UnicornRN

I recently left the ER for the OR. The main reason I left was because the ER I worked in scheduled me for six 12-hour shifts in a row. I worked it for 9 months, and when I asked for my schedule to be broken up with a day off in the middle they said they couldn't accommodate me, so I transferred to the OR. The OR is a completely different world, just as the ER is completely different than the floor. My hospital has a PeriOperative RN training class, which includes Periop 101 from AORN (mostly online modules with a test at the end to help you learn about the AORN standards for the OR). In the OR, I may have 4-5 cases in a day, sometimes less. We see the patient awake for a few minutes, and everything else is done while they are sleeping. If you love teaching, and interacting with the patient and the family then the OR isn't really for you because there isn't much of that. My biggest challenge in the OR is the 'strong' personalities - and there are many versions of those. I don't find it to be as stressful as the ER, and you don't have the repeat drug seekers, the person that has had a sore toe for two weeks and decided today was the day it became an emergency, etc. We have trauma in the OR - gunshot wounds, car accidents - and it requires you to think on your feet, but it's not a constant adrenaline rush. If I were you I would try to do some job shadowing before jumping into the OR. It's an entirely different animal, and it's not for everyone.

I transferred to the OR from the ER. It was definitely not what I imagined, but I am adjusting and I think I will like it just fine. In my OR there are a lot of personalities to navigate, so it's been a challenge. We also have specialty teams, and they are not really thrilled about a new person joining their team, so that's been a challenge as well. I agree with the shadowing advice. I didn't do that to begin with, but I don't think it would have changed my mind.

Depends on when the payroll week begins and ends. I work Thurs-Tues (12-hour shifts), but Thurs, Fri, Sat are in one 'week', and Sun, Mon, Tues are in the next, so I only work 36 hours per 'week', even though they are all in a row. Totally legal. If you work an extra day on either side of your scheduled shifts then 4 hours of it will be regular pay until you reach 40 hours for the 'week', then the remaining hours will be overtime. There's nothing illegal about what is being done.

Skills. My biggest weakness as a new grad was skills, and remembering what to do and when to do it. Nursing school prepares you for NCLEX, not floor nursing.

Baptist South in Montgomery hired me from ARIZONA with only an Associates. Several new grads were hired at the same time and went through orientation with me.

Baptist South in Montgomery Alabama hires new grads.

I was a police dispatcher and 911 operator for 9 years at a very busy communications center. I can handle stressful situations. I graduated nursing school in May, I've been on the floor 3 days and I feel exactly the same way you do. I was warned that there would be good days, and bad days and to keep a journal of what I learned every day so that on the bad days I could look back and see that I have been accomplishing something and maybe it wouldn't feel so overwhelming. I suppose I'll start the list this week since the thought of going back has me in tears because I feel so inadequate. You are not alone.

You can do it. I took it during my last semester of nursing school once we completed the Cardiac section. You'll be fine.

I don't like the scare-tactics the Kaplan reps use when trying to get you to sign up for their course. I'm sticking with Saunders, and the Kaplan book our school made us buy, but I'm not paying for their guaranteed pass class.

I live in AZ. Unless you have a BSN, it's very difficult to even get your resume looked at in Phoenix. In the town where I went to nursing school the local hospital does not support hiring new grads. I have applied at every hospital I can think of in AZ...not one interview. I have sent out nearly 100 resumes nationwide, and received 4 interviews. I was offered a job in North Dakota, but the housing up there is an issue for my family. I was offered two positions in Alabama. Luckily, I am able to move to gain the experience I need. I cannot afford to be picky, and I don't want to be sitting here in another year whining that I still don't have a job. I am happy to have a job at a facility that is willing to train me, and hopefully I'll like it enough to stay. The market is TOUGH right now.

May I have the study guide, too? [email protected]

Congratulations on choosing nursing. I am graduating in a few weeks after making a career change as well. I finally feel like this is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm excited to get my career started! Put away the NCLEX review book, for now. You won't need that until later, and until you get some time in nursing school under your belt it won't do you any good anyhow. Once you are in nursing school, I recommend the Saunders NCLEX review book. It will help you every semester. The most important thing I learned in nursing school was time management. If you don't have it, you need to learn it. There's much to do, and often it feels like there's not enough time to do it in. The other thing I learned, is to READ the material. Amazingly, it shows up on tests, and if you don't have an understanding of the basic concepts it's much more difficult to understand the details of everything else. Get involved in your Student Nurse Association if there is one. That has helped me land interviews where many of my classmates are not having any luck. I am not a straight A student. I'm a B student, but I was involved and I have real life experience. It matters. Enjoy the journey. I learned so much about myself throughout my time in nursing school, I feel like I am coming out a better person. You can do it!

My interview was a phone interview. If you Google nursing interview questions you'll get a good idea what the interview was like. The nurse recruiter was very nice, had a lot of information, and it seems like a nice place to work. I'm hoping to hear back soon!

Our pinning and graduation ceremony are combined. Our cap and gown are white, and when I tried mine on I realized that I need to wear something very light underneath as the gown material is pretty thin.

Unfortunately, neither of the places I'm looking at are HMA facilities. I was really hoping to hear from someone who actually works at either of these facilities, or has some insight at least into the area in general.