bigsick_littlesick

I used to have one of those "tool belts" but our hospital doesn't allow us to pack flushes ahead of time so I just usually have some caps to save IV tubing, claves, alcohol wipes, shears, kelly clamps and a 4 color pen. Used to carry a lot more but don't nowadays.

I drank the Koolaid and joined an awesome Crossfit box last September. Being a per diem nurse, I like to pick up evening shifts so sometimes I'll get a WOD in before I head into work or take an Olympic lifting class beforehand. Bad thing about evening shifts is that no Crossfit gym is open when I leave work so I just have to make it up on other days or days off. If I don't feel like leaving home for a workout, I'll program a home workout using things like sandbags, kettlebells, 100 lb punching bags, etc. My non-nursing dream is to own my Crossfit box/MMA gym with my husband. At that point, we would go get our Level 1 certs and additional certs through either NASM or NSCA for personal training. Then we can play around with fun equipment while getting a hell of a workout in! I've lost 47 lbs and down to 17.7% body fat since starting Crossfit and getting my eating habits in check. It sure is hard to resist when patients bring in See's candy boxes or gummy bears or cookies though!

5:1 - Surgical (post-op) floor in Northern California.

Good job! Keep at it. I did my preceptorship in an ER so I got LOTS of practice and I loved, loved, LOVED the catheters they stocked. Never missed one. Now when I see an old field start or a bothersome AC, I can't wait to restart another one. I have a weird fetish for starting IVs We carry Insyte Autogards and Intimas (the butterfly one) at my hospital. I prefer the Insytes, I miss with the Intimas. The one I really like is the BD Nexiva's... But yes, practice makes perfect and sometimes no matter what you do, you'll still miss

Fellow Crossfitter here! Though I am a newb :) I had been lifting heavy at the gym (back squats, deadlifts, bench presses) for the past four months but just recently signed up at my local box, Rocklin Crossfit. We qualified for the Games this last summer and was third in regionals. We just did a charity WOD today for Tyler Brown, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer. One of our family members has been struck with cancer…. | Rocklin Crossfit Start with 3 reps, then keep adding 3 reps after each round until 20 mins is reached: Overhead squat, chest to bar pullups, back squats and push press. I got up to 18 reps, felt the pukies coming on towards the end lol Then ended with a 1000 m row. I LOVE the Oly lifts too even though I'm a beginner. I actually have an unrepaired torn ACL in my left knee. Just got a per diem position so I can't quite take time off just yet since the rehab can be pretty extensive. I have an AWESOME knee brace, Donjoy Defiance, it's the same one RGIII and many other pro-athletes wear. It's a derotational brace and anything that we do that has too much lateral movement, they allow for modifications. My hands are starting to get super torn up which makes me nervous with our line of work but it is like a badge of honor hehe Nice to meet you all!

Yep! hahah that's where I found it. It's so awesome cuz it's how I feel every shift lol Gotta love being a nurse!

This is the first blog I've read from this nurse. Thought this could brighten someone's day as I was laughing to myself quite loudly when I was at the vet with my dachshund this afternoon Enjoy! http://nurseeyeroll.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/a-day-in-the-life-of-nurse-eye-roll/

1. California 2. Still on orientation! (6th week to be exact) 3. Inpatient surgical floor in a 300+ bed hospital 4. $49/hr (hired as per diem) 5. $7/hr per diem differential; $2.70 = PMs, $4.60 = NOCs, $1.60 = Weekends 6. Yes, California Nurses Association

Daaaa... I tried not to cry but the FEELS were too strong... What a beautiful story... I think the mom knew as well!

Whatever you got to do to get that heart rate going, do it! Even if it's just to maintain where you're at during nursing school; 30 minutes of brisk walking, workout DVDs, YouTube videos, etc. I gained about 17 lbs. in nursing school and by the time I got out, I felt like a fat lump 'o' lard. Now that I'm working as a per diem RN, I have lots of time to fit in workouts on MY time. I've lost 22 lbs. this year so far! I feel healthier, I've toned up so much, lost inches everywhere, my old clothes fit loose and I feel so much better about my body! I looked at pictures we took at 4th semester clinicals and can't believe how chubby I had become! I cannot rave enough about Jamie Eason's LiveFit program. It was a great starter workout program that incorporates weight lifting, plyometrics and HIIT cardio workouts. It's FREE on bodybuilding.com's website. I will say that some of the workouts do take an hour sometimes longer so looking back, I don't think I would've been as consistent with this program then as I am now. Takeaway message is just to get some exercise, most days of the week!

Thanks for the info! Really helped. I just got hired as an RN so I can't take off the time to get it repaired anytime soon. Maybe in about a year. I am very healthy and the knee doesn't bother me unless I do anything that requires any cutting movements, that's when I feel the instability. Hopefully the reconstruction can get me back to where I was pre-injury. That yahoo link was great

No, they have a very high crime rate due to cutbacks on police force and homicide rate is ridiculous. Probably an interesting place to work at for traumas but I'd rather live/work somewhere a bit safer. Just my opinion.

Hey all, been reading this and other military nursing threads for a while. Regarding the physical, I'm assuming a torn ACL is a DQ? What if I were to get it repaired?

I worked as a CNA for almost a year a half during nursing school. I graduated in Dec 2012, got my license Jan. this year and was just offered a per diem position at my hospital a couple weeks ago. Went to computer training today! I was very persistent with the manager. She had a shortage of aides on her floor so I would float to her floor a LOT and treated it as a working interview. I love their staff and they grew to love me and now I'm one of them! I'm so excited! Good luck to you! There were BSNs that graduated with me and got jobs right away so there is some hope!

It's all bad in California still. I'm in the Sacramento area to be more specific. I graduated in December 2012 and am just now getting offered a position on the surgical floor I work as a float CNA at. Out of our whole class, I think about 6 out of 28 have acute care positions with 2 of those having to move to South Dakota and Montana to gain employment. There's 2-3 that took SNF positions right away and 1 became a dialysis nurse where she worked as a tech during nursing school. There are quite a few people from the graduating class a year ago (May 2012) that still don't have jobs. I've heard that the situation in the Los Angeles area is pretty dire as well. Central California is a bit more promising but you'd have to be willing to work in places like Bakersfield or even Stockton (no thanks on the Stockton). I'm sure the Bay Area is even worse. I work with a nurse who happens to be an instructor at a couple of local programs and she goes to all these conferences about nursing education. The last one she went to said the average time from graduation to getting a job has lessened from 8-12 mos to 6-8.