NYGiantsGal

I hear all of you, lol! Good for you if you have figured this out in 8 months. It took me a couple of years working in the hospital setting to leave and look for a position that allowed me to live my life. In my current position, I immediately implemented the no overtime rule, so that they didnt come to expect it regularly. I work OT occasionally.. (actually, I'm salaried so do they really call it OT?), but do it infrequently enough for them not to think its part of my job description. Anyways, nurses ABSOLUTELY need to stand up for themselves. It is why we are consistently underpaid and overworked, burned out and miserable. We need to stand up for the change makers on our units as well. It is an uphill battle, but if anything is going to change it has to start somewhere. Hospitals, clinics, doctors offices would close if the nurses decided to not work. That would force them to hire more people. Also, someone wrote that management needs to step up... that is for administration, not management. How can management justify the hiring of new nurses when some nurse is always willing to work 50, 60 hour weeks (and make themselves and everyone else around them miserable) and the shifts are being covered? If management, justifiably, can show that shifts are not being covered THEN administration would have to allocate funds to cover the position and hire new nurses. Start saying NO to work every shift and administration will have the reason to saying YES to hiring more nurses.

Try doing the character references as stated prior, but you may just have to wait. But try to go that route, especially if the job does their own background check.. I moved back home to NYC after a stint in Washington state. I had originally planned to move to Northern Jersey and obtain employment there. I applied for licensure 5 months ahead of time. NJ took 7 months to process my fingerprints and kept losing paperwork; NYS processed mine in 4 weeks (I graduated from NYS so maybe that helps quick process for NY as well). I ended up moving to NY and getting a job in NY. Some states are just that slow. If you can work at another state nearby, try that. Georgia is not a a compact state, either.

Depends. Littman is the way to go and for cardiology I definetly recommend the 3M Littman Master Cardiology stethoscope. I have it and it is really sweet and its a souft touch, so it will hear everything and you dont have to apply pressure, good for peds so you dont have to flip anything over. Someone did post that Littmans have a habit of disappearing, they do, so make sure to keep it on you at all times. http://www.allheart.com/2163-65.html?green=27319958563 for the Master and here is a chart to compare http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/allheart/littmannspecs2011.pdf. Have fun choosing!

Why should he or she shut their mouth if they are blessed? Actually, I thoroughly understand how this person feels. I am new to this site (not to life though) and the amount of negativity that I see here is astounding. How about try and think and say something positive for a change? The negative ones are by far the loudest so here is a loud positive person - **** for once. Please say something constructive!! Forums like this reflect what I see in nursing most of the time - and it is why I, as a nurse, avoid most other nurses. As usual when someone tries to be positive, out come the Red Barons to shoot them down - ridicule them, boy do the fangs and claws come out quick when positivity tries to shine. I am currently hiring at my own facility (here is a rare view from a hiring nurse manager: MESSAGE!). I cant tell you the amount of resumes that I receive that look like 5th graders wrote them. Spelling and grammatical errors are unacceptable especially with spell check nowadays. People send in 4, 6, 10 page resumes. No cover letters. I had someone come interview that stated though she had been out of the field for a while she was waiting for someone to give her direction as to whether she should take a refresher course... Really? Keep waiting. Keep complaining about it. Here is something else: dress appropriately. If you actually have a good resume and send it in, back it up when you arrive for the interview. Look groomed, wear appropriate attire, wear a business suit or at least a jacket. No open toed shoes, do not go to your interview hoochified and do your hair for crying out loud (I dont care if its raining - stop by the bathroom first and fix it before you come in to see me)! I have had 2 positions open for the past couple of months and have not hired yet. I bet some are on this forum right now 'I have been to interview after interview and cant find a job...' and cant figure out they knocked themselves out of contention. The market is EXTREMELY competitive now. True. Make yourself standout. New grads: volunteer somewhere, take phlebotomy certification (shows you have hands on with needles which is necessary), get your ACLS/BLS and have that on your resume, apply to something other than a hospital, go into the human resourses department yourself with an impeccable resume - just show up it shows spunk/motivation. If you cannot write up a resume, look it up online or hire someone. Seasoned nurses: take refresher courses, volunteer, know how to answer questions appropriately - look up interview questions and know what to say and how to respond. Maybe you have to travel further. Live in NY? Get a Jersey license and see what they have to offer. Both: dress appropriately if called in. If you're bilingual, put that on your resume.. Take a Rosetta Stone course in Spanish, put it on your resume. Arrive early, not on the nick of time or late. Dont think you're getting hired just because you're a nurse... So what? What else do you have to offer? I am not saying people are not struggling, but how many people are only looking for hospital employment? How many only want to work in a specialty? Look for somewhere other than the hospital, look for something other than what you believe your specialty might be. Be proactive, make sure your resume is impeccable, go into the human resources department yourself, look the part. Try to start thinking positively and lets not attack the ones that do think so. Believe me, that negative, defeatist attitude shows. It'll show you right out of a job offer.

Have you tried something other than hospitals or LTC? Try clinics, urgent care centers, community health centers, MD offices, school health. Think outside the box. You can take a walk in your own community and find a clinic, MD office. Also, MAKE SURE YOUR RESUME IS IMPECCABLE. Spelling errors, grammatical errors, LONG resumes are thrown out - it shows lack of attention to details. Have relevant information readily available. Even though you might not have any nursing experience you might have alot of customer service experience, which is relevant. Have you volunteered anywhere that is relevant? This all looks very good. Are you bilingual? Make sure that is at the forefront. Include a cover letter, that is always a plus. Make sure you sell yourself in the best light. It all starts with your resume. Good luck!

Here is some advice NurseLoveJoy88. Learn how to shop for employment. Get a simple book like '101 Questions to Ask at your Interview'. Learn how to make sure that you are going to get orientation by asking about it, ask about what their turn over rate is (and do some investigating about the place first). When you are interviewed, ask to speak to some of the nurses, ask what happened to the person who held the position prior to you. Get as much as you can in writing before you take on the position as well. I am confused. It says here you love the position.. but you're going to send out a warning email? If you need/want more orientation then ask for it. Heres another thing that confuses me.. do you know anything about nursing liability? In most facilities like SNFs when you clock in you have accepted the assignment. It could be considered patient abandonment if you clock in, refuse your assignment, clock out and leave. If you continue on your course of action, you will have no defense in front of a Nursing Board and the facility will simply point out your juvenile email and behavior as more nails in your coffin. Something else - you love working at a subacute unit and rather than communicate clearly with your supervisors you are listening to disgruntled nurses there and are going to leave it for a substance abuse position in a teaching hospital. What is it that you want to do in nursing? Counseling, clinical, SNF, hospital? Do you think it wise to burn bridges in an unprofessional manner so early in your nursing career (from your post I gather that you must be young in the workfield..). Healthcare is a small field. If you live in a small town and behave in such a manner, your name will be flagged quickly. Talk to your supervisors. If you love the position let them know that you would like more orientation/would like the supervisor to be more available to you when you need questions answered and what is the best way to reach her when you do. Make sure that you get what you need in writing. If you are in a meeting, after the meeting send a professional email reiterating the meeting objectives.. "Just to follow up on today's meeting..." If they are uncooperative then give two weeks notice. No job that you interview with does not understand when you tell them that you need to give two weeks notice to your current position before you come aboard. They will respect you much more. One more thing: stay far away from disgruntled Negative Nellies! Their attitude and words are a poisonous cancer that should be avoided. There may be other reasons why there are no 3-11 nurses. This is a position you stated you love. Dont let their words turn you. Make an informed decision before you blindly follow the blind. Dont believe for a second that you wont find the same situation in a new position. Its how you handle these situations that makes the difference. We are professional nurses. Lets behave accordingly. Good luck.

One of the main reasons I left WA state is because of the harshness of the nursing board out there and how easily it is corrupted and influenced. I know of several occasions in which nurses were blacklisted and had flags placed on their files because they happened to work in areas where the administrators were in "good" with the WA state nursing board, while nurses who should have been flagged were allowed to continue practicing for much the same reasons. I know of many occasions were nurses were given outstanding evaluations - only to be fired for ridiculous reasons very shortly after. Someone needs to look at the WA state nursing board and its close affiliations to large healthcare providers in WA state. I guarantee this is not the only case they will find were a competent nurse with excellent reviews was fired for a correctable situation. Who oversees the nursing boards is my question... Its time nurses had advocates with resources to go against these monopolizing organizations who control so many avenues of nurses lives and careers.

Hello, luv. I started out just like you, bright and very optimistic. Various situations I encountered as a nurse tried to take alot of that away from me, but what I ended up doing was making nursing work for me. Whoever you are - MAKE NURSING WORK FOR YOU! Dont believe for one minute that you have to stay in a hospital or a nursing home. You can do home health, school health, research, get an advanced degree and be a Nurse Practitioner, become a teacher, an occupational nurse, work per diem, case management. You can work in an office or clinic or an urgent care center and have daytime hours available to you. You know what was wearing me out? Working those crazy shifts and the disrespect I received and saw many nurses receive in the hospital setting. You know how I made nursing work for me? I wanted better hours and more respect. You can do what I did after 3.5 years and become a manager and make sure that personnel under you do not get the same treatment that you received when various situations in nursing tried to take away your bright spirit and optimism. I still deal with patients, mentor staff and most importantly make my environment conducive to staff retention and happiness. I have been in management for the past 1.5 years am most likely going to get a grad degree such as an MPA or MBA. I work M-F 830 to 430 with flex hours, no on call, no holidays, 4+weeks vacation and PTO days available to me. I do not allow staff to be disrespected, bc the buck stops with me. Yea, I have crappy days, but you know what, I love being a nurse - still. 5 years into it. So, the point to all of this is make nursing work for you. Keep that spirit. Think outside of the box and look at the many many opportunities that nursing offers. Dont listen to the Negative Nellies that chose to stay miserable in one or two positions. Move around, see what works - see what fits you best and GO FOR IT! Good luck!