KDS1313

Sweet! I need little things like that to help me quick remember, thank you!

Hi! I too graduated in May and passed the NCLEX 2 weeks ago. Congrats on having 2 JOB OFFERS! I understand your problem as I too want to be an ED nurse and yes you would learn a ton there. I did my preceptorship in the ED and LOVED IT...however, there is so much to learn in order to be GOOD in the ED, such as time management and priority setting...that became very frustrating when things got busy and you didnt have a moment to catch your breath. I dont know what size city your in...either position I'm sure you are completely capable of doing, but I think to do a med/surg position at a large, new, updated, advanced hospital will give you more skills initially, as well as time to really develop the floor skills you just cant learn in lecture. Take that job and keep an eye on other job openings in that hospital, once you feel you've gotten all you can out of the med/surg position, apply for a transfer into that department. I have known a lot of people to transfer in and out of different positions, so I wouldnt worry about the standard 2 year contracts they give you. Hope this helped? Good luck and Congratulations!

The ED that I precepted in (I'm a new grad, so dont have a job there YET! ) My nurse was one of the highest qualified so she often was assigned the trauma room as well as two or three other rooms. If someone did come in needing that room, she and the charge nurse would be solely assigned there while the float nurses and/or nurses with either VERY stable pts or unfilled rooms took over the remaining originally assigned rooms. I remember a couple of nights when a pt would come to the trauma room and we didnt see our other pts the remainder of the night. It seemed to work very well for that ED. Hope this helped?

I dont think you can take any psychology course further than intro UNTIL you have the intro done...the intro course is usually a pre-req to any subsequent course in the same category or field. Furthermore, unless you have done a heavy load in summer semester before and know your limits, I would stick with just two....generally you have long classes every day and a lot of busy work. Its definitely do-able if you are even permitted to take those classes together, but be warned you are going to be SUPER busy that semester. Good luck though, I understand the want to hurry up and get going. -Kate Recent BSN graduate

god knows we need all the tricks we can get!

I agree...a lot of my fellow students gripe hard-core about the care plans, but I learn so much more with them because it forces me to investigate on my own about the patho of a disease, and the rational for the tx, rather than have some mono-toned professor with a masters or PhD bark this stuff at me and act surprised when it doesnt stick like glue to my already frazzled brain. I learn better by doing myself than just watching or listening, and I think most do, but a lot of people in my program have become accustomed or expect to be spoon fed.

You know, the care plans are super annoying, but they train you to chart as a nurse. We are not licensed to make medical diagnoses and can be held liable if we do. If you chart the pt has constipation when they actually dont, that is technically a med error. It is training us to think, talk, and write as a RN. If you want to do more than that, then you need to become a NP. I've been chewed out for it before by an NP, so I am VERY careful about how I word something. And liability is everything...RNs or nurses in general are at the bottom of the hill, and we all know what direction $hit rolls. I have to remind myself every time I am in clinical or think about the day I graduate and am a licensed nurse that I can get sued at the drop of a dime for ANYTHING. Cover your butts, play the game, and go home with a clear mind. We all gotta do it, so we might as well make the best of it. Good luck!

I am going through the exact same thing, only my husband refuses to go to counceling with me. The best advice anyone gave me was my aunt who has been a LPN for 30 years; she said "the only thing you can control is yourself and how you deal/respond to things". I cannot control him or how he feels, I cannot even control our marriage, but I can heal myself. Yesturday I went and made an appointment with a councelor at the university I'm at (might as well recieve some of those services my tuition is paying!) I am trying to manage my own feelings and frustrations and preventing it from getting in the way of my BSN program. I even had to write on a card all the reasons I want to be a nurse...so when ever I get discouraged I can look up and be reminded. It doesnt always make me feel warm and fuzzy, but it helps keep the eye on the prize.