jenn_nurse

I donate regularly. I try to go every 8-10 weeks. Sometimes I am deferred for low hemoglobin, but if I remember to load up on iron rich foods in the week before I go I am OK. I have also been deferred for: an irregular heartbeat (side effect of medication I didn't notice I was having until they felt the skipped beats), recent vaccination post human bite (that was a 1 year deferral, although they don't routinely ask about humn bites), and because I have dated men who have sex with men. The American Red Cross changed the guidelines so that a woman who has had sex with a MSM can doate after 1 year. This is the one that annoys me the most, as I know what my safer sex practices are, the frequency with which I have STD testing, and the recent STD results of a partner. I was a person who donated before I ever became a nurse, so I know that being a nurse didn't contribute to my donating blood, although my comfort with donating blood may have had something to do with the personality traits that also led me into nursing.

I am an RN with my BSN. I have been a nurse since Sept 2008. In Oct 2008 I worked for some flu shot clinics and then began working at an ATF (Adult Training Facility). This is basically a place where adults with mental health/ mental retardation come during the day to gain work skills. I also work part time in a residential facility with disabled adults. The ATF pays REALLY poorly, but it is consistent and 40 hours a week plus benefits. The residential facility pays well, but that is only part time. I interviewed for a peds home care job and was offered a position there doing shift work, but it is per diem. I would need to work at least 30 hours a week to balance out what I make in 40 at the ATF. So I am trying to decide what to do with my career. I like working with this population, but I am afraid of limiting myself. I have applied to every hospital within 1 hour of where I live more than once and have not even been called in for an interview. I would like to earn enough money to pay my bills on time, and maybe even start to build some savings. I don't really know what kind of nursing I want to do- but I keep hearing that I "have" to get a year of med/surg to make myself marketable. I know I really like to be challenged mentally when I work, and I am not using most of my nursing knowledge or critical thinking skills in this job. One suggestion I have gotten from other nurses is to stay with my current full time job for at least a year before quitting to show I am reliable. Other nurses say to go with the home care job to show I am seeking out new learning experiences. I wish there was a clear answer.

Yeah, I've done it. The only thing I would find out about is if you have to collect money from the patients. I did not and that made it relatively easy to do. I will be doing it again this fall.