Keila

Hi everyone! I know that there are a lot of threads like this, but I am so excited.. I had to post one of my own. I have been a nurse for a year now, and worked 6 months LTC, 6 months med-surg/ortho. I went to nursing school with the intention of being an OB nurse, but when I graduated there weren't any jobs available in the dept. Even in one year, I gained a ton of experience and met a lot of great people, and I just accepted an offer for a full time OB position - my dream job!! It is an LDRP, so I will be working postpartum, L&D, and circulator for sections. They are also cross-training me for NICU and peds as they are our sister units, and if OB is slow I can float to these units. Granted, I won't be given the 'difficult' cases on the other units, but I am so excited about all of the training I'm getting ready to receive!! So excited to be joining your ranks - I was born to be an OB nurse. It's in my bones. I feel like I'm robbing my employer by getting paid to do this work!

Hey, there. I don't have any advice for you, but I just wanted you to know that I'm in a very similar boat and know how you feel! New nurse, graduated May 2011 and just started working night shift on a med-surg unit at the end of December. I've worked nights before, but this is the first night job I've had since my son was born (he's three). I love my job, and professionally, I'm fine with thirds. It's my family time/time off that I'm having a hard time with. I feel like whenever I'm off, I'm sleeping the time away that I could be spending with my husband and little boy, and I swear I'm in my pajamas 90% of the time! Makes me feel like a bad mom, and I feel like I'm missing out on so much of my little guy's day to day life! While I can't offer much advice, I've got buckets of empathy for you! Maybe we should start a support group for night shift mothers of small children, lol!!

I'm so sorry, Heart, I'm just now seeing this or I would've replied sooner. Arabstar was right -- I am the 'charge' nurse because I am the direct supervisor for my team of CNAs. From what I've seen of the charge nurse role in the hospital, the two are totally different and, like Arabstar, I would absolutely decline an offer to start out charging in a hospital setting. When I originally posted this thread, I did so because I was scared to death (and excited, too) that I had landed my first healthcare/RN position. That transition, from student to nurse, was my most difficult hurdle and lasted about 2 months. It really helped that I had an amazing preceptor who trained me for 7 weeks. The first few days I was by myself, she even called to make sure I was doing okay. It's me, an LPN, and four aides for 37 residents. I have the same 18 every day, and my LPN buddy has the same 19. I work 12s, she works 8s, and most of the time another LPN comes in for her hall on the 3-11 shift. There have been maybe 2 times that I've charged all 37 residents with a med tech. There are days when it seems like I don't have enough time to get everything done, but all in all, I love my job. We have great nurses on every shift, so if there's something one shift can't get done, the next one picks it up with no problem. Most of our aides are awesome, and let me tell you, they have really been patient with me. I jump in and help them whenever I can, but since I've never done transfers/toileting, they've had to teach me from the ground up. It's very different when you're transferring a mannequin in CNA school, lol. With a few exceptions, we all help each other, and that makes all the difference in the world. So to answer your question, I've been doing great, and I plan on staying with this facility for a long time :)

Thanks so much, arabstar!

Arabstar, I think this is the case with my position, too. I think the 'charge nurse' title is more of a formality, as the only nurses on the floor are charge or med nurses. I assume that on rehab to home, I will help residents heal from things such as joint replacements, strokes, possibly pneumonias... is this accurate? Thank you all so much for your replies!

Hello everyone! I just got hired as a charge nurse for a 20 resident rehab to home unit in a nursing home. I am a brand new graduate, and besides clinicals and a nurse externship, I have never worked in healthcare before. I am very excited and intimidated about my new position, and was just wondering -- can any of you tell me how the rehab to home units work? I have been in a nursing home before to visit a family member, but that's it. Before I got this job, I didn't even know that nursing homes did rehab to home. I believe I am in a good facility. I have six weeks of orientation, and when I went in last week to fill out new hire paperwork, I noticed a really good 'team' atmosphere, between all the nursing staff (CNAs to DON), but also between the different disciplines (therapy, social services, etc). I feel like I'm going to be well supported there, but I also want to hit the ground running, and be the safest practicing new grad that I can be. Any advice?

Just for your ATT, I would think. When KBN received verification of my degree, I was issued a provisional license from KBN. Then Pearson Vue sent my ATT via email.

I took my final on the 4th and received my provisional license/ATT for NCLEX today :)

No problem, finallyRN -- and I am far from always being right, lol. Thank you though, bonestAx, very kind of you :)

Hi, finallyRN! I live about 25-30 minutes north of Hopkinsville, so I'm afraid that I can't really give you any good information on schools, etc. I have visited Hopkinsville and Princeton several times, but not Russellville. Hopkinsville is a larger community than the other 2, and all areas are a short drive from an area known as Land Between the Lakes -- it is great to visit in the summer. I did Google some websites for you, to maybe help you find more specific information about the areas you asked about -- http://www.princetonky.org, http://www.hoptown.org, and http://www.russellvilleky.org. If you are moving from a larger, more metropolitan area, be prepared for a bit of culture shock -- all of these areas have a small-town vibe, maybe a little less so with Hopkinsville. These places are in the middle of farmland and coal-mining country, and I hope you like sweet tea :) A good thing about this region is that we are pretty centrally located to larger areas -- Clarksville and Nashville, and Evansville, IN are within 2 hours or less, and St. Louis, Lexington, or Louisville are maybe 3 1/2 hours away. I hope I have helped you somewhat -- sorry again that I didn't have the specifics you were asking about. In any case, welcome to western Ky -- we're all pretty friendly here!

Thanks for the information, Leda! It's interesting that you mention how brain mets looks so much like dementia. My great-grandmother had dementia and Alzheimer's before she passed away, and my family and I have discussed the similarities in the behaviors we saw in her and that we're seeing now in Gran. But in ways, Gran's behavior is sooo different. She'll have these moments of absolute clarity in the middle of complete and total confusion. Example: She was talking to my father the other morning on the phone (my uncle had called wanting someone else to try and calm her down). She told my father, "Edward, you don't need to be messing with me. You've got to go to work," and that was followed by a jumbled up story about how she needed to leave and find my great-grandmother because she was lost, etc. It's the strangest, most unnerving, heartwrenching thing I've ever seen. And it's so frustrating because it seems like there is nothing we can do.

Another quick question.... sorry if I'm driving you all crazy! I think Gran might be experiencing something like sundowner's, maybe. The odd thing is, she gets most agitated right before dawn; my mother and aunt have received several phone calls from my uncle asking for 'back-up' around 4 or 4:30 am. I know that traditionally, sundowner's is just that -- it presents when it becomes dark outside. But if Gran has her days and nights mixed up, could this notable increase in agitation be sundowner's? She is still in the pattern of confusion (thinking she's not in her home, that her mother is there, etc) at all other times during the day, but early in the morning is when it's the worst to try and calm her down. She displays a lot of anger, hatefulness, and will to leave her house during the early morning hours.

Thanks for the thought, Whispera... but nope. She hasn't had any med changes in the last 4-5 months. She's on an opiate (Lortab 10 mg) for pain, but she doesn't take it everyday. I don't think that she would have built up any sizable tolerance -- she'll only take one/day maybe twice a week or less. We've actually been really lucky so far -- her physical pain has been tolerable without having to use a very high dose of meds. She is on a benzo for sleep, and she takes that every night. She was in the hospital for about 4 days back at the beginning of May, and I don't know if she got her sleeping pill when she was there... but would that be affecting her LOC now? We went down to her house the day before yesterday and when we got there, she was calm again. No agitation, no nonsensical speech; she was good. It's like flipping a switch sometimes. I've never seen anything quite like it before.

Thanks Leda :) We will definitely do everything we can to keep her comfortable -- I would much rather see her confused, but calm and pain-free, than in pain, agitated, and A&O. Gran had a really good, clear day yesterday (the best we've seen her in about a month or longer), but we just got a phone call from my uncle, who lives with her -- she's been really 'thick-tongued' and thought she saw my great-grandmother on the roof of her house. My mother and I are going down there in about 30 minutes. Thank you for the well wishes... Gran and my family can use all of them we can get. Thank you all for being so understanding and supportive :redbeathe

Thanks for the reply, heron! I agree with you, and am hoping that soon we can eliminate all but the most necessary meds for Gran's comfort. That list will still include an opiate for her cancer pain, and probably a benzo to help her sleep.... but I still think if we eliminate most of her meds maybe some of the delirium will improve. She's on 18 different meds now.