frogandcrown

Doctor "What is your birthday?" Little old lady "May 1st" Doctor "What year?" Little old lady "EVERY year!"

I've been an ER nurse for the past 3.5 years. My original plan was to obtain all the relevant critical care certifications and do some in-state travel nursing. I have recently stumbled upon an opportunity to work from home as a nurse consultant. I would work during the day in my home office and have nights, weekends and holidays free. This is a dream job from the sounds of it...before even thinking about if it is a pay cut, raise, or whatever. My indecision comes from wondering which job will serve me best as far as career development. I am 47, and while that is not "old" I don't wish to be a bedside nurse for a whole lot longer wearing out my body (my body mechanics are terrible, I think. LOL). I'm wondering if by doing some of this consulting work I am getting a different experience that may help me for getting into administration later. I keep thinking about what the plusses to ER nursing could be and the only thing I can think of is that it would enable me to travel to new places and probably make a pretty penny. What do you think?

I think "most" new nurses want to work in a hospital - as we believe (maybe wrongly?) that our skills can best be honed in a hospital. After all, most of us are planning to go on to become RN's. In a nursing home all I ever saw a LPN do was pass out medications. In actuality, that is a pretty sweet job since from my job searches and my friends' experiences nursing home LPNs are paid way better than new LPNs at hospitals. I am currently making 4.50 less an hour than my friends who are working as LPNs in nursing homes in exchange for the opportunity I was offered to work in an ER. Once I become an RN I will explore other options. :) P.S. I NEVER ruled out working in a nursing home nor would I have considered it "settling". Julie

It always gets my goat when people act like Florida is somehow subpar. Considering native Floridians are scarce anymore and almost everyone down here is from somewhere else...could it be that the North is sending down their wierdos? JUST KIDDING. But you know what I mean. If most of the people here are all from somewhere else.....well...it isn't a Florida thing. Just saying...

I would say that it does give you a good "foot in the door". I say this from my own experience. I'm sure not every hospital works this way, but if you show yourself to be a good and smart employee and keep on administration (as far as letting them know that you really want to stay with them when you graduate) they will most likely want to keep you. I got my foot in the door as a phlebotomist. I made sure to assist anyone I was able to when I went to the floor and showed myself to be a team player and a skilled employee. Along the way, I made friends with nurses who were incredibly supportive with me. As I went through nursing school I kept in touch with administration (HR) and let them know that staying on with our hospital meant a lot to me. It's almost mindblowing to me...but as a fresh LPN (only licensed for 3 months) I was offered a spot in the ER as part of their new "fast-track". So...I say having a hospital job is a great way to get your foot in the door. Most certainly.

Wow. I have just read this entire thread with great interest from the very first post...I am a new LPN. I looked this subject up to see what other nurses, new and seasoned, had to say about the profession. When I first considered going into nursing, my best friend, who is an experienced nurse, said to me "Please dont. Nurses eat their young. It's the worst part of the whole business and you will hate it." Well, I havent encountered that, as I havent begun work yet as a nurse...and these posts have me concerned...to an extent. I can tell you that I have met people in other non-nursing jobs I have had who could be described as "eaters of their young" too. It isnt just reserved for nurses, in the real world. The difference is that in my previous line of work, if someone undermined me or distracted me or caused me issues that diminished the quality of my work, it might just result in scheduling the wrong appointment time for a truck to unload it's goods. No big deal. As a matter of fact when someone made a mistake, there was someone in our office who would say "It's not like we're delivering human organs or anything." However, in nursing EVERYTHING is a big deal. Lives are at stake. Why nurses would want to make life and such important work more difficult for each other is way beyond my understanding. I just want to emphasize to us all (and especially my future working-nurse SELF) that there are jerks everywhere. We have to remember what is important...and it isn't them. It's the patient...and knowing we have done the best for them and that we can go home and (FINALLY) get some sleep with a clear conscience. :) I work in a lab in a hospital and the nurses I work with are amazing. If I can get on here as an LPN (trying) I will feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I'm scared to begin my nursing career...but I'm also excited. And I thank you all for your advice and comments so I know what to expect. :)

Ponytail for me on most days and the rest I wear it back in a hair band (I too keep a scrunchie or clip on me just in case). If I could part with my hair I would opt for a short professional style. Hair all hanging long and in your face = unprofessional (in my opinion). Should be common sense and not a policy...but hahahaha:devil:

XKRYSTLEX and MISSELLAMAE- You got this my fellow new nurse friends!!! Woohoo!!

Central Florida Hospital New Grad LPN 13.75 full-time (shift diffs for nights and weekends - unsure of amounts yet) 18.00 PRN Not a done deal for me yet so the other details are sketchy.... (The reason this may happen for me is that I already work here. They, as with many hospitals anymore, will not hire LPNs "off the street".)

Hey. I wanted to get back with you all. I took my test the afternoon of 9/21. I came on home and attempted to re-register. I was unable to...and recieved the good pop-up!! As of right now my results still are not up on the Florida DOH website. Sooooo..... I got so tired of wallowing in stomach acid by the second day (48 hrs later) and decided to pay for my quick results from Pearson, and..... I PASSED! Yeah baby! I am another testimony to the fact that the Pearson Trick DOES work. (although it will never ever stop people like me from worrying a hole in their stomach the first 48 hrs anyway) LOL

Oh, also...as far as select all that apply questions - my instructor told us that the more of those you got, the better it means you were doing as it means you had been answering correctly in order to get to those harder ones. So the harder the questions seemed to you...the better you were doing. Have you heard that also? I guess it's true...I got the good popup and felt like I had too many hard questions.

I had the day from h*ll today. Rosde with my parents over to take the test 45 minutes from my house - they wanted to be supportive :) Listened to my Mom backseat drive for my Dad all the way. 1st stress. When I arrived at the center realized when I changed purses, for some reason I didnt grab my new license and had my old one which was expired. They wouldnt let me test. I cried. Then I had just under 40 minutes to find a DMV in the area to get proof of my identity and license validity. 2nd stress. By the time I got back to take the test (JUST in the nick of time) I had to pee, was thirsty, and had a puffy face and headache from crying! I felt like I knew nothing that was on the test and also like I was clouded from everything else that had just happened to me. NOT how I planned to take the test. Anyway...after being really mean to my husband because I was sick to my stomach and knew I had failed - I did the PVT and got the good popup. I have settled down and quit stressing for the night. I've also apologized to my sweet husband and he is very understanding. I have heard so many people say that they felt like they knew nothing on the test - yet they passed. So I think people (like me) should take that into consideration when making up their mind that they have failed. I will update hopefully tomorrow with what I find on the FL DOH website. :) Good luck to everyone and dont be your worst enemy like I am to myself!

I will be out of school, finished with my boards and ready to find my first LPN job in roughly 6 weeks (unless I am totally simplifying the process...). *I would appreciate any advice any of you may have. *I'm also curious what the starting pay rate would be for a new LPN, specifically in Florida. *When did you apply for your boards and how long did it take you to get an appointment to sit? *How hard was it to find work? *Anything to avoid?? :heartbeat Thank you...