Roxy518

And to add like another poster mentioned stat orders...I had orders to transfuse a new admission the other day and was told type and screen was done etc then I call blood bank of blood is ready and nothing was initiated...Its things like this that I don't stand for you delay patient care don't lie about it Cuz a lot of Ed nurses say yes this was replaced or it was done and it wasn't n that's not right...I could only see so much through my computer as our Ed has its own system than the floor

This is common in my hospital. I am a floor nurse telemetry to be specific and one thing that gets to me is the fact that an ER nurse calls for report but I could be in the middle of a task in a patient room and they expect me to drop what I'm doing for report n then the ER nurse will keep calling every 5 minutes and say we refuse to take report when they can't wait a few minutes for me or another nurse to finish that task and also calling around 6-630pm one after another trying to give report when we are getting ready to change shifts...n I will say this while I have never worked in the ER I wouldn't mind shadowing to see what u guys do...I also have to ask questions n get a little difficult because our ER tries to send us medical patients without tele orders n try to lie to us n it's happened a lot..most of the time patient comes with no orders, if k is low not replaced, I've had patients who were diabetics sent up wit a crazy sugar because the ER didn't feed them all day or several times the ER sends patients up with elevated BP's and no meds were given. Quite frankly the ER at my hospital never really gives meds at all n that's a little frustrating when u send me an unstable patient or send a patient on a drip n didn't mention that In report..both sides have challenging tasks but ED nurses need to also maybe shadow us and see why we give you a hard time as well it is vice versa..from what you tell me u sound like u do your part but not all ER's are the same...my urban ER always has job openings like crazy because no one stays...

I sometimes feel the same way...Ppl at my job are clicky and many don't talk to me so I keep to myself...many smile in your face and talk crap about You behind your back...I feel left out sometimes but I've heard it's safer to not get too close with coworkers.....

I did home care for about 1 year and I definitely understand how u feel...the long hours commuting home to home plus the overwhelming amt of paperwork...I learned a lot but am glad I left...don't give up u did the right thing

Thank u everyone for your responses it gives me some hope as I eat my dinner during this awful night...I've not been here about 4 months n the big difference I see working nights is the helping of nurses with one another...there's such a lack of this here and my unit is always short staffed..sometimes 4 nurses to the entire unit because census is low but then we are bombarded with admissions...I try to do the best I can and I ask questions but I'm starting to see some nurses get annoyed when I ask questions and I'm starting to see who the gossipy ones are n how obvious they make it when they talk about u when you are sitting feet away...I do exercise a lot out of work and have my phone off but the anxiety still builds each time I have to work...I wonder very frequently if this is in fact for me....day shift staff is a lot more helpful with one another...thank u for listening to my rambling everyone I have all these emotions as I sit back in my break room n needed to let this out...

I feel the same way...I am new to the hospital setting and work on a short staffed unit...I cringe each time I have to go to work and I have a lot of stress because of work but I try to make the best of it...does it get better? I get told it will get better but does it really? Learning to adjust to this environment is really difficult...If anyone can offer advice to a new hospital nurse id be grateful...

I hate home care Im getting ready to quit myself its so bad...I work everyday all day even on my days off and get paid salary...I drive so much as I too was given territories far from where I live when I was told I would be placed close to my home...I've been doing this for 9 months and am at my witts end! Sorry just needed to vent! Good luck to u I'm going to be in the same boat soon in off today and keep getting calls! It never stops...

I def understand where you are coming from and how you feel I too am in home care as a visiting nurse and I am so overwhelmed I case manage and see many patients and my territory is super far from where I live to make it worse...I've been there for 9 months and can't deal with it anymore the driving the lack of communication with my peers working all night all day even when I'm home....I constantly ask ppl for advice and never get good feedback...I would fix your résumé and just apply that's what I've been doing just start applying and hope to land something..

Home health is not what ppl think it is u basically work all the time like previous users stated..I'm a home health nurse and hate it so much I want out and am applying everywhere to get out...I'm also still a fairly new nurse so it makes my search harder but home health with all the paperwork traveling (it starts to get to you) working everyday mon-fri you basically have no life I get constant emails and the paperwork is just so much it can be annoying now I'm lucky because we have laptops but not all agencies are like that...oh and you get calls on your days off the phone always is ringing but that's just my take on it...I get salary and paid 30 hrs a week but really I work more than 30 hours a week that's where they get you...good luck didn't realize post was old

Thank you both for responding it means alot...I recently heard home care doesn't count as experience for a hospital job so now I'm feeling like ill be stuck in homecare forever :/ I'm not happy there especially with all this driving...am I really going to be stuck in homecare forever? Am I cursed? I feel like I'm going to have to change careers because of this ....thanks for responding

Ok here goes..I originally made 1 post I would say a few years back about my first traumatizing experience as a new grad RN..basically I worked in this hospital during nursing school part time as a unit secretary in a med/surge unit and ended up taking a position next to my floor on a tele unit..the total amt of orientation was 6 weeks if I recall correctly and to make it worse this floor was being renovated so I oriented on an orthopedic unit for the majority of my orientation and the last 2 weeks on my new floor..very very different and I was overwhelmed and had asked for more time as I felt I wasnt ready..basically they refused to give me any more time despite the educator telling me she would see what she could do...all lies...I ended up resigning b/c I felt unsafe and didnt want to lose my license..oh and I ended up meeting with the educator, HR recruiter, unit manager and basically asked to get transfered to another unit perhaps med surge and they refused and gave me my options which included running the risk of getting fired if I didnt meet their standards, i could resign or just continue. So I resigned and my ego was shot. A few months later still feeling like a failure I was lucky enough to land a job part time in an adult medical daycare...I was desperate so I took it as a MD I used to work for referred me...I basically just gave meds, BS, assessments, injections here and there and thats basically it. Although I was grateful to have something this part time was not helping me experience wise as I did not apply nsg skills I learned and felt like I was losing my skills so I continued applying with no luck. Finally got lucky and started a new job last fall as a visiting nurse part of a new grad program. It was ok, I was desperate for experience and took what I could as my past hospital experience still had my confidence shattered at the type of nurse I was. Anyway fast forward and Im 8 months into homecare and I am very confused and honestly fed up with being taken advantage of. It turns out the company I work for has a high turn over rate, just recently a few nurses left and HHA's have told me that nurses never stay and that they love new grads because they know we are desperate. I get paid salary which sucks because we work "8 hours" but really it is more than that when you add phone calls and documentation and travel time. On top of that my location was moved 3 months in and I went from a 30 minute commute to about 1 hour commute. I also went from covering 3 territories to 5 territories with basically no notice, my manager one day just tells me oh by the way heres your new patients. I also case manage about 25-30 patients maybe more depending on how many referrals at the time. I used to cry in the beginning well when my caseload increased and of course periods of overwhelment as I found myself working all day everyday even on days off...I can say I have become highly confident in my assessment skills and over all nsg skills and I have learned alot these 8 months but the driving, locations, documentation and finding myself working all the time makes me feel like work has become my life and I am at the point where I feel like just quitting...Ive read in the home care section that nurses mainly quit because of this and now I feel like I am stuck in homecare. I guess what I am looking for is advice if someone will read my long post and respond. I have recently updated my resume as I cant continue in home care much longer. Oh and I forgot to add I am Spanish speaking and am the only Spanish nurse in the company as I get calls from nurses to call patients for them, Ive even gone on JV's with other nurses to translate and just recently was given a patient in a territory that isnt mine just because I speak Spanish! I feel like Im taken advantage of alot. Anyway I really want to go back to the hospital. I feel like I am ready, I know the hospital is going to be just as hard and I am confident that this time around I will make it if given a fair orientation and opportunity but I feel like homecare will not help me get a hospital position. Does homecare count as med surge experience? Can a homecare nurse find a hospital job or am I going to be stuck in home care forever? Also in my resume should I include my first job at this hospital where I resigned at the end of my orientation due to my risk of being terminated? I dont feel right lying and I feel like honesty is the best policy, but will it hurt my chances? Or do I simply list that hospital when I fill out an application and discuss with them? Any advice will greatly be appreciated. I have applied to a few hospitals already and not even 2 days later got an automated response saying I was rejected as I didnt meet minimum qualifications. I am determiend to get another job but at the rate its going I feel like homecare might not get me anywhere. I was also told that homecare nurses are a joke and our experience does not count. Please say it isnt so. I thank you for reading this if anyone does. I am grateful for this site.

OP please do not be discouraged I completely feel your pain I really do...I graduated in may 2010 and I had such a difficult time finding a job...i had one job which didn't work out and I thought my career was over but allnurses helped me stay positive and I kept applying and landed a job outpatient not my ideal place but I couldn't be picky it took me a little over a year to find my first real job and it was tough...everyone wants hospital experience but unfortunately we all can't get one it really sucks why apply if u won't be considered..I've gone to job fairs where I was told they didn't even want my resume because I was a new grad it sucked and it made me depressed but please don't give up please I almost did...sorry for the long post n please don't listen to negative posts like true blue2000 your negativity isn't needed on here!!

Hello there congrats on the job offer first of all! Im replying because I went through a similar situation and know the feeling...so basically it took me a while to get a job as I too was trying to get into new grad programs problem is here in NJ the job market sucks! Very competitive anyhow I found a job at an adult medical daycare...after a little over a year I had no choice but to accept..I still kept applying for other jobs mainly because I was hired part time and after 6 months I got a call for a new grad program! I was shocked because I thought working as an RN ruined the chances but it didn't! Find out about the grad programs and their requirements...please don't be picky I was in your shoes...take whatever is offered to you it's experience and something you can put on a resume...put it to u this way...I put my job as an adult medical daycare nurse and I got interviewed and was blessed enough to be chosen! Do not give up and good luck to you...sorry for the long reply

xtxrn- Whoever said I wanted unemployment? I resigned already and never thought once about unemployment but I understand why you would ask thanks for your reply and some of you ppl are telling me not to complain how is voicing ones concerns become complaining? If you all read I stated I worked in this hospital as a unit secretary for like 3 years then decided to attempt to start there because I had no other options at the time. If you ppl are gonna make rude remarks please dont bother replying to my post...and thank you to all who are being supportive and understanding I hope to move on from this horrible experience...everthing happens for a reason and I for one was not willing to risk my license to take care of 7-8 telemetry real tele patients...spoke to my old coworkers from my old unit and they were all ****** this happened to me I'm finally realizing it wasnt me...again thanks most of you for your honesty and amazing advice...will keep u updated on my nursing journey :) all positive thoughts thanks to u guys :)

and lovelyRN- yes I feel like I had an unfair orientation and thank you for telling me 8 weeks is not enough I would question that everyday and when i asked for more time they didnt want to but yes I will continue trying hospitals im jus gonna tkae this and learn from it thanks again :)