NCRN2010

I work at one of the top insurance companies as a Nurse Case Manager. I started off working on the 24 hour nurse triage line. Mostly the experience they are looking for is med/surg, ER, triage. I would recommend finding a position you're interested in and tweak your resume to match the requirements as much as possible without being dishonest. Have your skills align with the requirements. Most larger companies are scanning resumes looking for keywords and an actual person does not see it unless it passes the keyword test. Before I got my current position I applied for every position that I was remotely qualified for. It took me a couple of years to get any call. Fortunately I got the first position I interviewed for. It is extremely competitive, even once you have your foot in the door. I understand your frustration with the mental and physical abuse you are subjected to at the bedside. That old saying "The grass is always greener" is applicable here. Sitting at home in your pajamas talking to your patients all day may sound like a dream job to someone that has never done it, but it is hard and challenging in ways you have never imagined. Think about every action and every word you do and say throughout the day. Now imagine all of that being recorded and monitored. Also, every minute of your work day is monitored and tracked. The pay at my company is excellent. There is a high turnover in some teams because management can be brutal at times. I miss doing bedside nursing and seeing my patients face to face. You have to learn to depend more on listening to what the patient says instead of what you can visualize. If the pay wasn't so good I would have left years ago. I don't mean to be discouraging but wanting to just be as honest as possible here. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information.

I am taking mine tomorrow and am freaking out a little bit. I have not been able to study as much as I would have liked. I usually test well but have already accepted that I am going to fail í ½í¸•

Although this may sound harsh, I totally agree with Kooky Korky. Nurses are held to a higher standard on many things. If you were working in an office job in a clerical position it might be fine to call out because your cat got run over or you fell on the ice trying to get to your car, but if you are a nurse, you need to show up! Absenteeism causes extra stress on your colleagues therefore creating a less than ideal situation for patients. Before I became a nurse I would call out for any little reason. That changed when I took on the responsibility and care of patients. I have held my attendance to such a high regard that I probably was bordering on negligent parenting. Being a nurse is not a job. It is who you are.

Narcissistic behavior at its finest!!

I currently work as a Call Center nurse for a very large insurance company. I have been doing it for 4 months. It is not all rainbows and unicorns. It is extremely mentally taxing. The money is great but some days I don't think it is worth it. Good luck to you.

I experience these same symptoms at work and at clinicals when in school. Talk to your doctor about your meds. Maybe you need them increased, or changed. Don't give up. Also, I have learned several great relaxation techniques that have worked wonders. Your therapist should be able to help you out with that. Anxiety produces more anxiety. It is a terrible thing. No one can relate unless they have experienced this type of debilitating anxiety. Good luck to you.

I totally understand where you are coming from. Usually when you wash a wound, soap would be used as well, possibly eradicated any pathogens found in the tap water or spigot. Also, using ones own facilities is much different than water from a facility that has sick people in and out all day long, possibly contaminating the faucet. I'm not saying what she did was wrong or right, I have just never seen it done before. It would not be something I would have done. Whats ironic to me is in the beginning days of my nursing career, I vividly remember being chastised for taking a culture swab out of the package and holding for the provider to use. The provider told me it was now contaminated just by exposing it to room air and made me discard the swab and get a new one...

Actually, no the provider was a female ARNP. Had been a nurse for 15-20 years. Critical care, L&D, and med/surg. I was surprised at what she did. I expected more from her.

So last week I was assisting one of the providers at my employment and witnessed something I have never seen before. The patient we were caring for had a large leg wound. The provider wanted to culture the wound. So I prepared the patient and the room. The provider comes in and takes the swab of the culture and runs in under water from the faucet. She stated "I always get a better sample if the swab is wet first". Is this an accepted practice? Seems to me the culture swab would be contaminated from the tap water, and therefore the culture would not only be from the wound, but whatever else was lurking in the spigot, :sofahider and the city water.:barf02:Has anyone else witnessed this?

Just being concerned enough to evaluate your practice shows me that you must be a good nurse. It takes years to get to a place where you can reflect on your day and say...I was a great nurse today. Dont let all the seasoned nurses backstabbing get your down. Keep doing what you have been doing. You have to be true to yourself. When ever there is a place with women are the primary employees, there is going to be alot of competition and backstabbing. It is just the nature of some women, unfortunately. Good luck!

Can you shut up and take this report? I would like to leave now. You are not the only one that works hard here, you just complain the most. How many smoke breaks do you need?? You are real good at telling nurses how to do their job, but can you practice what you preach? Nursing is not a fashion show. Take off all that jewelry and makeup. Can't your husband/children make a decision without having to call here? I know you are diverting narcotics. You will be caught!! Did you have to work hard to become such a ******, or does it just come naturally for you?

Really?

I'm going to Wendy's. Would you like fries with that???

Got to love LTC. This, unfortunately is a common scenario. One thing I would try is to tell you CNAs to bring resident A, B, and C to you before lunch or supper. You have 50 residents to chase, your CNAs have fewer residents to chase. Same with therapy. If they are carrying your residents away, they can carry them back to you to have their sugars checked. Also, I just love administrative nurses telling you about time management. How many ADONs or DONs could get done in 8 or 12 hours, what you have to get done?? Especially if they do it the way the are supposed to. And before I start getting alot of negative responses from CNA's...been there done that. I started as a supply clerk in the purchasing department of a hospital, then CNA, then LPN, then RN.

I recently became a RN after being a LPN for 10 years. I made well over 20 an hour as a LPN, but unfortunately, did not go up much in pay once acquiring my RN. Most high paying jobs for LPNs are in LTC. Many nurses do not wish to work in this environment. I love geriatrics. Jobs are difficult to find in NC right now. I would secure a position or at least get several good leads before packing up.