dpiana

I woked on a Burn Unit for almost 10 years in NYC. I was drawn to Burn Nursing because at the time I liked seeing wounds heal. But Burn Nursing is so much more. For the most part these are really really sick patients with ventilators, lines, drips, cardiac monitors, tubes and on and on. Big social issues. Where I worked it was a mixed unit; babies, children, adults...what u see is quite horrific, sad and very unusal....but there has not been a job since my days on the burn unit where I knew I made a difference in somebody's life. You are really making a huge difference. What kept me going day after day was the extraordinary group of people that work on a Burn unit. From the RNs, LPNs, Aides, Housekeepers (oh my god the housekeepers are amazing), docs, PT, OT, Nutritionist, Social workers...what an incrediable group of people. You know you are on a team that is unlike anything else. Do it for 3-4 years, then move on. It is exhausting both physically, emotionally and mentally. Dallas

Well..most likely you will be asked to explained why only 6 mos at the hospital...Best to tell the truth...what confronted you that u were unwilling to deal with...how have you grown since...and why u want to return to the bedside in a hospital

Never ever let that license go...you work hard for it...Keep it in an inactive state...but never let it go

to find the nurse manager of a unit. Go to the hospital website .....and look for the table of organization for patient care services....Many hospitals will have this with the name of the managers. Once u get the name call the hospital operator to be connected to his/her private line....

Thank you all for a roaring laugh!!!! what about linen??? they are always a chuckle or 2 about the hoarding of linen!!!!!!!

Do what you love...peds. Plus you will save on gas with the shorter trip. An extra 2 hours of commuting on top of a 12 hr shift is a lot...you will be pooped!!!!!

Nurses are the Direct Care providers...so are LPNs, CNAs.....Generally it is anyone one that works directly with the patient. In-direct care providers would be the clerk, manager, housekeeper.

You will be assigned to a preceptor. If you have multiple pts...tasks are done in batches.ie.round on everyone, check orders on everyone, prepare & admin meds for everyone. U start with a few pts & once you get more proficent w/ keeping up w/ the workload & handling problems that arise (there will be many from spills, to pt complaints, to equipment breakdowns, to worsening pt conditions, etc) pts will be added to your workload. Mastering troubleshooting problems & knowing who to call for what is your goal over the next 8 mos.

There is a fullfilling life as a nurse away from the bedside. Clinics, school nurse, healthcare sales, blood bank, skin bank, Red Cross or anyone of the non profit healthcare org, maybe policy or grant writing....the field is wide open...start expanding beyond the bedside.

Next!!!!! Ask yourself....is that the kind of environment/people you want to work with. If your answer is no...move on and don't settle. You too must be interviewing them, with a set of criteria that meets your standards. Time for some basic visualization to get what u want. Start by writing down what your work environment would look like, what type of people will u be working with, what's your day like, who are you being on the job, how are u making a difference with your patients, how are u growing as a nurse........add to it daily and get focus on what you want!

The nurse market is so tight right now. Not a lot of movement with recession and many nurses had such a big dip in their 401's (retirement investments) so have held off retiring until more financially stable. In the meantime...get a profile up on linkedin...fill all sections out...since you don't have any nursing experience yet, write why you went to school for nursing, why you can't wait to actually work but most importantly have your previous nursing school teachers and preceptors write a recoomendation for you on linked in. Once your profile is established, add it to your resume. Recruiters will check you out and if you have a professional looking photo and a few positive recommendations, u are more likely to go to the front of the pile. In the meantime find a nursing job somewhere other than the hospital, clinics, outreach programs, grant writing, skin banks, the red cross, etc. You want to get started right away while your nursing education is fresh....later you can always find a job in a hospital if that is still the avenue you want to take and will then have nursing experience. (Hospital nursing is very grueling & exhausting).

Some will give a close date for applying for a position online. Many HR departments prescreen with a phone call to get a sense of who you are and only send a handful of applications to the manager to set up appointments. There is no way a nurse manager can interview everyone that applies for jobs nowadays....so if I were you I would get a profile up on Linkedin where you can state your experiencel but more importantly have previous preceptors, teachers, educators, managers and collegues write a recommendation for you on linkedin. Start now and throughout your career continuously keep your recommendations updated. Be sure to add a professional looking photo of yourself on linkedin. Recruiters check linkedin and if other nurses are there with good recommendations and a photo and you're not...they will most likely call the candidate with the linkedin profile

I agree with all of you...Bedside nursing is grueling....and with resources getting tighter and tighter everything is dumped on the nurse. You're hating your job because you do not feel value in what you are doing, and there is not enough hours in your shift to deliver the care you think the patient diverse...I get it! But there are so many diverse opportunities in the field of nursing and u need to try them out and discover your niche. Where will you feel like you are of value where can you make a difference. Nursing is about problem solving..so look at that kind of problems in nursing you are good at solving, clinical, organizational (more big picture), maybe you would prefer policy development (very detail oriented), home health care (like to work alone), pharmaceutical rep, or any kind of rep in healthcare industry ( you want to travel), article writing (educational)...the field is wide open. Start with joining a local nursing organization...it is worth the membership fee to get access to nurses in all the different areas of healthcare, participate on a nursing organizational committee outside the hospital and discover the impact nurses have in community, state and national level....this can be very stimulating , but most importantly find a nursing mentor, someone you like someone that is out there making a difference in nursing.