funvirgoRN

What you're describing is basically the norm in nursing. I've been a nurse for over 10 years, and days like that are pretty common. I sometimes love the frenzied pace. It helps the shift go by faster and helps me continue to improve my time management skills. I recently changed positions to one that is less patient care and it is still busy. I often don't get lunch, bathroom breaks, or even leave on time. I know other nurses working in office environments and they describe how busy and overwhelming it is. I would say that if you are already feeling like this then maybe you should make a change. Your happiness should be your priority. I have considered a career change mainly because of various management issues but I love it too much to leave.

They are completely different. I have years of experience in neuro and a few years ago started working in psych because I felt it would be fascinating to work in an area that focuses on another aspect of the brain. Also I wanted something that was less demanding than bedside. Psych even though it's not physically demanding can be very mentally taxing. They both are rewarding and challenging but on different levels. On neuro the average is 4-5 pts per nurse. Sometimes less, lumbar drains, ICP monitors, more critical high acuity kids may make some nurses 2 or 3:1 while others go up to 5 or 6 pts. Often times we only have 1 tech on the floor, so a lot of the work we do ourselves. Majority of our pts are q2 vs/n, so you are in the rooms a lot. The psych facility I work at is different. The nurses are responsible for assisting in maintaining the milieu, giving meds, admissions and discharges, attending treatment planning, delegating tasks. We have psych techs that are responsible for running the groups. We do interact with the patients and address any concerns they have. Pysch is more talking and documentation. The unit I work on is a 50 bed max capacity and the nurses are responsible for the whole unit. It's not broken up into separate assignments. Usually one nurse will do charge, one will do meds and if there is another they will assist where needed. Documentation of patients is divided amongst all staff. Prior to doing psych, I thought I would love it so much I would want to stop working in neuro. That has yet to happen. If there is anything else I can answer for you feel free to ask.

If the full time job is offered you should definitely take it. As far as the part time job, why not talk to your employer to see if you can alter your hours. Maybe more hours on saturday, or add a few on sunday. Also see if its possible to work from 6p-1030 during the week.

I believe that medication errors are avoidable. Some things I use to avoid med errors are to take my time and focus only on one thing at a time. When I'm rushing or distracted there's a higher chance of error. Also I make sure to check the meds against the mar. Doing this has prevented a lot of med errors. Pharmacy may not give the correct dose or old dosages of meds may not have been taken out of the cart. Also its good to know or double check the dose. Doctors sometimes order meds that are incorrectly dosed. If you know what the range is for that med it makes those types of errors easier to spot. Another thing I do is always let the pt know what I'm giving them. Sometimes pts may self medicate or we may have incorrect dosages from what they were currently taking at home. Also I've had instances where the pts were informed during rounds that certain meds were to be held but the MD did not notify the nurse or write an order to hold med. By letting the pt know before hand it prevented them from getting a dose they weren't supposed to get.

I'm lost without my wristwatch. We don't have a lot of clocks on our unit so without it I wouldn't be able to monitor how long my pt seized or my IVP meds.

GW and Georgetown will allow you to attend their graduate school for free usually if you have been employed there for 6 months. Cnmc has discounted programs through catholic univ and univ of Phoenix, but they normally don't cover 100%. NIH and the other military hospitals have good benefits and from what I hear offer the most benefits for grad school.

Try psych nursing. It's not as stressful as critical care. Also nursing informatics, research or become a clinical instructor.

Sorry not really feeling the pinch here. I live in a major metropolitan area and there are tons of jobs here for experienced nurses. A lot of the hospitals here have shortages, some have started hiring new grads.

Since you haven't done bedside in awhile, try taking a refresher course. Your local board of nursing should be able to provide you with a list of schools that offer a refresher class, usu community colleges have them. Also consider travel nursing or looking for jobs in a different area. With traveling they are looking for nurses in various nursing fields even case management.

Look into travel nursing, there are agencies out there that hire LPN's. The agency would have a better knowledge of what positions are available and can shop your profile to multiple hospitals. Also they would pay for your housing and insurance. Some even pay relocation expenses.

Here's the site for public health positions with the federal government. They usually have something available and they pay for you to get your MSN. http://www.usphs.gov/profession/nurse/

I had a similar issue. Instead of calling in sick I called the job to see if they needed me and if there was any way they could just cancel me for my scheduled shift. That way I'm not penalized. Another option is to come in sick and either let them send you home or tell them in the middle of your shift that you are too sick to work. Its not considered a call out and won't work against you. Besides, after doing that a few times your boss will encourage you to just call out when you're sick.

Sorry to say but this guy does not want to see you succeed, he will continue to bring you down. Get rid of him and focus on making a better life for you and your son. Also since your goal is to become an RN, I would suggest getting into a program before your prereqs expire. As an RN you will have more opportunities than you could as an LPN. Things may be hard for awhile but its worth it.