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Compile a list of achievements/contributions from the year. Did you attain any certifications? Did you serve on any employee committees? Did you make any suggestions for changes that improve work flow and efficiency? Did you orient new staff? Precept a nursing student? Think of concrete examples of how you achieve goals that you set for yourself and how you went above and beyond. Good luck on your eval!

Congrats on the job! I love my Littman Classic II Infant stethoscope for my wee ones, but I covet the Cardiology III. It's nice when you're assessing moms and babies because all you need to do is flip it over to use it for peds or adults.

Hi there. Congrats on your offer as well! The background check ended up taking about 3 weeks from start to finish. Gather all of your paystubs and W2s because they do follow up and ask for documentation for each job you've had no matter how small. It all ended up being fine, just tedious. Thank goodness I keep all that stuff. Did you do your PBDS test yet?

I bought a couple of pairs of Best Ever scrubs a few years ago. They were ok, but not worth the money. I liked the tops better than the bottoms. My favorite are Grey's Anatomy scrubs. They're about half the cost of Best Ever scrubs. And if you need some inexpensive good looking scrub bottoms I like the Cherokee flare pants.

Before I let my pt launch into the long-winded version of what's going on, I ask the required yes or no questions first. "Hi, Mr. Smith, you're calling about abdominal pain today?" "Yes" "Ok, really quickly I'm going to ask you some yes or no questions that will help me determine how urgent the situation is. Do you feel cold and clammy, feel like your heart is racing, you're breathing fast or that you're having any mental status changes?" "No" "On a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you could imagine, how would you rate your pain?" "I'd say about a 7." "Is it so severe that it prevents you from bending, walking or working?" "Yes, it hurts when I walk." "Any fever/chills/nausea/vomiting/diarrhea/constipation?" "I feel a bit feverish." "And if you were to point to where it hurts, where would you be pointing?" "Just below my ribs on the right side." This takes about 1 minute, then I let them tell me what happened, when it started, what it feels like, what makes the pain worse/better, etc. This seems to cut down on the pt's narrative a lot by getting some of the key things out of the way. Hope it helps.

I give report quickly and efficiently and promptly clock out. I don't stay for hours "charting" while I milk the clock. That way the unit can use that money for staff when they really need it or for education money.

I'm in the Mid-Atlantic region and yes, it's true, Kaiser pays significantly better than comparable employers. It's a nice place to work!

Johns Hopkins has it. So does UVA. Good luck!

Generally as long as it's the same specialty, I've had anywhere between 3-6 shifts after I complete HR orientation and hospital nursing orientation which takes about a week or two at most. I'd go nuts if I had to shadow somebody for any longer than that!

Mine was postpartum. I couldn've believe that we got paid the same as ICU/ER nurses! Note: Easiest job and favorite job are not necessarily synonymous!

I love sleeping during the day on a rainy day. Bliss!

Thank you all for your responses. You're right, it's like having kids. You're never ready! You just do it and somehow it all works out. I give myself all the usual excuses: 4 young kids, can't afford to, etc. But I guess it's not all that different from when I was doing my undergrad except then I had 3 youngs kids, and really couldn't afford to since I earned about a quarter of what I do now. LoL! Ok, whew... deep breath, maybe spring semester I'll start with two classes.

I know I need to go back to school but for whatever reason I just can't take the plunge! I got my BSN two years ago and always thought I'd go back right away, but life keeps getting in the way. It's hard to cut back on work hours once you're used to making a certain amount of money. I'm at a point where I really can't advance my career until I finish my masters. And I love to learn! So why can't I just bite the bullet and do it?! When did you know you were ready?

I'd say they run fairly true to size. I'm a 0-2 and I wear the XS. The pants are very stretchy. The tops have less give so you may have to go a size up depending on your bust size. I love the fabric. So soft and comfortable!

For those of you who aren't required to wear scrubs to work, what do you usually wear? I love my hospital job, but get very tired of scrubs. I love having a day job where I can mix it up a bit!

$111,680 $68800 as a nursing supervisor and the rest from my weekend night job as a staff nurse.

I don't feel obligated but I pick up an extra one or two shifts a week anyway. I know this isn't actually the case, but I kinda feel like it gives me brownie points so if I ever need to call in sick or request time off and someone gives me a hard time, I can pull some leverage and point out that I've picked up 50-80 extra shifts in the last year.

I work nights so no cafeteria. I splurge way more often than I should on Thai takeout! I figure that's partly what the night shift differential is for :-)

So I just applied for a Kaiser advice nurse position. So far, so good, I've passed the triage test and the customer service test, but my background check is still pending. My background is clean except for some speeding tickets. It seems to be taking forever! Also, they outsource the background check to LexisNexis and I swear every day they're asking me to send them a copy of a W2 or paystub for jobs that I've had years ago. Luckily I still have my W2s and some paystubs, but I can't figure out why they need all this stuff. Has anyone else gotten a job with Kaiser recently? Is the extensive background check normal? I'm getting nervous even though I know I have nothing to hide!

Thank you all for your input. I am composing an e-mail to the nurse manager now. I'm normally not one to meddle, but I won't stand for a toxic work environment. Thank you all!

Thanks for the input. The thing is, I know Anne won't ever speak up for herself. She's completely terrified. She was telling me how much anxiety it gives her to come to work when she knows that Mary is going to be working. If I saw one of my staff treating someone this way I would fire them on the spot for harassment. I know this isn't really my business, but would it be out of line to just make management aware of the situation?

There's a nurse on my unit "Anne" who treats all of the techs, in particular a tech named "Mary" in an appalling manner. Anne is well known for her diva behavior. We all hate getting report from her because she is rude, tries to get you in trouble to cover up her mistakes, etc. You all know the type. There's one on every unit. We all put up with it. However, today I observed Anne treating Mary in a way that I consider to be absolutely unacceptable. Mary is a tech and a nursing student. She's one of our hardest working staff members and she's going to be a shining star when she gets her nursing license. Anne treats Mary as though she is the scum of the earth. She barks orders at her, looks upon her with disdain, and just in general treats her in a way that you wouldn't even treat your worst enemy. I was in such disbelief over her behavior that I kept waiting to see if this was some long-running joke between them. A little later I took Mary aside and asked if this is typical of Anne. Mary burst into tears and said this has been going on since she started working and that she's just too terrified to speak up about it. She gave other examples of times when she'd been treated like dirt by Anne. What would you do? I want to say something to the unit manager about it. I would even volunteer to confront Anne myself to see if she's even aware of how poorly she treats Mary and other individuals. Would this be overstepping my bounds to mention something? I have a feeling management is aware but hasn't said anything because Anne has been around for quite some time. What would you do? I can't stand watching someone be treated this way! This is why nursing will never be considered a profession. We don't behave like professionals!

As a L&D nurse, almost every time you work you get experience as an OR nurse scrubbing or circulating, you start IVs, you start foleys, you give mag, you do infant assessments, you deal with diabetes, hypertension, neonatal resuscitation, you see PICC lines, you do PACU, you do patient teaching, help breastfeed, you do tons! The breadth and depth of knowledge that you acquire as a L&D nurse is vastly underestimated. L&D is a great opportunity to keep up your medsurg skills and be in a specialty area that you're passionate about at the same time. Go for it!

We love them! Make it known that you're there to help and learn. Be proactive, be kind. You will be well appreciated. Good luck!

Any IBCLCs out there? How much do you earn in your area? I'm trying to decide whether to sit for the exam next year. Will I get enough of a raise to make the $500 exam fee plus the cost of continuing ed credits worthwhile?