ldm2484

Thank you for the responses! I am very glad for the experience and new skills and it does seem that people describe finding the ICU like falling in love, " you know when you know". All things happen for a reason and I will continue to walk the path the Lord has put be back onto and perhaps new doors will open and I will find my love.

After working on a Telemetry floor for 3 years successfully on night shift I accepted an ICU position day shift. The stress and social anxiety of the unit proved too much and I ended up leaving after a few issues and meetings with my manager that the setting may not be right. I now am wishing I would have pushed through and tried ICU on night shift with the "extra training" before leaving but am back on my old floor realizing I definitely miss things about ICU. Although I will stay where I'm at for now and fulfill my contract since I'm with the same hospital as i did not complete the 1 yr agreement ICU residency program, do you seasoned ICU nurses think a not entirely successful ICU nurse could try again at another hospital? Has anyone had this kind of experience and had a successful second attempt? I'm grateful for the job I have and was welcomed back and love Cardiac for which I am blessed. Any experience with this kind of situation would be appreciated. Thanks!

Yes. Emory is a bit expensive for me as well. I live about 45 minutes north of Atlanta. Ga state does not seem as flexible for a full time RN. I have not looked into Alabama yet as it is out of state and you seem to pay more out of state, from what I can tell. I am also looking into Middle Georgia State University as they offer AGACNP focus as well and I have thought about pursuing a Cardiology specialty with ability to work in acute care settings. I took a Cardiovascular certification review course and plan on going for my CV-RN certification soon. MGSU is online with 2 visits required per semester which is not too bad for me and ,with you in middle georgia, may be a good option as well. The tuition appears more affordable than some other options as well. Im really going back and forth on pros and cons between FNP and ACNP. Many decisions to come!

I have been a nurse for approximately 4 years, and I hold a BSN. I, like many others, am interested in pursuing an advanced practice degree. I work full time as an ICU nurse in GA . I am currently under a 1 year contract as I switched from a Cardiac area and just completed my ICU residency. Pursuing an online program seems the most realistic and Georgia College and State university seems affordable for GA residents and flexible. Do any of you have any experience with this or advice on other online options. I am also interested in Acute care but only FNP is offered here. I know dual programs are offered at Emory but the cost is very high. There is also the possibility of post graduate studies which add Adult Gerontology focus. Any advice is this area is appreciated as well. 😊

Hello all! I am very interested in going into Occupational Nursing. I am a BSN, RN with 3 years of experience working on a Cardiac/Telemetry floor ( we are like a PCCU but it's a small Hospital so still under division of Med/Surg). What is the minimum degree required to practice? What path did you take? Any suggestions on how to proceed? Thanks, Laura

I am also looking into GSU's program for MSN/FNP . Are classes available online for this track? How many class days are required per week? I am a BSN, RN with 2.5 years of experience. I work full time night shift at a hospital. Will I be able to work full time or would that be impossible? Part time only? How are clinicals organized and broken down for the semesters. Does the school arrange them? Last question: how much do you think it will cost? Sorry, no answers here. Just a bunch of questions Thanks!

In regards to the original question, if one were interested in FBI or that sort of direction, would a BSN plus a Forensic Nursing certificate be an adequate set of credentials?? Would this be a better idea than a Masters of Forensic Nursing?

I recently completed my 2nd semester in a BSN program and have applied for externships in my area. The location I preferred was not listed on the hospital's main website so I applied for different locations. Immediately following this I found an opening at my hospital location of choice on a jobs website and applied. I have an interview set up with the other location, about an hour away, which is a field I have found interesting and definitely special, Oncology, while the location that I want to work at in the long term, literally a stone's throw from my residence, is saying that they can not continue the process there until I complete the process at the other location.This is an ER position. As a student I am unsure of which area I really want to work in, but both of these areas interest me in different ways. Should I mention in my interview that I would much prefer the other location?? Nothing is certain and I did not want to lose both as nothing is certain at this point. Advice??

Very interesting and relevant comments for me. I am a 2nd semester BSN student who just spent my first day (12 hours of it) in the OR. I loved every minute of it, though my feet did not completely agree. It is very true that as a nursing student you are more focused on the surgery and miss a hefty portion of what the OR nurse does. I noticed there was an RN who was acting of more of a "surgical assistant" in one room but many OR nurses were at the periphery of the room or at the computer charting. The surgical technologists seemed to be right up on the action. I really loved the interdisciplinary function in the OR and, though I was admittedly more focused on the surgery, I got to see some actions that the RNs performed between surgeries like preparation of the room and pre surgery patient preperation and such. I enjoy many aspects of bedside nursing, but I really enjoyed the OR more than anything so far really. What aspects do you enjoy the most about the OR? What aspects do you enjoy the least? Thanks for the experiential wisdom :)

Thanks! Oops.. ill work on that. There are so many new abbreviations and terms floating around in my brain- I guess I forget the order of things. That's a good suggestion- thank you

Thanks MinnieMomRN- for whatever reason, the thought of finding a book of cases didn't cross my mind, but I suppose it was pretty late last night. Don't worry :) I would never try to pass someone else's story off as my own; the assignment asks for a clinical story- can be yours, one you have heard or from a work, in such case, I would cite the source. Thanks a lot for the advice!

I am a second semester nursing student, and I am writing an Ethics paper on the concept of Advocacy. I have made my arguments and such (actually I could say much more), but I need a clinical story/patient example that has to do with advocacy. I really wanted a story that shows the "thin line" between advocacy and paternalism and a case where the nurse must make a difficult ethical decision. In this context, if the nurse is trying to fulfill the ideal of beneficence (doing only good) and how that conflicts with autonomy. That all sounds nice and good, but short of making up a story, I'm at a loss. Ive tried to find one on line but to no avail. If anyone knows where to look or knows a good one(minus names and anything that could be anywhere near in violation of HIPPA) that they want to share, I would be much obliged :) Thank you for your time

Thank you all so much for the advice! So many great suggestions I gotta say I'm not sure which one is the way to go, but now I have a much better idea and that's a start. Guess the best thing to do is put myself out there. There definitely appear to be some understaffed nursing homes around here that I can call. I'm so appreciative of everyones responses and this forum rocks. Ill let you know what happens. Thanks again and peace and love Laura :)

I have recently been accepted into a nursing program, BSN program at Kennesaw State University, and I really need some experience. I have looked at CNA, which requires education and more money. I know some ppl become ER techs and hear this may not be as good as CNA, but I really cant go and pay $700 more for CNA training. also I know some are patient care techs but usually you need at least 1yr of nursing school. I really want some experience and need some direction in this area. I cant really volunteer because i need to make some money, so, long story short, what is my best option? Thank you for the advice and I cant wait to really "get into it" and out of pizza delivery! :)