leelee85

There will never be a "perfect time" and just know that "plans" hardly ever go as planned. My "plan" was to get pregnant during nursing school, have a baby right after, take 6 months off, then start work. Well……lets just say I had a lot of bad luck. I finally stayed pregnant (with my 3rd pregnancy in less than a year) when I was a few months into a job as a new grad. I had my baby, moved across country, broke my arm, had a hard time finding a job with only a year experience yada yada yada…… There's a good side and bad side to everything and you never know what will happen. Choose and make the best decision you can now, with the information that you have.

Aside from being able to empathize with the parents, I would say I'm no better of a nurse than I was prior to having a child. On the flip side though, being a nurse has allowed me to be a better mother to my child.

Thanks so much for your advice-it's greatly appreciated as I'm new to the in's and out's of travel nursing!

It's the same agency. I was on the phone for a about 30 min total since the hospitals PICU called and interviewed me, then transferred me to the CVICU who also interviewed me. The recruiter who I'm working with (my recruiter is out of the office) didn't answer, so I left a message explaining the situation. Do you think they'll let me switch Monday or Tuesday when they get back into the office? After being out of the hospital for some time now, I'm lacking the confidence to jump into a new area I guess.

After my husbands military transfer last summer, I've had no luck in securing a job in our new small town. Being that I only have peds CVICU expierence and have now been out of a job for quite sometime, I decided to give traveling a shot in hopes of landing a peds CVICU job in a large hospital. I told the recruiter I wanted CVICU, but would consider NICU or PICU if that's all that was available and if they would take me despite not having experience in that field. I got a PICU offer and the hospitals nurse manager was aware that I had no PICU experience. She told me to think about it over the weekend and get back to her Tuesday. Since I didn't want to loose out on the PICU position, I told my recruiter I'd take it since I hadn't heard back from my CVICU pick and thought I was no longer a canidate. We went over the pay and everything over the phone and she said she confirmed me and would send me the contract Monday. Ten minutes after I got off the phone the CVICU called me and offered me the job!! Two questions- how set in stone is being confirmed over the phone-can I back out? If not, how hard will PICU be with only CVICU expierence?

I started my nursing career in a 24 bed pediatric CVICU and I loved it. Unfortunately my husband is in the military so I had to leave after being there for just over a year. Finding a job in our new locale was tough, so I took the first offer- Adult ICU at a small 8 bed community hospital. I was excited to learn a different aspect of nursing and to become a more well rounded nurse. My orientation was 8 days long. I asked for a longer orientation and other than that, I felt as if things were going well. I go in this morning for a meeting with the manager and he says, "I'm sorry to say, but we have to terminate your employment." After being caught COMPLETELY off guard, I ask why. His response was, "I made the mistake when hiring you of not realizing that coming from a specialized pediatric unit that you would be lacking such a broad adult care knowledge base." Dumbfound and on the verge of tears I said ok and left. I had NO feedback whatsoever about my performance from preceptors other than a nurse being rude and saying she couldn't believe I didn't know what Iodoform was and that I had never packed a wound. I know that I don't know much about adult ICU nursing, but I'm a fast learner, I helped other nurses on the floor and I was really looking forward to learning more. I learned so much in CVICU and the acuity of pt's there was WAY higher that this adult ICU floor. To make matters worse, the Holidays are just around the corner and now I'm jobless. I was told to get my ACLS cert before the end of my orientation so I forked out cash that I didn't have and now this! I feel as if my termination is unfounded and unjust. I had no idea my 8 days on the floor were not up to par and that it was a test to see if I was suitable. My resume said I had 1 yr. PEDS CVICU experience and I made that clear during my interview. My question is, should I try to appeal the decision? Contact a union rep? How do I now explain getting fired to future employers? I feel like my career is ruined, I'm frustrated, depressed, broke and i'm bitter that I left a job I loved to follow my husbands career. Thanks for listening to me rant any input is appreciated.

The closest thing to "critical" that I had in nursing school was a PACU clinical. As a new grad (and not at the top of my class) I got job offers for neuro ICU, a step down telemetry unit and peds CVICU. I took the peds CVICU at a large pediatric hospital and I'm loving it!

Thanks so much for the replies! Your response just helped me to solidify my decision. I do want to work peds critical care even if it means making less money and having to wait an extra month to start. I guess in the midst of thinking about hospitals/pay/benefits etc. I forgot what I wanted before I had any options. I should have thought about it before posting a question. I know it will be a challenge emotionally and intellectually (especially as a new grad) but I know it will be worth it. Thanks for the insight on what to expect- it's greatly appreciated.

I am new grad who is fortunate enough to have the option of choosing between a GN program in a pediatric CVICU or a GN program on a telemetry floor. The CVICU program will be starting a month later than the tele and pays about $2 less per hour. Both are night shifts. During nursing school I never had the opportunity to work in ICU, however I feel it's more my cup of tea. My husband and I plan on starting a family soon and the CVICU does offer self scheduling and has a 1:2 nurse pt ration where as telemetry is more of a 1:5 ratio but with less critical pt's. Does anyone have any suggestions/ recommendations? Thanks!

There are only like 25 A&P questions on the HESI. I had taken it before I had covered the urinary system and reproductive system and I missed 3 questions. 3 questions doesn't seem bad, but since there were only 25, I ended with an 88 which was my lowest score. I'm sure you'll be fine though.