Maladroit

How does a nurse start doing legal consultation work? Is it just by being asked/word of mouth? Do you apply somewhere? How does all that work? Anyone with experience care to enlighten me?

At current, I am a travel nurse. My path to get here has not been easy and I am quite pleased to have “made it” finally. Every travel nurse has their own reasons for choosing travel nursing, all valid. I’ve learned that there is a stereotype of why nurses choose to travel; they’re young with no ties, hungry to explore, and want to make a lot of money. If you fit that description: Awesome. This does not describe me or my reasons at all; sometimes, I wish it did. To start, I am 35 — not young, but not old. I did staff nursing for several years in Pediatrics and Mother Baby before having to deal with a nasty divorce and custody battle. There is a lot that I would do differently if given the chance. However, it has made me rather fearless in it’s wake. I was always adaptable and used to moving a lot — those aspects of traveling were neutral for me. I didn’t mind changing locations frequently, but I do enjoy familiarity and stability. Working locally after the divorce became nearly impossible due to my ex’s determination to make me as financially handicapped as possible so that I would need to go back to him. Working through an agency, having my exact whereabouts being discrete meant that I could finally work in peace. There was no longer fear of him showing up, calling managers, or otherwise causing undue anxiety. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a relief it is to know that I can do my job without fear of him ruining another opportunity. I can be independent. Living in different cities on a short-term basis allows me to test out different cities that I like. I learn what I need and don’t like about certain places. I know where my comfort zone is now and it’s nothing where I expected it to be. I assumed college towns would make me happiest and I was wrong. I love cities and their close suburbs. I love teaching hospitals and the environment of education and the no-such-thing-as-a-dumb-question mentality. I need GOOD food options, without that, my contracts become torture. I do make a lot more money as a travel nurse than I ever would as a staff nurse, but let me assure you, I work harder and need to think much more in this role. Instead of 3 months of orientation, I get two days. Two days to learn the policies, procedures, charting systems, pumps, codes, and norms in a given unit and sign off on dozens of papers stating that I feel comfortable functioning independently after that time. It can be overwhelming, but it can also be empowering being able to do in two days what takes most people months. I welcome the challenge and every time hope that I can rise to it in the way the hospital needs me to. Because I needed plenty of experience in my specialty prior to traveling and needed over a year of traveling experience prior to being at the kinds of hospitals I am now, I am seen as an expert. Staff nurses consult me when they don’t know what to do. That will never NOT feel good and I help as much as I can. Each hospital has it’s own culture and dynamic and I love being a fly on the wall. I remain the neutral party — no one wants to bring me into workplace drama, which has made work life much easier. I may only make one or two friends while I’m there, but that means I have so many friends spread out all over now. While the money was initially the biggest draw to travel nursing, what has kept me doing travel nursing is the sense of peace stemming from not feeling controlled, harassed, or stalked by my ex. That part, is priceless to me. What are your reasons?

Fellow nurses, we have so many options for where and how we work, right? Is your current situation meeting your needs and working towards your goals? COVID-19 has changed so many things in the medical field. Maybe you don’t get the hours you need to sustain your household now. Maybe you’re stuck in a specialty where you aren’t able to keep up your nursing skills. We all have changing priorities right now. Most of us are thinking about how to adapt and prepare for what comes next. As nurses, we can be so versatile in both setting and specialty; hospital, outpatient, home health, schools, travel — you name it! I know that before COVID started, most of us had a side-gig or two and it was considered kind of the “in” thing to do. Teaching a random class, taking a part-time or weekend job on top of the three 12’s at the hospital, etc. Personally though, I felt overwhelmed committing to another job on a consistent basis — being a parent makes that seem even less possible. It was hard enough to fit in all the meetings, trainings, and miscellaneous duties for my primary job! One thing that is becoming mainstream, is the ability to pick up local PRN jobs in the “gig economy”. It seems rather ideal to supplement a main job salary with being able to pick up side jobs that fit your schedule; without the extra commitments. Not having to worry about extra things coming up (trainings, meetings, calls, etc.) on top of what you sign-up for, not being required to meet a minimum number of hours, and not having to do things you hate doing or don’t know how to do. MedHelperNow is one decent thing to come from 2020, which has tackled this for us. Maybe we needed someone to adapt the gig economy specifically for nurses and those who could use the help of a nurse, in a way that works for everyone. Approaching this new gap in our healthcare system in this way doesn’t just benefit nurses either. Looking from the patient perspective, they’ll be able to hire nurses for tasks that normally they would go to the clinic for. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-urgent visits are either delayed or looking very different. Patients needing some support are struggling to pick up the slack when home health just can’t take care of everything. Where should they turn? Home health gets expensive quickly (if that’s even an option), other platforms aren’t decent alternatives either to look for healthcare help due to lacking necessary standards and trust that healthcare demands. People needed somewhere reliable and trustworthy to turn to for basic care that nurses can provide (under the guidance of your Physician).

I've been weighing my options for a side gig for awhile and I want to know your experiences - pros and cons - about taking on a side gig. I've been looking at using MedHelperNow, but it's still fairly new and not many people know about it yet. Seems like the best option right now though. Need some advice.

This article perfectly sums up the "gig economy" and how one company/platform is addressing this need specifically for the nursing community. Anyone else excited to try it? https://medium.com/medhelpernow/adapting-the-gig-economy-to-fill-the-gaps-in-healthcare-1ca3bb27e87

I'm a current Med/Surg Peds nurse wanting to switch to either L&D or Mother-Baby at a large teaching hospital. Part of me really wants to be on L&D, but a large part of me is extremely nervous about the nature of L&D (unpredictability and intensity). When I think about working on MBCU/Nursery, I think I'd get tired of it. I don't enjoy working in Peds, but I love being a nurse and I'm a fast learner. I could use some advice or direction from seasoned nurses in those areas. Thanks.

I forgot to say, I wasn't sure what I wanted to hear, just advice. I have a great job with very few complaints, honestly. I do know that I eventually want to make the switch to Mother-Baby, when is of no real concern. It did make me think maybe sooner than later would be possible when I noticed new grads were transferring to our unit from Med/Surg. I completely see your point and have no qualms with staying for a year or two before switching. I appreciate your input, thank you!

Even within the same hospital? I only ask because there have been 2 new grad transfers into my department recently. It just seemed common to move around after a few months.

Ok, so I'm a new grad and been working at my new hospital for 3 months and off orientation for one month. I really want to move to mother-baby. I think the pace would be more my style there. When is a good time to bring this up and who do I talk to? The gen Peds unit I'm on is so fast-paced and has so many services...I don't know if I'll ever get it down.

Thanks, I really needed that dose of perspective! I have always been a perfectionist and the big fish in little ponds...definitely not used to being the little fish in a big pond and the novice again!

I was so excited to start my job as a peds nurse! It was my dream job in my top choice hospital. I have been off of orientation for 2 days and have been feeling so overwhelmed and am dreading going back this weekend. There is such a steep learning curve, and while I'm a part of a nurse residency program, it still feels like too much most of the time. My supervisors and colleagues say "ask lots of questions", but when I need to no one is around or they say I need to figure it out. On orientation, things were great - I felt confident and like I was getting the hang of most of it. Now, I fear for my license and wonder if I'm doing the right thing most of the day. After being at this for two months now, I thought it should be getting easier, not harder. I haven't gotten to the point of crying, but I have gotten to the point of shaking I was so scared I screwed something up. I'm learning a ton and trying to stay positive and tell myself that my patients are always alive at shift-change and I learned something new...with Joint Commission coming this month, I'm even more terrified! I frequently ask myself if I'm really cut out for this....should I consider a career change or suck it up?

I'm a Peds nurse in Iowa and we have a shortage here! On my unit alone, we have 7 lines open for nurses...5 for New Grads. I'm a new grad, with 4 other new grads starting on my unit recently, too. Not flooded and I'd encourage you to apply! You'd need to stick to applying at major teaching hospitals because the smaller ones won't look at you without at least 2 years experience, but a couple are willing and happy to train you! We are really short staffed after coming off of a 3 year hiring freeze.

I'm a peds nurse (new grad) and have never given Rocephin IM, so I'm glad I came across this thread. Now I know and will be ready when I encounter this. Split into two doses, go for the VL. Thanks!

What do you study? Nursing podcasts?

I am a new grad RN BSN on a Peds unit at a major Magnet teaching hospital and have been on the floor precepting for about a month now. When I have days off, I feel like I want to research, read up on, and learn about stuff I encountered at work, but then I also want the days off to just recoup. Anyone else have this issue? Of the immense knowledge deficit I feel I have, where should my priority lie? What do I study? I haven't been dangerous or completely naive while working, but am a perfectionist and want to do the best I can? Tips?