germanshep

Great! Thanks for updating your original post. Congrats :)

Sometimes we send the blanket home if the patient has a pet, so they can smell the infant. A lot of the service/no insurance patients take as many blankets/diapers/formula/wipes they can get their hands on so they do not have to buy anything later. Sometimes the infant is too small for the car seat, so we trifold a blanket to support the head. It is frustrating sometimes because every time I see someone steal a blanket, I think, "There goes more of my Christmas bonus."

Postpartum: 1. "I have to touch/squeeze your breasts." 2. "Are your nipples sore for the sucking?" 3. "I have to spread your cheeks." (hemorrhoids) 4. "I have to push on your stomach to see how much blood comes out." (fundus check) 5. "Your baby will have tar for the first couple poops." (meconium)

Postpartum care nursing varies depending on the facility. My facility is one of the largest hospitals in the county, so we probably do care differently. If the mom is a regular delivery, the couplets (mom/baby) come to our floor (postpartum) within an hour. If the baby has to go to the NICU the mom still comes over regardless. If the mom had a C/S, the couplets stay in the pacu for 2 hours. Immediately after delivery the neonatologist nurse does the apar score, assessment, vitals, etc. Then the baby sleeps for a while. The babies delivered via C/S are VERY sleeply so they sleep. In some facilities, the L and D RN does everything - high risk, antepartum care, delivery, postpartum care, step down NICU, etc. Good luck!

I watch terrible TV shows for an hour when I get home :) Or take a long shower/sit in the sauna/hot tub at the gym. I love to run and work out but if I am doing back-to-back shifts, I cannot work out after 13 hours then go back to work the next day. You will find what works best for you :)

Nursing is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Things get missed. Thank goodness the patient is ok.

I vowed to myself I will NEVER treat a student nurse like I have been treated. At the end of their day, 99.9% of them were so grateful someone was treating them like a human being.

Welcome to nursing. Nice we worked so hard in school to be treated like "professions." What a load of crap... The working environments are difficult right now, I think a lot of people are worried about their jobs. There is ALWAYS bad apples in the barrel who plant nasty seeds in others. Do not let them bring you down!!! I am sure they were terrible floor nurses, hence being in management now. I ask questions every shift! So do a lot of the experienced nurses. Do not be afraid to ask questions-you worked hard for your license/job. BUT it sounds like the NMNurse Educator is fine with you right now based on her comment! That is a positive :) I hope your job gets better! Tele is a hard floor to start on. I hope you feel more comfortable soon.

Been there, done that with clinicals.

OP-I feel terrible for you. I am reading some of the other posts. I guess people have not learned if you do not have something nice to say, do not say (write it). I think it is great you are seeking advice. I think you are taking responsibility for your loans and have received great advice. Student loans are soooo common. I wish you the best of luck.

OMG-you read my mind. I was going to post the SAME thing. Yesterday I was anything but a nurse. Here is what I was: 1. Secretary-one admission, one discharge, new orders, d/c orders, diet changes, med changes, etc. 2. Housekeeper-empty trash, empty linens, etc. 3. CNA-had to take my own vitals, empty foleys, etc. I had to do my bath because the lazy CNA with ONE patient was "too busy." 4. Transporter 5. Food services-we now have to take trays out of rooms 6. Lastly: a nurse and person. I got chewed out by lactation for telling a mom she had to check with the MD for breastfeeding because she was taking every med under the sun. Lactation told me it was out of the scope of my practice. Ummm, hello....what happened to being an advocate for my patient the baby)??? I did not eat lunch, use the restroom or even sit down for 2 minutes to check blood types on the mother/babies of my admission who came at shift change. I work at one of the largest hospitals in the country where almost everyone is a VIP. So basically, I am a nurse/human last because we have to have "patient sanctification" scores. I left a great career to enter nursing. My previous job did not pay well but I had great hours.....

You will learn a ton on any shift. So whatever shift you want!

Take the job if dialysis is where your heart is. Life happens. You will be an asset to them. Plus, a company will drop you like a fly and not be considerate of your needs when "business decisions" need to be made. Good luck :)

When I was working nights, my puppy would stay up at night with my husband but would have to go in the kennel during the day when I slept; hence he would sleep during the day. This arrangement was awful for my husband...the puppy had sooo much built up energy/anxiety. He would run around like a wild dog and chew everything. We agreed my husband would meet me at the dog park on my way to work/on his way home so the dog could exercise physically. He also has "brain toys" so he can be mentally stimulated. Now that I am on days, we have a lovely dog walker :) We leave the radio on for him and sometimes the TV so he can watch animal planet. Good luck!

I have a 6 week cycle that repeats every 6 weeks. I hate it. During the 6 weeks, we have to work 3 Fridays and 5 Saturday/Sundays. Sooo basically, I work every weekend. I would love a set schedule, or work all my 3's in a row. We have the ability to switch but no one is very willing to switch their schedules. All the other units in the hospital have self-scheduling.

We can change the formula at the request of the parent. The MD typically writes the order "Feed q 3 hours with 20-30ml of supplement" if the baby is losing weight/fussy/jaundice, etc. If parents ask my opinion, I typically recommend Good Start/Good Start Soy because of the glass bottle. All the mothers on WIC request Similac. We obviously follow an order if the MD writes for a particular brand.

My unit was on a hiring freeze for 2 years while cenus was low. This turned out to be REALLY bad because the nurses were becoming so burnt out and leaving to go elsewhere. The cenus picked up in the summer and about 8 new employees were hired. We are stocking less linens, less diapers, wipes and formula. We often do not have a CNA. In addition to 4/5 couplets, new admits, discharges, etc we have to do vital signs, empty foleys, get patients out of bed, etc. This would be fine once in a while but with a high couplet load, sometimes I do not even eat during 12.5 hours.

11am is recommended on the admission paperwork and bathroom door. However, sometimes only 1 of the 2 doctors makes rounds; therefore, we need to call for a d/c order which can extend the time. The final time is 2359. Sometimes this can be difficult! The parents are sooo anxious to go (and remind me every time I am in the room) until the final time comes close, then they barely make it out of the door! Sometimes I worry about the young parents driving at night with a new infant.

I am not sure what hospice manager positions require but the Nurse Manager's at my facility must have a B.S.N. A ton of Nurse Manager's were laid off or had to work bedside because they did have a BSN or were not willing to go back to school. They cannot even have an ASN with a bachelor's degree in another field. What on-line programs have you researched? What about a hybrid program (half on-line, half in the classroom/distance education)? Maybe you could do both...BSN with an End-of-Life Certification to move up to an administration position. Good Luck :)

OMG-you took the words right out of my mouth! I saw your tread yesterday before going into work. As soon as I walked into work, I found out I was switched to days! I am soooooooo excited! I do not think I can last on nights for another month. I feel your pain. I hope things get better for you. I too have lost weight, eat awful, have permanent bags under my eyes, rarely talk to my family, rarely see my husband or friends and never have time to do errands on my off nights because nothing is open expect Walmart. I phase between being a vampire and a zombie. How long until you can transfer/be on days?

My husband is never on time, even when he calls saying he is "leaving." I become soooo frustrated at him so I pick up extra night shifts :) Then he complains he never spends time with me lol.

Be very careful buying from EBay, there are so many fakes.

We have very similar backgrounds....I was in a similar position: PhD program or Nursing school. I choose nursing school. With my Master's, I can always teach nursing classes/clinicals/labs, etc. Plus, nursing has sooooo many opportunities. Good luck with your decision!

To get through the night shift (ugh!) I think about my puppy and taking him to the dog park, going on walks, going swimming, etc. I have a picture of him behind my badge. Then I think about the money I am making and going out to eat :)

I told myself I would never treat a student or nurse the way I was treated when I was a student nurse and new grad. I hope to make a difference in the eyes of a new grad or student so they can treat others kindly in return. I do not think it is a matter of experienced nurses, younger nurses can be vicious too. The nursing culture is unsupportive from the beginning: nursing school. Some professors are the epitome of eating their young for many reasons. I had professors that have not worked the floor in twenty plus years and awful, mean professors. While in nursing school, we experienced this behavior from multiple areas. Hopefully this culture will change before more burnout occurs.