Tarabara

I'm a new grad and my only experience is with the VA so it's hard for me to compare. But what I do know is that both VAs in Phoenix and salt lake city didn't have a step down type unit. There's a telemetry floor which kind of functions as a step down...

Part of the problem I think is that a lot of the jobs they list for a long time, like 2 months. So if you apply a couple days after they post the job you'll wait 2 months to hear anything. It shows on usajobs how long the job will be listed.

For some positions like ICU and ER they usually ask for experience. But for medsurg it's pretty much just have your license and be a citizen, and of course fill out a ton of paperwork

Is your comprehensive ATI for a grade or something? If not then I'm not sure why you're so stressed over it, for us it was just to give us an idea of how prepared we were for the NCLEX and areas to focus on for study. So it was a good thing, no press...

My friend and I did our vital signs check off together and she couldnt feel my brachial pulse and started crying...now 2 years later we're both RNs doing well and we still laugh about it! Its such a hilarious memory now and a great reminder of where ...

Congrats!!!

You need to develop a routine that works for you and do it that way until it just becomes habit. Most people I think just do head to toe as described above. I usually dont bother with asking the orientation questions, I just talk with them and you ca...

I graduated Dec 2011 and am lucky to have a job but I haven't forgotten the torture I went through before getting here! The thing that makes me so mad is that these places know what the situation is like for new grads but still have no respect for ou...

What do you mean by "taking advantage of you"? I'm a new grad with 6 months experience so my precepting wasnt too long ago. There was a day when my preceptor 'hid' from me so that I was forced to figure out issues on my own or learn how to go to co...

I'm actually going to go against the grain and say that nursing school was almost more stressful because of this^ reason. Nursing can be extremely stressful at times because as others have said there is a lot of responsibility, and you effect people'...

I wish more people would respond too who can maybe offer more insight. I dont have any children and havent been in that situation so I can't pretend to know how you feel or what I would do. I just offer my support. I'm wondering though, if nursing sc...

Wow, thats a difficult situation. As you said, no one can make this decision but you, we cant say whats best for you and your family. I'm wondering what does your husband feel? Have you discussed possible termination with him? I would have a serious ...

Yay congrats! I am a new grad also working for a VA and I love it! I've been told that the "va way" of doing things is much different than civilian hospitals but I did 2 of my rotations at the VA and did an externship with the VA and now work there, ...

Hey Jewelln, you'll need a federal resume which is different from a normal resume. I just googled it and looked at a few samples to find a format that worked best for me, or on the usajobs site I believe under resources somewhere they have formats fo...

I cant stand patients who wont do anything for themselves and expect me to do every little thing like move something 2 inches to the left when their arms arent broken! Also not really fond of detoxing patients Psych patients can be very difficult. I ...

OP in your posts I see a lot of I'm scared of this and that and worried and nervous, etc. To be honest it sounds like you just want to run away because you're scared. You're only 3 weeks in, of course you're still uncomfortable! And in a new city! I ...

I agree with everything the OP said, but this especially. I think its one of the things that makes nursing school so difficult, besides the overwhelming amount of work, its such a roller coaster! I have never felt so stupid, inept, scared, frustrated...

I dont actually remember my first patient contact but I do remember feeling absolutely terrified at the idea of going into a pt room and having no idea what to expect when meeting patients for the first time. That was until I got an externship during...

Im a new grad, been at my job for 5 months now. I dont think new hires need gifts or anything like that, I felt welcomed just because everyone introduced themselves to me and said "Hi, welcome! we're glad to have you!" Everyone on my floor is also re...

This^ Plus, there are some advantages to being male and a bit older. I am 23 and sometimes I think others dont take me seriously because I'm young, which can be frustrating.

So true! I recently had several families that were very unrealistic about expectations. One was the family of a guy with end stage liver disease, the docs and palliative care were trying to suggest going on hospice care but the sister/POA said she wa...

1. What are the age requirements? (If they have any what are they, I have searched high and low for them but have found nothing.) There are no age requirements per se but you'd have to complete the pre-reqs for nursing school which typically ...

Throughout the program you will probably never have a day with both clinical and class (the clinicals are usually long, at least 6 hours). You should get your clinical schedule within the first few weeks and it will be for the length of that rotation...

As I am a new grad, it was not long ago that I was doing clinicals so I remember how it feels. I definitely had days where I worked with some really rude nurses. However, as frustrating as that may be remember that your number one priority is always ...

I could not agree with you more OP. While I do think every patient/family has the right to decide on their treatment and when to say enough is enough I also believe there needs to be more discussion about what exactly these treatments entail. I've se...