UserG

Me too! Come to think of it, I did have a tough internal struggle justifying my nursing leadership course being in any category. I had a professor who taught the merits of non-contact therapeutic touch therapy. Ugh! But, have you ever looked at a chiropractor's education? "Disturbed Energy Field" is something I could hear coming out of one of their mouths as well.

Is nursing a science? The second letter in the degree on my wall seems to think so. However, I have been expanding my horizons and have found those that don't seem to believe the same. I am currently applying to higher degree programs, including a few osteopathy schools. For those of you that don't know, both allopathic and osteopathic doctorate schools use their own centralized application process for almost all schools in the US. During the application, a potential student has to enter every course taken at an accredited college or university. This can take hours, depending on the number of degrees earned. Each class requires a school, year, term, credit hours, catalog code, course name, and grade. This is where I found out something I didn't know about our profession. AACOMAS (the centralized application for osteopathic schools) also requires a classification of the class. They have a limited number of choices, but a handy guide to know which class goes into which general category. For example, psychology goes under "Behavioral Science", organic chemistry goes under "Organic Chemistry", oceanography goes under "Bio/Zoology", and physical education goes under "Other Non-Science". I can't hyperlink the list because you have to login to their website and begin an application to view the entire boring instructions on placing each class in each general category. Imagine my surprise when I was entering my classes from my BSN program to find "Nursing" under the listing for "Other Non-Science"! Apparently, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine doesn't consider our classes to be as scientific as "Chiropractic", "Electronics", "Nutrition", and "Geology". I don't want to imply that those studies aren't scientific, but nursing is at least as scientific, if not more than, many on that list (c'mon... "Geology"?). Since approximately 20% of physicians have a DO instead of a MD, this means that 1 in 5 of the people giving us orders are being taught that nursing is as scientific as "Theater", "Religion", "Public Speaking", and "Cultural Geography". In their eyes, I guess the nurse practitioners they are trusting haven't really taken any science classes either (although, physician assistant classes are counted as a science...). Since the weighting system on the AACOMAS application applies different calculations for GPA based on whether or not it is a science class, it appears that I will be at a disadvantage when submitting my application. Is it as possible that practicing our "art" has led others to view us as lacking a practice in "science"? How do we assert ourselves better and is there anything I can really do to solve this immediate bias?

He doesn't really get across his point, which I think was that dispensing BC is somehow wrong. The problem 99.9% of people have is not what he is saying but HOW he is saying it. Read the article. It is eye widening.

I've been seeing on some blogs covering this story a disturbing trend. While the misogyny is rampant, there seem to be some that are taking things too far. The proper response isn't going after men in nursing or even men. Nobody here is doing that and I think it is because we know better. I read one comment where someone said this proves that men don't belong in nursing because they get off seeing naked women and have been known to drug and rape their patients. I'm also seeing people mocking Ben with sexist comments such as saying he came down with a bad "manflu." I don't see how misandry combats misogyny. This guy is slime, but it doesn't help the feminist image in society when some blogs are being just as bigoted.

An article passed my way last night written by an East Carolina University student arguing about the availability of birth control in the student health center. http://theeastcarolinian.com/?p=1138 What was really disturbing wasn't thebile spewed towards women taking responsibility for themselves (advocate for birth control or not, I'm not here to argue that one). It was that this young man is a senior in the nursing program. The article was slightly sanitized on the site, but it was captured for all eternity on the internet. I suggest reading it (if you can stomach it!). http://rebekahtodd.tumblr.com/post/10814214583/east-carolinian-releases-outrageous-column-on-birth That's right! This young man is going to be entering our ranks in a few short months! Someone who believes that a woman who engages in sex is actually a prostitute. Someone who wants to be in an industry around a large majority of coworkers that will be offended when he insults them for having a ******** (but he uses the real word). Someone who wants to be a nurse, but doesn't know that his case of the sniffles is going to be treated with fluids and rest. If you were a preceptor and one of your students acted like this, what would you think about their ability to provide adequate and equal care? Would a nursing instructor think he was sleeping in his nursing ethics class and not paying attention to the section on triage in his textbook? More importantly, if young Ben Cochran passes his NCLEX and is licensed, what is a nursing manager going to think when she googles his name before the interview and this is the number one hit? If he becomes a nurse someday, I'm going to be ashamed on behalf of my gender. I apologize in advance to all of you ladies. ETA: I forgot to mention that I don't believe the apology in the editorial. His Facebook page shows him gloating about receiving all of the attention and hate mail.

In southern Florida, the HCA's have a great program for new grads and nurses wanting to go into a new critical care area they aren't trained for. Two months in the classroom and two with a preceptor in your new area (ER, ICU, Peds, OB, etc.) Try JFK, Kendall, Lawnwood, Port St Lucie, Palms West, Columbia, etc. They will have something, if you are serious and committed (2 year contract).

I was first licensed as an RN in OR. My first job in 2008 downsized me after just a few months and I was unemployed for 6 months. I took stopgap jobs here and there, but ended up full time staff in a dream job in South Florida. (Oh, and we're hiring new grads still, too!)

HCA facilities here in South Florida hire new grads into 14 week specialty programs (ER, Peds, ICU, etc). As for "internship" positions, I'm not sure I've seen any in awhile.

Yes, and the difficulty I had in trying to become an OB nurse had nothing to do with my gender... I was raised in a delivery room (mom is FNP/CNM) and have assisted on hundreds of deliveries and in various cases had to deliver a few of them by myself. I have more experience than many OB nurses with 2-3 years on the job with very few patients having a problem with my gender, yet my OB rotation in nursing school coupled with the interviews after graduation taught me that whether or not it was discrimination, certain staffs work better with certain demographics. I was generally treated like dirt by OB nurses because I have a Y-chromosome. There certainly are men sporificely represented in obstetrics in nursing. But gender certainly is a liability getting in the door. The point is having an edge in a field gets you the interview and maybe an advantage in securing the position. True for OB. Probably true for ER. I admit it and it is unfortunate. What IS truly aaannnooooyyyiiiinnnggg is when someone complains about discrimination, but only when it is against a group they belong to.

Your gender, in my experience, gives you the edge to get the job over another female candidate. Getting the interview, is what your resume and CV is for. After that, I've seen gender work wonders. However, we are a science based field, so our individual experiences are not statistically significant. It could just be that I'm awesome in an interview and my chromosomes have nothing to do with it. Or it is just a confirmation bias since I have had a few interviews where I didn't get the job. Either way, use whatever advantages you have to get the job.

Whoops, I think I misread your bio, then. What was the "S" in "BSN" for again? I would never deny anyone their opinion. However, without evidence, it is going to be a pretty weak opinion in the minds of what is supposed to be evidenced based practice. Illogical argument you are making is called the "false balance". It means that each viewpoint is of equal merit. I could say that I refuse to wash my hands between patients because the water supply is loaded with mind controlling government drugs. Is it healthy for my patients to give my viewpoint as much weight as yours that 15 seconds of washing (or alcohol based sanitizer) will prevent the spread of most diseases? Personally, I would look to studies and evidence before going with an opinion that ignores "a magazine" like JAMA, Epidemiolgy, Nature, and Science. Opinions are always welcome. But we are nurses. We use words like "science", "trust", "evidence", and "reason". It isn't always about us. It is about those that are in our care.

There are advantages once you get the job, but I haven't seen anything in the hiring. It depends on the manager you are talking with. Considering most managers come from the specialty they are managing, it seems to follow that you will get a fair shake in ER/ICU/CCU since (in my experience at least) there is more prevalent bias in others.

Is there a source citation of the harm from flu vaccines? Nursing is also a science, so I would like to see a reputable science journal tell me: 1) the vaccine is very harmful (with exceptions to those with very specific allergies) 2) the harm from the vaccine is greater than the harm from influenza

I actually dread taking my pets into the vet because I've now heard vet techs on both coasts starting to introduce themselves as "a nurse". Vet tech is a hard job, but it isn't a nurse. I don't treat animals and I don't know how; vet techs don't know nursing and shouldn't call themselves that.

My hospital system runs a course for several of their facilities in the area. New grads going into certain areas (ICU, ER, CCU, etc) take the course before going into their assigned area. And it is all paid time! The course includes certification in: TNCC ACLS PALS Chest Pain Stroke Crisis Management Triage The down side is that they require a 2-year contract signed the first day. To get out of the contract before two years costs five figures, although that is prorated over the 2-years. I'm just wondering how worth it this kind of package will be? I already have all of those certifications (except triage, and my TNCC is up for renewal in around 6 months) and I have just completed my second year of nursing. Plus, I've already worked in my area of the facility for almost a year! I'm just getting pressured and wanted some perspectives.

If it is a medical concern, I think you are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you put it to them that way, they may feel compelled to make a reasonable accommodation (mask).

I was raised by a Certified Nurse Midwife (large part of why I became a nurse) and working in her office and helping with deliveries before I could drive. Before starting nursing school, I had a long talk with my mom about wanting to be an OB nurse. She was so casual about it, I figured that is how nurses were about men in the specialty; sensitive to the feelings of the patients first, but we're all nurses at the end of the day. NOTHING could be farther from the truth. In fact, if it wasn't for my OB rotation in school, I would have tried to be an OB nurse. 90% of the patients I talked to were cool with a male nursing student caring for them (so I switched with another student the other 10%). Actually, some of the patients were women I've known for years through mom's practice and one was a friend from high school! But, it was the nurses' attitudes that convinced me me weren't welcome. I spent plenty of time sitting at the desk and studying because the nurse I would be assigned to would not have a guy touching "her" patient. Ditto each day. I complained and got switched to a new facility. Even worse. One day, another male nurse student and I weren't allowed out of the break room. I'm glad to hear you are having a good time. How often do you do the postpartum shifts? Do you ever actually get into a delivery? I'm truly jealous. I would give anything to do OB again. So long as I had a staff that didn't see my chromosomal deficiency (lacking a second X sex chromosome) as a permanent liability to the floor. I love OB, just not bigoted OB nurses.

If there are jobs, I could move in a heartbeat! Anyone know how hard getting endorsed in CA is?

From a different person's perspective, you might be doing it wrong. If that is what it means to you, great! But it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.life lesson> Before nursing school, I worked at a place "where the magic happens" in Central Florida and the employees had a running competition on who could find the most creative way to "grab one" in as many of the different parks as possible. It is a family place and none of the visitors really know what is going on behind closed doors. Or in plain sight! But a hospital or any area in the healthcare field is unacceptable. Like teaching (despite the apparently social tantamount-approval when it a woman abusing a young man...), it is a violation of trust.

You know of travel nursing agencies that would take a new grad? Please, please, please share! The places I see have 18 months experience requirements.

Skilled Nursing Facility (Don't worry, I'm pretty NOOB and the experienced nurses had to learn what a Sniff was the first time they heard it too!)

I know about an instructor at a huge school in my area that was the same way. She insisted the a male student was clumsy and that men had no business being in nursing (she even told him so in front of the other students and RNs at the clinical site). Lawsuit! He got his loans paid off by the school and transferred with that paid off too. All the students had his back, but he understandably transferred. However, she got promoted. Probably to show what a good teacher she was in case any of the other guys started feeling mistreated.

How's this for a story? "A student in an economics class was struggling to get by. But, no matter how hard he worked, he kept getting Ds and Fs in the class. He knew the material! He could quote the text by heart! Maybe he was losing ground in the lectures? One of the kids approached him and asked him for his notes for the lectures of the previous week. 'I missed a whole week of class because my family wanted me to head to St Marten with them for the week. I know how smart you are,' the kid explained, 'And I'll repay you by getting you in good with the professor! He's a longtime family friend.' That sounded like a wonderful investment: he give up a week's worth of his notes to get a secure future. He could supplement the own notes, still feel good about working hard, and be able to get ahead. He couldn't lose this time! The next week came and the vacationing student had no time for him. No introduction occurred. He got screwed by a bad investment and the other student got to continue his lifestyle. But the screwed student felt confident going into the test because he worked twice as hard now. He failed. Later, he found out the teacher graded on a curve. Worse, the teacher accepted "donations" in return for a better grade. People were buying their way into better grades and he would never be able to afford to do the same. When he approached the professor to complain, he shouted, 'How is this fair? I can't afford to give you any "dontations"!' The economics professor responded, "That's how our society is set up. You think just hard work will get you rewards? This is capitalism. I don't make very much at this school. I need braces for my kids, vacation money for my wife, and my boat needs $50K worth of work! I demand money and will then supply the good grades! If everyone could just expect their work to count, how would I make enough to afford my lifestyle?'"

Part of the problem is the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. And part of that problem are "non-emergency visits to the ER".

I wasn't using the YTD numbers because they aren't complete yet and didn't know how accurate they would be. (BTW, CSU does have a nursing school that they combined with the University of Southern Colorado.) For example, UNC consistently gets pass rates in the 85-89% area, but the incomplete numbers are through the roof and I can't be sure if this is a statistical fluke that will correct with the December grads or they really are onto something. The Regis comment was based on the how they really revamped the nursing school a few years ago and have really pulled it together recently, but struggled there for awhile. DSoN is so much newer, I was comparing it to Regis after their remodel (academic, not what they have been doing to the interiors of their learning labs). I should have been more clear and I'm sorry.