akvarmit

This is a great thread! Thanks for reminding us that in the midst of the negativity - there's a reason we keep coming back and clocking in! I love it because no matter how long you've worked there, some nut can always trump whatever craziness you sa...

Wow - they paid a consultant to come up with the "internal waiting room" concept? Heck, I've seen it done for free in numerous ERs.........it's called the HALLWAY! Seems to be the favorite location for crazed charge nurses to start throwing pati...

Heck - I'd just apply to some places and make sure you mark that your interest is in getting into the ER. If there's openings, you're just as eligible as anyone else to sit at an interview and ring your own bell! Most managers would love to have a e...

When I was on the floors and took care of patient's who drained me emotionally like that, I reminded myself - I get to go home What I mean by that is - I only had to put up with them for the duration of my shift, but they have to live with themselve...

Thanks akspudus! I think I've read all your posts from the past, too, which have been helpful. we've already been reading the Empire on-line as well as anything we can get our hands on about the area. We were going to wait until January - but it...

We will hopefully be moving to Juneau by fall, and I've read all the posts here from the past. Anyone have additional info about the area, the hospital, etc to offer? I'm hoping to get in to the ER there. Thanks!

I have a question....... I just returned to working in a nice small ER after having been at a Level I ER a few jobs ago. In the Level I we didn't use any clot busters for CP, we just did Tridil/Heparin and down the hall to the cath lab. The "small"...

Lots of great replies so far! Look into what programs are in your area to support you through this, such as - do you qualify for subsidized day care, assistance, etc? Do you have to go to school full time or part time to qualify for assistance in ce...

Don't forget you can use the phone or web to contact the Board of Nursing for the state you're in or the one you want to transfer to. I live in Pa but will be moving to Alaska. Per their BON site, I must have a employment offer in place to start the...

I have wanted to believe the best about people, sometimes to the point of being downright naive. But working in drug & alcohol gave me a chance to see how many times my hopes that someone was telling the truth were ill founded. It's unfortunate,...

Learning to take care of myself in the same way I try to educate patients to take care of themselves:redpinkhe I set boundaries when I did night shift about how much I could/could not do when I should have been sleeping. I try to eat better and exerc...

I was just in the same situation - managing 7 lpn's. The info I got from upper management was warning me "they don't like change", etc, etc. So, I was sent to management classes to study generational work personalities. We had a journal club to st...

I appreciate this thread very much! I am one of those same ER nurses that left and did a few different things, and now I'm headed back "home" to an ER job ...... actually starting back tomorrow I did 2 years level 1 ER, about 2 years Home Health an...

Well, hopefully you shouldn't be expected to "hit" the ground.....at the interview you should ask about thier orientation program and see if they're invested in helping you grow into being a great ER nurse. Your prehospital experience will definitel...

Just to clear things up for the poster asking about the "blood patch" idea that got inserted. Here's a clip from the website below. A anesthesiologisst draws the patients blood and inserts it back into their back. It doesn't really apply to the ca...

Thanks for your post 92 and congrats to all on your jobs! I did 2 years in a level 1 ER a few years ago, and after some Home Health and Managment (ick!) I'm on my way back to the ER at the end of the month. I have my head burried in books reviewing s...

Hiker - thanks so much for your post! It was an email I got about Kotzebue that started my hubby and I considering a move to Alaska. We have since decided on Juneau, but we had to carefully consider our options and preferences, etc. However, I did...

I think just as there are bad bank tellers and plumbers and garbage men....there are some bad nurses. Nothing worse than a nurse that thinks they're "done" learning and they've reached some "end of the line" intellectually. ER nursing is so indepe...

It's funny that the "tool" is used to show the nurses all the areas where they could use their 3rd arm and 2nd head to "work a little harder and strive for 5" or whatever other insane sound-byte they teach us. When is it used show upper management...

Hey Alaskagirl - thanks for your replies here on the board! We are planning a relocation to Juneau in less than year, hope to be there by April or May next year. (I lived in Alaska when I was in the service years ago and my hubby is a snow sports lo...

I agree with a previous poster - getting a good grade in A&P doesn't = being a good nurse. I've seen nurses with straight A's that couldn't critically think themselves through simple decisions.........and I've seen nurses that struggled with eve...

Interesting topic.......I was thinking about this at work recently. I always thought I got "thick skinned" from my ER experience, but I view it differently now. I work managing 7 staff in a D&A rehab right now and I"ve never seen so much unjusti...

Soooo wildmountain - how did it go???? Dawn in PA

Don't be too hard on yourself! Switching from one system to another is a learning curve .....think of a big train rounding the "curve" on a mountain, only to shoot forward instead and down the ravine... Sometimes that's how it feels! There is no ...

I want to do some "refreshing" the next few weeks........leaving a management job and headed back to the ER. I'd rather do some online studying than sit with my old books open. What's the best online ceu site? I don't mind spending 20 or 30$ for ac...