SunSurfRN

I know Corpsmen are in hospitals, on the Blue side. On the green side I hear different stories altogether. As far as the Army I cannot speak to that topic at all. It doesn't make a difference if they are in hospitals, until the responsibility is 100% on your shoulders, its not the same to me.

I am a nurse in ER and in the navy reserve, so I work with corpsmen all the time. Personally I think they have a good skill set on trauma and first aid, however the ER Nurse has to deal with anything from the pt on dialysis with peaked T waves, the STEMI you need to get out to cath lab stat, the polite old lady who needs a Foley, the mean old man who is combative, the drug seeker/alcoholic, the DKA of course, the list goes on and on. In combat, you are dealin with mostly young people with wounds/trauma - operative word being young. In ERs here stateside its all ages, all kinds of problems - some subtle. Don't get me started on pediatric pts or neonates.

In a rural area it doesn't matter...however go near any major city and the closer you get to the center of town the harder it gets to get a job with just an ADN. I think in rural areas however they could care less.

Honestly, the hardest part is landing the first job and getting to the golden 1 yr experience. Nursing school was a breeze compared to the job search for me - just my two cents.

This is true unless you already have a Bachelors...then BSN is 12-20 months.

Generalizations of "new grad" vs "experienced are subjective. If you look at the objective new grad with a BSN and maybe they were a paramedic or ER Tech in past life, or did their internship in ER....they know what they are getting into. I've seen some experienced nurses who come to ER from other parts of the hospital and hate it.

Alot better shot going reserves than active duty these days.

I know a nurse who is salty and bullies people...in my facility even the experienced nurses dislike her. If you bully someone when they are new and they stay a long time it can come back to haunt the bully.

I graduated in December 2010, licensed Feb 2011, and right into homecare. It was unglorious, and low paying...however I made a connection with my work ethic that led to a job in subacute after only 3 months of homecare. At that point i kept homecare PRN and went full time at subacute for next 7 months. In Dec 2011, I was offered a position in ER at a level 2 trauma center...which involved a major relocation. However, bottom line is when you graduate the battle isn't over. In many ways for me NCLEX and school was the easy part. Actually transforming into an experienced nurse is the tough part, and getting acute care jobs out of school can be an absolute uphill battle these days.

There is no such thing as a hiring freeze in my opinion...for example, how does any particular hospital claim to be "fully staffed" in CVICU, ED, or say Med Surg? People in these types of departments turn over staff often even in bad economy. There may be a freeze on hiring fully loaded cost W2 full time employees but the hospitals simply backfill per diem PRN and travelers.

Pt had a raging UTI....I mean the white cell count was off the charts. I think the doc was thinking the foley irritated her urethra and the dilaudid was necesary - it was his idea/order. Now that u mention it I am not sure why he didnt order Morphine in this situation.

So I work in ED... pt is in and has a UTI per her labs and the doc confirms. He orders a FC...and I insert it. Everything I do is textbook, including as soon as urine starts flowing into foley I advance 2 more inches before inflating balloon. About half hour later I return to room and pt is looking like she is in pain....she says "it burns - the catheter." Now based on how she characterizes the pain and the UTI being present, I am not thinking for one second that the balloon is in the urethra. I get an order for 1 of Dilaudid and push, and she feels ok after that. About 2 hrs later however, ultrasound calls (she is admitted to hospital for UTI) and tells the doctor that the balloon is in the urethra. Now, before assuming I am the culprit I did some research...apparently the balloon could be at neck of bladder and subsequently pulled into the urethra past neck of bladder. If given a good tug. All I know is I am losing sleep over this because the catheter went in smooth, plenty of urine flowed into bag after insertion (200+ mLs) and I even brought the catheter back gently after the 2 inch advance to make sure it was at neck of bladder. I have put in hundreds of these and never a problem. What the heck happened!

Agreed, hardest part bar none between prereqs, acceptance (close second), academics, state boards, financing education, and landing first acute care job is that last one. Hospitals burn 22K per new grad, and will avoid hiring you as a new grad at all costs.

As far as size, its not bad to be big in nursing and it can come in helpful...in high torq areas like ICU/ED though your critical thinking skills are super important. Your law training will come in handy in upper level mgmt jobs but thats 5-10yrs away....clinical exp is important first.

Here's reality, an ADN is 2 yrs, and BSN will be 12-24 months accelerated. Then, you take NCLEX in 1-4 months usually, then your a new grad, which is a serious challenge. One you land a job and get 1 yr acute care experience, your off to the races. I started the prereqs in 2006, now I am an ER Nurse with 1 yr exp. in 2012 - just to temper expectations your could have a real fulfilling career in nursing but its not going to happen overnight or be a quick fix by any means. Also, its rather easy to find work in the flyover states when a new grad so thats an option, but on the coasts its very tough to find acute care jobs as a new grad - unless you network a hospital through clinicals or work as a tech prior. Income also varies greatly...some states are as low as 18-22/hr (some flyover states) ....some states like California can be around $43/hr (yeah, big swing).