mcpnurse

omg hahaha.

thank you! i don't consider myself thin-skinned and i do joke around with most of my patients but like a previous posting mentioned, there are some people out there who likes to constantly say it to you after you tell them to stop. and for everyone else, to the tall.. the short... the average height people... thanks for commenting!! i feel loved on this forum hehehe

I guess it does have its benefits... your last sentence cracked me up And yes, there are a lot more things to be annoying about but it just bothers me when some patients tell me that they don't want me as their nurse because I'm "too young". Then I have to give the same speech all over again.

A little about me: I'm in my mid 20's, 5'1 tall, and petite with a baby-face look. Thanks to genetics, I look short and younger than I am. I don't like it when patients calls me "cute" and tiny, and if I'm still in high school. I used to say "thank you" and ignore them and "I'm a lot older than you think". A lot of times my patients judge me as soon as I walk into the room and say "are you old enough to care for me?" and I tell them that I went through school, have 2 bachelor's degree and am a licensed RN....etc. Don't get me wrong, I love talking to my patients and caring for them but sometimes it gets annoying when both female/male patients say "your hands are so tiny" and wants to compare hands. Then throughout the day they start saying stuff like oh you're the shortest nurse here, that's cute.... let me see your tiny hands again. At that point, I just ignore them and change the subject regarding their care. Ugh. Dear patients, quit saying that I'm cute and tiny and just let me do my work. sorry, just a vent.

wow what a profound connection you have with the nurse. I enjoyed reading your story =) thanks!

Agree that any experience as a nurse is beneficial. At least it shows that you're not just staying at home doing nothing. I think the fact that you're doing women's health is great b/c it is related to babies. Try joining NANN and other associations. Perhaps volunteer at hospital as a cuddler while you are still working your job. Start making connections. Just don't give up if NICU is what you want to do!

how do you find out what their hiring process is? is it ok to call HR and ask the recruiter? i have no idea... hehe

don't worry about the math & science.. if you're really interested in nursing & dedicated to it, you will overcome the difficulties :) I'm not great in math but I studied my butt off and constantly asked ppl questions if I didn't understand something. I'm now working my 1st job and I'm getting better and better with math.

dumb questions but just wondering... people have been telling me that certain specialty RN's make more than others within the same hospital. Is this true? or do all RN's make the same? or is it diff. at diff. hospitals? (fyi, I live in NY)

Thanks Tankweti ! I applied there :) nycnurse, that's just terrible! I thought I'd give it a try... I live in NY and there are no jobs here either. =(

Hi, I'm willing to relocate to anywhere in NJ. Does anyone know if they're hiring new grads for NICU? Thankss

i guess what the recruiter meant was that i'm not fresh out of school anymore. that wasn't nice to hear. I responded by saying that I'm motivated and I still do retain the material I've learned.... blah blah =T

just letting you know that you are not alone. I'm in the same situation where I thought the unit was welcoming to new grads but it was the total opposite once I start working on the floor. I agree with the above post that 90% of the time it's a management problem. Aside from that, all new grads feel stressed and overwhelmed with their first RN job. Hang in there!

Hello Everyone. I really want to work as a NICU nurse and this is the reason why I went to nursing school. I graduated in May 2009 with my bachelor's from a well known program. Unfortunately I have been told that I was a "stale new grad" from a recruiter at a job fair Hospitals are not hiring many new grads every since I've graduated. If any NICU nurses are willing to network with me, it'll be greatly appreciated. I'm flexible to commute but prefers Manhattan, Queens, LI, Bronx areas. I'm willing to work any shift as well. I can give you more info about myself through PM. Thanks for listening!!

I recently heard that they no longer suggest a "packet" to help you study for the pharm test. Is this true? If so, can you recommend how to study for it?

he said he did talk with the director and HR along with his manager and they said this is very common that they will discharge him b/c of their short staffed situation. Had him take a test for competency and he didn't do well and told him that he will be fired for incompetency. isn't that sorta framing him?

the union will protect you even if you're on probation?

I heard this from a classmate... tell me what you think b/c it sounds totally bizarre to me. My classmate is a new grad who found a job at medicine/telemetry unit. He only has 5-6 weeks orientation before he has his own load. He already did 2 weeks of orientation and his unit is very understaffed. Supposingly his preceptor quit w/o telling him (perhaps the preceptor always had a prob w. the manager?) Now the manager says that b/c they're understaffed... if he would consider taking his own load of patients from now on. My classmate refused because he feels he doesn't have the proper training yet to take such a load. The manager told him if that's the case, they will consider firing him. Ok now.... I find this messed up. Can they even do that? I know he's not even done with orientation and is on probational period... but that's just unprofessional? Maybe b/c I'm a new nurse as well and I don't know the rules of these things but it just doesn't sound right. would you resign or have them fire you for such a reason?

if you really do have a problem speaking up for yourself, I guess you can email your manager. I've known several ppl who has done it

Can you name some medical clinics or private offices that are hiring new nurses, preferably in NYC? I know New York Pres, NYU has medical clinics but are hard to get into. I'm not the bedside nursing type... I prefer to be in a clinic setting. Any input is appreciated! Thanks

thanks everyone for you encouragement. I'm trying very hard to think of the positives. I just have some questions... which i think it stupid to ask. How do I know when to call the respiratory therapist? the nutrionist? the doctor? if for example: a pt refuses to eat their meals, and they're on a special diet... what do I do? do i tell the nutrionist or the doc? How can i improve my documentations so I don't have to spend hours on progress notes? I just don't know how to word things sometimes... and lets say doc orders antibiotics piggyback 1 g, daily IV ...and no rate is stated... what do I enter in the pump for rate ? as for VTBI, that is the total volume that's in the bag , correct? see... questions like this my preceptor could've answered but she said figure it out on my own. My unit is very short staffed... so I don't even see the other nurses around for me to even ask questions ... thank you everyone for letting me bother you!

usually i'll only give references if asked

I get 6 weeks of orientation. This is my 2nd week and I started out with 1 patient to 3 and working my way up. I feel scared when taking care of my patients, have a feeling of not knowing what to do next... my preceptor isn't so helpful whenever I ask her questions. I'm also having trouble with documenting b/c I don't know what to write, don't want to be too detailed or too brief.

Hi Everyone... Just need a place to vent a little.. I started my first RN job on 1st week of April. I was so excited and grateful to land this job after searching for 8 mos. after graduation. I'm now working at a med/surg unit.... (which isn't what I want but I want the experience) ... but now after 2 weeks of working, I feel dumb at work, overwhelmed .... and I'm hating it. I thought my rotations at school have prepared me well but once I start getting my own patients, it's so different and it's very tough! Esp. the critical thinking part ... I just can't seem to put all the pieces together right now. sigh

I had my own 1 patient yesterday and I felt like I couldn't even handle even one! And now I'm thinking, how can I take care of a 6-8 patient load? I'm constantly asking my preceptor questions but her attitude is "figure it out on your own". I'm having trouble thinking of what to do next for my pt even though there is a "worklist" on the comp. system that I could follow. When is it appropriate to notify the MD? When you use an IV pump, what do you enter for rate & VTBI? how do you know what to enter? (can you give example?) Also, it takes me a long time to document... especially the progress notes. sigh... right now everything seem like little pieces to me and I'm trying to put it together and get the big picture.