Emilynn09

Thanks for input. I appreciate it. I'm currently still considering the offer...

I'm, I suppose at this point "experienced". I've been an RN for 2 years, moving into my 3rd year as an RN. I work in an ER near my home, a 10- 15 minute commute depending on traffic down the main drag. Here's my dilemma... basically to stay or go. My current position, I have felt less than supported by management, and have reached a point at which I am at a plateau and don't feel that any more growth or advancement is going to happen. The pay is also on the below average scale for the area. The benefit is that it's a super short commute, and I do enjoy working with most (not all) of the people that I work with. Because of the lack of support, and the lack for opportunities to grow, I started putting my feelers out, and interviewed at a hospital about 30 miles from my house. It's the next closest hospital to home, and it's about a 40 minute commute down a little country road without traffic. 35 if I don't get stuck behind a truck. The pay is $5 more an hour, plus a hefty differential for my shift, and is right in line with what my research tells me is average pay for a nurse in my specialty with my amount of experience. It's a more progressive ER, with more opportunity to advance and experience more critical type patients. It's a good opportunity. I'm trying to talk myself logically through this. 40 minutes isn't really that bad of a commute, with $5 more an hour... that's about a $10k ncrease on the yearly, without counting any potential extra shifts I might decide to pick up. It's not going to cost me $10k more to drive that distance. That being said, there's something comforting about being 10 minutes from home. However, working at a place where you don't feel supported is miserable. What would you do? Stay with bad management and low pay, for connivence? or take the opportunity at a job with a possibly better management team, more room for growth with a much better pay check that's a longer commute? I'm so torn. You'd think this would be easy and I'd be waving goodbye to my job, but I'm just so afraid to make a decision. Change is scary!

I would, because there really is no other ED close by in the community unless I want to drive an hour + in either direction. For a true emergency, I'd have no choice.

The only thing that works is that one, it starts with a D, sounds like Bin Laden. LOL

Agree 200%. I have learned some of the best tricks from PCTs and CNAs. They are a wonderful resource. VALUE them.

This is DAY ONE! Don't be so hard on yourself. If you made it through the day, and didn't cause any harm to a pt, then it was a good day. We ALL make mistakes, even seasoned nurses make mistakes. Learn from them. Make it a point to ask as many questions as you can, and seek out any opportunities that you can for areas you feel you need the most practice in. You can do this, I promise. Just take a deep breath. It will all be okay, and you will look back and think about how far you came since that first year in nursing. I cried ALL.THE.TIME when I was a new grad. It's hard when you don't know what you are doing, and don't have confidence in yourself, and you feel like you didn't learn anything in nursing school. I think we've all been there. I have days even now where I come home and cry because I am so stressed out/ frustrated every once and a while. The only other advice I'd have is if you don't feel comfortable with your preceptor, you might want to ask to change. You want to work with someone who will help you learn, and make you feel comfortable, even when you make a mistake. Good luck, I hope it's all working out for you.

I have my own resource book that I put together, it's a 3 ring binder and it has all my hospital protocols with a lot of the common critical care drips and other things that I encounter often in the ED. It has my lab values in it, etc. I used to use it a lot more when I was brand new in the ED, but I still use it from time to time now when I need to look up the specific protocol for titrating drips. I always say better safe than sorry!

Tell everyone that you want experience doing IVs. Ask them to come get you if you have the time, and let you do the IV. Do as many as you can! Seek out opportunities. The only way to get better is to practice practice practice!

TNCC is a great class, as a new grad I think it's a fantastic idea to take. It will give you a process and some rationale to put behind your practice in the ED with trauma patients. The book that is used for the course is more than sufficient enough to use as study material. I found it to be pretty through.

It sounds like you've got some bad apples there in your department. It might be worthwhile to mention your frustration to your management, especially if you have attempted to resolve the issue yourself with these new nurses. Nobody wants to see anyone be fired, but if someone is not going to take direction and learn to focus on their job and responsibilities- and they are not going to take suggestions and criticism well, maybe the ED is not the place for them at this point in their career.

Onslow County is New Grad friendly. There is one hospital there, and as far as I know they hire new grads, and have a pretty extensive orientation period for unexperienced nurses. They also hire ADN and BSN prepared nurses alike.

Hello, I am wanting information regarding the ER at Carolina East? I am not a new grad, am an experienced ER nurse with an upcoming interview. Just wondering if any current or former employees may have some info about the department? How is the working environment? What is the compensation plan like in comparison to other hospitals in the state? (higher/lower/same?) What kind of benefits do they have for education? Is there an option for extra pay if you give up benefits? Once hired, what's orientation process like for non-new grads? What system is used for charting? Any information you can tell me or experiences. Just any information anyone is willing to share I would be grateful for.

Are you able to do clinicals in North Carolina or do you have to do them in TN? I live in Eastern Carolina, so the TN border is quite a ways.

Thank You! I will look into that link.

I didn't read any of the other comments, but I just want to say that life is too short to be stuck in a career that you don't like. Nursing is hard both physically and emotionally. I can't imagine having to go to work day in and day out and not really enjoying it. I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to find something that you love doing, that will make you happy. Stop trying to please others, including your parents.

Hello, I am wondering if anyone else has been in my situation. I know NC has special requirements about who they allow to come into the state education wise. I am aware that UNC, Wilmington, ECU, Duke and Chapel Hill all offer local programs that are online, and in some cases hybrid, but I am looking for other options as well. Does anyone know of any other online programs out of state which accept students from NC? Or perhaps other schools in NC? I have a 3.8 in my BSN coursework, so I was hoping to find a school that would waive the GRE requirement for a high GPA. I know some do, but haven't found one in NC. I was hoping I might get lucky.

The Naval Hospital on Camp Lejeune pays well, they do contracts, so you'd have to contact one of the agencies and get a contract; you can get per diem contracts but to work there you need to have 2+ years experience, which you obviously do.

Oh, I don't know. I think Vidant pays well; mid $20s.

Some. I make $23 and some change, but I also work at one of the lower paying hospitals in my area. I'm geographically challenged though because my husband is military so I didn't get to pick where to live. I like my job though & nursing was never about money to me so as long as I can make ends meet, I'm good. Where will you be moving to?

Wilmington is a nice area, there's New Hanover there and a lot to do in the area. I live in Jacksonville, which is about an hour away from Wilmington. I like it here. There's a community hospital in Jacksonville; Onslow Memorial Hospital. Jacksonville is a very family oriented community.

Is he/she a new grad? That sounds low for that area.

I have had no problem making ends meet at all. The cost of living is slightly lower, not as low as the hourly pay reflects, but I'm pretty good with money and haven't got myself into much debt so it's been fine for me. There's not too much around the area where I'm living so I spend less money eating out, or shopping because it's not as accessible as it was in CA. It's a simpler way of life here.

Me? I have 1 year experience. I was making $39/ hr in CA. I'm married so dual income helps, as well as the lower cost of living. We definitely aren't as well of as we used to be but we make it just fine. All the bills are paid, we've got food, a home and even some left over. I guess we don't have too many bills so it works.

If the ED is not for you, the ED is not for you. There's no burning bridges, there's no feeling bad about it and honestly, it says nothing about you as a nurse, other than it's just not your thing. In my opinion, life is way too short to waste your time doing something you hate. Get out of there, find something that you will love doing, you will thank yourself later for not staying in that situation. I would start looking into the options for transferring departments within your organization, that way you don't have to find a completely new job, but if you can't, I'd start looking into other jobs that you might like. Maybe you might enjoy ICU or Tele, or Oncology. There's so many possibilities. Don't stay miserable because you are worried about what people will think, go be great somewhere else, somewhere that you will enjoy and can be passionate about.

So, here's what I did. I got an ap for my iPad that is pretty loud, called Relax Melodies, you can make it sound like rain or a floor fan or combo of noises; it's been working pretty well. For the bright issue, I use pants hangers and clamp the ends of a blanket and hang those onto the window frame, they go up when I sleep and I take them down when I'm not sleeping. It looks kind of ugly, but it keeps the light out and it doesn't cause any permanent damage.