tyloo

Josh said it was his first day working on a psychiatric floor. This was a psych patient who told him this who was likely in a very vulnerable state of mind. “Why does everything fall onto Josh,” it didn’t have too. He was the one who posted a picture on a Facebook group of 268,000 followers. I’m not even a member of the group and I still saw that picture. I can’t imagine how many people in total saw it. The good news is that Josh has a new job.

I agree with you. I read his original post and I remember thinking to myself that he may get into trouble for it. I wouldn’t imagine that he would be fired though. His post was in bad taste. It was his first day on the job and he quoted his psych patient asking her if he could get her anything and I believe she said, “ you can F off and die.” Anyways he quoted her and it was meant to be cute and funny. I personally didn’t find it funny because it was a psych patient. I’m sure from an administrator’s point of view it was best for them to cut their losses early and fire him. The post went viral, and you can trace him back to his organization. He does have a new job, so he got back on his feet quickly.

I would hesitate if I were you. This will be your first nursing job and it does not have the direct care component to it. Essentially you may have a hard time moving on from this position in the future. I would wonder that if this position doesn't work out, or you choose to leave it in a few years where does that leave you for future nursing employment options? I don't think a nurse manager would want to consider you if you have been practicing in a nurse capacity that has never involved direct patient care. That is up to you if you are willing to take that chance in your career. I would also ask their retention rate for this job. I know of facilities that constantly hire Clinical Liaisons and there has to be a reason for it. I am sure it is stressful job. I would ask you to reach out to someone that has or is currently working in that type of position.

I would say ER if you want to get into critical care. More importantly go with your gut instinct. When you toured the units was there one that you felt more inclined to be at? How was the staff? Did some make eye contact with you? Was the staff running around crazy busy and appear overwhelmed? Did the hiring manager say hello to the staff as he/she passed in the hallway? How did the staff interact to the manager? Are they hiring just one position, or are their multiple positions at once? Your orientation experience will be affected by the preceptor availability. If there are alot of nurses being started at the same time this may cause your orientation to be chaotic. You are looking for a place that you can dig your heels in and grow as a nurse. You can have a long orientation, but be stuck in a terrible unit that you can't wait to leave once on your own.

OP, You said this is your second career, so have you done research before? I would call HR or read the policy online to see if someone in orientation could apply to a different department. I am highly doubtful though. I would stick it out, and since it is an academic hospital I'm sure there will be other research positions that open. Sometimes it is best to wait when the opportunity is right, and right now doesn't seem to be the best time. Lastly, if you find your job intellectually unstimulating it is because you are not seeing the big picture. You are a new nurse, so right now you are very task orientated. You may be too busy worried about passing meds and getting tasks done instead of looking at the greater picture of the patient.

I call out sick for every major holiday that I am scheduled to work. When I return to work everyone greets me with smiles, cookies, and pastries. My boss gives me an apology card and says how wrong she was to schedule me. My boss says she forgot how I am the unit's most special nurse, and I am not needed on the most important days of the year. My coworkers say that they didn't mind having to pick up an extra patient to cover my shift. My coworkers said running around like crazy on the unit to make up coverage for my patients that I didn't have made them miss their families even less. Of course my coworkers really missed me because I am the unit's best teamplayer nurse- just not on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Labor Day, and 4th of July.

I don't advocate for, "watering down the NP curriculum or making it as easy as possible." Good luck on your journey of starting grad school FutureeascoastNP.

You took patho and pharm in the same semester? That is a very large workload! Is that your school's recommended curriculum plan for your program? Plus the summer semester (atleast in my school) is shorter in length. I would not have recommended you to take both of those courses the same time, work full time, and take it during the shorter length semester. My school had those courses at different semesters during the Fall and Spring. Both patho and pharm take about 30-40 hours a week of studying and reading a piece. I really think you may have overdone your scheduling.

Very interesting. I finally came across the ANCC certification pass rates for 2012. There were 669 that tested for the Family PMHNP and only 553 passed, so actually the pass rate would be 82.6%. http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/FacultyEducators/FacultyCategory/Statistics/2012CertificationStats.pdf

Vanderbilt actually has the pass rates for all the ANCC specialities. The national pass rate is 89% for the family mental health nurse practitioner. https://www.nursing.vanderbilt.edu/msn/examrates.html

AANP posts pass rates on an annual basis, but 2013 is not posted yet. Pass Rates- AANPCP I could not find any posted pass rates for ANCC on any of their specialties.

I did not go to school for NP, but I went to an online nursing graduate program. Flexibility does not equate to easiness. It is hard. It is time consuming. It is challenging. I am proud that I am a nurse. I am proud that nursing education allows fellow nurses to go back to school and work. Some nurses don't mind moving to campus, not working, and taking a huge student loan debt. That is fine if it works for them. I am proud though that it does not have to be that way. There are nurses who have been practicing for years and have kids in college. Maybe some of them would like to become an NP and not sell the house, be jobless, and hours away on campus. There are single mothers or fathers that can go to NP school and still work part time. I hear a lot on these threads that many in NP school start full time at their jobs and then go part time or per diem for their clinicals. People that attend online and work do make sacrifices. I hope when you do become an NP that you are proud of your degree and your are proud of your profession.

I wish more hospitals were like yours! Congrats on going back to school!

I don't think the OP was complaining. She stated UAB is an excellent program, but there were things that did not work for her. This is an informative post for people considering UAB. The strict adherence to the plan of study would be problematic for me. I went to USA and decided for my spring semester to add a class, so I would not have to take 2 classes and my practicum in the following fall semester. I was so glad that I did that! I think it is hard to estimate how time consuming grad school is until you actually start the program. I know I was not sure if I would be able to be in the full time program or the part time program. I was able to stick with the full time program. If I had to switch to part time I would have liked to be able to do that. I think there should be some flexibility to the program, so I get what the OP was saying.

I have searched for positions nationwide and there are many traditional CNS positions. These jobs are speciality based. I see a lot for critical care, oncology, ER, and OR. If you don't practice these specialities or are unwilling to relocate then you may want to reconsider. SteveDE- I saw one position for a clinical nurse specialist specific for diabetes at UNC Health Care- Chapel Hill. The CNS degree provides you with a general background in research, direct care expertise, patient education, staff education, consultation, system leadership, and collaboration. You can go for jobs that are not labeled CNS such as management, staff development, quality improvement, and such. The broadness of the role is a double edged sword. It makes it hard to define what the role is but on the other hand you can make a role fit for you. I love this role because it is broad and it is practicing nursing at an advanced level. That is why I got the degree. I would advise anyone that wants to diagnose and prescribe that they can with the CNS in some states, however just go to NP school. Good luck.