circularstaircase

Good point about the "what if." I am just concerned about only getting 6 months of ER experience before I move. That's why I am wondering if it's a better career decision to stay on the float team for now. Moving in 6 months is my definite priority. I don't mind doing floor nursing on my first couple travel nursing assignments. Hmmm. So much to think about!

When I was in nursing school, I thought I'd always be an ER nurse. I loved the pace and the unpredictability and the vast amount of knowledge and assessment skills that needed to be utilized. Thus far in my nursing career, I have worked on a med-surg floor for 12 months and on the float team of a hospital for 3 months. I was just approached by the ER director to apply for a transfer. He said he already talked to my manager, and that my manager approved the transfer. While this seems like a dream opportunity, there is also a catch. I plan to move out of the state in 6 months. If that is the case is taking this transfer position to the ER a bad idea? Or is it still a great opportunity I shouldn't pass up? In 6 months time I am going to try getting a travel nurse position out of the state, and I don't know if my 6 months ER experience will help or hurt me? Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks for listening!

Yes I haven't seen this done before either...although I know many years ago team nursing was pretty common.

The hospital that I work with is going to be changing it's model from primary nursing (I would get 7-8 patients per shift) to team nursing (1 RN, 1 LPN, and 1CNA) for up to 12 patients. The LPN would be doing all the medications and dressing changes while the RN would be responsible for the assessments, critical labs, doctors orders, etc. Has anyone ever tried this type of nursing? What is your opinion? Is it manageable to take care of up to 12 patients when tasks are divided like this? Any feedback would be helpful....

I feel like this whole post is verbatim what I'm feeling! I also only have 2 more days of being on orientation before I'm on my own and I'm a nervous wreck! I feel like my orientation was too short for a new nurse (6 weeks). I think I might ask my nurse manager to get a few extra days of orientation. I'm not sure how she'll feel about it though :/ I also hear you about the support thing! I am also the only new grad on my floor, so it kind of stinks there's no one else I can talk to about all the anxiety you experience as a new nurse! Good luck to you and keep me updated on your transition as a new nurse! Crossing the fingers for the both of us :)

Thank you so much for the replies everyone! I actually asked my nurse manager if I could switch to nights but unfortunately there currently aren't any night positions available. She did say she would let me know if something opens up, so fingers crossed something opens soon. I am afraid I am going to burn out real fast on days, which is unfortunate because I have wanted to be a nurse for sooo long. Sometimes I regret accepting this position knowing the patient staff ratio was so high, but I was so desperate for a job as a new grad. Ehh, I'm just going to try and stay positive and hope something on nights opens up soon!

I feel terrible posting this because I realize how lucky I am to have a med-surg job as a new nurse...but I'm just looking for coping advice... I am one week away from being off orientation (orientation is 6 weeks) and I am already freaking out! I knew Med-Surg would be terribly challenging, but I never knew it would be like this. It is standard to get 8 patients on my floor (I work days). 8 patients to me feels terribly unsafe. When you factor things like critical labs, hanging blood, starting new IV's, patients crashing, rude doctors, demanding families, etc.....8 patients is just too much! I am terrified I am going to miss something important and risk losing my license because I am just so overwhelmed with everything that's going on. Maybe it was naive of me, but I thought I'd be able to have more interaction with the patients. The whole reason I decided to become a nurse (once again, maybe this was naive) was because I thrive off of patient interaction. I like feeling like I make a difference and in med-surg I barely have time to spend 10 seconds with one patient before running into the next room. I am feeling so discouraged and am questioning if med-surg or even hospital nursing is for me. Becoming a nurse has been a huge dream of mine for YEARS and I feel lousy for questioning myself already. I am just wondering how people do this. Is 8 patients on a super busy unit do-able?

I did forget to mention that on my interview the nurse manager stated she would be open to switching me to the night shift once a position opens up. Since this was several weeks ago however, I did want to follow-up with her statement.

Hello msrn1012...sorry for the late reply! You probably already made up your mind on what you are doing, but I'll give my 2 cents anyway I actually wound up taking the nursing home position and *gasp*....got offered a hospital med-surg job 2 1/2 months later! I say go for it! I was only there for a short amount of time but I am still amazed at how much I learned. I really feel as though my brief stint there really helped me learn how to prioritize/how to handle emergencies/etc. I think my experience in LTC helped land me a job as well. If you have any other specific questions don't be afraid to ask! Good luck and let me know what you end up doing!

Hello allnurses! I was recently hired as a new grad (YAY!) on on a very busy med-surg unit (8 patients on days/8 on nights). I was offered a position for days, but I did mention to the nurse manager up-front how I would be very interested in working a night position (the funny thing is....I am a night owl and I prefer working 7p-7a). A friend of mine works on this particular floor on nights and she said she personally feels as though nights is much more tolerable. She has done both shifts and said days were extremely overwhelming for her. I'm currently 3 weeks into my orientation and am currently taking 4 patients on my own. I am sooo nervous to be on my own in 3 weeks (orientation is 6 weeks long). I really want to mention to/remind my nurse manager how I would really love to switch to nights if something opens up but am not sure how to approach her on the manner? Granted I did mention this during the interview, but I am wondering how to bring up the topic without seeming ungrateful/demanding? I know nights will still be extremely challenging, but from what the other nurses tell me, the pace is sometimes just a tad bit better for new-grads. What do you all think? Is there an appropriate way to ask this without seeming ungrateful?

I just graduated nursing school a little over a month ago. Two weeks after graduation I took an ACLS certification course and wound up getting a job offer the following week. I'm not saying that the certification itself is what got me the job, but I will say that both the nurse manager and recruiter seemed very impressed that I "had the initiative" to get ACLS certified on my own. I think getting ACLS certified will certainly boost your chances. These days nursing jobs (especially acute care/hospital jobs) are sooo hard to find. Any little certification you obtain helps set you apart from all the other new grads. I say go for it!! :) Good luck on your job search btw!!

Hello everyone, About 6 weeks ago I accepted a position at a LTC care facility as a new grad RN. While I loved the residents, I really hated the facility itself. The turn-over was extremely high. Not many nurses stay past the two month mark. There were several instances where I felt like a lot of things being done weren't safe at all. I was worried for my license. I was ecstatic when I just found out a few days ago I was offered a position at the hospital I've been wanting to work at. Now I have to put in my resignation however and am TERRIFIED. I feel awful because I've only been there 6 weeks, but at the same time I don't want to pass up the opportunity to work at ____ hospital. And like I said, I wasn't too happy with the current job either. I also wanted to mention the facility has a terrible reputation for how they handle employees who turn in their resignation. They take it very personally. One of the nurses turned in her letter of resignation recently and management turned around and stated they never received it. The manager also has quite a temper so I'm really worried things could turn badly :/ Here is my question: 1.)Is is appropriate to leave my letter of resignation in my managers mailbox w/o first discussing it with him? I'd prefer to tell him in person, but like I said he is off for the next 2 days. I am also worried about how the manager may take it. Any advice? I have quit places in the past but I have never been as nervous as I am now.... Any advice would be appreciated :) Thank you soo much everyone! It really does mean a lot to me.

About a month ago I accepted a position at a LTC facility to gain some experience while looking for a hopsital/med-surg position (I just graduated from RN school). I have been an LPN for 2 years at a doctors office. My initial thought, is that working at a LTC facility would make my resume more competitive since I'd be working in the Rehab hall. With that said, I really really hate my new job. While I love the residents, the facility is so mis-managed that I am wondering if I am putting my license in jeopardy everytime I go to work. I barely received any orientation, yet whenever I ask questions management gets annoyed. Some examples: I was asked to draw blood from a PICC line since a patient needed labs drawn. I had never done this in school, but when I asked if someone could show me I was basically told I should already know this and to figure it out. The other night I had to send a patient out. She began declining quickly and I asked another nurse for help, yet she seemed annoyed and sat on her phone the whole time. I am just getting frustrated because I feel like I'm on my own completely. While I have been an LPN in a doctors office in the past, I have never had a full patient care position before. I feel like there is no support at this facility. I am wondering if i should quit now or wait until I have another job lined up. I initially wanted to do the latter, but I have never dreaded a position so much before. I get nervous before I go into work each day, because I know if something happens I'll be on my own... Any advice? Should I just tough it out? Or do you think it's better to get out of the situation as soon as possible? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you guys. Your words of encouragement have always helped so much in the past! :)

Hello allnurses! I needed some advice on a job interview I am going on next week at an Outpatient Surgery Center and wanted to get some input. Little background info: - I just started working at a nursing home/rehab 3 weeks ago. I LOVE the residents, but am not too impressed with the facility. The turn-over at my facility is extremely high. There was little to no orientation and I am being asked to do things that I have little experience doing....yet because I'm an RN, management says "you should already know, you'll be fine." My question is, if I were to get offered the outpatient surgery center position if I should take it or if I should try and wait for a med-surg position to open up somewhere. There are very little hospital jobs for new grads in the area, but I worry if specializing in something such as outpatient surgery would limit in the end? I am also worried about leaving my current employer after only being there 3 weeks, but I am really unhappy there.... What does everyone think? Should I take the position or try to wait for a hospital job to open up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. It means more to me than you know! I am going to ask for a longer orientation tonight when I go into work....don't know if they will go for it or not. I really feel like I need it though. Last night on orientation one of the nurses I was with let me do primarily everything and I felt like I was DROWNING and nothing out of the ordinary even happened. What will I do when something out of the ordinary happens?! The reason why I'm so terrified is that there is no charge nurse on at my shift (no one for me to go to). It will just be me and another brand new nurse. Scared to death. I feel like I'm being thrown to the wolves..... I love the patients but I am wondering if I should quit. I can see why the turn-over is so high. I hate even saying that because I WANT to like this job....I think LTC is a real unique specialty in nursing and as said earlier I love the patients. But I'm terrified of being on my own so soon and taking care of 25+ patients (some rehab as well, plus trach's, gtubes, etc) without anyone to go to if I need help. I'll have to sit on it and see I guess :/