StephRN08

It depends on what type of NP you want to become. I have a few good friends that are NP's or in NP school... one is an acute care NP specializing in transplant and she worked in a liver transplant ICU, one is an adult NP with an additional post-MSN certificate in women's health and she worked on a gyne oncology unit and antepartum, and two others are in pediatric NP programs and worked on pediatric med/surg units. Just FYI, the DNP is a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. It is a specific role as it is intended for all advanced practice nurses - NP's, clinical nurse specialists, CRNA's, and nurse midwives. Many programs will be replacing their MSN programs in these areas with a DNP.

I pass a few of my favorite restaurants on the way home (all with amazing desserts), so I will treat myself to a little food therapy! I find that fried food and chocolate do the trick. I also love a little retail therapy... and I have bought most of my Vera Bradley bags after awful days at work!

I am disgusted by some of the attitudes on this site. I only asked for some resources, such as scholarly articles. Websites do not cut it in graduate school!

I have also worked with a few MSN-CNL grad before too. I agree that their clinical skills are seriously lacking. My manager refuses to hire them because she feels that you must have bedside experience before you can become a good leader. I couldn't say it any better myself!

On our oncology/BMT unit we have many patients that just cannot make it home for Christmas. In the past few years, we have started a week of holiday festivities on the unit to help lift the patients' spirits and it does wonders. A group of us will go around the unit singing Christmas carols with our scarves/hats/gloves and an electric candle. We buy candy canes and holiday candies that we put into stockings and give to the patients. On Christmas Eve, everyone pitches in money to have a dinner for the patients and their families in the family lounge. It's something nice that we do for our patients! Does anyone else have holiday festivities in their units or facilities for patients?

When I first started in oncology, I purchases Oncology Nursing which is published by Mosby. This book is my top recommendation as it includes everthing you need to know to care for oncology patients. I personally learned so much from this book! It does include OCN prep questions in the form of case studies, which I think helped me pass the exam. There is a new publication from the Oncology Nursing Society, Cancer Basics. It is a good, easy-to-read book with very basic information. I think it geared more towards someone just entering the speciality that wants a good foundation, but it is important to know that it does not go into much detail. Cancer Nursing by Connie Yarbro is supposed to be a very good read, but I have never gotten around to purchasing it. Many co-workers like to use it and have nothing but good things to say about it. The core curriculum book is OK. I did not like the format (outline style). The study guide had a lot of great practice questions for the OCN.

Hello everyone! I just started a job with the VA and will be working on a general medicine unit. My background is oncology/BMT. I will have to take a general pharmacology test next week as part of the orientation process. In BMT land we give the same drugs over and over and over, but I am familiar with things like insulin, BP meds, statins, diuretics, and anticoagulants. Is there anything else that anyone can think of that would be included on this test? I would like to have an idea on what to re-familiarize myself with. Thank you!!!

First of all, you need nursing experience in order to become an advanced practice nurse. There are graduate programs that will accept students who have obtained a BSN without any nursing experience. However, I have worked with some of these individuals and there is a definite lack of knowledge. It would be in your best interest to get at least 5 years of nursing experience before stepping into an advanced practice role. I have not heard many good things about the accelerated BSN programs in the Pittsburgh area and we have 3 of them. However, this does not mean they are not producing quality graduate nurses. I precepted an accelerated BSN student this past summer during her transitions course. Their classes/clinicals were Monday through Friday with some evening classes in the mix. This is a lot! Also realized that you are cramming 2 years of material into a year. I would go with the associate degree program! Working as a nurse tech provides you with valuable experience and will be a foot in the door for a future job.

Things that I have received from student nurses/new employees: -a coffee/tea/hot cocoa gift basket -stationary with my initial -nurse tote bags -lunch gift card for the hospital cafeteria

I am a medical nurse working in oncology/BMT. Although I can't specifically say why I like medical rather than surgical, I do know that I do not like incisions/wounds, drains, etc. One thing about oncology/BMT that I really enjoy is the long-term relationships with the patients and they some of them are like our family.

Well apparently my co-workers are some of the only people that found this appalling. I don't give a damn about nurse-to-patient relationship and blah blah blah... what she said was down-right rude. That's like someone saying why are you were a Steelers t-shirt when there are other teams. I am oncology certified nurse and have worked as an oncology RN for almost 3 years and 3 years as a nurse tech before that. I have never in my life heard someone (with cancer or not) say such a thing.

I was taking care of this elderly woman today with fallopian tube cancer for a port placement and chemotherapy and accompanied by her daughter. I should have ran as soon as the daughter started calling me "Nurse Stephie". Anyways, the patient was very sweet but her daughter was absolutely nuts. From the time I introduced myself until the time they walked out of the department, she was up my rear end! While I was starting the patient's IV, the daughter was on the other side of the bed holding her mother's hand. She looked at my badge clip (a breast cancer ribbon) and told me that I needed to get a new one. I explained that I have a soft spot for breast cancer because my mother is a survivor and two of my aunts had lost their battles from it. Well, this lovely woman was quick to tell me, "Well, there are other types of cancer. Don't you think it insensitive to support only breast cancer?" I was at a loss for words and there was a period of silence before she said, "We have breast cancer in our family too, but I don't ever wear those pink ribbons." I left the discussion at that because I was ready to let this lady have an earful. Little does she know that I am a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and participate in several cancer walks throughout the year. I just happen to have chose a breast cancer badge holder for the reason mentioned above. Thank goodness I didn't wear one of my pink ribbon jackets today! However, I have never in my life received a complaint about a badge holder, and I taked care of mostely blood cancer patients. I am very appalled that someone had the audacity to comment on this in the first place and to then go on an on about it. Some people should just stay quiet and keep their opinions to themselves. I don't care if it's a patient or family member!

Are you currently working in oncology? At my hospital, the only RN's permitted to administer chemotherapy must work in the inpatient or outpatient oncology departments or the physician practices. Our float pool has a few nurses that are chemotherapy certified, but they are not allowed to administer the drugs unless they are working in one of the above mentioned areas. You also must have six months of oncology experience to even take the course and it really does make a difference. If you are working in oncology and are interested, the Oncology Nursing Society offers this course... http://www.ons.org/CNECentral/Chemo/Main You would have to find an upcoming class and pay for it yourself. Our hospital currently has two nurses that can teach this course, so it is the one that we use.

Nurse Tech for 3 years on the same unit... RN for 2 1/2 years... Job 1 - 8 months in ICU Job 2 - 1 1/2 years inpatient/outpatient oncology/BMT and IV team I left the first job because I quickly discovered ICU was not for me. When I took my present position, I swore that I would never leave but the health system is integrating services. I refuse to go from a Magnet hospital to a unionized hospital. So I will be starting job 3 in a few weeks. Also did a 2 week part-time stint at a major cancer center in the area but quickly left because it was unsafe.

It is very individualized and based on anesthesia's assessment. We get a lot of interventional radiology patients post-procedure and the RN's administer the sedation in that department - they most often (80% of the time) give Fentanyl 50 mcg and Versed 2 mg.

I go through this at every family function! My aunt (manager at Sunoco) and her girlfriend (IT nerd) wanted me to go to an all women's (no pun intended) college in the area with a BSN program. My aunt's girlfriend claimed that you could never do anything as a nurse if you didn't have a BSN (half-right). Please keep in mind that neither of them have ever had any health care experience nor has anyone in my family or the girlfriend's family. Anyways, I graduated from a hospital diploma program and at graduation my aunt leaned over and asked my mom if I could test to be an LPN now (after hearing about our RN program 100 times throughout the ceremony). One year at Christmas dinner, I was running late because I had a patient in DIC that I was replacing with the entire blood bank. I was explaining this disease process and my actions to my younger cousin (future nurse) and my aunt just stared at me and said, "Oh, I didn't know nurses could give blood products. I though you needed to have a lot of schooling to do that." Last spring, my gram was having stroke-like symptoms and called me at work to see what I thought. I told her she should go to the ER to be seen and that they would probably do this and that and admit her. Well, my aunt's girlfriend told my gram that it would be best to ask the PA that lived next door because they work with physicians and are very smart. Surprisingly, he said the same thing as me! I guess after my diploma, BSN, and graduate courses... I still haven't had enough education! Ughhh, some people just drive me nuts!!!

I left my first nursing job after 8 months. In the last semester of nursing school, I decided that I wanted the action of the ICU and took a position in a level III trauma ICU. I quickly found out that it was not for me. I was very close with an uncle that had lung cancer while I was in high school and had thought about being an oncology nurse well before nursing school. I still wanted to work with high acuity patients, so I took a position on an inpatient oncology/BMT unit and fell in love with the patients and speciality. Now, I worked there for a full year before I was offered a position in the outpatient department which is under the same nurse manager. I still work on the inpatient floor now and then when there is a need. In your situation, definitely apply and interview for the health department position. If there is an offer on the table, weigh the pros and cons. Personally, I would stay casual in the ER to keep up your skills and keep a foot in the door. Most casual (or per diem) position only require you to work a few shifts a month. Just remember, you have to do what is best for you.

I work in oncology and with a few nurses that have previously had cancer. They are always biased in assuming that people go through exactly what they had experienced. In fact, one nurse had breast cancer and received Cytoxan as part of her treatment. She said that she never had nausea and if affects her patient advocate role when someone is getting that drug. In hem onc, we give high dose Cytoxan and there is a BIG difference int he doses.

I lend a hand as a casual clinical instructor with our hospital's SON. I sit on the student resources committee and one of our responsibilities is to make sure our textbooks are essentially the best on the market. I would like some opinions from nursing students, nurses, and faculty on some of the best textbooks. Specifically, we are looking for textbooks in the following areas: -fundamentals -nursing process/care planning -drug handbook -lab & diagnostic studies handbook -medical/surgical Thank you so much for your assistance!

I do not take part in direct interviews as I am a staff nurse, but our manager informally requires all prospective employees to shadow in our department. We care for outpatient oncology/BMT and invasive/surgical procedure patients, so it helps for someone to "get their feet wet" a little bit before they make a decision. Our manager really values our opinions from the shadowing experience. Our department operates Monday through Friday 5:00am to 11:00pm and Saturday and Sunday 8:00am to whenever. There is no night shift, just day/evening and we work one weekend a month unless you take apheresis call which is one week + weekend per month. This alone attracts many people. However, there is a common misconception that because it is outpatient we don't toilet patients or lift. As I explain this to prospective employees, I can usually gather the "ones" that are heavily reliant on PCA's (which we have only 1) or people that are just in it for the decent hours.

I am going through the exact same scenario. I work at a hospital in the Pittsburgh area that is part of a large health system. They did the same thing with pay, retirement, and hiring at one point or another. Back in July, they announced that there would be "integration" of services throughout the system. We all think the hospital is going to close and upper management doesn't want to directly state it. I will be starting a new position with the VA next month. Please take another position as it will mean some sort of securtiy!

Why not try other areas of nursing? Maybe you are burnt out because your are working on a busy med/surg floor! I say this because my nearest and dearest friend worked on a surgical/transplant floor for 2 years and was in your same shoes. She looked around and found a position as an office nurse for colon/rectal surgeon at the same hospital. She works Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm (with a 1 hour lunch) and no weekends or holidays. Her work primarily consists of speaking with patients on the telephone pre- and post-op and doing teaching on ostomy patients. She has also started on her own research study! Evaluate your current position and see if it is causing you to become burnt out!

I have been a nurse for almost 3 years... I precept other nurses and students... There are some days I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but as you get more experience they will became few and far between...

I am writing a cultural assessment paper on Native Americans for my graduate transcultural nursing course. Does anyone know of any good resources or articles for this? I have looked on EBSCOHost and found a few things... but nothing very impressive.

Soft Lips! It is dirt cheap and they do have a few tinted shades!