laceym

I am a SANE and that is completely unacceptable for your manager or even your department to think that your job duties as an ER RN include SAFE. You did the right thing. Your experience in the past is no one's business at work. I wish you well and hope that you can be an advocate for those in need of SAFE, but not necessarily be the examiner.

I really appreciate this topic because I am dealing with crying at my job as a nurse. Thank you all for putting out great tips and ideas-extremely helpful. I cried two times during nursing clinicals-two very sad cases. The first time I was able to hide in bathroom and no one saw-phew! The second time I broke down as we were walking down from the unit to the cafeteria. I appreciated my peers and my instructor-they made me feel validated for crying about the situation my patient was in at the time. Now dealing with crying at my job as a nurse. NOT COOL! I am so exhausted just like you said in your post. I know the reason why I am crying-stress. My managers are such douches they think it is because of things outside of work?!? I can't stand them which stresses me out even more and makes me cry...Right now I giggle because it sounds so ridiculous. Bottom line-find the root of the problem (what is triggering the crying). I didn't see OP-but this can be more than just one thing. Ask for help. BE MINDFUL-listen to your body, slow down, and put you first. We cannot help patients get healthy if we are not healthy ourselves.

You all are cracking me UP! Oh I sooo remember finding my first nursing job! I feel for you and suggest plasma centers, blood banks, dialysis centers (sometimes), community health clinics in your area or a more rural area where you could commute? If relocation is an option-STRONGLY suggest looking out of area/state...it's what I did and I am so glad I made the decision. I love my job now(not my first nursing job...but my second!). You will get hired! I graduated December 2012, took NCLEX February 2013, got my first job offered to me 2,000 miles away mid July 2013. Stop thinking hospital-SO overrated (just my opinion, please don't jump me).

Hey everyone, I am asking for what your thoughts are on this conversation I had with a psychiatrist on staff the other day. Background-I work in a community clinic that sees people from Behavioral Health to General Medicine to HIV Primary Care. I am moving from General Medicine to Behavioral Health. Conversation: Psychiatrist tells me he is planning on (not 100% though) taking another job outside of the clinic, but not to tell anyone about it. I told the psychiatrist I don't know if I want to change departments now knowing he are leaving. Psychiatrist tells me not change my mind and to still come to the Behavioral Health department. My dilemma: I feel like I am put in this crappy position with this information. I really like working in the mental health field and I would still have a strong Nurse Practitioner working in Behavioral Health with me. I just want to make a good decision so it does not affect my career path. Thanks!

I love public health and public health loves me. The PH arena is a great place for you to learn. I'm still a pretty green nurse, but I do not regret avoiding the hospital arena. Would I ever work in a hospital? Maybe. ED sounds rad, but I'm not hot to change my gig any time soon. I love having weekends/holidays off and not working nights. I make ok money, but I didn't become a nurse to make mad cash. I have patients of all types with all types of conditions. Public health work can be hard work, but man is it rewarding.

I think your psych background will be really helpful in public health. I currently work at a non profit clinic which provides general medicine, HIV, Hep C care. We also have behavioral health with psychiatry and even dentistry. The environment can be really chill and awesome since we do not have too strict rules-uniforms/shoes, we can have piercings and tattoos but not excessive, and we have jeans day. Most of the people I work with are working here because what we do is awesome-we help the uninsured (yep, still out there) and the underinsured. The down side is not having things organized-which is really hard for me-I LOVE organization. We also are a learning facility which is really fun as well. Public health is what I love and I strongly recommend getting a tour of what the clinic/agency you are interviewing for. I volunteered at my clinic when I applied-so I knew what I was getting into

I had my first day of work today, which was kind of overwhelming....These posts are making me crack up-thanks so much! It's also really nice to know there are some nurses out there who believe in ACA (I'm currently living in the Midwest and hear tons of crazy babble). Thanks to those out there for being a nurse and defending ACA!

SO TRUE! Good luck-I'm moving back to Missouri to get my one year, whatever it takes to get that experience. DCF/CDCR are great options, but they take forever to hire you on. Hospitals are not really hiring new grads even internal applicants, so sad. Do you have a license somewhere other than CA or an option to live in another state to get the experience? If so, do it. I love living here, but I hate not having a job. The jobs for new grads are where no one wants to live, and also places no one wants to work.

My test shut off at 75 questions and I just sat there. I started to hyperventilate and the person monitoring the test takers came over and said, "Okay, it's over, you're done." I started to cry and said, "I just want to answer more questions!" I passed, but that test made me feel like the dumbest person alive! I guess I didn't follow the rule of staying calm-oops.

Thank you all for your responses. I have talked with SO and kids...went surprisingly well. My SO and his children were so supportive during nursing school and still so now. Thinking about not seeing them that often hurts though . Even my close friends say the same thing, "Go for it-you guys made long distance relationships look easy!" My interview is tomorrow (I guess for formalities) and I am nervous like I was for my NCLEX.

We have been together since 2005, I'm 32. He is moving up in his job and is not willing to relocate to MO, plus all of his family is in CA and all my family is in MO. Sigh...

So I need to ask for advice in regards to a major life decision.... I went to nursing school in Kansas City, MO. I lived in Sacramento, CA before school and it had horrendous waiting lists and lotteries and a high tuition, so off to KCMO I went. I finished school and moved back to Cali as soon as I could. I passed NCLEX, received not only my license in MO, but also in CA. I have applied to 250 jobs with a radius from the bay to Auburn to Stockton to Redding. I graduated top of my class and even received an award at graduation. I speak Spanish and have a wide variety of experience in the medical field. NO RESPONSES in California-I'm sure most people are experiencing the same thing. So I have a long long time boyfriend that lives in Sacramento along with his two children (teenagers). I wanted to be a nurse in Ca sooo bad it hurts, but I don't see it happening soon. I called my old job up in Kansas City and asked if they would hire me as a nurse. They said, "Are you serious? Heck yeah!" The pay is not the best, but it is good, benefits are good, and they reimburse tuition (want to work on BSN). I am so miserable working as a receptionist and hearing people call the MA a nurse along with the rejection letters. Sorry for the word vomit, but here is my question: Do I leave my boyfriend of 8 years and the place I love to live to start my nursing career at least doing SOMETHING? Yeah it's not what I want to do forever, but at least it is a nursing position. I would be dong assessments, helping plasma donors with adverse reactions, giving HIV/Hep B/C positive results and starting pheresis sessions (not really IV, but not really phlebotomy with a 16 gauge). Thoughts? Comments? PLEASE respond-all advice appreciated-even if I don't agree :)

I agree with this completely. I also remember during nursing school we had an OB patient test false positive for meth and the staffs attitude toward patient TOTALLY shifted (which is sooo wrong) and then they retested the SAME sample and it was negative....supposedly her Tagament was causing the false positive? I didn't research it, but I just remember thinking, this is totally messed up. I even heard Ibuprofen can cause false positive THC results. I always think twice if I have a headache...lol. Soooo, I don't know how I feel about drug testing. I mean I do not want someone high taking care of me or someone I care about but I also do not want someone who smokes marijuana at their birthday party to get canned because random drug testing just happened to be the day after it....just saying.

Hella weird....on both ends-hospital having a Facebook page and her responding.

I hear what you are saying Orca in your post. The sad thing is as a New Grad the only people that have responded with a possibility for a position are the correctional jobs for me. I would love to work med/surg for a year. I loved it in school-you learn so much on that floor. I get so many rejection responses from hospitals, it's almost funny now. I just want to work as a RN, in some capacity, and actually the correctional aspect is more appealing than a hospital-that might seem weird, but just how I feel.

I did the PV trick and it worked. If you had hard questions-that is good. I received the good pop up. I worked with a nurse during clinical that received the bad pop up and passed, so yeah it is not 100% so try not to freak yourself out (easier said than done), and try to pay extra to get your results early. Good luck and celebrate safely :)

I have been searching for my first RN job since March 28, 2013. I thought it would not be this hard due to me being bilingual in Spanish and having healthcare experience. WOW, what a reality check it has been. Sacramento is considered one of the most stressful places to live right now due to the economy and I am feeling it hard core. I have looked into hospitals, LTC, corrections, day centers, you name it. This post has really helped calm my nerves and my emotions. I thought getting through nursing school and the NCLEX would be hard, HA!

I have worked with the homeless throughout the years, not as a nurse (yet), but it makes me feel good that there are nurses out there like you all that care for their well being. Anyone can be homeless at anytime in our lives and I hope to be in a nursing position soon someday to help those in need and not just in nursing.

I have recently been put on an eligibility list for a potential interview for a RN position in DCF through Sacramento County. This is a continuous filing position. My rank is 2nd and my score was 90. Does anyone know the hiring process of this county? How high is the turnover? What locations would be considered for DCF? Juvenile Hall branch on Bradshaw? The Branch in the South end of Sacramento? I Street Main Jail? I am a new grad (sigh) but I have experience working in the juvenile hall on Bradshaw and the Boys Ranch out in the sticks, but as an outsider coming in to do Health Education. I also have experience working with the population that gets incarcerated, but I worked with them when they were currently on the "outs". Also, I heard the state can take forever to respond, close to year? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am working at a private OBGYN office as a receptionist and I feel that my brain is going numb (don't get me wrong, I am grateful that I have a job though to pay the bills and get by).

Good luck is all I can say. I live in California and received my license at the end of March. I have applied to almost 100 jobs. They all just blurr together. I have applied to volunteer as a New Grad at a hospital in town to see if that helps to get 'an in.' Some hospitals do not allow new grads to volunteer due to us being a liability....Ugh. I have thought to give up on the hospital front and have applied to county positions to work in Corrections-good money and I like a spicy population. I have a BS and then received my ADN, have 10+ years experience in women's health and Spanish speaking. This is the hardest I have ever had to work for finding a job. I laugh because I was so stressed during finals of the last semester and preparing for the NCLEX. Those things are a piece of cake compared to finding a job-you have control over those, finding a job is kind of out of your hands. I just received a call today from a recruiter that saw my resume and he didn't realize I was a New Grad. When I told him that I was, he reacted like I had just told him I killed his first born. Sorry for the rant everyone, I had to get this out.

What about these questions? Bold are what I think 1. You are on a critical care unit caring for clients with a spinal cord injury. Which client should you assess first after receiving the following information in the change of shift report? a. The client with a C-6 spinal cord injury who is complaining of dyspnea and has a respiratory rate of 12 breaths/minute. b. The client with an L-4 spinal cord injury who is frightened about being transferred to the rehabilitation unit. c. The client with an L-2 spinal cord injury who is complaining of a headache and feeling very hot all of a sudden. d. The client with a C-4 spinal cord injury who is on a ventilator and has a pulse oximeter reading of 98%. RATIONALE: This sounds like possible autonomic dysreflexia or increased intracranial pressure and needs to be treated as a neurological emergency to prevent hyptertensive stoke. The C-6 spinal cord injury has within range respiratory rate and they are expected to have decreased respiratory reserve. 13. You are caring for clients in a long term care facility. Which client should you assess first after receiving morning report? a. The client diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who began to hallucinate during the night. b. The client diagnosed with congestive heart failure who has 3_ pitting edema of both feet. c. The client diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease who was found wandering in the hall at 0200 this morning. d. The client diagnosed with terminal cancer who has lost 8 pounds since the last weight 4 weeks ago. RATIONALE: I would assess CHF patient first because he/she is someone that may need a diuretic or his/her physician contacted for orders. Hallucination is a possibility in late stages of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s patients are known to wander, and the terminal cancer patient is expected to have weight loss. 25. You are evaluating vital signs for client being seen in the outpatient clinic. Which client would warrant intervention? a. The 10 month old infant who has a pulse rate of 140. b. The 3 year old toddler who has a respiratory rate of 28. c. The 24 week gestational woman who has a blood pressure of 142/96. d. The 42 year old client who has a temperature of 100.2 degrees F. RATIONALE: Per resources, infant's pulse is in range, respiratory rate of toddler is in range, and the client with a slight temperature is not as serious as a pregnant woman with a blood pressure of 142/96 because this could mean pre-eclampsia. Thanks for the feedback

I am wanting some feedback on some questions for a homework assignment. Here it goes... 2. You are caring for a client on a ventilator who is exhibiting respiratory distress. The ventilator alarms are going off. Which intervention should you do first? a. Notify the respiratory therapist immediately. b. Ventilate with a manual resuscitation bag. c. Check the ventilator to resolve the problem. d. Auscultate the client's lung sounds. RATIONALE: You need to assess patient first. RT doesn't need to be notified and you wouldn't ventilate unless needed AFTER you assess patient. 18. The elderly client diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis is complaining of chest pain during inhalation. Which intervention should you implement first? a. Ask the health care provider to order a stat lung scan. b. Place oxygen on the client via nasal cannula. c. Prepare to administer intravenous heparin. d. Tell the client not to ambulate and remain in bed. RATIONALE: I would want to keep the patient in bed so I can then administer oxygen per nasal cannula, have someone contact physician/rapid response team to assist/evaluate patient. The heparin drip would be started after evaluation from rapid response team. 19. The client is 1 week postoperative for right below the knee amputation secondary to arterial occlusive disease. The rehabilitation nurse is unable to assess a pedal pulse in the left foot. Which intervention should the nurse implement first? a. Assess for paresthesia and paralysis. b. Utilize the Doppler device to auscultate the pulse. c. Place the client's leg in the dependent position. d. Wrap the client's left leg in a warm blanket. RATIONALE: I would want to finish the neurovascular assessment pulse, temperature, sensation, movement and then do the other choices after that. 24. You are returning phone messages from clients. Which would you call first? a. The client who called reporting being dizzy when getting up. b. The client who has been having abdominal cramping. c. The client who is complaining of nausea and vomiting. d. The client who has not had a bowel movement in 3 days. RATIONALE: I do not know which one, but I feel that the first one is more important due to loss of consciousness, falls, poor perfusion are possible complications. 26. You are the home health nurse visiting a client diagnosed with end stage congestive heart failure. You find the client lying in bed, short of breath, unable to talk and with buccal cyanosis. Which intervention would you implement first? a. Assist the client to a sitting position. b. Assess the patient's vital signs. c. Call 911 for the ambulance. d. Auscultate the client's lung sounds. RATIONALE: I am all about assessing the patient first, but I feel like sitting the position up would help with breathing. Thanks for the feedback!

From my experience so far, I think the question is, "Is your job flexible around nursing school?" My school does not give people a pass if they do not come to clinical, if there is an emergency, then you can do a ton of make up work, which is extremely painful and then put on probation. Look into the current student handbook of nursing at your desired school or ask someone in the nursing division office. i think working part time is very possible for people to do while in nursing school. get a planner where you can see one month at a time-it really helps to organize your time. i hope this helps and good luck to you.

I am passing OB right now, and our professor is notorious for being difficult. I just took my second exam as well. I really like the Review and Rationales by Saunders for Maternal and Newborn Nursing. Also, the ATI book or online resources are helpful for me-our professor goes by that more than the book. Our textbook is way too detailed, and as you said, there is so much material. Saunders guide and ATI book are to the point and give rationale which is really important to know. Good luck and we can get through this!

"Different strokes for different folks," is the saying that comes to mind. It depends on the person's studying habits and their financial situation primarily. I work part-time and have received an A and B in my first two nursing classes. I like having the ongoing reference easily available as well.