cleback

How is asking a doctor to see a patient over a medication issue acting "above" doctor? It's recognizing the doctors expertise in medication ordering... sounds like the doctor didn't like being asked to do something... silly.

You have nothing to lose by keeping your hat in the ring. I assume the position is away from the bedside? I think it's pretty common nowadays to have re-evaluations of positions, particularly nonbedside ones. It bodes well that they cut back by attrition vs letting people go.

I'd go for it. Having it paid for takes an incredible amount of stress off. And youd be able to work less (theoretically) than if you had to pay for it out of pocket. That said, it is a time commitment. Be prepared to miss some time with family. But it's only temporary... and you may be able to be done in two years, which will go by in a flash.

Had a baby :)

It's odd... I get the OPs story and commend him for sticking up for what was best for his wife and child. However, my own breastfeeding struggles have led me to believe that women still don't get enough support with breastfeeding. I would have appreciated more help with positioning and/or latching. (I'll admit I was hopelessly incompetent in this area... reading about and doing it are two very different things for me). I only got help three times the four days I was in the hospital (by three different lactation consultants). Despite struggling with latching and pumping, I was not told of any resources until a week after discharge. And my appointment with the outpatient consultant was another two weeks later. Not until my LO was five weeks was he diagnosed with a tongue tie. All that was difficult to manage while also getting hit hard with baby blues. I would have appreciated more support. Granted, I would not have appreciated the motivation style of the OPS consultant either, but still... I imagine it's a really fine line sometimes of being encouraging to a struggling mom and not being pushy. I appreciate your thoughtful communication when it became too much. On a side note, I feel like ever dad-to-be should read your post to learn how to be an incredible support to their partner after childbirth. Way to go, dad!

Yes... Feel bad for saying it, but yeah. I've worked in inpatient psych, nights, for over 6 months now. I can't sleep. I rarely see my friends anymore because of the weird hours. Or, if I do, I have to stay awake for 24+ hours. It's almost impossible for me to take time away. Work every other holiday without holiday pay. No opportunity for growth thats outside management (unless you go back to school for NP). That, and I feel like I'm making absolutely zero difference. Psych seems like a rotating door. People come in for a few days. Go back out. Come back in. Either they are not motivated to change their lifestyle, or they don't take their medications (even after lots of 'motivational interviewing'), or the medications simply don't work, or some combination of these things. All the time I ask myself, "What am I doing for these people?" I feel like I'm just providing a place for people to stay for a couple days, not treating their conditions. Finally, my work is so slow paced. I find myself sweeping the floors, cleaning countertops most nights to keep myself awake. I see these posts where people are overwhelmed by how many sick patients they have, how busy they are with cares, and I'm a bit jealous. (Six months in, is it better to be overwhelmed or bored to tears?) I'm trying to find another job that would challenge me, or at least be better hours, but the nursing market is bust. THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE! And I can't list my current job as a reference because I can't let my manager find out I'm searching. I really like health, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and how that applies to nursing skills, but I find I use my knowledge in these areas only 25% of the time. The rest is spent calling insurance companies, calling admissions, making sure this and that paperwork is signed.... and, of course, night shift cleaning and stocking. I'm really considering looking outside nursing for work.

A lot of facilities (here in WI) don't like to employ RN graduates as CNA. They're afraid you would work above your position, which is bad for liability/insurance, something like that. My friends who worked at a hospital as CNAs had to quit within 3 months of graduating for that reason. P.S. I graduated in May '10 (been searching since Jan '10). Found a job (yay) in inpt psych, but found psych really isn't a good fit for me. Now I'm back to job searching.

To the OP, I'm the same way. However, I've worked with this one lady who had an incredible rapport with dementia patients and she spoke things I would never say, much less using "sweetheart." If the patients were any more with it, I'm sure they would've been offended. But because of where they were at mentally, it worked. Example, one day she was taking a resident with advanced dementia to the bathroom. Normally, the resident would kick and scream all the way to, on, and back from the toilet. But the lady just said in her cheerful voice, "Ok, *insert term of endearment here*, let's go drain the lizard!" Oh gawd. I just about died listening. But it worked. The resident was smiling and laughing all throughout. I guess it depends who you're talking to. I still usually don't because I just couldn't make it come out right.

You can do other things in nursing... working with software developing companies to implement clinical programs, working with DME like O2 and IVs, or working with insurance companies. I do not know, however, how comfortable these types of employers feel about hiring someone with limited medical experience. That being said, it can get better (if you don't psych yourself up too much now). I remember my first day in CNA clinical. My partner and myself were wiping up some lady who had no sphincter tone... My partner saw me gagging (fortunately the resident didn't see me) and asked what was wrong. So I turned her over and let her do some wiping for a while. Another poster also commented on looking into other fields, like RT, PT and radiology. I would seriously consider them. A lot of the pre-requisites are the same, so your concern with wasting money wouldn't be so much an issue. They don't have as much responsibility for daily cares.. Might be worth looking into.

Work in a psych unit, which is a little different, but we need to have 15 pt before we get a tech. During the night it isn't so bad, but come morning if we have patients who need total cares d/t dementia or being catatonic, etc., it can get kinda hairy.

I wouldn't feel bad... You know, maybe it's best that she won't be working in nursing (at least, for a while). That's like having an alcoholic be a bartender. If she's serious about recovering, she could probably use the time away from temptation.

A CNA license will make you a more attractive applicant. Most hospitals are cutting back, and a lot are requiring their unit clerks to be cross-trained. (Mine doesn't; however, when we have to cancel staff, the clerk cross-trained as a CNA is always the last to be cancelled since she can help with both).

Yeah, has to be an employee of the hospital to be a HIPPA violation. However, if I were the mother, I'd be livid. For now, just de-friend them or find a way to block them from your feed. *Gross*

Concerned about two things... 1) You imply his request had inappropriate undertones, and because of your feelings for the other man, you were unable to control yourself and conceded to it. 2) As an aide, I often was pressed for time to give my patients one bath, let alone two. Did you sacrifice care for your other patients to do this? You sound pretty young, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. In the future, you really need to know how to set limits on your patients and yourself. Some male patients will try to take advantage of young, inexperienced aides. If you feel like ANYthing inappropriate is going down, you can't ignore it. Always let the person do as much as they can for him or her self, especially when washing the periarea. If that doesn't work, get another person in to help you. This could have turned out pretty bad for you and damaged your beginning career. I hope you learned from it.... not that you were truly "hyperexcited" about what happened...

OP, it depends where you work. Some managers love working with 12-hour shifts, others don't monkey with them. Every 3rd weekend is pretty common in places that have a lot of 12s. Otherwise, you'll probably have to work every other. Honestly, although it's not impossible, I think it will be difficult to find, especially since you seem very committed to staying in your area. Then again, by the time you graduate, the market might open up.... But for now, I would stay flexible.