Tarabara

I just googled "federal resume" and looked at templates then chose one that i liked. The biggest difference between federal resumes and regular resumes is that federal resumes are very detailed. You dont have to try to keep it to one page, include all of your experience, but keep your statements succinct. As a new grad, I included my previous work at old navy and H&R block even though its not medical but i only wrote a sentence or 2 on each. Include as many numbers/outcomes as possible, for example under my VALOR nurse extern experience I put, "assisted up to 27 patients with activities of daily living on a med surg/oncology unit." As a new grad I did include my clinical rotations since I didnt have much other medical experience, I had a section titled "clinical experience" with each hospital I went to, their units, and a sentence about it. For example, "Med/Surg Rotation, Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, 72 hours I observed and assisted with nursing care of up to 5 patients on a telemetry and PACU unit, including assessment, charting, and medication administration. The other thing to know is to include as much as you possibly can from the job announcement into your resume. As long as it makes sense and applies you can literally copy and paste sentences from the announcement into your resume. This will help it to get through the auto HR process to be seen by managers. Good luck!

Did you send your resume directly to the recruiter or did you submit it through usajobs? Make sure you submit all job applications through usajobs. All applications go through an automatic filtering process where they see if you have the basic qualifications before HR/managers even see your application. Therefore when you write your resume directly reference things they're asking for in the job posting so that it makes it through that auto process (you can even copy it word for word if it makes sense). I would write simple succinct statements that include numbers/outcomes. They're not looking for "fluff" like the fact that you love working with patients, instead just say simple "care for up to 4 patients on a 14 bed telemetry cardiac focused unit". "Provide pre and post cardiac cath care, assess and work up patients with ACS, prepare patients for LVAD and heart transplants". Certified in BLS, ACLS, PCCN, PICC placement, and moderate sedation. Member of the nursing Professional Standards Board. Keep the resume simple and short, you just want your resume to make it through HR because policy is all qualified applicants get an interview. Then you can explain your accomplishments in more detail in your interview. Don't be too discouraged yet, things take a long time with the VA, it is government after all í ½í¸›And often job postings are listed for 2+ weeks and they won't even begin to look at them until the posting is closed. Hope this helps, good luck!

I work on a tele unit and we mostly have patients who come in through the ED for chest pain and require work up- trending trops, stress tests, or angiograms and we prep and recover post angiogram (post op vitals, checking groin/radial sites). Or for heart failure and require diuresing. Or for arrhythmias that require cardioversions, med drips (diltiazem), or devices like ICDs/pacemakers and we prep and recover those post as well. We also take care of patients who are being worked up for possible heart transplants/LVADs.

Unlike the NCLEX, I felt the PCCN test was actually pretty straightforward and had logical questions. I don't remember which book exactly I used for practice tests but I know I rented it from Amazon which was nice because it was much cheaper and they gave me plenty of time to mail it back. I also stumbled upon these reviews online that outlined info from all the topics in the test outline perfectly and made my own note cards from them. The site is: http://www.aacn.org/wd/chapters/ChapterDocs/00312493/Websites/Images/209%20Pope,%20B.%20CCRN-PCCN-CMC%20Review%20Cardiac%20Part%201.pdf That is just the first one, if you google "certification review Barbara pope" you'll find a bunch more. Good luck!

Whenever drawing labs I always grab enough stuff to stick twice because if I grab just one butterfly Im sure to need the second! And never remove the IV until discharged papers are signed, the ride is there, and they are ready to walk out the door!!!

Thanks for your responses, sorry I should have included more info. The patient does not have kidney disease, his low hgb and hct are suspected result of GI bleed. Therefore if he has a GI bleed I would think he'd be volume down?

I cant seem to find the answer on google. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks :)

Not to worry you but organization and time management are definitely skills you need as a nurse. You'll of course get better and faster at tasks with experience which will help, but I would work on being able to group things together and trying to plan ahead to organize your time better. Just as an exampe, if you know your patient has labs that need to be drawn at a certain time and they need their IV changed that day, you can wait to change the IV at the time of labs so that you can do them both at once (and save the patient from an extra poke). Or if you know lunch trays come at noon and therefore you'll be doing finger sticks/giving insulin around that time, dont start a dressing change at 1145. Thats why I write down everything! At first I kept telling myself "oh i'll remember that" but then I kept forgetting things and feeling unorganized so now I write down everything. Keep working on it, you'll get better :)

I have worked at VAs in two different cities and it can definitely depend on the specific one. One I didnt like much and the other I love now! They all have their ups and downs though, there are definite draw backs to working for the government but the benefits are amazing and it truly is a joy working with the vets.

Thanks everyone! Jarhead, I'm sorry you're work situation isnt supportive. I'm lucky to work with a great group of people who I can always turn to when I have questions. What about the nurse who trained you during orientation? Do you feel they can be a source to go to? It may sound obvious but I guess I would advise to always double, triple, quadruple check everything, dont get complacent and chart to CYA. I wish there was something better I could tell you :/

I officially have 1 year of nursing under my belt :) I know I'm not seasoned yet but its exciting to look back at all that I learned this past year and think about all there is still to learn. I've met so many amazing patients this year too who have touched and inspired me. I wont lie, even as a new nurse I still feel burned out every now and then but overall I'm so excited to have many more years of nursing ahead of me. We have the best job!!

Group as many things together as you can. For example, its now a habit for me to check if my patient needs more water or another blanket or anything if I'm leaving the room for something else so that I can grab all things at once. Also, our policy is we have a 1 hour window before and after med times to give the med. So if the pt has an 1100 and a 1230 med I can give them both at 1130 and save time. Also write down EVERYTHING, don't just assume you'll remember. That's something that I had to learn.

Sorry forgot to add, dont wait until you graduate to search the job market as you said. I graduated last December but started applying for jobs in august, most will post new grad residencies months in advance.

I'm from Arizona but now work in salt lake city. I had no ties to az either and applied all over the country. I'm so glad I did! I love it here and there's so many new areas to explore/learn about that its a ton of fun. Go for it! The VA system is great because your license is good anywhere, I still have my AZ nursing license even though I'm working in utah.

Just a few tips: In school I was taught to anchor below the vein and go at an angle, I always failed that way. I find it much better to anchor above the vein and go at a very shallow angle. Make sure once you get a flash do not let go of your anchor! Hold your anchor while you advance the needle and catheter. If the vein moves after you puncture, its ok. If you can feel that you're right next to the vein just pull back slightly (but not completely out of the skin) move over a bit and advance again. I know that I personally hated the idea of "fishing" around with the needle when I was a student. But you're not doing it blindly, I only do it when I can feel that i'm right next to the vein and only need to move slightly. Take your time finding veins. I will sometimes feel arms for 20 min trying to find the best vein that I am most comfortable with. I would rather take extra long feeling than poke several times. And as much as I hated hearing this as a student, its true that you really have to get used to the feel of veins instead of sight. Feel your friends and families veins all the time. The best ones are usually felt not seen.