MR. DJ

what's mds? do you need an rn license to do it? is it better than bedside nursing?

I'm actually being offered a job as a psychiatric nurse in a pschiatric hospital and then another hospital is offering a regular med-surg position. For the psych nurse position, they told me I would start out for a couple of months as a mental health worker and then work my way up as a psych RN only when I'm already comfortable with it. I know that I will have to adapt quickly to US psych nursing procedures and comm. skills but do you think this is an opportunity that I should not miss? What do you mean by "...in the scheme of things... it just doesn't happen."? Does this mean I'm lucky and should grab the opportunity? Is psych nursing a better choice than med-surg? Please elaborate on the pros and/or cons of psych nursing over the other specialties. I assume you have had some experience with psych nursing. Thanks for any advice that will help me make a better decision on this matter.

I'm actually being offered a job as a psychiatric nurse in a pschiatric hospital and then another hospital is offering a regular med-surg position. For the psych nurse position, they told me I would start out for a couple of months as a mental health worker and then work my way up as a psych RN only when I'm already comfortable with it. I know that I will have to adapt quickly to US psych nursing procedures and comm. skills but do you think this is an opportunity that I should not miss? What do you mean by "...in the scheme of things... it just doesn't happen."? Does this mean I'm lucky and should grab the opportunity? Is psych nursing a better choice than med-surg? Please elaborate on the pros and/or cons of psych nursing over the other specialties. I assume you have had some experience with psych nursing. Thanks for any advice that will help me make a better decision on this matter.

What's your opinion about getting into psych nursing for a new grad? Do you think it's better than starting at med-surg? Thanks for all your insightful messages.

What's your opinion about getting into psych nursing for a new grad? Do you think it's better than starting at med-surg? Thanks for all your insightful messages.

Hi, What did you mean by "...for you to get a green card on your own..."? Do you mean an RN can get a green card even without the help of a sponsoring employer? How does this work?

Hi, What did you mean by "...for you to get a green card on your own..."? Do you mean an RN can get a green card even without the help of a sponsoring employer? How does this work?

Hi Angela, I'm a new grad RN hoping to get a job in Nursing Informatics, if that is at all possible for someone with no clinical experience. Before becoming an RN, I was an analyst\programmer. I have more than 8 years IT experience behind me, and I've worked with medical laboratory information systems software and PACS systems and server software used in digital radiology, DICOM standard. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with hospital clinical information systems like MEDITECH, IDX and the like. My question is, do you think there are employers out there who might consider my qualifications good enough considering that I don't have any clinical nursing experience yet? If so, would you know of any hospitals or companies that may be able to help me get into the N.I. field? I just feel that it would be easier for me this way, though I'm sure that most companies would prefer someone who has had at least 2 years of clinicals. Any leads would be highly appreciated. Thanks.:)