iamNurse23

I am very happy that I found this thread. I feel the same way that most you feel. Fitness is my true passion and I would love to be able to have a career where I can utilize both the nursing and fitness aspects. I would specifically like to get into Sports Training. I am considering going back to school and getting a degree in Kinesiology and also a degree in Nutrition. I would love to have a job title that would allow me to utilize my RN license as well as the other 2 degree. Have any of you RNs had any success utilizing fitness and nursing in your career?

Thank you. I really appreciate it

Hello, I am embark on my new career as an OR nurse. The OR training program is one year. I would like to know from your experience, how was your OR training experience? Difficult as nursing program? or Difficult but not as difficult as the nursing school. I am very excited to begin this new career and I am just wondering what I should be expecting in this first year or two. Also, are there any APPS that you use to help you? Thank you in advanced for any advice and sharing your experience.

Maybe we work at the same place! lol. Thanks

I hear you. Thanks

I agree. When I heard the ratio was 1:20 I was like that's not to bad, especially when I know of others with a far worst ratio. However, it is quite a "challenge" coming from acute care facilities where I did my all of my clinical rotations. Regarding shortcuts, I'm not blaming the nurses more than I do the system because like the person who trained me said, you know there's just not enough time, even by taking these short cuts, I'm sure I'll be here about 2 hrs overtime. I would be here an extra 6 if I did every thing by the book, overtime as you gain more experience and familiarity with this job, you'll learn your own short cuts.

Sorry. I didn't mean to call all SNFs nasty and I know nurses SNFs work very hard. But let me clarify my statement. I forgot to add ONE IMPORTANT part. I talked to 3 nursing recruiters from acute care facilities and told them I was considering working at a SNFs and I have heard both pos and neg things and I asked those recruiters for advice and how do acute care hospitals value SNF experience. Those recruiters told me pretty much the same thing. They said some hiring staff value SNFs because they are skilled and they have experience providing different skills. But the flipside to that, people also view the SNFs as nasty or nurses that take a lot of shortcuts. She said but it also depends on the hiring manager how they view SNFs but it seems that they would rather higher a recent new grad fresh out of school, than a SNF nurse with X experience because they don't have to try to fix those bad habits. Lastly, I know that we love our residents and patients, if not, we wouldn't be nurses. Nursing is a career that you must love not only what you do, but also taking care of people. As I'm sure we all agree, everybody can't be nurses. But from what I've experienced so far, the nurses would like to provide better customer service and quality care, but the way the system is, it's very hard. You barely have enough time to chart and pass meds. But during med pass, we are running up and down halls trying to deliver meds on time, if any interruptions during that time its becomes even more hectic. But as you said, we do the best we can. I agree

Quitting while still in orientation: (After reading this, I hope I'm not alone regarding my experience and feelings with SNFs) I've asked for advice. Friends have told me to hang for now, fellow RN friends/peers who have heard more of my experience in detail agree that its not worth the risk. Morally and ethically I'm against what I've witness and expect to witness in a SNFs I am a new grad nurse and passed the boards in the early summer. I sent over a hundred applications for acute-care positions, but due to this difficult job market, I wasn't successful. So I went to my last resort which was applying to a SNF. The day after I applied, I was called in for an interview and hired on the spot. A couple of my other friends were hired at different SNFs prior to me and told me how much they hated it and one even told me how he get nauseous before going to work because of the stress load, but I was really excited just to have a job and the salary $35/hr was much more than I was making. (The money is definitely not worth losing your license) Here are the problems I am experiencing 1) Two weeks into my orientation, It is safe to say I hate this job. The nurse to patient ration is from 1:15 to 1:25... average is over 20 patients per nurse. I don't know if its all nursing homes but it seems to be more emphasis on paper work than actually patient care. I am a very personable person and love talking and building a rapport with patients. However, with this patient load all nurses seem like all they can pass meds. The quality of care these patients are getting is pretty bad, the nurse I shadowed the other day asked why did I apply to a SNF, its not the place to be, and she worked in a hospital prior to moving to this state, and applying here was the worst decision she made, with 20 patients per nurse, an average of 10 medications (not including treatments) per patient and charting (tons of paper work) on each patient, she said she's lucky if she see's a patient for longer than 5mins in her 8 hour shift. One of the patients even made the comment "It seems like you are the dope dealer and I am the drug addict" And it sure feels that way, all we can do is say Hi and Bye. 2) Again, I'm not sure if all nursing homes are like this, but nurses take a TON of shortcuts and are pretty nasty individuals. I rarely see the nurses I shadow wash their hands, put on gloves, or verify the patient before administering medications. One of the other RN supervisors came and told my nurse "the state is coming soon to do surveys so we got to step it up, make sure we don gloves, wash hands every time, and ask the 2 patient identifier before giving meds" and my nurse said "what is the 2 patient identifier" .....i was in disbelief and I shook my head. Every nurse I shadowed has taken shortcuts and said that they have no choice and its so much for them to do, and they tell me "you didn't see me doing this or I didn't tell you this ok, ..but you'll see once you start working on your own".....I don't blame the nurses more than I blame the system itself, but at fault. 3) The DON pulled my supervisor to the side and was pretty stern about an incident. Long story short, the DON was upset that she didn't transcribe an order into the computer to be carried out, but the nurse reasoning was that she didn't receive an "ok" or Dr. signature approving her request. The DON said that the request for application of a certain ointment could of been carried out and transcribed without a signature. BUT! he said if the state comes..don't tell them I told you that, and tell them we always wait for a Dr.signature or "ok" in every situation. (My problem with that, it'll be just my luck that I apply that ointment without a Dr.sig (just approval from DON) and the patient have a major reaction to it)..ITS MY LICENSE AT RISK. There is alot more things that I can go on & on about. BOTTOM line. This is definitely not safe, the patient load and responsiblities are insane and the stress level is high and mistakes are made daily. Its only a matter of time due to the high stress level. You just have to hope the mistake you make is not the BIG one. I didn't get into nursing to become a med passer, I don't enjoy this at all. I feel like me and the fellow nurses are only there to collect a check. Lastly, my position is ON-CALL and I currently have less than a week of training before I'm out on my own. I'm definitely don't feel ready, and I have no interest nor passion for this. I pretty sure that my next day of orientation will be my last day. As crazy as it sounds, I would rather go to work making FAR less money doing something "i don't hate" than making more money, everyday risking my license. On the bright side of things. I have an interview for a RN position next week, and I have had 2 recent interviews that went really well and the managers told me the dates for the program (1 in Dec) and (1 in Jan) and they are just working on the exact dates. Nothing was officially signed, and I'm the "got to see to believe it" type of person.

Thanks noahsmama. My birthday is in September and I do have a CA license. Thank You for the clarification

Hello, I took my state board exam a few days ago and passed. Today, I received my nursing license but I noticed that the expiration date is october 2012. However, Most of my friends/classmates that took it this summer have an expiration date of 2013. I did find out that one of my friends who recently obtained her license, her expiration date is also 2012 like mines. I was under the impression that the RN license is valid for 2 years. Do you know the reason that some people have 2year expiration period on their license? and some people like myself license expires next year?

Very helpful thread

I participated in the code; however, the pt had coded outside and was alive when I was helping with the code, so when we lost him, It didn't really hit me hard because I never seen him alive. But being around a dead body for the first time is definately a time I won't forget

Apply to as many schools as possible to increase your chance.

In July, I took 265 and failed. On Tuesday of this week, I took 75 and passed

I'm a new grad and looking into going straight onto the floor as an ER nurse, at first I thought I needed med/surge experience first, but many people say its possible to go straight to ER. So i'm up for the challenge