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Go for it, apply! Worse case is you don't get it :)

I've always been told, and believe, that your first year out of nursing school as a new grad is your "fifth year of nursing school" cause you learn so much in the first year no matter where you work! I was a new grad, did a year on a med surg unit and then did ICU/ER training...and thoroughly love it! But I wouldn't take back the year med surg experience I gained over anything! It's your basic background knowledge that will stay with you wherever you go to work :) But you have a decision to make that will shape you into a wonderful nurse if you give it your all :) Best of luck and all the best!

I think sometimes you hang D10W with insulin drip so the pt won't go hypoglycemic. Not 100% sure but I think I heard something along those lines once lol.

Thank you for that letter. I have only been in nursing for a year. After reading this letter it makes me want to be a better nurse :)

Thanks for the help!!! Really appreciate it!

Can someone please please please talk me through zeroing a line, such as an art line or cvp line? I'm new to critical care and go so intimidated with all these lines. My biggest issue is when I have to zero the line. I have so many silly questions: 1. Do I flush the line first? 2. When I place the sterile cap back on the stopcock? 3. When do I press the zero button on the monitor? A step by step instruction would really help!!! I know I have to turn the line off the patient (stopcock pointing toward the hard cable) and then remove my sterile cap)...but after that I screw up lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:)

Ortho units are heavy units...so watch your back! All patients (except for some of your rotator cuffs) will require assistance with almost everything they do and therefore it's a risky place to injure yourself so don't do any lifting, etc (in any unit really), alone. The great side about ortho is it's a "clean" unit unlike abdominal surgeries or gyne/uro surgeries. You may also get some trauma patients depending where you work from MVAs.

I'd recommend the text they use for teaching TNCC (trauma ER course) as well as a handy reference book I take with me to work all the time. Here's the links: http://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Nursing-Course-Provider-Manual/dp/0935890998/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301230508&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Facts-Adult-Critical-Care/dp/1889125008/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301230623&sr=1-1 Good luck!

We use saline for our PICCs and heparin flush for the triple lumen CVP lines (hospital)

Just starting working in ER and ICU and have to say I LOVE ICU but can hardly stand ER...just not my thing. Too unorganized and you don't know you're patient, only the 10 minutes you spend with them finding out why they are here. Staff ratio is horrible, never enough staff and patients don't understand the word "emergency." I dread having to go there these days.

A posterior wall MI could be a possibility if you saw reciprocal changes on the EKG (which I don't know what the EKG was). Giving NTG S/L would decreased their blood pressure due to decreased preload in the RV and therefore decreased CO. Therefore you would need to bolus your patient lots of fluids to maintain an adequate blood pressure. A 12 EKG with a v4R lead indicating a posterior MI could make all the difference in the world.

I've always believe that if you "care" about your patients...follow nursing. If you care about the science...medicine. lol.

I find it really hard to understand how there is such a critical nursing shortage but no job offers. All the places I've applied to have given me many job opportunities right away, although I haven't applied to any major centres such as TO. Good luck!

Just passed my TNCC course beautifully! It was an awesome course and I'd recommend it to any RN out there!

I am an openly gay man at work and have never had a problem with any of my coworkers. That being said, I don't wear a sign on my uniform "Look at me, I'm a fairy nurse!*" either haha. *Also, this was not intended to offend anyone. Sorry if I did. :)

Hi, I just recently started my job at a local hospital in a small city and I work between two surgical units: General surgery (abdomical and vascular surgery) and Orthopaedic surgery (musculoskeletal surgery). Hope I can help with the questions. 1. One of the best days starts out with a full unit with all staff onboard (not working short) and all beds full of patients so I don't have to worry about getting a new admission at any time. The day isn't too hectic but busy enough to keep you on your toes. No one dies, family members only visit during visiting hours so that I can get my work done, great coworkers. At the end of the day I get to go home when my shift ends and not have to stay behind. 2. The least enjoyable part about my job is having to put up with other people slack or not being able to spend time with my patients as I'd like to because of visitors, patients coming and going for tests, etc. It's hard for people outside of a healthcare environment to understand what it's like for nurses, but we're quite busy and family members really irritate nurses at times especially when they are rude and just in the way. I've been in emergency situations where a room was full of family members and there were people sitting on the floor and would not get up to let the nursing staff through...this is unaccepable. 3. From when I started until now, I was really surprised by the responsibility that you have. You don't really realize just how responsible you are for the wellfare of other people's lives. 4. In nursing school you weren't taught about management and the politics of work. That is something you learn very quickly on the job. Management does not always support you and there are lots of politics, good and bad. 5. I would recommend nursing as a care of anyone looking for a good solid job in a field where they can expand and grow anywhere. You can take this job and carry it anywhere in the world! We're in need of more nurses! 6. Someone who is a people person, who can deal well with conflicts and stress from all angles. Someone who is kind, caring, compassionate would be good for the job. Most importantly, someone who is intelligent and responsible, dependable. Someone who is brave to say they can accept responsibility for someone's life and ensure that they are competent to provide safe care for that person. Someone who has (or can develop) and "backbone"...meaning be able to stand up for yourself and your patient when others won't. 7. Someone who wouldn't be good for the job is a person with a type A personality who doesn't handle change or stress very well. The healthcare environement as well as the patient are always changing. Someone who is quiet and not assertive. Someone who doesn't care about others....basically you have to be willing to break your back to save others' backs. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions :) Chris

First of all, good luck with nursing school, I'm sure you will enjoy it! Feeling nervous is all normal about something new, don't worry about it. And I'll let you in on a little secret...no matter how much experience and knowledge you will have in nursing, you'll never know everything and will always ask for help or advice :)

Always ask questions and never be afraid to ask for help. It's better to ask for help if you're unsure rather than attempt something you're not sure of and cause an error.

My mother :) who is also a nurse and taugh me a great amount of knowledge and life values before I went into nursing. Long line of nurses and other healthcare professionals in my family.

I'd recommend doing the med/surg just because you need that background wherever your nursing career takes you. I wanted to do ICU/ER right after graduation until I really sat down and said to myself "If I can't handle whatever comes to a med/surg unit, then more than likely I shouldn't be working in a critical care unit." Get the background you need, a solid foundation, and then go to OBS is my recommendion. OBS is a highly skilled area of nursing with a lot of legalities to consider. You're dealing with young people and their children...be sure you know your stuff before you take on a big role basically.

I'm starting the TNCC course in 3 weeks...got the books already and have most of it read. I'm really nervous. I have no ER experience but I do work on an acute surgical floor for the past several months. Any advice girls/guys? Thanks!

I love my job, being a nurse is one of the greatest jobs out there I think because you can do so much for people and really make a difference. But some things that really irritate me are: 1. Family members being demanding and rude and always in the way 2. Management always up your a**...everything comes down the the almighty $$$ even when it compromises patient care and that really gets me! Enjoy nursing...there are tons more positive aspects than negative! Good luck! -Chris

Come to Atlantic Canada! They're hiring left right and centre here! I'm in Newfoundland and love nursing. My entire class had jobs before we finished school. Halifax is a lovely place for nursing as well, great place to work! Make the move girl

I applied for my job at a hospital during last semester of school. Got hired and started my general orientation as soon as I finished school. Had a 8 week orientation and then started work as a Grad Nurse until I passed my RN exam just after finishing orientation.

You should never assume a new grad knowns nothing, no more should you assume and experienced nurse knows everything! I've met new grad doing amazing in the ER...perhaps at first it just wasn't the right place for you I'm sure they wouldn't have offered the new grad nurse a job in the ER if they felt she was a risk to patient safety. Take the job and try it out girl!