nycClara

I was given a choice to resign or be terminated due to a medication error on my last week of training at the end of 2 months in the ED. I choose resignation. It involved an narcotic and alerted my preceptor right away. I'm glad no one was harmed but am a bit in shock. i keep wondering how i could have been so clumsy and what now. Ive started looking for work but most hospitals prefer a yr of experience. Being a new grad with some homecare experience my resume doesn't really stand out much especially if i were to leave out my ED experience along w.a 2 mo gap. However, adding the experience might raise more flags (why was it a mutual resignation, is this person a flight risk) according to my ex manager who reached out to me after seeing how devastated I was. Does anyone know what would be a better move, especially those with management or recruitment backgrounds? Thanks

thanks bubblzrn, i have my on personal insurance as well as what the hospital offers. The pt load is overwhelming but i see everyone else being able to handle it. even if I learn to deal with this pace, i'd like to find another position elsewhere. for now im going to stay and apply stimultaneously to other openings at least till i'm off orientation. which is soon. what is the normal pt load for you guys? and how does everyone prioritize their load with the handful of admits and their laundry list of meds.

yea 12+ doesn't seem safe to me either :/ were expected to be competent enough to care for 9-10 which I'm not at this point unless half are relatively stable. The 12+ number is due to the recent shut down of hospitals in my area in 2010 & hurricane sandy. we're also a 24 hr stroke center & trauma 1. We do have a trauma room that can hold 5 so they *try not to load the main ED nurses with trauma pts if possible. We have admit nurses on the floor but not enough. Most will take only 8-9 pts. I think I might have to talk to the night manager if at 11-10 I'm max out. So far my preceptors been helping me. Being new they should be ok with reassigning. And I probably have to cut my breaks shorter to catch up on documentation.

so this is my last week of orientation and I'm off on my own next week. I still don't feel ready, and was denied more request for training. To keep up I know something has to give. I'm ok w.maintaining speed when new pts come through the door. work them up, pass out meds, keep an eye out on the more acute ones but when i start out the shift with a pt load of 8 that includes 5-6 admitted pts who are waiting for beds in other depts that have have a never ending list of meds due in 2 hrs, getting their meds, requesting it from pharmacy, and passing them out takes forever to the point where I have trouble documenting, and taking on new pts. (and there's ALWAYS new ones. sometimes it gets to a pt load of 12-17 all at once) i have the worse urge to forget the relatively stable admits and hold off on the admitted meds which means they either get their daily meds at the very end or not at all. if they crapped out due to not being able to get their daily cardiac meds or seizure meds or me being inattentive i would feel awful but I need to keep up with my workload.....

To reiterate "She can take less acute cases, ask for mentoring & slowly establish her comfort level & nursing skills." This can be working on peg cases, or as an aide in trach cases should she get into an agency that allows that.But thanks for the pep talk about all the new RNs running a muck causing brain damage.

keeping in contact w. other nurses on the case & brushing up on CPR & asking about emergency protocol helps a lot for me

Im not sure if that's true of all NYS agencies. Im signed on to a few myself w. less than a yrs exp. Some mom & pop shops, others more established. Agreed, thinking you know everything is not the best attitude to have in medicine in general for new or seasoned medical personnel... is easy for a newbies to miss a lot of crucial info as well as for more experienced caregivers to categorize all symptoms the same way (I'm thinking of some drs I know, ha). Good nursing skills comes with experience and time spent with the patient which you get a lot of in homecare. In this economy that year long exp is hard to get even oddball shifts. If an agency is open to hiring the OP, she should go for it. She can take less acute cases, ask for mentoring & slowly establish her comfort level & nursing skills.

You don't need a yr of experience to obtain insurance in NYS. I'm a new nurse & am insured via NSO. With the quad case, does the pt have another nurse? If so ask to mentor with her to get trained on the lift & most importantly the pt & family quirks. I personally find that part of pdn to be the most tiresome With more invasive cases (trachs, vents, central lines) see if you can get as much training as possible so youre not thrown into something you're not comfortable with.

hey tendrlovencare, I didn't get the position but it took 2 wks to hear an official rejection letter. My recruiter seemed by the book so that might be a decent timeline. Maybe you can call HR, not the recruiter herself and ask them when a good time to contact her/him might be. Who was your recruiter? You can PM me if you want. In anycase, it's a great sign that they gave you a heads up about sealing the deal. Double check with references to see if they're all completed too

Hey waitingRN, Did you finally hear back from LIJ? I'm in the same boat. It hasn't been a week yet but will be soon. I met with the recruiter, and manager. They emailed me for my references the same day and I haven't heard from them. I'm worried that either my references weren't the best or the discrepenices in employment dates threw things off. I said I worked till feb 2008 when I left at March 2008. I didn't know I was a month off till I double checked with my past managers who were my references...I'm not sure how bad this looks...getting worried..

hi gvtdancer, same here--i'm pretty frustrated. i'm using ATI for content and haven't been doing so well. Its ******* me off and makes me wonder if i'm wasting too much time on content review. I actually wanted to post something about content review-- how much should we know? I mean i know what gastric bypass is and general post and pre op care looks like but ask me to get into specifics-- normal post op sx vs abnormal my head starts spinning and i'm wondering if i'm not studying enough or I just don't get it :/ I have the kaplan strategies, practice and review book so i'm going to go through that for a bit before returning to ATI. It's small and has maybe 4 practice test. I'll see if it changes my ati results......... goodluck

Hi, I'm completing the program. The education that comes with the 60k cost isn't exceptional. Double check the clinical hrs, and simulation, clinical instructor to student ratio, capstone hrs offered at other schools to compare the differences and similarities. The one good thing about the school is if you're interested in working in the affiliated hospitals, and general upstate most institutions know the school and faculty so that helps. However, if you're looking for anywhere else out of state, even within state like nyc the career center, which consist of one lady is lacking.

Hey Jane, I just recently put a security deposit for the hosue on 168 Irvington. I haven't met the other incoming girl yet, but would love to start corresponding w/others that are coming in. I don't think I have mailing compabilities yet here. Let me know if you end up going!! Good Luck :)

Thanks for the info 2011nursing, I like the thought of a 2 min walk away, and the starting rent is really impressive! How do you plan to get around for rotations w/o a car though? I'm assuming we do rotations at more hospitals than just strong. I'm planning on visiting Roc this Friday, and will update with what I see/think of the area, as well as how convenient it is to get around town w/o a car

Hey guys, I just got accepted too!!! congrats to those that were accepted, and goodluck to those waiting. I'm sure if they mentioned your letter being sent in the second batch it's good news ansaguy. if it's a no I think they would be extremely vague? Was wondering what people are doing about housing? anyone coming from NYC?