MsPebbles

Ok, sounds like you're right. My enrollment counselor had previously said it would be up to my mentor and it's a "case by case" basis if one can transfer into the MSN program, but this was clarified for me today by another enrollment counselor (as mine was not available). As long as I'm doing well academically and showing consistent progress, I can request a switch. He said the reason for this change was because too many people were enrolling and then changing their minds.

Don't know if anyone else knows this already, but according to my enrollment counselor, I am ineligible to enroll in an RN to MSN program. Only those who are currently employed in Managerial/Leadership or Nurse Educator positions are eligible. Pretty disappointing if you ask me. Also, there's now a class you must take at the beginning called "Professional Leadership & Communication for Healthcare." I don't remember this being required last year when I was looking into enrolling, but it is a mandatory 4-week group class, twice a week via webcam with other students and weekly assignments. And they *may* allow you to take another class concurrently, but not guaranteed. Which means a whole month with no progress towards knocking these CUs out. And if you miss a class you fail. WGU had always been my top choice and I was really excited about their RN to MSN option, but now I'm at a loss. Guess I'll have to go back and research other schools again.

We had one too (actually 3...big unit). They lasted a month. They went off more from footsteps and rolling vitals machines/stretchers than from loud talking. They disappeared so management needed to come up with something else to wag their fingers at us for.

It's not that I don't like it, it's that I'm concerned for her. She is a very dear friend and I don't want all her years of schooling to be for naught. She is very aware of her short-comings when it pertains to certain things like time-management and quick thinking a nurse has to do when working bedside. However, she is incredibly intelligent. Sometimes I can learn more from her than I can from seasoned RNs I work with because her knowledge is so extensive. Unfortunately, it just doesn't translate into tangible, efficient tasks a nurse must perform in an acute care setting. While I do believe she needs a foundation before leaping into an APN role (and she knows my opinion on this as we've discussed this at great lengths), I truly hope it works out for her in the end.

This is about a friend I graduated with. She is currently enrolled in an RN-BSN program and will continue on to an FNP program. She quit her first (and only) nursing job on a med-surg unit after only a few weeks because she realized she hates bedside nursing and has difficulty managing more than 2-3 pts. By her own admission, she is extremely slow and I even remember in clinicals how she would perform tasks in a painstakingly slow fashion. Without relevant experience and only an ADN, she doesn't qualify for much else (or anything where efficiency plays a large role). Her goal is to become an FNP with her own private practice eventually. She has found schools that will accept students without nursing experience. But my question is: will she ever be taken seriously and actually be considered for such positions without having worked as a nurse in any capacity?

I'm confused too. I only waste blood if I'm drawing labs.

I never looked at the patient's chart, I don't know his name or his medical hx, and I couldn't even tell you what he looks like. We are a large, but close, surgical unit. I didn't seek out any additional information. Yes, the limited details I know were shared with me by colleagues. We will share our frustrations, successes, experiences with difficult and wonderful patients, and seek out advice and support from one another. Just as we all do here on AllNurses (as I'm sure you have with your 1000+ posts). My initial post was meant to show gratitude to the doctor who appreciates and respects what we, as nurses, do. Nothing more. But you are free to interpret my posts however you choose.

Susie, you make very valid points. It was never my intention with my original post to convey an arrogant or snarky approach to a family member or patient; however, based on the limited info I've gathered about this pt and his mother from staff who had participated in his care, their behavior and his lack of participation in his own care/healing process, the response by the physician seemed warranted. His mother refused to leave (spending all 3 nights there), and flat-out refused for him to be weaned off his Dilaudid PCA on post op day 2, as is customary with this type of procedure. Our staff is known to provide excellent post-op care and we provide excellent teaching (incentive spirometer use, ambulating within a few hours of surgery to minimize risk of pneumonia, etc). At one point, staff had gotten pt to dangle, with the intention of at least attempting to stand up, and pt's mother screamed at them that he appeared pale & that their actions were "bringing him to the brink of death" (per my coworker who was assigned to pt a couple days prior). As I understood it, pt had demanded his mother seek out "anyone with a white coat" numerous times to increase his Dilaudid dosage as he wasn't going to do anything until his pain was "completely gone." Attempts by staff to educate him on alternative pain therapy and the reasons why ambulation, while initially painful and difficult, can lend to a quicker recover were met with absolute refusals and threats of complaints to management. As a nurse whose parent has been battling a chronic, difficult illness with multiple recent hospitalizations, I can completely empathize with family members of my patients. Truly, I do. But sometimes there are just those people who expect us to be their miracle workers and cater to their every irrational whim. Some people will stop at nothing just to have their way, even when every attempt is made to educate and reinforce those reasons why they must remain compliant during recovery, which, knowing my colleagues, had been continuously addressed. So, in this particular instance, knowing what I know and having witnessed the mother's behavior on that day, I find that the doctor's response was appropriate and very much appreciated.

He was the surgeon (attending). I normally don't have much interaction with him because I work nights and normally deal with the on-call residents, but he happened to be on my unit around shift change. With him, this isn't out of character from what I understand. I'd heard good things about him before from other staff, and I can now say I certainly agree with them.

Overheard a conversation the other day between a pt's family member and a doctor. I was sitting at the nurse's station and he was sitting beside me. Family member walked up to him and began yelling that her loved one is not getting the proper nursing care and demanded to know why the pt was not any closer to discharge status. Dr says pt had been educated on post-op plans and had been refusing to take initiative to begin the recovery process (i.e. getting up, ambulating, incentive spirometer, etc.). Per documentation, RNs have been charting (in detail) that pt has been refusing. Family member screams, "It's THEIR job to help him heal!" Dr responds, "If he doesn't want to help himself, they can't help him. They provide excellent nursing care and it's evident where the problem lies." Family member continues to yell/scream (literally screaming) about an NA who "got urine all over him while helping him use urinal in bed." Dr says, "I don't understand, why can't he use the urinal without assistance?" She says (through gritted teeth), "if my son, who is sick and in pain and unable to sit up or get out of bed, needs to pee, you better be darn sure someone here is gonna hold his member in a bottle for him...and NOT spill his **** all over him!!" Dr replied, "well ma'am, then I suggest you re-familiarize yourself with your son's anatomy and provide that care yourself." At this point, I'm picking my jaw up off the floor. On behalf of all RNs and NAs, I wanted to give him a big, fat wet one!! FYI, pt is twenty-something 3 days s/p lap sleeve gastrectomy.

I wish my unit offered the 11-11 shift. That would be ideal for me!

I appreciate everyone's responses. I'll be reaching out to Mr. Smeath, as I still have yet to hear back from the other person.

Examination Requirements | North Carolina Board of Nursing

After 2 years on midnights (7p-7a), my body is telling me it's time to switch to days. I'm naturally a night owl, so in the beginning I thought nights would be ideal for me, but it's taking a toll on my life outside of work. All I want to do on my days off is sleep! I've stayed on my shift because I love the people I work with (so much so that I came back to this job after a couple months at another hospital where I was miserable) and like that I don't have to deal with families or management much. I'm interested in hearing others' experiences when they switched to days. Pros and cons? Does the day shift go by quicker? Did you find your quality of life improved?

I spoke with an enrollment counselor on 4/8 and submitted all requirements immediately, including my electronic transcript. I have some questions, and have attempted to reach him on quite a few occasions since, both by phone and email and have not heard back once. I finally spoke to someone else in enrollment, who advised me that I need to wait for him to return my call. That was 4 days ago, still no response. Is this common with the enrollment personnel at WGU? I have to say, as a potential student, so far I'm not impressed.

I'd much rather see hair accessories over having long hair that isn't pulled back. MANY nurses at my facility wear their long hair down and it makes me cringe. They'll don full PPE in an isolation room, provide pt care where their hair invariably brushes the pt or something else in the room, and after exiting they'll run their fingers through their hair.

Beaumont hires new grads. They'll even hire you as a GN before you pass your NCLEX, with the agreement that you take and pass it within 45 days of hire.

As I've already asked for a different preceptor twice, and was told no both times, I don't think a third attempt would work unfortunately. When I left my old unit my manager there said she was sad to see me go and would welcome me back should I decide to go back. So, I'm contemplating that offer. A couple questions though...am I still required to give a 2 week notice since I'm still an orientee? And since it's only been a couple of months, would it behoove me to leave this job off my resume for future job searches? Again, I truly appreciate everyone's feedback.

I really appreciate everyone's replies and feedback. I did have a talk with my manager and she had the three of us discuss these issues. My preceptor told her that my biggest problem is that I am unable to prioritize my tasks appropriately, and that I am still in "floor nurse" mode. My response was that while I understand this, that is why I am asking questions, so that I can understand the ER flow better and use that knowledge to help me prioritize better as I go along. My preceptor continued by saying she doesn't feel I will be ready to be on my own next week (after 12 weeks) because she fears for pt safety. I said, "well, it would have been nice for you to give me periodic feedback on my performance if you felt I was not cutting it." She said she shouldn't have to because it should be clearly evident to me that I am struggling. So a preceptor's role is simply to observe a struggling trainee and let her drown? My manager also addressed the issue of my preceptor performing tasks without my knowing, leaving me feeling unsure of what I need to do throughout my shifts. She suggested I manage my own team for an entire shift, with my preceptor sitting back and not doing anything, only to jump in and offer guidance or help if she feels I am struggling or making a mistake. I had this shift, and I felt I did well. Communication with drs was great, I anticipated certain orders based on cc, discharged and admitted in a timely manner, etc. At one point, I told her I was going to use the restroom, and a few minutes later had an overhead call that I was getting an EMS admit and was needed to triage. In literally 30 seconds I was at the room, yet she was already there. When I attempted to get report, she snarkily replied, "I got it." I said, "well, I'm here now so I can take over." She said again, "I said I got it. The ER can't wait for you." EMS still hadn't placed the pt in the room yet, but apparently I was too slow for her. Of course, she reported this as a further example of why I am not good at my time management because SHE was FORCED to triage my pt while I was UNAVAILABLE. It was my word against hers. No way to win that battle. Also, she never once (per usual) gave me any feedback throughout my shift, and I thought I did pretty well. However, she told my manager that I struggled the entire shift, and when I tried to defend myself, she listed a number of issues she had with my work, such as asking other staff stupid questions and not charting vitals q2h. The policy is to chart q4h vitals on low-side pts, which is what I did (except for cardiac pts, who I charted on more frequently). Her response was that policy is a guideline, and I was wrong, period. Whatever. When I asked again why not bring it to my attention at that time, she looked at my manager and rolled her eyes, as if to say, "I don't need to explain this to her." Ultimately, my manager has decided to extend my orientation, and re-evaluate my performance in a couple weeks. So I am stuck with this horrible person. I honestly don't think this will end well for me because it seems no matter what I do or try she will find fault in it. Edited to add: We have no educator because he quit shortly after I started. And when I asked for a different preceptor (again) I was refused (again).

I've been an RN for only 9 months. I spent 1 year as a tech on a gen-surg unit, then transitioned to an RN and worked another 7 months there. While I loved the people I worked with, I hated (or thought I hated) floor nursing and always felt a strong draw to the ER, especially after a few days shadowing there during school. Two months ago I was hired at a level 2 ER at another hospital, and I was elated. But my excitement has turned to misery as I'm feeling regret and questioning my decision to come here. I realize I'm still very new, and I'm in my final weeks of a 12-week orientation. However, there has not been one day I haven't come home and cried my eyes out. This hospital is very unorganized, and their charting system is very antiquated (Paragon). I come from a hospital that uses Epic, and things there were organized and state of the art, for the most part. My preceptor will be approached by a doctor (unbeknownst to me) to administer meds, and since they all chart everything after the fact, I'm often finding myself feeling like I'm running around like crazy trying to get things done, having pulled meds or preparing to do something, only to be told by her that she's already done it. So it's just frustrating. She's often telling me to stop doing one thing and start another that has greater priority, yet when I ask her why that is, she just gives me a runaround answer that the other thing just needs to be done stat, so just do it. I'm very inquisitive by nature, and I also want to learn as much as possible, so I ask a lot of questions. But it seems to annoy my preceptor, as she often responds with "just do this," or "this is what you need to do now, we have no time to question things." I get that it's a busy ER, but if I don't understand why I'm doing something, how will I learn? I've asked to be given a different preceptor thinking perhaps my learning style and her teaching methods don't jive. But I was told she's the best for new grads, so I'm stuck with her. I get zero feedback on my performance, so I leave work every day feeling like a failure because I'm very hard on myself. It doesn't help that even after 2 months most of the doctors refuse to talk directly to me about my patients and seek her or another RN out to discuss my patients and their orders. I'm told that they need to get used to me...well, what's gonna happen in a few weeks when I'm on my own? Are they going to bypass me then too and seek out a trusted RN to discuss my patients? Sorry for rambling...I'm just feeling hopeless and just wanted some reassurance that these feelings are normal newbie growing pains because none of the other newer RNs I've talked to have expressed these things themselves (although they're not recent grads like myself). I dread going to work each day, and I am often near tears throughout my shifts. Can anyone relate, or even just tell me that it gets better?? I'm so miserabe. :-(

Hello hopefuls, Just popping in here to say good luck to you all. I graduate in 2 1/2 weeks and remember going through this 2 years ago like it was yesterday. It's true the 2 years goes by very quickly, but at the same time I have never been more ready to be done with anything like with this program! Tip: get a job in a hospital as soon as you qualify (I think after Med Surge I) to get your foot in the door. Many of us did this and already have jobs lined up...I start as an RN on 5/19 on my unit, and I didn't even have an interview. :)

And I'd pay to see someone ask a physician move to use a computer! Especially the countless med students who hog every single one at the nurses stations, including the ones used by the charge nurse and secretary! As a nursing student, we are told that we must always relinquish our computers if staff needs them, and to try to not use the ones at the nurses stations. After all, we are "guests." It's apparent the med students at my facility are not encouraged to have the same courtesy.

I work in a large teaching hospital that is affiliated with a med school, which means residents and med students account for a large number of those we share our work spaces with daily. Up until recently, my unit had a designated area at each station for staff drinks. As long as they were named, dated, lidded, and remained in the designated area, it was okay to have them there. It is a very large unit and some stations are far from the break room. A few weeks ago, JCAHO visited and determined this was was not permitted as it poses a risk to staff safety. This I understand...in fact, I had always known this but was informed that JCAHO approved our designated areas the last time they came. Now, although staff are forbidden from having drinks outside of the break room, physicians are exempt from this (per management), and often do their rounds with beverage in hand. Yesterday I nearly spilled JP fluid into an open coffee cup on a sink ledge left by a doctor while he was talking to the patient in that room. I'm still just a Tech, but the disparity between what doctors can do and get away with and what staff do (namely nurses) has been bothering me since I first entered the hospital setting. Drinks are one thing. I've witnessed doctors take a WOW computer from a nurse while she was logged in about to pass meds as her back was turned. The response to the RNs who ask management to inform doctors not to run off with WOWs during their crucial times: "Find another WOW." The response to doctors who complain: "We will order more dedicated physician computers." Then there are patients who complain about nurses claiming they were unavailable, were not attentive, did not provide quality care, etc., and you better believe those nurses will get reprimanded. Yet a doctor rounds for a few minutes, never smiles, doesn't address patients' concerns appropriately, and acts self-entitled and he is viewed upon gloriously by patients and management alike. As professionals, shouldn't we all be held to the same standards across the board? Maybe I'm just naive, but I thought that the notion that nurses are beneath doctors and are not entitled to the same level of respect was a thing of the past. I guess I can understand how society has a doctor vs. nurse mentality, but why can't it stop being perpetuated from within the healthcare setting?

Okay, not really, but it sure feels like it! My unit is incredibly busy and lately we've been super short-staffed, which means we are running around non-stop. As a tech, I can have up to 18 demanding patients, many of whom are constantly cold and want us to turn the thermostats up in their rooms. This I understand and can deal with...after all, they are sick and I want them to be comfortable. After I've dripped a bucket of sweat in their room I find sweet relief from the cooler air in the hallways. However, there's one unit secretary I work with who rarely moves from her seat and always gets cold. Every time I work with her she turns up every thermostat to 90 degrees (including the bathrooms, locker room and break room). As I'm running around like a mad woman I often feel like I'm going to pass out from heat stroke. I sweetly and diplomatically mentioned this to her and asked if we could compromise and lower the temp to a reasonable (but still too warm for me) temp, to which she agreed, only to find her turning it back up again less than an hour later. She's been there a long time and I've only been there a few months, so I don't want to create any problems, especially since others I've talked to feel the same as me but choose to just deal with it. Any suggestions? I would even consider some sort of discreet personal cooling system if there is such a thing. I dread going into work when she's going to be there because I know I'll be miserable. It's absolute agony.

Southeastern MI $17.27/hour + noc differential No previous healthcare experience Med/Surg unit