nurseart

Got an interview for this Friday! Yay!

Thanks guys! I am going to put in an application tomorrow. Excited!! :) I think this position is the perfect way to see if I have the "hospice heart". I learned as a new grad that I do NOT have the "med/surg-oncology-full-code-status-on-a-90-year-old" heart.

I work M-F at a health department. Love the work, hate the bureaucracy and co-worker drama. I have always been interested in Hospice and my first job out of school was on a oncology floor. Our local hospice house has a position for every other weekend 3-11:30pm. I am considering applying because 1) I am interested in end of life care and this is a nice way to get my feet wet 2) Working STI/FP clinic and doing paperwork for the last two years makes me feel like I am losing my "real" nursing skills 3) I'd like to get perspective about my current position and whether it's worth sticking around for. 4) the extra $$ would be nice I'm 26, no kids, live with my boyfriend of 6 years who is in school and studies some weekends anyway. Any thoughts?

I am all about up front conversations with teens about sexuality. There *are* other reasons to start teens on birth control, such as easier periods. We talk to teens a lot that first sex is not always planned but often a "uh-oh" moment and the role of raging hormones. Either way, I'd try to express to your daughter that you want open communication.

I will be at 6 months next week and love it. Yesterday went to a training on adoption and options counseling and was so happy because I kept thinking "this is it. this is my tribe, this is were I belong!' It was great.

You may be able to, but honestly I would really think about it first. Volunteer experience is critical and it depends on the role you are accepting. Home visits? I'd be nervous. Since you are doing a post-bac, maybe you have some good relevant life experience that would help. Public health is a whole lotta gray and requires you to be nurse, counselor, social worker, cop and teacher at the same time. I hate *hatehatehate* to be that person but as much as a did not enjoy hospital nursing it taught me a lot, and I'm glad I have it on my resume in case I burn out on public health or decide I want to work 3 12's again or whatever else might come up. So, I'm going to say it. I think some med-surg experience first is good Can't believe I did that. Don't ever tell my past self.

Congrats on the job! I have been working as a public health nurse at a health department for the past 4-5 months and love it. I was hired as the STI and backup to family planning nurse. That role includes clinic 2-2.5 days a week, treating contacts for STI's, calling to follow up on STI cases that were diagnosed privately to ensure the patient received treatment and offer anonymous partner notification. In addition, I manage the ADAP program which provides medications to HIV positive patients in our area. Since starting, I was also given the communicable disease piece so I do investigations for things like campylobacter, lyme disease, acute hepatitis and other reportable disease. Then I put the data into a database that the CDC and other organizations use for statistics. I have also taken on updating some of our brochures and joined a committee. Other nurses at my health department manage maternity and the babycare program or work with immunization, which I was oriented to but won't be routinely working. What I LOVE about my job is: A, My coworkers, all the nurses get along and there is a good team spirit. B, I am always doing something different and have yet to be bored. C, *knock on wood* our patients aren't terminally ill, they can all breathe, and while there have been some hairy moments due to various forms of substance abuse there is not much life or death on a daily basis. D, I have time to be a GREAT nurse. There is lots of time for patient education, I can follow up on patients that concern me, and I can actually advocate for patients. Finally. E, I am learning about a myriad of cultural, socioeconomic, health and social issues. F, the benefits and hours are great. There are a couple of things I am not thrilled with. A, perhaps it is specific to my health department but it seems like it is very difficult to fire state employees after the probation period. Excellence is not expected, but accepted if you choose to do it. We have one clerk that is consistently very rude to patients, gives incorrect information and does not perform tasks well that has not and probably will not be fired. B, While it is the reason I took the job, remember that the population you are likely to be serving leads very difficult and chaotic lives. It can be draining, make sure your coping skills are in good working order. C, let's be honest, while 12 hour shifts in the hospital are hard, those days off during the week are glorious. D, contacting people about STIs, while important to public health, is tricky. I try my best to maintain confidentiality, but I worry about parents seeing a strange number on their kids phones, abusive boyfriends, and repercussions in already abusive relationships (which are shockingly common, by the way). I've already had my share of angry partners (male and female) and parents calling to scream at me. Atmosphere really varies based on the office and you will learn yours soon enough. In terms of benefits, I have a good health care plan, life insurance, all state holidays (12 a year!) plus vacation, family personal and 64 hr (!?!) sick leave, 16 hour community service leave, and a boss that will let me go do continued learning and conferences without taking time off as long as I cover my expenses and clinics. I hear that my state is pretty bad about working with people that want to go to graduate school so that might be a problem for me down the road. Overall, this is the first job in my almost 3 years after graduating where I feel like a NURSE that is HELPING people who could really use excellent, affordable, accessible care delivered in a caring, competent and confidential manner. Best of luck to you!

Oh hell no.

I would say it depends on the type of public health nurse you would like to be. I work for a state health department and they do not look for advanced degrees but instead relevant work or volunteer experience. Personally, I would consider getting some experience before continuing on to a MPH, MSN, or both. And by the way, John Hopkins in Baltimore also offers a MPH/MSN program.

Looks good! You could consider adding a GPA if it is impressive. And please, get out of that job! Apply for OB but if you don't get anything I would consider applying in other areas. Life is too short to be miserable. Also, consider putting in applications now. It takes a long time to go through the process.

I hear your pain but would go for the LTC route as well. You are just getting started and can switch over to urgent care later. LTC will teach you certain skills that will be useful in future positions across nursing. Also, while it is fantastic that you got two offers, considering the economy if you took the urgent care position and it did not become full time you might be stuck and unable to find another full time position.

Aha! That is one of the things I was trying to think of - the Henry Street Settlement. I just bought "a house on Henry street". I've always wanted to know more about that. Thanks so much! I looked into the Sue Barton books but the library didn't have them and they cost more on amazon. Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it. And if there are any other suggestions out there don't think this is a closed topic, I'd love more reading material! :-)

Hello, Well, I got the job I wanted!!!! I am going to be working at a great health department and I am super excited. I would like to read a book (or books) that will give me some insight and inspiration going into this new endeavor. Something like what Three Cups of Tea, Mountains Beyond Mountains, or Freedom Writer's Diary did for their specialties. I would be prefer a memorior from an experienced Public Health Nurse that would be fun to read but give nuggets of wisdom. I would also be interested in textbooks that were useful in tips for counseling teens, health behavior change, working in rural populations, and the joys and challenges of public health. Any ideas??

I know it has been a little while since this post but I have had two PHN interviews (in Virginia) the second one was just today so I thought I would answer. The interviews were similar, 2-3 panelist reading questions from a list that both you and the interviewers have a copy of. Then they write down your answers, so making eye contact was difficult. The first section of questions are background/definition/philosophy types of questions. Such as: how do you define public health? what is a public health nurse to you? what are some public health challenges in this community and how would you address it? Then there is a section of scenario questions. The scenario questions are clinical and often have to do with priority setting. For example, "you walk into work and A, B, C, and D is happening. What would you do, in what order, and why". I noticed that both of the interviews asked very little about my background or current position.

The question: I am considering spending a year teaching english in Korea. It would be an adventure, I'm young, I wonder if I would rather be a teacher, the pay is awesome. Would this tarnish my resume? Some background: I graduated in 2008 with my BSN and took a job on an oncology floor in a large hospital. After I accepted the job, most of the nurses and some management left and things were pretty crazy/miserable. I ended up staying 6 months. (yes, only 6 months. I know.) After that, I got a non-clinical job (with my dad's company) doing patient educational material development which is focused exclusively on a small sub-specialty. It has been interesting and I have done some interesting things, including making a website for clinicians to use for teaching that currently has over 500 paid subscribers in 40 countries. I want to leave because working for a parent is really difficult.