MadameFreckles

I worked the next night and got even less sleep than the first:eek: I was able to sleep the last night that I was home, but today I still feel terrible. I feel terrible anxious, shivering, very naseous. The first time I worked 3 nights in a row, I was able to get a decent amount of sleep, maybe 4-5 hours a night. I napped a bit during the day, and after my night back at home was feeling fine, just a little tired. I am training every other weekend, so it had been two weeks since that time. I dunno if my body has just decided it will not cooperate, but if this keeps going on I will have to quit and look for another job. I don't have time to nap during the day as I am a SAHM with young kids, and my husband and I trade off evenings going to school. The girl that trained didn't seem to have this problem. On the weekends my patient likes to sleep in and she says she loves working those bc she gets so much sleep. I, on the other hand felt like it was torture to be confined to a room for 10 hours, unable to sleep. I wake up at home at night to tend to my kids all the time, but somehow am able to get to sleep just fine most of the time. Last night my daughter was sick and I got 3 times but it just didn't effect the same way, I ws able to go back to sleep. I think over there it's just that I have to physically exert myself to turn him and use my brain to get everything done and afterwards I am just unable to unwind and get to sleep.Does anyone have any ideas for getting back to sleep at night after waking up? I start NS classes this week and am a nervous wreck. I loved my prerequisite class and do very well in school but am starting to question whether nursing is for me bc I just don't know if I could ever do night shifts. Do you think it would ever be possible for me, as a new grad to start on day shift? I don't care where it is, I'm willing to give working in a chosen specialty for a regular schedule.

This is mostly a vent, I am just so frustrated right now. I am starting nursing school this semester, next week actually, and got a job as a PCA in home care. My position is nights, 2x a week. Even though it's nights I only work for abot 3 hours at night and in the morning, getting my disabled patient read for bed and for the day in the morning. I also have to 1-2 times a night to turn him. I initially was really exited to get this position, I thought I'll get some good experience in nusing skills and be able to work while my kids are sleeping but still get a decent amount of sleep at night. This was my fourth day of work, first day that I was mostly doing it on my own, and it was absolutely horrible. I feel like some of the tasks are just physically too hard for me, like lifting and transferring. I feel like everything I do is not to my patient's satisfaction. But the absolute worst is the sleep deprivation. I have my own room there to sleep, but after waking up at night to turn him I just cannot get back to sleep. i'm nervous about everything I need to do in the morning, their house is too hot, their neighbors have stupid loud wind chimes, etc. The whole night is just torture, I keep feeling anxious that I can't sleep, which just makes me not go to sleep even more. I slept a total of about 3 hrs last night, and am a total mess. I feel too anxious to nap, but my brain just feels like mush. Today is my daughter's b-day but I'm having my husband take my kids to the ILs house this evening before work bc I'm afraid of snapping at them. After every time I work, I break out in hives the next day, which has never happened to me before. I just feel so defeated. I haven't even started nursing school and feel I won't be able to cut it, how the heck will I work night shifts if I can't even work a shift where I can mostly sleep.

Just wondering, what kind of special skills/abilities/personality does it take to be a good fit for psych nursing. I have worked various psych related non-nursing jobs such as respite foster care (lots of kids with mental health issues) home for autistic indiv., etc. I am in nursing school right now. The field really interests me bc I briefly toyed with getting my MSW for a while, and it just appeals to me for some reason. When I worked with foster kids, I felt like I had a good ability to connect with those who were deemed "weird" or antisocial, probably bc I spent so much of my life as kind of the weirdo shy kid. I am not sure I have what it really takes to be a psych nurse though. I have always been rather introverted, which I've mostly overcome as an adult, but still I am not the warmest bubbliest personality.

Thank you guys. The situation is that I just work in their home, so it's just me and his wife is usually around. He is very much able to talk and very active and employed. He does have partial use of his arms, only the tricepts and (so I guess maybe I shouldn't say he's quadriplegic!) He's just very particular about how he wants everything done ( he has been disabled for 30+ yrs, so definitely has a routine down) and since he is the one who hired me and pays me I am very nervous about getting things just right. Right now he is fully staffed ( he just needs help in the mornings and evenings) so I will just fill in for now, but they anticipating some of the other attendants leaving soon as they are done with NS. I really want to keep this job, the hours work so well for me too. I have tried to look at youtube videos, bu they all show transfers with help, like in a nursing home. it's frustrating bc I want to do a good job, but physically feel unable to. I am going to start doing daily squats, maybe I am just out of shape.

I think the reason many people in nursing school are older is that for many it's a second career and they attracted to it bc of the perceived flexibility and ease of getting a job.I am just in NS and bit older (in my mid twenties) and have a family. I do have a BA in another field and personally, I don't think I had the maturity earlier in life to become a nurse but that was just me. I think nursing is a very hands-on field, you are dealing with the nitty gritty of life. Plus, the night shifts and rotating schedules can be very hard and it takes a lot of maturity to deal with that. Personally, having kids and having to deal with all those bodily fluids and sleepless nights definitely knocked the immaturity out of me real fast :). That's just me though, and if you have the personality and drive early in your life then you can do it. I know you said you are busy with school, but perhaps you can look into doing some type of in-home care work, maybe just once a week to get your feet wet, as well as look good on resume. You could also try job shadowing and volunteering. I do think having a career early in life can be good. Going to school and trying to get my life together while taking care of kids is hard. I know some mothers who are nurses and they were all older and more established in their careers when they had kids. This allowed them to have flexibility with their schedules and take time off work to be with their kids, or go into an area of nursing that isn't so stressful. Plus, physically you are at your best when you are young, which will allow you to withstand those grueling first years on nursing better. I cannot imagine being in my 40's and having to work rotating day/night shifts bc thats all that was available for a new grad.

Hopefully someone can offer me some helpful advice. I am starting nursing school in a few weeks and just got a job as a PCA for a quadriplegic man who needs to be transferred from his wheelchair to bed and back, plus the shower chair. When I was hired they said they usually hire more seasoned nursing students but were willing to take a chance. The girl who trained me made transferring look so easy, she didn't even get out of breath! I had my second shift yesterday where I actually worked and didn't just observe and I still can't get the lifting right! I can do the transfer from the wheelchair to the bed since that's a little easier, I don't have to worry about positioning so much. From the bed to the shower chair was also not so bad. But, from the bed to the actual wheelchair I cannot do. The wheelchair is slightly higher than the bed, and even when I manage to get my patient on the chair I still don't do it right and his wife, who is a former nurse, ends up having to assist me with positioning. My patient is also my employer, so I really worry that if I don't start getting this right soon I will be fired. Can someone give me some helpful advice on how to do this? He is around 150 lbs. so not too big. Like I said, I haven't had nursing school yet or any formal training so I wonder if it's just body mechanics that I am not getting right.

I am also interested to hear more about the program. I am finishing up my science prereqs this summer and will be applying to start in Spring of '13. How competitive is admissions to the program. I am so nervous I won't get in! Also, what days are your classes?

I just took mine this evening. My professor let us start earlier than the allotted time and it took me 3.5 hrs in all. My brain is completely fried . Oh man, I just hope I have kept my A, bc it was really hard, and it's 25% of our grade. I'm pretty proud of myself though, this was my first class since having kids, and I think I did pretty well. I'll miss my class, we had a great group. Now, on to new adventures in Micro and A & P ! Good luck to everyone who still needs to take theirs.

I just wanted to update. I haven't heard back from the psych hospital, but I did get hired at another large hospital for a job working with kids. It's not exactly psych nursing related, more community health, but I decided to take it since the job market is so bad and I need very specific hours. Well, at least I have a job at a hospital now.

I am not a nurse yet but I just wanted to say that I volunteer on a floor where Chamberlain students do one of their clinicals, so I've met many of them. Any time I meet a nurse or nursing student I hound them for information lol. Most of them seem very happy with the program. I know they even have a study abroad option where you do your Community Health clinical in Brazil. I also know a few of the nurses on the floor that graduated from Chamberlain and they told me they liked it. I am applying to UMSL as well, and am looking at others schools as "safeties", and Chamberlain is one that I am considering.

I am a pre-nursing student and just applied for a psych tech position at a children's psychiatric hospital. I don't have a psychology degree but have always been very interested in psych and was going to go for an MSW before deciding on nursing. My question is, do you think being a psych tech is helpful in getting a nursing job in psych later on?

I've heard from people who went to Maryville that you need to do your first two years there to get into the BSN program, they favor people who did their pre-reqs there. I am taking pre-reqs at STLCC right now, and plan to apply to Barnes and UMSL. I believe UMSL is slightly more competitive. I met with an advisor at both schools, and I got a much better impression from UMSL. Barnes seems really disorganized, they kept transferring me to the wrong people to get an appt. and when I finally had my meeting, the adviser couldn't answer a lot of my questions. Also, I have a B.A. already and UMSL is willing to accept a lot more of my classes as pre-reqs than Barnes. My advice is to schedule meetings at all of the schools to get more info and see what will be the best fit for you.

I'll start off by saying I am not a nurse yet, I am still doing my pre-nursing classes. I have a B.A. from 2007 but I have only worked part time, with a gap in my in my history due to being a stay-at -home parent and having 2 kids in two years. The last job I left in the spring, I won't go into why (not fired) I am trying to find a tech job to keep my work history current and bc I keep hearing that if you get one, you are all but guaranteed to be hired on later as a nurse. I have applied to several places online, and haven't heard back. I decided I need to step up my search and started trying to network. I emailed all the recruitment managers at local hospitals. I volunteer at a hosp. right now, so I was thinking of asking the team leader where I volunteer if she could set me up with a recruiter. I don't know her well, so I've been waiting until I have some more time volunteering and the nurses know me better. I also chatted up a girl yesterday in my Chem class who is a tech at a local hospital. I keep hearing that it helps to know someone on the "inside" but I am not sure exactly what to ask that will help lend a job. If you know someone who works in the hospital, how exactly does that help you? Should I ask if they are looking for people on her floor? Also, what questions should I ask at the place I volunteer? I wanted to talk to the team leader next week when I go in, and ask if there is she could maybe recommend me for any unit that uses techs (I know the unit where I volunteer doesn't). Just not sure how to have that conversation professionally, so if you have any pointers, that would really help.

Today was my second day of volunteering and it went much better. I was placed in triage where there were only two nurses and they were really busy. One of them showed me around and I followed her around for a while seeing what she does. By the end of my shift I did two admits. Well, I just did the paperwork, took their temp and weight and escorted them to their rooms. Other then that, I did a lot of restocking, deliveries to various places, and answering phones. I also change all the linens when the patients leave. I was suprised at how much they let me do . The nurse at L&D to whom I report seemed really nice, so I am hoping after I have volunteered for a while, if I do a good job, she would recommend me for a tech position somewhere in that hospital.:)

Ok, so I just got back from volunteering. Sadly, the nurse manager for the floor who had requested a volunteer was at a meeting the whole time, so I got put with the unit secretary. I mostly just helped do some paperwork and ran back and forth from L&D to PP. It wasn't the most exciting thing, though I did see a baby crowning when I was sent to deliver something to a nurse (the mom had basically arrived in the final stage of labor so she was on the floor with everyone trying to hoist her up on the bed and it was pretty chaotic, pretty cool thing to see for my first day:yeah:). I didn't get to see much of the PP floor which was a bummer. I was hoping to get to hold babies in the nursery. So are these basically the only things I will be allowed to do, deliver stuff and do paperwork? Can I ask if I could go into the patient rooms? I was wondering if maybe I could go around and tell the patients I am the volunteer and ask them if there's anything they need?

Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes tommorrow. I am super excited:D

I am starting a volunteer "job" in a big hospital tommorrow. I will be doing it 3 hours a week. Baically, bc of my schedule I can't commit to a hospital job and I thought this would be a good way to get my foot in the door while I am doing prerequisites. When I actually start nursing school, I hope to get a job as a PCT there, and eventually a nursing job (I hope:D). this is a really great hospital and they have really awesome program for new nurse grads, for wich they give special consideration to people who have work and volunteer exp. in that hospital. So, I really want ot make a good impression. The volunteer coordinator told me I will be floating btw Maternity and the Mother/Baby. I wanted to do mother/baby partly bc I have an interested in working there and partly bc I felt like there would be more I could do as a volunteer in this unit. As a non-employee, there isn't going to be much I can do for people on a med -surg floor but here I could maybe help new moms with diaper changes, feeding questions, or just giving moral support. Anways, I was just wondering if anyone has any good advice for me or can tell me what to expect as a volunteer and what I will be allowed to do. My coordinator told me that as the nurses get to know me I can ask them if I can help with certain procedures and to be "aggressive" about asking the nurses for meaninful work to do. I am sort of worried now bc she made it sound like the nurses almost don't want volunteers there and they will treat me as if I am getting in the way:confused:. I also thought the part about being allowed to help with certain procedures was BS bc I am not a nurse or CNA, so there would be liability issues with me doing anything medical. So, what will I be allowed to do? I had a lot problems with breastfeeding my own kids and as a result I have learned a lot on the subject. Would it be ok for me to help a new mom with positioning and or give advice, or is that overstepping my bounds as a volunteer? If you had a volunteer on your floor, what would you want them to help you with?

I am volunteering at a hospital right now and after about 6 months of volunteering, I plan to get my CNA license and apply for PCT jobs there. My question is what kind of schedule can you work as a newly certified CNA with no exp.? I stay home with my kids during the day and am taking pre-reqs for the nursing program at night, and my husband is in school also at night. The only days I could do would be Fri evening and weekends. I have heard some people work 4x a month Per Diem as nurses and that would work out great for me. I just need a bit of money and the facility where I volunteer has a great new grad nurse program for which they favor people who worked at techs in that health system. So I just really need the job more to get my foot in the door. Do you think I could work Per Diem only about once a week as a new tech or student nurse? How many hrs. do hospital shifts usually last? It would be great if I could do a 12 hr. shift once a week.

Good to know it won't be too hard, I was kind of afraid of it! I think I'll take the review class offered at the CC, it's only $35 plus the cost of a book.

I am starting my prereqs for the nursing program this fall. i will be taking Chem and Bio, as these are the classes needed to get on the waiting list for the ADN program. I also need to take the DCT before I can get on it. I was wondering, when would be the best time to take it?I was thinking of maybe enrolling in the review class in a few weeks and getting it out of the way before I begin my classes. Should i wait until I complete Chem to be better prepared for it? I just took the Accuplacer and tested into Intermediate Algebra, do you think I would have a hard time with the math required for the test?

Yes to this. When you think you might be pregant, you want to know NOW.

You've raised a lot of issues that I haven't thought about. LTC patients are probably the least likely to make it out of a facility alive (that's the point of "long term care," right?), least likely to be able to speak up for themselves, and least likely to have visitors over frequently. Is hospice also a "warehouse-like" environment, or does it have a different sort of culture? Maybe I should as that over on the hospice board. I was wondering, is there anything specifically I should look for when looking for facilities to start volunteering/ working at? There are several in my area that are connected to large, reputable hospitals, would they be better to work for in terms of nurse/patient ratios and treatment of staff? Or should I look for small independant places, or maybe non-profit nursing homes?

I hope I am not offending anyone with this question. I have been on allnurses for a while now, trying to find out as much as I can about the nursing career before getting started. One thing I have noticed is that LTC seems to be thought of as the last resort for nurses who can't get jobs elsewhere. I've seen many posts with people saying, "getting a hospital job seems hopeless, I guess I'll go to LTC." I don't get it, why is LTC worse than working at a hospital? I was thinking of volunteering at an LTC or hospice and getting a CNA position there later so I can hopefully be hired as an RN upon graduation. I am also interested in Hospice but that seems to be hard to get into for new grads. From some of the posts I've read though, it sounds like working LTC is the tenth circle of hell . Can someone enlighten me? Can LTC nursing be enjoyable?

Thanks for replying to my post. I would be open to starting out in pretty much any setting after nursing school, as long as I got to use my nursing skills. I would actually not mind starting out in a clinic, and I would be very interested in working with low-income patients. My undergrad degree is in Spanish and I am fairly fluent so if I could find a job working with immigrants in a clinic that would be great, but I know those are hard to come by.I am a SAHM mom right now, and I plan on volunteering at a hospice this year and shadowing a nurse to get my feet wet in the field and meet people who could be my references, since I haven't worked in a while. I am hoping by 2012 I could get my CNA cert and work part-time. My kids are still little so I am not sure if I can juggle prereqs plus work, but maybe I could do Per Diem and be very part time. For now I will get on the waiting list at STLCC and start taking my non-clinical classes, which I will need if I apply for the BSN programs anyway if I do change my mind. Do you have any other recommendations for places I could volunteer or other things I could do to stand out before receiving my degree? Hospice and palliative care at hospitals is the only field I found where volunteers are needed.

I am trying to decide on which RN program to do, the ADN or the BSN. I'm leaning toward ADN, bc if I do that and then do the BSN completion track I'll have to take less classes overall (the BSN has several more prereqs I would have take than the STLCC ADN program) and save about $30,000 or possibly more depending on the program I choose:yeah:. The schedule would work better for me too. I am just wondering how much does it matter when looking for a job? Do certain specialties or types of medical facilites only hire one type of RN? Is it getting really hard to find a job as an ADN RN?