4chun_cookie

I've seen nurses accidentally give Oral meds into a peripheral IV, into a intracardiac Line (right into the left Atrium). neither Nurses were fired. Mistakes happen.

I once took care of a little boy in our PICU. 16 months old. Mom thought he was inside the house playing with his siblings. she went to move the family car out of the driveway. He was behind the car and his head ended up under the tires. This boy was in our PICU for a week. He never woke up, became a donor. I took care of this child daily and every day, I see the guilt in his mother's eyes, the tears streaming down her face. They are such a beautiful family and he was a beautiful child. It really broke my heart to see this family go through this. I'll never forget them. Non-Accidental Traumas always breaks my heart too. Perfectly healthy kids, never the same again after. Always brings tears to my eyes... =*(

watched a knee replacement once. Ortho Surgery sure is different! the surgeon offered the knee cap for me to inspect. I declined his offer. =) Watching the OR team rushing into our PICU to crack open the chest of a fresh post-op cardiac Pt who's tamponading always gets the adrenaline pumping. I've always found the Heart interesting. But I gotta say, the coolest operation I've seen.... I did CPR in the OR on a Pt while the Neurosurgeon was evacuating a clot from the cerebral bleed. Saw the brain and other tissues pink up during compressions.... and loss color with pulse checks. I believe my compressions were effective!

I've always loved Peds. However, I always thought I would go to NICU or L&D once school was done. But when I couldn't land a job in those specialties due to my lack of experience, I applied for PICU to work with a girlfriend of mine. She ended up taking another position with CVICU before her PICU position even started! 4 years later, I am a proud PICU nurse. =) my friend on the other hand did CVICU for

Do it! I've always loved kids and wanted to work Peds. never had a chance during school. Once I graduated, I applied and got right into PICU. I think it's a great experience. Scary, but challenging and fulfilling. Good Luck to you with whatever you decide to specialize in!

one more thing... i work in Edmonton, Canada

1. What is it like to work nightshift? I enjoy working nights (7pm to 7am for me) as I have always been more of a night owl. Can sleep 830am-4pm post night shift with no issues. But I can also sleep through doorbells and phones... =) night shift agrees with my body more. But then again, I do not have any kids to tend too. 2. Can you tell me a little about your sleeping habit before a night shift? the night before a night shift, I stay up until 2-3am and then sleep until at least noon the day prior to night shift. not much of a napper before shift though. 2. During night shift, are you allowed to take a short nap during breaks by the hospitals? Yes 3. If you are and you do, how long do you usually take a nap for? I use to nap for an hour-ish during my night breaks. But not anymore. Now I spend that Hour at the hospital Gym in the basement instead of sleeping. Unless I am super tired or the unit is too busy that I cannot escape for an hour, I may take a 15 min cat nap 4. Do you feel groggy after? If so, how long does it take you to recover? I don't feel groggy post naps. 5. Where do you take a nap? Is there a special room provided by the hospital for nurses to take a nap in? on the unit break room, Cafeteria bench, an empty chair... no special nap rooms for nurses here! 6. What do you think are the barriers on having a nap on night shift? Not being about to sneak away for a nap, no comfortable place to nap. 7. Do you have any concerns about driving home during night shift? Sometimes when I am super tired, It feels like my eyes close for a second too long at the light. I haven't fallen asleep driving ever. loud music, open windows, pinching the leg helps. =) 8. If there is an especially designed 'Nap Room' available at the hospital, would you use it? What feature would you like it to have? I probably won't use it... as I try to get my workouts in during my breaks.... but ideally, the room would have comfy lazy boys to relax in, that reclines.... no one wants to share a loveseat, or a 3 seater with others. Sometimes selfish people would just lay right across. =(

I'm from your neighboring Province in Edmonton.... not new.. but still wish you (and all other newbies) best of luck!

I once took care of a 16 year old boy for 2 nights in PICU. the first night he was quite ill, so he was bit incoherent or asleep most of night. The second night, he was feeling much better and was awake most of the night. I spent a few hours (between nursing duties) sitting there just talking to him to keep him company. My coworkers would ask me "why was I talking to him so much?", and I simply replied "i'm not going to ignore him if he's awake and intiating conversation". Anyhow, on my third night shift of that stretch, he had already been discharged from our unit. I came to work and found that he had left me a paper bag with a gift in it. a small doggie stuffed animal with a hand-written note that said: "Thanks for everything. You are nothing short of amazing". Of the few thank you cards I've gotten, I would think this is the sweetest one yet, and from a thoughtful 16 year old who's been through some tough times.

Hi Wonderwoman92! sounds like you got lots of good info posted here for you to run with. =) here's my 2 cents... I got out of High school and right into bachelor of science @ UofA. after 1 year, i decided to transfer into nursing and it was already past the deadline. so I spent year 2 of science taking nursing support courses that's available for non-nursing faculty students. (ie: anat, physiology, statistics, electives done and out of the way). then i applied to both Macewan and UofA nursing and got accepted into MacEwan's transfer program. taking the extra year to take support courses was smart (i think, personally). i had semesters with 3 classes as opposed to my classmates who had full class loads of 5 classes/semester and they were struggling. the extra time i had gave me more time to study, not stress myself out, etc. if your HS grades are not high enough, upgrade and hopefully you can get right into the nursing program with higher marks. but then you will have a full course load if you go into science right after HS and take some nursing support courses, then your beginning years will be lighter in the nursing program. but keep in mind of the 24 credits allowance that SurroDoula mentions. =) good luck with everything!!

call! like you said, HR is horrible sometimes. Taking the intiative to contact the manager personally will let her know that you are very interested in the position! That's how I've managed to grab a few interviews in the past. Good luck with everything!

Sorry to hear about what happened. =( Just wanted to wish you Best of luck with everything. :redbeathe

Hi Chickidee717, I'm in Canada, working at the Stollery Children's hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. I can't say that the orientation course is phenominal, but it's a start in PICU. =) good luck with your job search!

Hi! i graduated in april and landed a PICU job right off the bat. I had no peds experience but saw the posting and gave it a try; and got it! =) CCU would oftern offer orientation classes and a bunch of training shifts to get you comfortable to the patient population and environment. so i don't think getting a 1 year experience on med/surg is really necessary... and again. peds and adults are so different! Good luck with everything!

In Edmonton: University of Alberta Bookstore carries a big section of nursing books as well as a good selection of Littman stethoscopes.... Grant Macewan college book store also carries books and supplies, but less variety. I've seen the Uniform stores (I.C.U. on south side & Accuwear on West side) also carry some Littmans; limited choices though. Sorry I do not know the prices off-hand. It will be cheaper online though. but at least you can go and browse through the selection. I recommend the UofA.. =) hope this kinda helps?