esthomprn

Not able to get overtime due to the economy

OMG!!! i feel the same way. I just graduated last May and sometimes when I go home I think about what I should have done or what I could have done. i am SUPER paranoid when I leave. I always check my emar ATLEAST 4x to make sure I charted all my meds. I always quadruple check my flow sheet to make sure I charted everything. It gets frustrasting to the point where I want to grind my teeth. I hate it. But atleast by the next day I'm over it. I think it is normal cause we don't want to make a mistake. I think it takes time and when we are more confident in our work then it wont be so bad.

My dream is to become a travel nurse. I just graduated last year and has been working for almost 6 months so I know that i have to what at least another year to do it. My problem is that with todays economy, im afraid that there aren't enough travel jobs. I was told by my manager that if I travel, they would not be able to hold my job. I hate to travel and then find out that there are not enough jobs out there or I don't like it and then im just stuck with no job. Is it true that there are not any jobs for travel nurses or that in a few years there won't be?

I think you should do what makes you happy. If working at a clinic is going to make you happy then you should go for it. But if you eventually want to work at a hospital, it might be best that you stay at the LTC. When you work at a clinic, you lose those skills of time management, starting IV's, passing meds, assessment, critically thinking etc. If it was me, I would stay at the LTC if I knew I wanted to work in a hospital so that I can have those skills.

Thats kinda hard to say. Its definitely wrong for them not to tell you all the details AND on top of that, they lied. Is that illegal? Anyways, with that being said, I think I would take the job cause like you said, unemployment is not going to last long. I would take the job and also keep applying to other places and would definetly leave that job when a better oppurtunity arrives. That way you can have experience and other places would hire you. Good luck

Oh no its never to late. My mom became a nurse at 35 with three kids and a husband. I was in 2nd grade when my mom graduated and my sister in kindergarden. My mom graduate cum laude (which i believe is 3.7 GPA). So yes ma'am you can do it. Of course there are some sacrificies. My dad had to do both me and my little sisters hair, he made us breakfast (cereal), ironed our clothes, and he made us dinner (hamburger helper, sloppy joes, and frozen pizza mostly). I remember my mom and dad would cut coupons out every sunday to save money. Even though me and my sister were very young, we didn't care cause all we wanted to do was play so we werent upset that she wasn't home most of the time. She still made time for us though but like i said, at that age we just cared about playing. I think you should go for it. You have to take pre requiste before you go to nursing school so you can take most of those online. Remember, your education is forever, a man isn't. God forbid you and your husband divorce and you don't have a job to take care of your little one. Good luck

It usually takes about 2 weeks. I called nurse recruitment when I wasn't sure about my status and just asked if they recieved my application and how long it usually takes for a response. Good luck

Its in my blood...literally. My grandmother and my mom are both nurses. Plus I like helping people!!!

Well if a patient wants to smoke then they are given a release form for them to leave the unit to smoke. It basically says that treatment will be delayed and/or discontinue while there gone and they can't sue us if something happens. They can then go to a designated area for them. NOBODY else can go to that area but them. If they still refuse to go to that designated area. The police are called. What they do I don't know. The MD is aware that there gone so I guess they can do whatever they want to them.

My hospital is smoke free. The campus police writes people up if they smoke and turns it in for disciplinary actions and they are ALWAYS walking around campus. They even actually found hiding places that employees go to and put cameras in place. The closes place for people to smoke is 3 blocks away.

Where I live, techs can work in surgery. They mainly just stock supplies, help transport patients, clean beds among other things. Do they help with surgery and watch the surgeries, no. But by working there, if you do a good job, you can work there as a nurse when you graduate from nursing school and get to know the staff and policies so orientation won't be that long. Plus I agree what the above said also!!!

I was a CNA before I came a nurse and it helped me out a lot. It helped me because i saw some of the things that were talked about in school (because I'm a visual learner) and because the nurses knew I was in nursing school, they always showed me how to do things and the doctors were very helpful. The doctors would let me see them put in central lines and do bone marrow aspirations. The nurses would let me see them put in foley catheters, IV, wound care etc. It is also helpful so that you can see what type of specialty you would like to go into. Working as a CNA, i realized that I did not like geriatric or adults but peds was my thing. You also learn how to be a good nurse. There are going to be nurses that are going to be fantastic and you would want to be like. It was a great experience for me and think it would be great for you to do. good luck

I graduated in May. In April I had an interview and a job all in that month. I just couldnt start till the middle of may (when I got my temp license). So yes it is possible. I would also start talking to the manager of that unit that you want to work for. Try to volunteer for that unit so that she/he can see how you work and that way when its time to hire people, you are the one that stands out.

When I was a tech, I had a lot of nurses treat me like that. They would act like they were to good to do simple things such as empty a foley catheter or clean a patient. Some of the nurses would wait until I finish a bath before they call me in to clean a another patient or empty a foley bag when they were just in there. I always told myself that I would never treat a tech like that when I become a nurse and as a nurse...I don't

I also had a positive PPD and decided to take the INH. Before they gave me the INH they did a LFT to make sure my liver was ok for me to take the drug. I decided to take the drug so that I don't get TB in the future. I personally think you should take it cause when you have TB, it is BAD!!!

Well I had the exact position as you were. Before my interview, I made sure that I researched the hospital and looked at there mission statement. ALOT of hospitals are big on education so I made sure to bring about that I am a huge believer in educating the community (which I really am, I actually debated on being a teacher vs nurse). I also mentioned that I am a team player, I like to learn new things, and like to take on a challenge. I also mention that I can handle conflict well and not afraid to ask questions when I don't understand things. Managers like that cause 1) no one like a person that doesnt like to handle conflict well and likes to start drama at work instead of working it out and 2) no one wants a nurse that just does stuff even though she doesn't understand and you need to learn to question MD. I think that will help you stand out. With experienced nurses, the managers know they know how to do this but want to make sure you as a new grad have the potential to do this. Honestly, im not a manager and I am just a new grad but out of A MILLION interviews that I have done I found this is what they like. Good luck

Do you mean competing with experienced RN or new grads that have been CNA/PCT in the past? if your talking about nurses, you have nothing to worry about. When you apply for the new grad position you are competing against new grads (people who have never been nurses). If you are competing against people who were once techs on the unit you are applying for its pretty hard. Are you atleast getting interviews? Are you being picky and applying to certain positions?

I was in the exact same position as you. I had one job that was going to pay me more but was 30 minutes from where I lived and the other was 10 minutes from where I live but it was $3 less of a pay and its where I wanted to work. I decided to go with the one that pays less because that is what will make me happy. You don't want to have a job where you wake up everyday wishing it was friday...and its monday. its not about the money all the time. if thats the case then become a doctor!!!

I used kaplan and i felt like i was doing the kaplan questions all over again. To me it was the same I was done in less than an hour with 75 question. I think you are well prepared and you will be fine. I will pray for you

So, i really want to be a travel nurse but I have heard some horrid stories about them. Some travel nurses that I have talked to said that they love it but they also said that when they traveled, some of the other nurses were mean to them. They said that they were jealous of them cause they were making more money than them so therefore they showed them something ONCE and that was it. Because of that, they told me that if i want to travel, make sure I have 2 solid years of experience under my belt and to make sure that I am SUPER confident in what i do. I really want to travel nurse. Im not married nor have kids and im 23 so in a couple of years it would be a great career for me but hearing this, i don't know. Can someone give me some insight on travel nursing?

Why don't you try working PRN as a CNA/PCT. That way when you sign up for a shift you can try to work a night shift to see if you like it. I was hired PRN as a PCT and tried working night shift and I loved it. I even found my personal trick of staying awake for night shift. You have 2 years to figure out if night shift is for you so over the summer try to do some night shift. Plus, if you did have to work night shift, you would figure your niche of staying up all night. But to answer you question it depends on the hospital. In Little Rock, there are a lot of jobs that are day shift for new nurses but there are more nights available.

I think you should sign up for NCLEX first. If you fail (which im sure you won't), you would have time to take the test again before you start your new job. Plus, if you wait until feb to take your NCLEX the chance of you passing decreases because 1) you will have high anxiety from waiting too long 2) your going to forget some of the stuff you learned from school 3) its hard to study for 4 months and 4) its hard to study while you work. I started working before I took the NCLEX and it was hard to study on the days I worked cause I was so tired. Especially on the days I was on my 3rd 12 hour shift. We are all different. I was ready to take my NCLEX 3 weeks after graduating cause I have been studying for 2 months and did not want to prolong studying. I was done with school which meant I was done with studying and just wanted to concentrate on work and not work and NCLEX. I know some people who waited until they passed to look for a job and they passed there first time. I say go with your gut and take the NCLEX when you feel comfortable.

I have an interview with an L&D unit that I want to work on. I really want this job and is having a hard time as a new grad finding a job. I was wondering what kind of questions they would asking during an interview. I know the typical why you want to be a nurse, what do you see yourself doing in 5 years, why you want to work here etc... but is there anything out of the ordinary they would ask me?

UALR (university of arkansas of little rock) and baptist medical center here in little rock does not have a waiting list. In fact, only thing they look at is your GPA. No interviews, essays, etc... Just have a good GPA!!!

I agree with purpleLVN, why not work at a clinic if the only problem was the paperwork and that you had so many patients. Its sad that they treat LPN's that way. I know a LPN who said that she too has 20 patients daily while I have 4-5 (at a totally different hospital). I think you will like working in a clinic. You have a lot of patient interaction (well atleast I talk to my LPN a lot) and not that much paperwork.