jetta1

I'm getting my left foot fixed in December and was wondering how long other nurses were off work and if they returned to light duty first?

This is another thing which really upsets me that I didn't share. She told a RT that I let her put in a NGT in the patient/her son, because he didn't want me to insert it and that he had pointed to her, indicating that he wanted her to put it in and that I let her. She also told the RT that after she put it in, I listened with the stethoscope to confirm placement and that she put it in the right place. WTH?!?!? Where does she come up with this stuff? I found out about this at the end of the shift on Tues, am off today Wed, and back to work on Thurs. You better believe that I will be confronting her about this when I see her and telling my manager.

The woman claiming that she is a LVN is my patient's mother. Her son is in ICU and when she comes to visit him, she is telling staff that she is a LVN. She does not work at my hospital or is employed at my facility. Someone asked her what school she went to and when we looked it up, the school doesn't even have a LVN program. There is also a respiratory therapist that knows of the mother outside of work and she tells us that she is really a sitter for patients. We told the RT that she was telling people that she was a LVN and she burst out laughing and said that woman is nothing more than a sitter.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure before I tell my manager.

There is a patient's family member that is telling people that she is a LVN but I find out that she is nothing more than a sitter. This is against the law, right?

foxyhill21, are you thinking about leaving Villas at Coronado? How do you like it there? I looked at it and I like everything about it except for the traffic getting in and getting out.

Hi veggiegarden! I actually looked at Archstone Brompton! I could have got a really good deal there for a crazy amount of sq. footage. I'm still looking around at a couple of other places but thank you so for the scoop on Archstone Brompton. I will definitely keep that information in mind. It's nice to know what a place is really like because some of those leasing agents are almost as bad as car salesmen! redefinition, I hope you like your new place!

I'm looking right now and have having a hard time finding one. Which apartment do you stay at and is it a place that you would recommend? Why or why not?

Usually, the only place that has shifts like that is in the ER.

I haven't myself but I was wondering what the reasoning was for the write-ups.

Are you sure St. Luke's is only offering Med/Surg? I work ICU here and we are short! Talk to Cheryl Bothe. I don't know her number off the top of my head but she works in Nurse Recruitment.

Shirley, since you love UTMB and Galvestion, do you plan on working there when you graduate? Just wondering! I had clinicals there for two classes and also worked there for 6 or 7 months and was not impressed. I am a 2004 graduate from the program you are in now so I lived in Galveston for almost 2 years and as you can see from my first post, I do not like Galveston! I honestly just *never* felt safe there and carried mace around with me whenever I left the dorm. I hate that you can't even go to Subway, Walgreen's, Wendy's or take a stroll on the seawall or the beach without being harassed in some way. That has happened to me at all those locations and then some! Galveston is a good place to visit during a mini vacation but I could not recommend it as a good place to actually live in. Our project in Community was a real eye opener with the data we got about the city and don't get me started on the nursing program there!

Galveston is yucky. You don't want to go there. Take a look at Clear Lake. It's really nice there and I had clinicals at their hospital and liked it.

Sounds like you may have polycystic ovaries or PCOS.

Sounds like you may have polycystic ovaries or PCOS.

I'm in critical care also. My orientation was just under 12 weeks. The amount of time spent on orientation depended on you at my hospital. In the beginning before I actually started on the unit, I had hospital orientation for almost 2 weeks! Once I finally got on the unit, I had a unit orientation seek and find type thing and started off with one easy patient. Then it was two easy patients, then one hard and one easy, then two critical patients. It's overwhelming because you have all this information that you need to familiarize with like the flowsheet, drawing up labs, what to do when such and such happens, who do you call-the resident? attending? primary service?, how long can drips or IV tubing hang?, putting in orders in the computer, and even just remembering your co-workers names! I found that it took several times for me to register information and usually, I am quick to pick up on things. I had a wonderful preceptor and I am so glad that I had her because some nurses that I was with in nursing school were just awful.

I agree. I was just sharing that since he is so concerned about being a male nurse, that the only time I have seen potential problems with this was with my male classmates during our OB rotation. Not to keep him from going into OB, but to make him aware of what I've seen happen and how that was the only time I saw where being a male was not as beneficial.

How are you thinking that being male is going to diminish your chances of getting a job? I just don't get it. Hospitals do not "avoid" hiring male nurses and I hardly think that they have a policy for recruiting male nurses. Are you thinking something along the lines of that they can only hire one male nurse among 50 female nurses or something? They do not prefer women over men and it is against the law to discriminate against sex. I hardly think that you are going to have a harder chance of being hired just because you are a male. In fact, I think you have an advantage because you are a male so I'm not sure where your thinking with this is coming from. The only way I see a problem is if you are going into OB or something because some male nurses in my class had a problem with some nurses and patients during that clinical. Call the hospitals that you are interested in working at and ask them about that visa thing so you know before you apply. Talk with nurse recruitment.

I like it. I work the same schedule as my preceptor for a month after I'm off orientation so that I still have someone to go to when I have questions, and yes, I am still asking a lot of questions! (I'm in ICU) I didn't feel ready to get off orientation but that was because I only had two weeks to orient on nights before I got off orientation. If I had stayed on days, I would have felt ready. Other nurses ask me if I need help all the time and have been offering themselves and telling me that if I need anything, to not hesitate to let them know. I like being on my own.

I'd call the hospitals and talk with nurse recruitment or similar departments about. Apply for loans at the financial aid office in the meanwhile and apply for scholarships. The school of nursing usually offers some and you can apply for others online.

I had a friend that failed the first time and she took Kaplan and she passed. She says it really helps you how to take a test and answer questions. I know you are disappointed but keep your head up and don't give up! *hugs*

They pretty much take their own students. I had taken most of my pre-reqs at U of H and took an A&P course at HBU because they were offering it sooner because they are on the quarter system. I also tried to get into their nursing program in the meanwhile. You have to take a test that they offer and make a certain score on that before you can even apply, if I remember correctly. It had some writing on there, that's all I remember. When I was applying a couple of years ago, they were only taking 30 students for the BSN program. I didn't get in. I had a higher GPA than someone who got accepted into the program but she had taken almost all of her pre-reqs there. HBU is a private university, which equals super expensive tuition. All the nursing lady told me was to take some religion courses in the meanwhile that they require for graduation and reapply. Screw that. They just want me to stay there longer and take courses I don't need anywhere else and then, I don't know if I'd be able to get in or not because I didn't take most of my other classes there. I believe you have to take a New and Old Testament class and have a certain number of convocation points in order to graduate. I met a recent graduate of HBU and she could not bad mouth the school enough, and she had a full scholarship there! She was very dissatisfied with the BSN program. I don't know the specifics because I kind of tuned her out because she was complaining for so long. Don't get me wrong, while I was there, it was great. The professors are nice, and the atmosphere is totally different from what I had experienced at U of H. It's also crazy expensive. Not worth it to me. I also got the impression that they take whoever has given them the most money. I had a 3 something for my GPA and the girl that got accepted had something in the upper 2 range. That's just my opinion and experience. I think it would be hard for someone that took their pre-reqs and get accepted to their program, IMO. It never hurts to try though!

GLDLPN, thank you so much for the information! I really appreciate it!

There's a store near me and I'm thinking about getting a pair. I took a look at the shoes but don't know what to get! They have slip-on shoes and those that lace up with a couple of styles in each. What style shoe did you have and would you recommend it? If anyone can give me the style name of the shoes they liked or hated, I'd really appreciate it.:)

Wow! You all have been really thoughtful and helpful with all your replies! Thanks to everyone! I just worked my first three night shifts (in a row) and I'm doing okay. I don't have a problem with staying awake at all because there is still a lot to do on nights, but getting some sleep at home is kind of hard. I woke up at noon after my first shift (3 hours of sleep) and could not go back to sleep! The second day I got about 5.5 hours. I'm curous to see how much sleep I get today. I got some earplugs and those work great but I still need to get something to cover my window. I'll have to stop by JC Penney's this weekend because it is so sunny in Texas! Thank you so much for all the advice!