth of information that will be VERY useful to you when you are in Nursing school (as I am now at UMB), I would highly recommend Dr. *****'s class. He came highly recommended to me by others and I am happy to pass it on because I thought he was brilliant. Cheers!

Thank you for your input, *ac*. I could cut Lexington Market garage in a pinch but it wouldn't be my first choice. Maybe if I am rolling in my 98 Civic with 170K I could park off MLK with no worries. Thank you for the info about the cafeteria; I know there must be somewhere I could go and do some reading in or around the hospital at an early hour. Just wanted to say this website is great! Where else could I go and get so much great information about almost any topic. It makes going back to school a little less intimidating. Thanks, Jesse

Wow so I can get a quick workout in and then read up on Pharmo! Thanks for the information.